Chapter 8
Slayer finished smoking his cigarette before he leafed through the papers in his hands. His mom’s affairs were settled. After a week and a half back in Georgia, he was able to close one very long, very unfinished chapter of his life. He kicked at the loose soil beneath his boots and looked up at the sky.
“I miss ya, mama. I’m sorry it took me so damn long to come home, but it sure does fill a hole in my chest I didn’t ever think would be full again.”
The tombstone that read her name was pretty, delicate, a perfect choice for Laura Osborne. His mother had been one beautiful lady, who loved to live and loved to laugh. She did a real fine job raising him and Billie. Billie was a lot like her when she wasn’t spitting venom at him from every direction.
She used to be a lot more open like his mama, but then, he hadn’t exactly rewarded her for sharing so much of herself with him, now had he?
“I screwed up, bad. I don’t know how to fix it, either. What do I do? What am I supposed to say? I never was very good with women, but Billie was always different. What the fuck am I supposed to do to fix this mess?,” He muttered as he sat down cross-legged in front of her grave.
The cemetery was quiet so early in the morning, and normally he would take more time in town to figure out what he needed to file next or pay off, but he’d taken care of everything. He didn’t have a reason to stay in Georgia anymore and he didn’t have an excuse to spend half the day hiding from Billie, either.
He was at a crossroads again, and this time, he couldn’t convince himself to ride out of town. There was an entirely different universe waiting for him in North Carolina, and all he could think about was how to convince Billie to leave town with him.
“What do I have to do to convince her that I still love her? Sayin’ the words won’t be enough, and I know that. I have to show her. But, how?”
He got no response, as he knew that he wouldn’t, but the sunlight hitting him directly in the face disappeared for a few moments as a cloud moved in front of the sun. Convincing Billie that he wanted to start over with her seemed damn near impossible.
“Remember the day you caught her and I kissin’ behind the shed? You were so mad, but after a few hours, you came around tellin’ me you’d always hoped I would fall for her. That I was blessed to know someone so closely and get to see them for who they really are. You told me I was one lucky son of a bitch because Billie knew the real me, down to my bones, and she loved me anyways,” Slayer said to the air.
It was true. Billie did know him better than probably anyone on the planet after his mama, and she was gone now. Billie was all that was left to remember the first couple of decades of his life, and he’d turned his back on her. The shame he felt bubbling to the surface was enough to put a lesser man on his ass, and Slayer knew that. He knew he’d done her wrong.
“I gotta fix this, mama. You always understood, and I loved you for it, but Billie? She won’t get it until she sees where I’ve been.” The hard part would be convincing her to leave the comforts of Georgia for the uncertainty of North Carolina.
◆◆◆
Billie was folding sheets when Slayer walked in. She’d decided to call him as he asked because he wasn’t the man she’d been holding on to for years, and it was time for her to let him go. Noah just didn’t fit the man standing in front of her. It was early for him to be home considering his usual schedule, but she didn’t comment on it. She figured if he wanted her to know what he was up to, he’d tell her.
“Billie?”
She made a noncommittal sound under her breath and waited for him to continue.
“Do you think you’d like to have dinner with me?”
She didn’t know what to say at first; he’d yet to ask her to do anything of the sort and she wasn’t exactly sure how to navigate this new softer, nicer behavior he was exhibiting. Slowly, she set down the sheets she was holding, and looked up at him.
“Why?”
“Do I have to have a legit reason other than the fact that I want to spend time with you when we’re not at each other’s throats?”
Billie didn’t have a response to that other than, “Okay. Dinner. Tonight?”
“Tonight works for me. I got all mom’s stuff sorted, so I’ll be heading out in a couple of days.”
For some reason, hearing that made her absolutely terrified. She’d known from the get that he wouldn’t stay, he never did, but this time she’d been so wrapped up in her anger, that she hadn’t adequately prepared herself for the inevitable shift. She didn’t know if she could face the actual goodbye.
“Slayer…”
“Don’t bring it up. I can see by the look in your eyes that you’re thinkin’ about me leavin’ and I can’t stand to hear the words come from your lips again. Dinner, that’s all I’m asking for right now.”
Right now…
That implied that there would be another time he’d ask her for something, for more, and she couldn’t deny the excitement that the prospect of more brought to her belly. Butterflies the size of eagles soared through her tummy as she watched him lean against the front door jamb, his blue eyes trained on her.
“What happens after dinner?”
“Whatever you want,” He replied easily.
She placed her hands on her hips and tipped her head towards the front porch.
“I don’t lose my head like that often, Slayer-”
“Billie- I know. I know the kind of woman you are, and the kind of woman you ain’t. I know you, even after all these years, like the back of my hand. You may be different, and so am I, but you can’t deny the fact that we’ve always been in sync with each other. That’s what makes it magic,” He said with a smile.
“Magic?”
“If you deny it now it’ll only break my heart.”
She knew that a part of Slayer was joking, but she could tell that he was being at least partially honest. Billie knew that whatever they had between them was due to being in such close quarters for years, some strange animal attraction they shared, and a mutual love for one another that. Just. Wouldn’t. Die.
“This feels messy,” She breathed.
“Ain’t it always been messy, baby?”
Billie felt that term of endearment all the way to her fucking toes, because it was the name that used to slip past his lips whenever he spoke to her. Baby. Such a basic pet name and even still, the timbre of his voice always had her shivering in her boots.
His blonde hair was tucked back behind his ears and his cut was hanging open in the sunlight, revealing a faded Seven Deadlies t-shirt beneath it. The green material looked good wrapped around his broad shoulders and against his tan skin, she noticed that, too. She definitely noticed the way his black jeans fit his toned thighs and perfect ass.
“It’s not gonna be like it was before,” She warned.
Slayer smiled an irritatingly happy smile as his head lifted slightly, his gaze colliding with hers.
“Is that a yes?”
She couldn’t stop herself from smiling in return as she slowly nodded her dark head.
“Yes.”
Slayer surprised the fuck out of her when he stepped closer to her, pulling on the ends of her hair before his rough palms wrapped around the backs of her thighs, lifting upwards slowly, until the pads of his fingers were brushing against the loose threads on the hem of her cut-off shorts.
“Tell me you’ll let me taste you again.”
“Does the taste of me really matter all that much?,” She asked, her head tipping back so she could look him in the eyes.
His eyes narrowed in obvious confusion, “It’s the only flavor that never leaves the back of my tongue, Billie.”