Whoever said you could never go back home again was definitely on to something. Even though I still lived in Temperance Falls, it wasn’t the place that felt off now, but the people.
I sat at a dining table, staring at two guys I’d once considered my best friends. Forcing myself to smile. Forcing myself to participate in the conversation. Talking to people I didn’t have anything in common with was something I did every night at Pops’ Hops—my brewery, my baby. This should’ve been no different.
Except I had had something in common with these people at one point—ten long years ago, when we’d been in high school. Back then, we’d been the best of friends. Hell, one of them was family. A family he no longer cared to be part of, but family nonetheless. Barry, my stepbrother, had bailed after his father had passed away. Graduated then fled and never looked back, despite the fact that my mom had cared for him when he had no one left. Despite the fact that his father—a family man and the only person I’d ever called Dad—would hate Barry running out on the people my stepfather had loved with all his heart.
But Barry was an asshole. There was no getting around it. He was the kind of guy I kicked out of the brewery for getting handsy with the female bartenders. The kind of guy who belittled others to make himself feel better. The kind of guy his dad would’ve been ashamed he’d turned into. Even under those circumstances, I still thought of him as family.
And that made me the most loyal dumbass in the world.
“Seriously, you should’ve seen the tits on this one!” Barry said, gesturing in front of his chest as if his words weren’t enough to get his point across. Never mind the fact that it wasn’t just a bunch of guys shooting the shit. Aaron and his wife, Jessica, sat across the table from me. She slid a look to Aaron, making her displeasure over his friends known. That’d teach him for offering up his summer home as the location for our pre-reunion barbecue tonight. Good intentions and all that, but it’d been raining too hard to do any sort of grilling. Which meant we were all stuck inside, in close quarters, with nothing much to do as we waited for one other person to join us…the only person who’d make this bearable for me.
Hannah.
The girl I’d lusted after in high school—hell, the woman who still visited me in my fantasies—and one of my best friends, despite our not having seen each other in ten years.
Barry, never knowing when to stop, continued. “More than a mouthful, if you know what I mean. Damn, haven’t seen a set that nice in a while. Fucking Hannah cockblocked me, though. And I think everyone here knows she doesn’t have anything in the titty department to write home about.”
Just hearing her name from his lips had my jaw clenching, my eyes focused on the bottle of beer I twisted in my hand, never mind the derogatory words he spewed. Even my best brew couldn’t salvage tonight. Barry’s callous disregard for Hannah grated on my nerves—had grated on my nerves since day fucking one—and made me even more frustrated that she was still with him. Or at least sort of. On-again, off-again—just like they’d been since high school. Since I’d confided in my brother that I liked a girl and wanted to ask her out. Since he’d beat me to the punch and stole her right out from under me.
Yeah, I was still bitter. Anyone would be, especially when it was someone like Hannah on the line. She was gorgeous, but it wasn’t just her looks. She was sweet and caring, compassionate and gentle—basically, the opposite of Barry. I had no idea what she saw in him.
Hannah and I were long-distance friends, something I blamed Barry for. He’d always been jealous of our relationship and had done everything he could to keep us apart. So we’d text and e-mail, reply to each other on social media. We even had an occasional phone call. It was never enough, but what choice did I have? Steal my stepbrother’s girlfriend? That’d make me no better than him.
“What about you, man?” Barry clapped a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. “It’s been too long. I miss swapping stories.” By stories, he meant tales of his sexual prowess, and by swapping, he meant forcing me to listen to the different ways he got his dick wet all the while keeping Hannah on a leash. All the while knowing how I felt about her.
Yup. Asshole.
I shrugged. “Not many stories to swap. I keep pretty busy at the brewery.”
“A brewery, huh? Gotta hand it to you—I thought my dad’s hobby was lame as hell, but you went and turned it into a real business. Bet it gets you lots of pussy, doesn’t it?”
Jessica shoved her chair back and shot her husband a look. “I think I’ll go call Hannah and make sure she can find the house okay in all the rain.”
“Hey, will you tell her to pick me up a couple bottles of Malbec?” Barry yelled to Jessica’s retreating form. “Beer’s not really my thing.” He glanced at me and gestured to his mostly full bottle of the specialty brew I’d brought. The specialty brew I’d made. One of his dad’s recipes, actually, but I didn’t tell him that. “And, hey,” he called toward the doorway Jessica had disappeared through, “can you bring in some snacks or something? I’m fucking starving.”
"She's not a servant, man,” Aaron said, his tone sharp. “There's a full spread in the kitchen. Help yourself."
Barry laughed, then saluted like a jackass. “Got it. No orders to her unless it’s in the bedroom. You can tell me all about that later.” He pushed back from the table and headed into the kitchen, smiling the whole way.
“Shit, when did he turn into such an asshole?” Aaron asked under his breath before he cringed. “Sorry.”
“For what? He is an asshole.”
Aaron chuckled then lifted his chin toward where Barry had disappeared. “Brothers and all.”
Brothers in name only. I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. Barry was staying here for the weekend because of the reunion festivities, not going back to the mainland until Sunday. And even though I had a nice little house I could flee to, we’d be around each other a lot more than we had been in ten long years. I didn’t want to open up a can of worms to deal with.
“Believe me, no offense taken,” I said, waving him off.
He smiled and tipped his beer bottle toward me. “Just be glad you can escape. I’m stuck with him all weekend. No fucking idea why I thought it’d be a good plan to offer up my house.”
“I’ll leave extra beer.”
He laughed just as the doorbell rang, and Jessica rushed past to open the front door. The porch light shone outside, illuminating the rain coming down in heavy sheets, bolts of lightning going off simultaneously with the nearly constant rumbles of thunder. But none of that held my attention like the woman standing in the doorway did.
“You must be Hannah,” Jessica said. “Come in, come in.” She shut the door behind Hannah then took her bag from her, setting it down on the rug while Hannah shivered in the entryway.
Even soaked to the bone, she was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on. I hadn’t seen her in the flesh in way too long, and the pictures on her social media didn’t do her justice. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the rain causing some strands to stick to her face. Her eyes looked black from here, but I knew they were green on the outside with a burst of brown around her pupil. She was still as petite as ever—I had at least a foot and probably close to a hundred pounds on her—but her soft curves managed to make my mouth water and my cock harden, just like always. That reaction didn’t lessen as I took in her flushed cheeks and full, pink lips. Combined with the damp hair at her temples, she looked freshly fucked.
And goddamn if I didn’t want to see that look on her face while she was in my bed.
“Hannah, hey!” Aaron said, getting up to give her a quick hug. “Haven’t seen you in years. How’ve you been?”
“I’m good, thanks. You seem to be doing well if you’re living on this side of the island. That’s wonderful, Aaron. And thank you so much for having us all over.” She smiled at Aaron and Jessica, never once looking in my direction. “Though I hope no one has anywhere to be tonight. I don’t think the bridge is going to be passable.”
Before I could contemplate what that meant, Barry came strolling in from the kitchen. “Banana! ’Bout time you got here. My bed’s not gonna warm itself.” He reached for her, tugging her into his side as I curled my hands into fists, my jaw clenching. The cringe I swore I saw sweep across her face had to be a trick of the light. “And no bridge, huh? You hear that, Luke? Looks like you’re stuck here for the night.”
“Luke?” She snapped her head up, looking around until her eyes landed on me. The biggest grin spread across her face, and it was a sucker punch to the stomach. Jesus, I felt like I was seventeen all over again when she looked at me like that.
She slipped out from under Barry’s arm and walked straight for me, her smile never faltering. I didn’t even have time to stand before she had me enveloped in a hug, tucking herself right in between my spread legs, her arms tight around my neck, my face too close to her tits for what was acceptable friend behavior. “Hey, stranger.”
Jesus, that voice in my ear would be my undoing. The breathy whisper, the brush of her lips against my skin… Two little words that didn’t mean anything, but combined with the feel of her in my arms and her light, citrusy scent surrounding me, it was a memory I’d definitely stroke myself off to later.
I brought my arms around her, hugging her as close as I dared. I wanted to say a hundred things to her, most of them questioning her sanity at still being involved with my asshole brother. But all that came out was, “Hey, Hannah.”
“All right, you two, break it up.” Barry laughed as he tugged Hannah away, but I could hear the strain in his voice. Hannah’s and my friendship had always been a thorn in his side. Probably because he knew exactly how I felt about her.
“You’re staying here, too?” she asked me, her eyes hopeful.
I shook my head. “Hadn’t planned on it. You sure the bridge is out?”
“Definitely. I almost didn’t make it across. The water’s completely over the road.”
“Well, shit.”
Aaron’s home sat on a tiny island off the western side of Temperance Falls, a short bridge connecting the two. A bridge that was my only way to the main island and was also prone to flooding. Tomorrow was Friday, one of the busiest days at the brewery. I had shit that needed to be done, and I didn’t want to leave my partner, AJ, in the lurch. But it didn’t look like I had much of a choice.
“You can stay here,” Aaron said. “There’s a pullout couch in the basement.”
“The basement?” Barry said. “What’s he need to go to the basement for? There’s an empty room right next to mine. Hannah wouldn’t mind giving up the room for you, Luke. Besides, we all know she’ll end up in my bed anyway. Isn’t that right, Banana?” He tugged her to him, and that time I knew it wasn’t a trick of the light when she cringed and pulled away, her words only confirming my thoughts.
“Barry, stop.”
“What? It’s the truth. Come on, you don’t wanna send Luke down there when there’s a perfectly good bed upstairs, now do you?”
Oh, fuck no. He wasn’t going to manipulate her into agreeing to something on my behalf. “The basement’s fine with me,” I cut in before Hannah could say anything. “Thanks, Aaron.”
“No, Luke, it’s okay.” She sighed, a heavy sound, and waved me off. The girl with the vibrant smile was gone, and in her place was someone just getting by. “Please. Take the room. I’m fine with Barry.”
“Knew you’d see it my way.” Barry reached down to slap her ass. “Now who’s up for a game of poker?”
Hannah shook her head, already heading toward her bag by the front door. “I’m out. I had to be at work by four this morning, and I’m wiped. I don’t want to be rude, but I really need to get some sleep so I can function tomorrow.”
“Aw, Banana, if you wanted to get into my bed faster, why didn’t you say so?” Barry sauntered over to her, tossing us a wave as he headed upstairs in front of Hannah, leaving her to carry her bag herself.
With a sigh and an eye roll, she gathered her things and followed Barry. I really hoped what she said was true—that she was just exhausted and this wasn’t who she’d become. She looked so goddamn weary as she trudged up the steps. At least until she looked my way, catching my eye. And then she smiled. Just a tip of her lips, but it was enough for me.
It had to be.
“You going to head up, too?” Aaron asked.
It was barely ten o’clock and way too early for my usual bedtime. Since opening the brewery, I usually stayed up until two, sometimes three in the morning. But Aaron and Jessica looked hopeful, so I nodded. “You don’t happen to have an extra toothbrush, do you?”
“Yeah, I think so. Come on up, and I’ll grab you some clothes, too.”
Once in my room, I grabbed my phone to shoot a quick text to my partner. Bridge is flooded. I’m stuck here for the night. Not sure when I’ll be able to get in. I’ll keep you posted.
AJ’s reply came almost instantaneously. Stuck with Hannah and Barry together? Perfection.
I could read the sarcasm in his reply, so I sent him the middle finger emoji.
Seconds later, another message popped up. And don’t worry about Hops. I’ve got it handled however long you need.
One less thing weighing down my mind, I settled on the bed in my borrowed sweats. As soon as we’d come up here, Aaron and Jessica had immediately escaped to the solitude of their room at the end of the hall. I envied them that. The two extra bedrooms were clustered together, the walls thin enough that I could hear bits of conversation from the other side. And, of course, the bed had to be against the shared wall.
I almost got up half a dozen times and went to the basement and the pullout couch just to avoid hearing this. But doing that was like spitting in the face of Hannah’s offering. The thing that kept tripping me up was why she was supposed to stay in this room anyway. Last I heard—from her, no less—she and Barry were on-again. And if she were on with me, there was no fucking way she’d be spending the night anywhere but in my bed.
Except she wasn’t in my bed. She was in Barry’s.
As if to punctuate my thoughts, a groan echoed from next door, the sound distinct through the walls. Jesus Christ, if I had to sit there and listen to them fuck, I’d swim the goddamn lake and walk home just to avoid it.
But instead of moaning, Barry’s booming voice came through the wall, the volume high enough that I heard it clearly. “Quit being so difficult.” Then just the cadence of words, not spoken loud enough that I could make them out. As desperately as I didn’t want to hear any of it, I also had a sick fascination with what Hannah’s response might be. I hoped she was shoving him off her, making him sleep on top of the covers instead of under them. Or, hell, sending his ass to the basement.
The curiosity got to me, and I leaned closer to the wall, hoping she’d make my night and tell him to fuck off. Instead, her voice rang out, clear and firm enough for me to catch every word. “You haven’t made me come in six years, Barry. Why would tonight be any different?”
I froze, uncertain I’d heard her correctly, but from the raised tone of Barry’s voice a second later, there was no more doubt. He was pissed, shouting the kinds of bullshit a wounded ego brought about. Holy shit. Barry, the asshole who bragged about every conquest he had, who went on and on about how he’d made Hannah scream time and again, hadn’t been able to make her come? For six fucking years?
I’d always taken her at her word that she was happy—no, that wasn’t true. She’d never said she was happy. She was always fine, and I’d accepted that. But being in her presence, seeing her in person for the first time in so long, feeling her body up against mine… How could I ignore it? Especially when I knew she wasn’t happy. Especially when I knew she wasn’t even satisfied.
I clenched my teeth, trying to remind myself this was my brother’s girlfriend. Yes, he was an asshole, but was that enough to make me cross a line I had no business crossing? For ten years since he’d walked out the door without a backward glance, I’d held on to the idea that we were brothers, even when he could barely return a phone call. When he couldn’t even speak to my mother on her birthday or Mother’s Day. When he couldn’t be bothered to be a decent human being.
He didn’t deserve Hannah. And she sure as hell didn’t deserve to be treated like that. She deserved a guy who sent her flowers just because, who called her out of the blue to tell her he loved her. At the very least, she deserved a guy who could make her come.
And I was definitely up for the challenge.