I held my breath as I hit send. I finally caved. I didn’t know if I was going crazy or was just so horny that all reasonable thought went right out the window.

Me: I’ve decided I’m going to come to New Orleans to see you.

Summer was slipping away, and so was my chance to meet him before I had to go back to work. When the school year began, everyone wanted to swap stories about their summer trips. As of this moment, the only place I’d been was the community pool. I wanted that great story, the excitement.

Kayden: Seriously?

Me: Let me know when you can get off work, and I’ll be there.

“Hello,” I said, picking up the phone on the first ring. I’d expected him to call immediately when he finally realized I wasn’t full of shit.

Deciding how long to stay in New Orleans wasn’t easy. Most of the time, I set the first meeting to last a couple of hours or over a cup of coffee, but I agreed to a long weekend.

I’d have my own car and a means to exit the city—and his life—if it didn’t work out, which put my mind a little bit at ease. I wanted to get to know him, and it would be nice to reminisce about home with someone who actually knew the places too.

“I can’t believe you’re really coming,” he said.

It would be a long drive, and I wanted time to relax and enjoy myself before having to do it again to head back to Tampa. I hoped that the trip and our meeting wouldn’t be a disaster.

Kayden had made it clear in our early conversations that he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend—he was finished with relationships. He’d been burned by women too many times and wasn’t eager for it to happen again. He wanted a physical relationship with someone but not an emotional connection or a girlfriend—although, I felt a shift in his attitude toward me. I was seeking excitement, and he promised just that.

“I told my brother that I’m coming to see you.”

“What’d he say?”

My brother remembered him but made a few phone calls to check him out since it’d been fifteen years since they were in high school. If he gave me the all clear, I’d finally pull the trigger and head to New Orleans.

“He said he had a call to make and immediately hung up on me,” I replied.

“Do you think he’s calling some of my friends?”

“No doubt—knowing my brother, he’s looking for any red flags.”

“I have to tell you something.” His voice had changed, and the playfulness had vanished.

“Okay,” I said and scrunched up my face. Nothing good ever came after that statement.

“I was arrested a while ago, and I’m on probation right now.”

I was more than a little stunned at the news. I didn’t know what to say or think. He didn’t seem like a criminal but a hardworking, kindhearted person…probation?

Should I run? Fuck.

I never invited trouble into my life, but this was Kayden, and even though he omitted the information, I still wanted to meet him. It’s not like we were going to fall madly in love and become a couple.

“What happened?” I already knew my brother would find out and tell me, but I wanted to see what Kayden would say.

“Well…it’s the reason my last relationship ended.”

Weeks ago, I did a search on him, but I didn’t find a damn thing. My supersleuth skills were seriously lacking if there was something to be found and I missed it.

“I won’t look it up. What happened?” I asked, trying to sound convincing because I’d already started searching on my phone while he talked.

Kayden explained everything to me. His girlfriend threw him out after a night of drinking, and he went back to their place anyway. He lived there too and had for years. But after he went back for his work clothes, the alcohol he’d been drinking got the better of him, and he threw her clothes in the swimming pool out of anger. The police picked him up hours later and arrested him for trespassing and property damage. The rest was history, and now he was on probation until he paid her back for all of her ruined clothes.

I mean, I’d been there. Been so pissed I couldn’t even see straight, let alone think coherently. I could understand how sometimes things went way beyond what we expected when alcohol factored into the equation. We’d all had an experience where we woke the next morning horrified by what we’d done the night before.

Did he have an anger problem? I hadn’t seen a glimmer of anger in the time we’d spent talking or chatting online—he seemed so easygoing. My brother found no trace of it in his phone calls, and everyone said he was a nice guy. That night could’ve been a single event caused by drinking too much.

I had no right to judge anyone on his or her life experiences. Life was a series of events that helped us become who we were meant to be.

“Are we still going to meet?” he asked in a sad voice.

My heart pounded. I responded quickly. “Yes.” I sealed my fate. I needed passion, and he just might be the cure.