Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (inspirational novels .txt) 📗

shrugged. “Had one too many last night. You know how it is.”

They nodded. The other man, who I had not met before, said, “I can’t stay. Kev’s my ride.”

After they cleared out, DeShawn said, “I’ll play you, but you ain’t hungover. Something else is goin’ on.”

I told him about being at Cassie’s last night.

He wiped sweat from his forehead and shook his head. “You went and fucked up, Gabe!”

I dribbled the basketball, but called over my shoulder, “Tell me something I don’t know, Dee!”

As I made my way to the hoop, DeShawn stole the ball from my right side. This started an aggressive game of one-on-one, and nearly an hour later, DeShawn had won. Twenty-five points to my eighteen.

I had my back against the chain link fence, ass to the ground, and my arms propped on my bent knees. DeShawn sat on an aluminum bench nearby.

“You were drunk, and you kissed her?”

“Yeah,” I breathed.

After a moment, I added, “I shouldn’t have done it.”

DeShawn’s head swayed from side to side for a moment in deliberation. “I don’t know about that. You shouldn’t have done it while you were drunk.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“You go from banging every woman who bats her eyes at you to swearing off women. Then you tie one on and kiss Cassie. How you think she’s gonna take that shit?”

I hung my head, and for at least the fifth time that day, wished I could kick my own ass.

FROM THE BATHROOM, I heard my cell phone ringing in my bedroom. I shrugged on my t-shirt and grabbed my phone just in time.

“Hey, Vamp,” I greeted.

“Heard you decided on a major.”

“Yeah. Entertainment Management.”

“Pop says you’re thinking of running your own club?”

I chuckled. “Well, I have to work my way up and shit, but that would likely be the end goal.”

“‘Likely?’ Why so uncertain?”

I sighed. “I’m not uncertain, but I damn sure know life has a way of throwing major loops in the best-laid plans.”

He paused. “You’re right. If you’re serious about nightclub management and shit, I got someone you need to talk to. He’s a brother who transferred to the Jacksonville chapter, but when he lived in Biloxi, he managed a club. You want, I’ll pass on your contact info, but just to say, he might be headed to O-Town with his woman sometime, so you could even talk to him in person if you’d prefer.”

“I appreciate it, Vamp, but it’s gonna be another two years at a minimum. So maybe I’ll hold off on that.”

“Your choice, but wouldn’t you rather know if there’s shit you haven’t thought about before you—”

I interrupted him because I did not need anything changing my mind. “I’ll think about it, man. All right?”

“Good,” he muttered.

“Rainey set a date yet?”

“Shut up. But you’ll be the first to know, after I do. See you soon.”

My gut said to call Cassie about my brother giving me shit on my major, but I knew better. The last time I felt this uncomfortable, I had pissed off Granny when I was twelve. I couldn’t remember what I did, but the discomfort of disappointing my favorite woman still felt the same.

“Shit,” I hissed.

“You say something, Gabe,” Cecilia called from the living room.

“No. Sorry.”

I suddenly wished I hadn’t showered. The urge to run hit me like a boulder, and I wanted to kick my own ass. Repeatedly.

Cassie

I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH my parents, and within half an hour I remembered why that was not a bad idea, but the worst idea. My mother couldn’t understand why I needed to stay in my childhood room while my roommate moved out.

I couldn’t understand why it was an imposition on my mother to have me in the house. Yet, half my childhood had seemed to be a direct imposition on her. So, being an adult, I ignored her reaction to my presence and focused on Dad. He had been thrilled to see me, and he made his special breakfast casserole this morning.

Now, had my mother been upset by that, I’d have understood, because Dad needed to watch his cholesterol and sodium intake. But he used any excuse to make the sausage, egg, white bread, and cheese casserole and a daughter in the house was a daughter who needed his idea of breakfast.

Mother had left early for yoga, and then she had plans to go to a late lunch, leaving me and dad to ourselves. I cleaned our breakfast dishes while Dad shaved.

He came out of the bathroom dressed in navy blue slacks and a short-sleeved baby-blue button-up shirt. “You sure I can’t talk you into coming to the office?”

I smiled. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t bring any office-appropriate clothes. It slipped my mind when I packed my stuff.”

He grinned at me, but the look in his eye said he knew I was lying.

“You gonna be okay while we’re gone?”

I fought rolling my eyes or asking if he thought I was thirteen rather than twenty-three. Instead, I grinned. “I’ll be fine. The piano out of tune in the den?”

He scoffed. “Like I’d have an out-of-tune piano in my house? Are you crazy? And I know your cat’s been hiding from you, but she loves lounging on that instrument.”

I chuckled. “She does, but if she’s still holding her grudge, then she’ll bolt as soon as I enter the room. Anyway, I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I better, honey. I want my hugs before you leave.”

After Dad left, I took a cup of herbal tea to the den and settled myself at the piano. Mom, my cat, slunk out from behind the piano and stared at me. It didn’t seem quite like a glare, but with her feline personality it was hard to be certain.

“Okay, sweet girl. I’m sorry you can’t live with me at the apartment, but someone’s got to keep Dad company, you know.”

We adopted Mom fourteen years ago, when I was nine. That made her at least fourteen, but seeing as she was pregnant when we took