A tremble rolled through me, because I still had so much shit. So many demons, regrets, and consequences yet to be paid.
But just like me, Shea was all in.
She already knew the deal.
What I was up against and where I could go.
And by the grace of God she was willing to stand by me through it all.
The words came raspy as they passed from my mouth. “I think I would like that, too.”
A MISTY GLOW DRAPED the enormous room. Bodies were packed wall to wall in the carefree atmosphere. For years, Charlie’s had been a staple in Savannah. A place people converged to cast away their worries and concerns. To let go and feel free. Unfettered by the day’s tribulations. The entire city seemed to flock here for a reprieve. They let themselves go within these old, rustic walls that always seemed to hold a million secrets. Like the old wood echoed with them, keeping them safe and protected.
Sebastian’s and my secret had begun here.
An unrelenting attraction that had grown into something magnificent.
I felt the smile edge my mouth, and I tried to focus on my job rather than the man who refused to leave my mind.
A week had passed since I’d returned to my normal schedule here at Charlie’s where I worked nights so I could be with Kallie during the day.
But our lives hadn’t come close to returning to normal, and our days were the furthest from being ordinary or mundane. The familiar pattern I’d grown so accustomed to—one of Kallie and I surviving alone—had been eradicated. Replaced with a passion that threatened to consume me. To burn me alive with the vibrancy and intensity.
Chewing at my bottom lip, I pushed those thoughts aside and delivered drinks to a booth close to the stage. The three guys sitting there were all business, suit jackets removed, sleeves of their button-ups rolled up casually as they relaxed at the end of the day.
Two bands were scheduled to play tonight, and we were on a break between the two. Our sound guy, Derrick, was playing one of those new upbeat country songs, and it blared from the speakers.
People swarmed the dance floor at the base of the stage, couples gliding into a two-step, getting lost in the easy vibe.
I delivered drinks to a couple more tables, then stopped to take the order of a group of five barely legal girls who’d just made their way in and grabbed an open table in my section. All of them were out to celebrate the youngest girl’s twenty-first birthday. Dressed in next to nothing, clearly begging for attention, overdone hair and makeup, bare skin for miles.
I only knew it was the youngest’s birthday considering I’d double-checked her ID about five times because she looked like she couldn’t be a day older than fifteen.
Each of them ordered a frilly drink. They were giggling and whispering as if they were in middle school, and I shot them a quick grin. Even if I couldn’t relate, I was never one to judge anyone for their fun. I jotted down their order and said, “I’ll be right back with those.”
I shouldered back through the throng gathered around the high-top tables set up in the open space in front of the dance floor, and worked my way back to the ornate bar floating like an oasis in the center of Charlie’s.
My uncle Charlie stood behind it.
His never-ending smile peeked through his ratty beard and my heart throbbed in appreciation. He was mixing drinks in shakers while chatting with an old man who appeared to be doing a stand-up job of drowning his sorrows. Knowing Charlie, he was giving it his all to build the poor guy up.
That was the thing about Charlie.
He was one of the good guys.
Everything he did was for the benefit of someone else.
He caught me grinning as I approached and tossed me a wink. “Hey there, Shea Bear. You doing okay? Looks like we have some wild ones out there tonight.”