“How do you know?”
Leaning back against the high back of the booth she met her friend’s determined stare. “Come on, Nessie, you’re not my mother. You don’t need to soothe my ego. Men like Reid Andrews don’t fall for girls like me.”
“Why is it so hard for you to believe you’re worthy of a good man’s love? You’re the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. He’d be a fool not to fall for you.”
Lucie lifted her glass and took several large swallows. Could Vanessa be right? Could Reid really have feelings for her? She thought back over the last few weeks, her mind cataloging things into columns. Things a friend would do versus things a lover would do. The lover column was filling up fast with the friend column sitting pathetically low. Butterflies took flight deep in her belly as she looked up to see a smug grin on Nessie’s face.
She shook her head. “Even if you’re right, how can it work? We’re total opposites. I’ve done that before, remember?”
“No,” she said leaning forward for emphasis, “what you did was get involved with a jackass who didn’t truly love anyone but himself. The relationship failed because the douchebag couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, Lucie, not because he liked saving cows and you liked eating them.”
“Amen, Red!” Fritz slammed down a fresh round of beers and braced his fists on the table. “I never could stand that pansy-ass, tree-huggin’ nancy.” He shook a thick, arthritic finger at both of them as he spoke. “Never trust a man if he don’t at least drink beer. A man that only drinks things ending in ‘tini’ ain’t really a man. He might as well be announcing the size of his pecker as he is ordering a drink, if you know what I’m gettin’ at.”
The girls laughed and thanked him for the sound advice, assuring him they’d hold every man to that wisdom from now on.
“Well, all right then. This one’s on me, long as you gimme some sugar.” The old man leaned down so they could each plant a loud, smacking kiss on his cheeks covered in white stubble. Standing up he said, “Now that’s a perfect way to end the night. I’mma let Michelle close up tonight and head on upstairs. You gals behave, y’hear?”
After they promised and bid him goodnight, Lucie turned to Vanessa with equal parts excitement, terror, and determination. “Okay, tell me what to do.”
Vanessa’s green eyes seemed to literally spark with mischief and a corner of her mouth hitched up. “He’s been giving you seduction lessons, right?”
“Yeah,” Lucie answered warily.
“So it’s simple.” Vanessa placed her arms on the table in front of her and leaned in. “You go home, put those lessons to good use, and show the teacher just how good of a student you really are.”
…
Reid pulled the door open to his old gym and walked through slowly. The tangle of emotions brought on by the familiar smells and sounds transported him to an earlier time. A time when he was young and under his father’s thumb.
“What the hell’s the matter with you? For the last goddamn time, get your hands up!”
The echo of his father’s voice in the large, open space acted like an overdose of lactic acid in his muscles, causing tension and pain. He followed the sound of mumbled gripes to a ring where it looked like a high school kid was sparring with a guy who could’ve been the center of a college football team.
“Watch his take down! He’s gonna go for—” The bigger guy shot at the kid’s lower body, wrapped his arms around his hips, and tackled him to the mat. Stan Andrews called a time out and the fighters broke apart, one sucking in labored breaths, the other looking bored. “For fuck’s sake, Peterson, why do I even bother with you?”
“Sorry, Coach,” the kid said, lowering his eyes to the mat.
“Still busting balls I see,” Reid said through a tight jaw.
His old man’s head didn’t move much, but his eyes cut over and narrowed on his only son like he was sizing up an enemy before he finally straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, well, if it ain’t the prodigal son.”
“It’s been a while since you’ve read the Bible, Pop. The prodigal son returns home after leading a misguided life and begs for his father’s forgiveness. I’m not returning. Just visiting. And all I’ve ever done was lead the life you trained me for so I have no reason to apologize.”
“Oh, you don’t, do you? How about apologizing for taking everything I gave you—all the knowledge, all the training, all the dedication—and leaving me behind while you live your big life in the big leagues.”
“I didn’t leave you behind,” Reid argued. “I offered for you to come live out there with me. I have a large guesthouse you can have all to yourself. You turned it down.”