The Outskirts (The Outskirts Duet #1)

“I dated one girl. ONE. And it was six years ago. You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Josh jabbed a finger into Miller’s chest.

“No, and I hope I never forget it either. Actually, I think about it all the time.” Miller closed his eyes. “In fact, I’m thinking about the two of you together right now.”

Josh smacked him with her menu.

Miller didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy staring at her chest.

“And I believe it was your introduction to Cocktown,” she glanced down toward his crotch and scrunched up her face in disgust, “that turned me off of men to begin with.”

Miller stuck his bottom lip out in a pout but rebounded quickly. “Best two out of three?”

“By the way, how’s your mom, Miller?” Josh asked, slyly, pausing to take a slow sip of her beer. “She still wiping your ass for you?”

Miller held his hand over his heart. “That really hurts, Josh. First of all, you know that my mom is a lovely lady who makes amazing pot roast. It’s not my fault she needs me to live with her so I can taste test it for her. It’s a rough job, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice.”

“Speaking of jobs,” Josh said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you have to be at yours?”

It was Miller’s turn to roll his eyes. “No one was speaking of jobs, Josh. No one. And just because I refuse to conform to modern day slavery hours, doesn’t make me any less of a person.” He smiled. “However, upon your visit to Cocktown, all of your racist ways will be forgiven.”

“Sure, I’ll visit Cocktown.” She winked at Miller whose mouth dropped open. “Just not yours.”

“That hurts, Josh. It hurts a lot.”

“I’m going to the ladies,” Josh announced, sliding off her stool. “Don’t follow me.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” Miller shouted after her.

“Guess that didn’t go so well,” I commented, replacing his empty beer with a fresh one.

Miller frowned. “Huh? Why would you say that?”

“Never mind.” I left Miller to live in his own alternate reality while I restocked the napkins.

“Sawyer!” Sterling called over with a bright smile. “When do you get off?” He was standing at the end of the bar with a piece of paper from the ting bucket in hand.

“In about ten minutes,” I answered.

“Want to take that walk with me?”

I thought it over for a moment before answering. “Sure, just let me finish up and I’ll meet you out front.”

Sterling smiled and scribbled something down on the paper before hanging it next to the one he’d hung on the day he declared us friends.

Taking a walk with a beautiful girl.

-Sterling



“He’s so hot,” Kayla said, waving with her fingers at Sterling.

“I could eat him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Maya joined in, biting at the air and growling. When he waved back the two girls giggled and whispered between them. Sterling winked at me.

I should’ve been excited. Or at the very least as excited as the girls were to get a little wave from Sterling.

Suddenly I needed some air. I gathered the trash from the bar as an excuse to go outside.

I pushed open the back door and had only gotten a few steps when footsteps sounded behind me.

“Do you even realize how fucking beautiful you are?”

I slowly turned around to find Finn standing by the back door, leaning against the doorframe, holding a small brown-paper-wrapped package in the crook of his arm. He stubbed out a cigarette on the bottom of his boot.

My palms began to sweat. My skin tingled. Everything inside me came alive. Panic. Fear. Anticipation.

LUST.

I tossed another bag into the dumpster and turned back around to face him. “I came by to see you. To say thank you. You weren’t there.”

“I left town for a while. Had to tie up some loose ends.” Finn raked his gaze up and down my body. “I never got a chance to tell you. I like the boots.”

My heart raced. His words were like a stroke of his strong fingers between my legs.

“I brought something for you,” he said, meeting me in the middle of the alley between the dumpster and the back door of Critter’s.

“You don’t need to bring me anything.” I tried to pass him to get through the door but he stopped me. “You don’t owe me anything, Finn. You can go back to hiding in the woods. It’s obvious you don’t want to be my friend so let’s not force it. We don’t have to be friends.”

“I don’t want to be your friend,” he said, taking a step forward.

“Then why are you here?”

“I missed you,” he said, gazing deeply into my eyes. I tried to look away but Finn grabbed my chin and turned my head back so I was facing him.

“Then why did you leave?” I asked, unable to hide the hurt in my voice. “After everything. I woke up and you were just gone.”

Finn searched my face like he was searching for answers he didn’t have. “I’ve never met anyone like you. I’ve never even seen anyone like you. These freckles,” he ran the pad of his thumb underneath my eyes. “This mouth,” he did the same over my lower lip, brushing his own lips over mine slowly and gently until I found myself shifting under all the sensations swarming inside of me. “You make me want things, Say. Crave things. Things I haven’t thought about in a long time.”

Say? I wanted to hate the nickname. I wanted to tell him that it was stupid and to never say it again, but I couldn’t. I repeated it again over and over in my head using his voice and I couldn’t help it.

I loved it.

My body hummed. It was getting harder and harder to appear unaffected. “Crave? You make me sound like a meal.”

“That would make sense.” Finn pushed his fingers up into my hair and pulled just enough for my scalp to sting. “Because my mouth is watering to taste you,” he pressed his lips against mine and this time there was no storm to blame or anything else he needed to distract me from. “I want you, Say. So fucking much. More than I’ve ever wanted anything or anyone before.” He took a deep breath like he was breathing me in. “You terrify me.”

I felt warm all over.

“Well, I did bite you,” I said. Finn smiled. Feeling brave, I reached up and touched the corner of his mouth where I’d made him bleed. There was no evidence of the injury but it was as if I could still see it there.

Finn growled and tugged me against him, lowering his lips to mine, parting them with his tongue. When our tongues touched I shuddered. I raised up on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss. Our connection. Needing to be closer.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I breathed as his lips left mine and trailed down my neck, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

Finn grinned against my tingling skin. “Neither do I.” His words send a rush straight between my legs. He continued to kiss and lick his way around my neck and ear, palming my breast through my t-shirt with his big hand.

A nervous excitement took over. I trembled with fear and anticipation.