He nodded and took the piece of paper, curling his fingers around it before his mother led him back toward the group of apartment residents on the other side of the lot.
There hadn’t been anything I could do, really. Once the fire was out, it had been a matter for the Valley Cross police. As disappointing as it was to discover later that his brother hadn’t been charged with assault from the night of the fire, I understood sometimes justice didn’t prevail, especially in cases involving domestic issues.
I hadn’t heard from Stevie again, so I’d assumed all was well even though something deep in my gut had told me otherwise.
A year later I saw for myself.
One day I’d wandered into the little bakery on the Hobie square for a coffee and had seen him behind the counter. He’d looked completely different than the kid I’d rescued from the apartment fire. He was happy and healthy and overwhelmingly himself. I’d become a regular customer after that and found myself looking forward to seeing his smiling face every day. As he’d gradually let go of his shyness around me, I’d seen the energetic, flamboyant, beautiful person he was as an adult.
Part of me had breathed a sigh of relief that first day I’d seen him in the bakery. I remembered thinking he’d made it. He’d gotten out of his oppressive family situation and found a way to be happy. His cheerful personality was absolutely stunning, and I looked forward to his flirty smile every day. I’d still seen him as a kid, naturally, until one night last summer when I’d caught him eyeing me with a certain look on his face.
I’d been out on a date with a woman named Jolie once or twice already, and that night would have been a tipping point from us having a couple of meals together to actually dating if it hadn’t been for that single glimpse of Stevie. Jolie and I had been seated at a small table by the big picture window looking out onto the Hobie town square, and the night had been alive with happy couples and families enjoying the June weather.
After ordering our food, Jolie had lifted her wineglass for a toast. “To finding that special spark,” she’d said with a lovely smile. I’d never forget those words because right after taking the sip of wine, I’d locked eyes with Stevie Devore through the restaurant window and found arealspark—one I’d never even come close to feeling before.
The look on his face as his eyes flicked between Jolie and me had been different than ever before. Disappointed, jealous…possessive.
It had reached right into my chest and squeezed my heart to the point I could barely take another breath.
That was the moment “little Stevie Devore” suddenly became not so little. And in a way, that’s when our coming together became inevitable.
1
STEVIE
Late January
“Christ on a crawdad,what the fuck is that?” I was trying super hard not to slur, but it was a near thing.
“Is… is… mega birthday drink.” My best friend, Sassy, giggled before sloshing the giant pink drink in front of me. The fruit sword and paper umbrella tumbled out onto the rough wooden tabletop with a plop. “For the birthday boys… boysss…boy.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to combine the multiple Sassy’s into one proper Sassy. I’d already had many, many mega birthday drinks. “You tryna get me drunk?”
“Tryna get youlaid,” she corrected with a hiccup. “’Bout time you had your cherry popped.”
“Shhh,” I hissed at her, glancing around to make sure no one overheard her. “Shut the fuck up. It’s a secret, you skank. I have a reputation to uphold.”
“Best-kept secret in Hobie, Texas,” she hollered to anyone who would listen. Thankfully, we weren’t in Hobie at the moment. We were in Dallas at a gay dance club with hot-as-fuck go-go boys. Because my best friend loved me.
“I’m going to dance. If I drink any more of that shit, I’m going into diabetic shock.” I made my way to the dance floor and lost myself in a sea of glorious male bodies. The alcohol had stripped away what little inhibition I had, and my body began to move to the music the way it did when I was alone behind closed doors. I danced my fucking heart out, losing time to the sweaty pleasure of moving to the rhythm of a bass beat.
I’d waited so long to be able to come to one of these clubs, and now I was finally old enough. Thank Goddess my younger bestie had a sister who’d let her borrow her ID for the night. My older brother would have never let me borrow his, especially if he’d known why I’d wanted it.
I looked around at all the sexy men. Nope, Kade would have rather thrown himself on a land mine than help his sissy brother dance with a bunch of pansies. A sigh escaped my lips.
They were such beautiful pansies. The most pretty pansies ever. And I was one of them, happily moving my body along with theirs in the flashing lights.
At one point, Sassy joined me with a flushed face and eyes full of mischief.
“What?” I yelled over the music.
“They love you,” she cried. “No one can keep their eyes off you.”
“Pfft.” I ignored her and spun around, shaking my ass in her face and raising my arms up above my head. I didn’t think anything of her comment, just a birthday nicety by my boo, until I took a break and made my way back toward the bathroom.
A man in a suit approached me with a big smile. “You have great moves.”
“Thanks,” I said, checking him out. He was a little too slick and polished for my taste, but I appreciated his attempt. “All those hours of watching YouTube are finally paying off.” I went to move past him, but he called out for me to wait.
