Meet Me Halfway (Learning to Love Series)
Meet Me Halfway: Chapter 23

Walking out the front door that morning was one of the hardest things I’d done in a while. Not because I didn’t trust Garrett with Jamie. I did. Probably more than I should, given I’d only known him for a few months.

What was hard was admitting I needed help from someone I didn’t consider family and actually accepting said help. Layla was the only one I’d ever allowed past my barriers in that way, but I’d known her my entire life.

Accepting help from someone, especially a man who clearly had interest in getting into my pants, was fucking hard. I obviously considered him more than just a friend, and I knew intrinsically, since I’d not only entertained the idea of him having Jamie, but allowed it, I trusted him more than my mind wanted to let on.

But no matter how hard I tried, how hard he worked to prove his motivations were good, I struggled not to question them. Did he truly want to help and enjoy Jamie’s company, or was he trying to butter me up so he could get in my pants, shatter my heart, and never speak to me again?

Okay, that was dramatic, but still. I clenched my hands around my steering wheel, banging my head against it a few times to loosen some brain cells from wherever they were hiding. I needed to get a grip.

I’d tried texting Garrett a few times during my shift to check on them, but after the first two times, he’d effectively told me to fuck off.

Me: How is everything??

Sugar Daddy: Same as the last 2 times you asked.

Me: What are you guys up to?

Sugar Daddy: Shouldn’t you be working?

Me: I am.

Sugar Daddy: Then focus on your job and let me focus on mine.

Sugar Daddy: If Jamie beats me again because I’m distracted checking my phone, I’ll spank the shit outta you.

I might have hyperventilated at that point. In fact, I was sure of it. That was the only explanation for why my next reply only further encouraged his line of conversation rather than ending it.

Me: …

Me: I’ll run.

Sugar Daddy: Go ahead, baby, I’ll enjoy the view.

Sugar Daddy: And then I’ll spank you twice.

I was lucky I didn’t crack my screen when I dropped my phone.

Hours later, I still didn’t think my heart was pumping properly. I’d pulled open our thread when I’d clocked out of work to let him know I was on the way in case Layla still hadn’t arrived, but I’d seen that text again and instantly closed out. Nope. I’d officially put away my Bad Bitch pants and replaced them with my Cowardly ones.

So now, here I was, parked in the driveway, beating my head on a steering wheel instead of walking into my house. Layla was home, her Miata parked right on the street in plain sight, but I had no idea if Garrett had left yet.

I thought about texting Layla and asking, but she was a conniving wench, and if he was there, she would one-hundred percent tell him I was outside hiding.

I glanced at the clock. I didn’t have long before I’d have to head back out for my night shift. I needed to go inside and spend a few minutes with Jamie before I had to change and leave again.

I may or may not have opened the door slower than the drip of molasses. By the time I’d actually stepped through, Layla, Jamie, and both dogs were all staring at me from their curled-up positions on the couch. But no tall caveman in sight, thank God.

I dropped my purse to the ground, kicking off my heels and dragging my butt toward them, only to collapse on the floor. How was it my evening was only starting, and I was already emotionally and mentally done? It was nights like this that I was thankful I didn’t have to try to focus on any schoolwork.

“Did you have fun today, bud?” From my position on the floor, the coffee table obscured my view of him, so I just posed my question in his general direction.

“It was awesome, he’s got so many cool games, Mom. If we ever win the lottery, I want a PlayStation. Oh, and he made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch with crunchy peanut butter! And he taught me how to change the air filter for the house because he said our landlord is an individual unworthy of the oxygen occupying his lungs.”

I blinked, rolling my head back to look at the ceiling and laughed. “Of course, he did.”

The man shared a love of crunchy peanut butter, one of the few things Jamie liked that I refused to buy. It was game over. I stood no chance against the power of crunchy peanut butter fans.

Layla leaned her weight on the coffee table, hovering her head over me. Her hair cascaded down and tickled my face as she spoke. “Do I even want to know what’s got you all giggly down there?”

I groaned, kneading my fingers into my temples. Between Garrett and Jamie, I was pretty sure men were going to be the death of my sanity.

“You really don’t.”

Jamie’s voiced popped up behind her, “I bet it’s because I was talking about Garrett.”

“Ooo,” she sang, lifting an eyebrow at me, “Is that so?”

“Yep,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I caught them kissing the other day.”

I shot up into a sitting position, narrowing my eyes at the little devil who was conveniently hiding behind Sadie.

Layla’s expression was so giddy, all she needed was a bag of popcorn to complete the package. “Kissing in plain sight, Mads? Tsk-tsk.”

Jamie pretended to gag, holding a finger to his open mouth. “It was gross. He kissed her so much, she fell to the ground.”

The gleam in Layla’s eyes had me up off the ground and booking it to my room.

Someone was watching me. I could feel it. I’d always been able to, like a sixth sense guarding my back. The hair on my neck would raise, and a cold sweat would slither down my spine, conflicting with the sweat accumulating along my hairline. It’d always been my warning that Aaron had followed me somewhere and there was hell to pay.

I twisted around for what felt like the tenth time in an hour, eyes darting to every corner of the restaurant trying to replace the source of the feeling. I wouldn’t put it past Aaron to have watched my house and followed me to discover where I worked. It’s how he operated. For him, lines were meant to be crossed, rules broken.

But as much as I trusted that sixth sense, the one that’d never been wrong, my gut said it wasn’t him. Aaron never hid. He’d always wanted me to know he was there, wanted me to know he was angry so I could stew in the knowledge I’d disappointed him again.

So, I brushed the feeling away, rubbing my hands up and down my arms and heading toward the bar to get a new round of margaritas for a Girls’ Night group at one of my tables. They were loud as hell and there was a good chance they’d be too tipsy to tip well, but they were having the time of their lives.

“Hey, Nate, think you can throw together a good nonalcoholic drink for me to go with those?”

“What on God’s poor, polluted earth for?”

“The designated driver for my table of women looks like she’s contemplating lying in traffic. That level of friendship deserves a reward.”

He laughed, turning to grab some pineapple juice and grenadine. “You got it, Curly.”

The five dollars the drink cost me had been worth it, not just for the grateful smile it’d put on the poor woman’s face, but also by the gracious tip she’d made sure to leave on the table. Sometimes it literally paid to be kind.

I finished clearing off their table when I felt it again. I whipped around, causing the customers next to me to glance my way, but again I saw nothing. I rubbed at the side of my face, feeling like I was losing my mind.

I snagged a coworker’s arm as she walked past. “Hey, I only have two tables right now and they’re both set for a while, so I’m going to step out real quick. Will you come replace me if I get seated?”

“Sure.”

Thanking her, I crossed the restaurant toward the bathroom, deciding to pee and splash some water on my face first.

I’d just wrested a paper towel from the finicky dispenser when the bathroom door creaked open behind me. I stepped to the side to free up the sink and turned, my eyes landing on the male body standing right inside the doorway. I jerked back, whacking my shoulder against the dispenser.

My heartbeat picked up until I was sure it was visible, and my breathing became unsteady. I knew someone had been watching me. Where in the hell had he been this entire time? His tall ass, Henley-wearing hunk of a body wasn’t exactly easy to hide.

Squeezing the paper towel like a stress ball, I tried to clear the lump in my throat. “Jesus, what is up with you and scaring the shit out of me? A man your size has no right to move as silently as you do.”

Garrett tilted his head, slowly taking me in.

I swallowed. “You’re giving me sex eyes again.”

He smirked, removing his hands from his pockets and rubbing one against the shadow covering his jawline. “On a scale of one to ten, how creepy would it sound if I told you I came to watch you work?”

“A solid ten.”

He took a step forward. “What if I said I came to watch you work because I couldn’t stand the thought of going an entire day and night without seeing you?”

Oh God. Oh God, oh God. “That’d drop it to a six or seven, maybe,” I said, mentally raising my arms and yelling hallelujah when the words came out steady.

Another step. “What if I told you the thought of waiting all night to taste you again was too much for me? That I was going out of my mind remembering what it was like to sink my teeth into that perfect lip of yours while I pulled it into my mouth.”

I inhaled, but it was shaky and did nothing to settle the tingles that had erupted, centering in a very specific spot. “Three.”

He was directly in front of me now, and I was very aware that at any point someone could walk in and see him practically pinning me to the wall. Instead of causing me to panic as it should have, the knowledge only seemed to spur on my arousal, allowing it to practically take over.

“And if I told you I’m half-tempted to sit you on that counter, cover your mouth, and prove to you you’re meant to be mine, one thrust at a time?”

“I’d probably be fired.”

He dipped a single finger into the collar of my shirt and pulled, and like a marionette, I moved with it. “Give me a number, Maddie.”

A number? I couldn’t breathe, let alone math.

His hand rose, curling around the side of my throat. Not squeezing, just resting while his thumb gently pressed on the underside of my chin. “You can pretend all you want, baby, but I know you feel this too.”

He ran his thumb up my chin and glided it over my bottom lip, popping it out from the cage of my teeth. “Your body gives you away, and I can’t resist it.”

He closed the small distance between us, placing a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth, then the other. His teeth gently gripped my lip, and the moan I released was long and husky.

His reaction was instant. He swallowed the sound, one hand cupping the back of my head while the other snaked around to grip my ass.

He kissed me roughly, passionately, stealing my breath while gifting me his own. I never wanted it to stop, wanted to live in the moment forever, but just as quickly as he’d began, he pulled back. His eyes were hooded, and his chest rose and fell rapidly against me.

He didn’t say a word as he leaned forward one last time and brushed a featherlight kiss to my forehead. And then, just like that, he was gone.

I watched him go, incapable of moving for several minutes, drowning in the feral lust still clawing at my core. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed that to happen, but at the same time, my eyes were begging the door to open. For him to come back.

By the time I left the bathroom, I’d been seated. Twice. The waitress I’d asked to replace me had checked for me in the back, but apparently that’s as far as her detective skills had gone. Which was probably a good thing considering what she might’ve seen if she’d found me.

I walked the entire restaurant in between orders, looking for my neighbor turned stealthy stalker, but he was nowhere in sight. If it weren’t for my raging woman boner, I’d have thought I’d imagined him.

Watching a new group scoot into one of my booths, I tipped my head back and sighed, ignoring Nate chuckling behind me. I was so ready for this night to be over. I reached into the right pocket of my apron, searching for a pen since my last table stole my other, when a wad of something at the bottom touched my fingers.

Weird. I kept my cash and notepad in the left pocket, and only my pens on the right. I frowned, pulling it out. It was a roughly folded piece of paper. I had no idea what it might contain, but only one person had been close enough to me to put it there.

There were only four words, written in a familiar, scratchy handwriting.

Stay with me tonight.

My second nemesis of the night stood before me, firm and unyielding, deliberately blocking my path and laughing at me. I glared at it, grinding my teeth. I’d kick it if I didn’t think I’d shatter my kneecap. Motherfucker.

My first nemesis had been easier to conquer. I’d gone home immediately after work, skipping my usual drink with Nate, never more thankful that both Layla and Jamie were already in bed.

I’d tip-toed through the house, conscious of the still-sleeping mutt curled up in my bed. I’d immediately started a slew of soft words when I’d entered my room so she’d know it was me, and that’s when nemesis number one made its appearance.

My clothes.

What was I supposed to wear? Was I supposed to dress sexy because we both knew what would happen if I showed up? Or was that too obvious? Was I supposed to wear what he always saw me in, sweatpants and fuzzy socks? Or was I supposed to show up in my work clothes?

I glanced down, lifting my shirt and giving it a whiff. Yeah, no, that wasn’t happening. I smelled like a basket of buffalo fries dipped in ranch. Delicious? Absolutely. But not the kind of delicious I was going for.

When a man went down on you and peeled your clothes off, you wanted him to say you smelled like flowers, not fucking spicy garlic.

In the end I opted for a quick shower without washing my hair, and my normal sleep clothes—minus the fuzzy socks. Those weren’t sexy no matter how you wore them.

And now here I was, standing on Garrett’s porch, freezing my ass off in a thin top and pajama bottoms, staring at his door. I couldn’t open it or even knock. I’d tried. I had ants crawling all over my nervous system, and my limbs were apparently made of pure lead.

In essence, I was nervous as hell. So, since it refused to open sesame, I was stuck glaring twin holes in it, cursing it like the little bitch it was.

It was the vibration of my phone that finally had me dragging my eyes away from my opponent.

Sugar Daddy: Why are you glaring at my front door?

Me: It’s mocking me. Why are you spying on me through it?

The offending door was pulled open, and the way my mouth instantly dried had me silently apologizing to it, begging it to shut again. Standing right on the other side, giving me the strongest fuck-me gaze I’d ever been on the receiving end of, was Garrett. Sweatpants hanging off his hips, bare feet on the floor, white t-shirt wearing, messy-haired Garrett.

I never stood a chance. I shivered, toying with the hem of my top. “I came.”

Hazel eyes flashed, and his smirk grew, but he said nothing as he stepped to the side and ushered me in. I paused right inside the entry, crossing my arms over my chest and looking around while he latched the door behind me.

“It’s a little trippy to see my house, but backwards.” It was almost an exact mirror of my side, but more bachelor-y. No kid blankets or dog beds, no frames on the walls or stacks of used coffee mugs. It was depressingly empty of life, and I suddenly understood why he’d once said my side felt homey to him.

“What do you use the other two rooms for?”

He circled around toward the bar. “One is a guest room, and the other has my gym equipment.”

Ah. That made sense given the muscles I’d previously felt up. “I don’t think I ever asked, but what made you decide to rent a duplex instead of purchasing your own place?”

“I’d always lived on the Marine base in the past. I’ve never purchased a home before. Doing so felt too permanent, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay.”

I nodded, passing his couch and running my hand along the top. Fear of permanent decisions was something I could empathize with.

“Will you stay?” he asked.

Twisting to look at him, I frowned. “Like tonight or in this state in general?”

Another smirk. “The latter feels a little heavy, so let’s go with the first.”

I decided to grow a pair and ask him straight up. “Look, Garret, are you sure you want this? To cross this line? Like, I’ll understand—”

“Baby, I’ve wanted you from the second you straddled my lap and swallowed half my beer in one go. Just the image of your lips wrapped around that bottle has got me off on numerous occasions.”

I huffed a quiet laugh. “You didn’t even like me then.”

“My body knew what my head hadn’t realized yet.”

I stalled again, clasping my hands in front of me. “What if it ruins our friendship? You’ll be stuck seeing me all the time.”

“Maddie?”

I looked up hesitantly. Regardless of my rambling fears, I didn’t know what I’d do if he agreed. I wanted him. I wanted his body, his mind, his heart, all of it. I wanted him so badly I thought I’d explode without him.

“Unless you’d prefer the floor over my bed, I suggest you get your ass in my room.”