Rock & Regrets Read online

  “I am?” he asked, clearly surprised by my response.

  “It shocked me, too,” I said with a laugh. “You can’t always be wrong.”

  “I thought you’d argue with me more,” he admitted as we walked toward his car.

  “I want to argue with you,” I confessed. “Is it crazy that I know you’re right, but I hate admitting it?”

  He opened the car door for me and said, “Definitely crazy.”

  “That’s not what you’re supposed to say.” I gave his chest a smack and climbed into the car.

  “What am I supposed to say?” he asked.

  “You are supposed to assure me that my reaction makes perfect sense,” I explained.

  I heard his laughter as he walked around to slide behind the wheel. He looked over at me. “Your reaction makes perfect sense, Button. You’re a brat.”

  “Is this how you plan to convince me we should be friends?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed. “You’re going to call me a brat?”

  “I didn’t threaten to spank you,” he replied with a grin. “Isn’t that an improvement?”

  Why did he need to remind me of that threat? I’d been more turned on than embarrassed that night. My own unwanted reaction had been part of the reason I’d slapped him. I was already angry with him, and having his threat turn me on had made me even angrier. Thankfully, he hadn’t threatened to spank me again. Calling me a brat didn’t turn me on.

  “I guess this is an improvement since I’m not tempted to slap you,” I agreed. “Thank you for picking me up.”

  “How many people did you consider calling before you got to my name?” he asked.

  “A few,” I admitted.

  “I’m glad you called,” he told me. “Even if I wasn’t your first choice.”

  “Sorry I didn’t call before,” I began. “Not to ask you to pick me up tonight, but about us trying to be friends.”

  “I can see how this might be a tough decision for you,” he assured me.

  “I was planning to call, but then I had lunch with my mom, and it reminded me of a lot of the bad stuff between us,” I confessed. “After that, I needed more time.”

  Chapter 11

  Austin

  This was a touchy subject. “How is your mom?” I asked.

  “Good,” she replied. “I haven’t seen her much lately because I’ve been busy getting ready for the opening of Euphoria.”

  “What’s she been up to?” I asked before realizing how lame that sounded. “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said about your mom all those years ago. She was always nice to me. My dad is a prick, but I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you or your mom.”

  Piper was quiet, making me worry it was too soon to talk about this.

  “My mom went back to school,” Piper began. “She’s teaching second grade now. While my parents were working on their marriage, they decided she should do something she really wanted to do, rather than helping my dad with his company.”

  “Are they still together?” I asked. I’d always assumed they were divorced, like my own parents.

  “Yeah, they are,” she replied. “It took some time, but they’re better than ever.”

  “That’s good,” I told her.

  “You thought they were divorced, right?” she asked.

  “I did,” I admitted. “That must be the pessimist in me. I’ll bet you were sure they’d work things out. You always were the romantic type.”

  “A lot has changed,” was her quiet response.

  Her answer gave me pause. We’d been friends years ago, but we hadn’t talked in fourteen years. That was a long time, and it made me sad to realize how much of her life I’d missed out on.

  “I’ve missed you, Button,” I uttered. “I’ve missed my friend. Say you’ll spend more time with me.”

  There was a long hesitation before she replied. In that time, I imagined her coming up with a bunch of reasons we shouldn’t spend time together. I could come up with at least a dozen reasons she should avoid me, but I had no intention of telling her any of them.

  “Okay,” she finally said, and I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  Chapter 12

  Piper

  Thankfully, it was my day off, so I had time to deal with my car and file a police report. As if all that wasn’t stressful enough, Austin was acting as my chauffeur for the day. I’d insisted that I didn’t need him to drive me. I could have called my dad or even Harley. Austin had argued that he was free and it would give us time to catch up.

  My attempts to avoid him had to end if we were going to try being friends again. This seemed like the best way to put that embarrassing moment in my past. I would see Austin, not as the boy I’d had a crush on, but as a man I considered my friend. No crushes. No sexual fantasies. Fine! There were a few sexual fantasies, but that was to be expected when dealing with someone as hot as Austin. A woman could have the occasional fantasy about a friend. It was perfectly normal.

  Cerise didn’t like my logic.

  “This is a bad idea,” she muttered.

  “Didn’t you agree that I should be friends with Austin?” I asked.

  “Andy thinks you should be friends,” she corrected me. “I agreed that you’re a smart, capable woman who can hold her own with Austin.” I was about to say something when she continued. “It was great that he came to pick you up last night. If anything like that ever happens again, you had better wake me up or I will kick your ass.”

  I’d laugh at her threat if I wasn’t convinced she’d follow through with it. “Sending both bouncers home before I was ready to leave was a bad idea. I just figured I’d be fine since it’s a safe neighborhood. I still can’t believe someone slashed my tires.”

  “Don’t stress too much about it,” Cerise assured me. “It was probably just some drunk asshole kids who thought it would be funny.”

  “You’re probably right,” I agreed. “I’m not too stressed about it, but you and Austin are both right. Safe neighborhood or not, I shouldn’t be out alone at two in the morning.”

  “I hate agreeing with Austin,” Cerise grumbled. “I wish I could drive you today.”

  “Me too,” I admitted. “Is it sad that I almost called and asked my dad if he could go with me today? It’s just my car, but this still bothers me.”

  “Austin had better not take advantage of your vulnerability,” Cerise said with a scowl.

  “I never said I’m vulnerable,” I argued.

  Before Cerise could say more about how vulnerable she thought I was, the doorbell rang.

  “That must be the asshole of the year,” Cerise announced loudly.

  I hugged her. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she replied as she hugged me back. “If Austin hurts you again, they’ll never find all the pieces.”

  I laughed and headed to the door. “You are a good friend.”

  Chapter 13

  Austin

  Piper greeted me at the door with a smile. The Amazon behind her was scowling.

  “Hey, Austin.” Piper gestured to the Amazon. “This is my friend, Cerise.”

  I gave her a bright smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Cerise.”

  Women swooned at my smile, but not Cerise. Her arms remained crossed in front of her chest, and she gave me a curt nod before saying, “I can’t say the same.”

  “Cerise has been my best friend since high school,” Piper added.

  That explained a lot. “Now I see why you look like you want to disembowel me.”

  Piper turned to hug Cerise. “I’ll let you know if I’m going to be out later than expected.”

  “Andy won’t hold off on making dinner forever,” Cerise warned.

  “I know,” Piper assured her. “I’m not about to miss out on rib night.”

  We said our goodbyes, and while Cerise didn’t threaten me, I could tell she wanted to.

  “Does Cerise live with you and Andy?” I asked.

  “Yes, she’s
engaged to Andy,” Piper replied as she sat in the car.

  I moved around to my side and started up the car before asking, “She hates me, right?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Piper replied with a laugh. “My parents were so caught up in what they were dealing with, they didn’t even realize something was bothering me back then. Cerise was the one who listened to me complain about what an asshole you were.”

  And cry. She hadn’t said that last part, but I knew I’d broken her heart.

  “Did you ever tell your parents what happened?” I asked. It seemed unlikely. What teen girl wants to tell her parents about something like that?

  “No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “They don’t even know I found out about my mom’s affair before they told me.”

  “They told you about that?” I asked in surprise.

  “My parents were honest about what was going on and why they were separating,” she explained. “My mom doesn’t know that you saw her with your dad.”

  “She doesn’t?” I asked. “I always figured you or my dad had mentioned it to her.”

  “It was just that one time with your dad,” Piper explained. “You probably think she’s lying, but I believe her.”

  “I didn’t say she was lying,” I pointed out.

  “But you were thinking it,” she argued.

  Her assumption pissed me off, but I couldn’t decide if it pissed me off because it meant she had that little faith in me, or if I was pissed that she recognized how pessimistic I could be. It was hard for me to believe her mom had only slipped that one time. I’d grown up in a household where my dad was constantly fucking around. My mom went from pretending he wasn’t fucking around to having her own affairs to punish him, not that he’d cared.

  I knew there were good people and good marriages, but I tended to assume the worst.

  “Are you trying to decide if you should argue with my assumption?” she asked.

  I shook my head before responding. “I’m not the most optimistic when it comes to relationships. My parents had a really messed up marriage. In the last fourteen years, I’ve only dated women after bad breakups. I see the bad but never the good.”

  “Why do you do it?” she asked. “Why do you play the role of the rebound guy? I’ve seen the stories about you. For a long time, I suspected you did it to avoid committing to anyone. Those women are using you, so you don’t have to feel guilty about using them.”

  “That’s a good guess.” Most people believed that was my reasoning.

  “But it’s not the real reason, is it?” she asked.

  “No,” I admitted. “Everyone thinks they know why I do this, but I’m not always sure I understand my reasons. My friends all say I’m doing it as penance for what I did to you, and that’s part of it, but there’s more to it.”

  “You do this because of me?” she asked. “That’s crazy, Austin. It’s been fourteen years. I haven’t been suffering all this time. You hurt me, but I moved on.”

  “And I should move on. That’s what you’re getting at, right?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “You wouldn’t even speak to me until recently. I never got a chance to apologize or try to make it up to you,” I pointed out.

  “What’s the other reason?” she asked.

  “I don’t want to end up like my dad,” I confessed. “What if that’s all I’m capable of?”

  Chapter 14

  Piper

  I was surprised Austin was opening up to me about this, and even more surprised by what he was telling me. “You get to decide the type of man you are.”

  “My dad was my role model when it came to relationships,” he stated.

  “And he’s an asshole.” I quickly realized how awful that sounded. “Sorry. He’s your dad, and I shouldn’t insult him.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he assured me. “We’ve never been close. The only time I talk to my dad is when I want money.”

  “That’s really sad,” I whispered.

  “It’s not,” he insisted. “We were never close. He always bought me stuff to prove he was a good father, but we didn’t spend time together. He’s never even seen me play.”

  “Maybe that’s all he knows,” I suggested. “I don’t really know your dad. Your mom was the only one I ever talked to, so I’m just guessing.”

  “My mom isn’t perfect, but she tries to be there for me,” he remarked with a smile.

  “It’s always possible your dad didn’t have that,” I added. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be pushing you on this.”

  “It’s fine,” he insisted. “You’re probably right about my dad. He was a spoiled rich kid, like me. My grandparents are still alive, but I haven’t seen them in many years. When I was really young, we’d go to their house in Connecticut for Christmas. It was awful. No one wanted to go. My grandparents were cold. They bought us a lot of toys every year, but we had to spend hours posing for professional photos with our gifts. My grandparents even bought us special clothing to wear while opening presents. It was all for show.”

  “Was it that important to get perfect pictures of Christmas morning for their album?” I asked. That seemed to be taking things to an extreme.

  “Nah,” Austin replied. “One of my uncles was planning to run for congress, so Christmas was all about getting the best publicity photos. It was the craziest thing. My grandmother would walk out with a plate of cookies, but they were props. We couldn’t touch them.”

  “That sounds awful,” I remarked. “Did your uncle end up running for congress?”

  “Nope,” Austin replied. “I’m surprised this story hasn’t come out in the press yet. It’s the kind of thing I expected them to dig up as soon as Reckless Release started getting more attention.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “My uncle was getting ready for his big congressional run. I can still remember my dad saying he was too arrogant. My uncle had no political experience, but he thought money could buy him anything.”

  “It usually can,” I pointed out.

  “True,” he agreed. “It can buy most things. Without that money, my uncle would have served a long prison sentence for fraud. He was involved in some retirement community scam. I don’t remember all the details. I was six when he was indicted. The publicity was so bad, it ended his career in politics before it began.”

  “But he didn’t go to prison?” I asked. That kind of thing always made me angry. Poor people were sent to prison, while rich people got off with a slap on the wrist. That wasn’t always the case, but it happened more than it should.

  “Money can buy the best attorneys,” Austin replied with a shrug. “It may not be fair, but it’s the way the world works. From what I heard, my uncle whined about his long probation. After that, we didn’t go to Connecticut.”

  “It’s sad that you were only going to help your uncle’s political career,” I told him.

  “There may have been other reasons we were invited,” he replied. “My mom was the one who refused to let us go after that. I think she was tired of the games. My dad tried to pressure her into taking us at first, but he quickly gave up.”

  “It must have been hard not seeing his parents on Christmas,” I remarked. “I’m surprised he gave up on it.”

  “You’re thinking of normal families. My dad didn’t miss his parents. At least, I don’t think he did.”

  “Do you really only talk to your dad when you need money?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “I know that sounds bad, but we aren’t close.”

  “You should talk to him, Austin.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “Your relationship,” I replied. “He may not have been very loving, but he wasn’t abusive or neglectful. It sounds like he didn’t have a good role model when it comes to family. He’s not going to be around forever. Do you want to regret not trying?” I asked.

  Austin looked over at me. We were in line at the toll plaza with traffic at a stan
dstill. He sighed and looked back at the row of cars in front of him. “You always were too smart.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to talk to your dad?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” was his reply. It was a start. Something told me Austin needed to work on his relationship with his dad to truly be happy with anyone.

  Chapter 15

  Austin

  I was enjoying my time with Piper. In many ways, she wasn’t the same girl I’d known all those years ago. Piper was no longer the wide-eyed hopeless romantic who planned to have a dog, four kids, and a cozy bed-and-breakfast. Until I’d screwed up with her, I hadn’t realized how much light she brought to my life.

  “This is taking forever,” Piper complained.

  We were at Euphoria, waiting for the police to arrive to take a report on the damage to Piper’s car. This kind of call was a low priority. No one was in danger, and the police weren’t going to find the vandal loitering around Piper’s car.

  “I can run out and grab some lunch for us,” I offered.

  “We can order anything from here,” she assured me as she took out her phone and pulled up the food delivery app. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Nothing in particular,” I replied. “Do you order a lot of takeout at work?”

  “I did while we were getting the club ready to open,” she replied. “My hours were insane. Cerise was forever getting on my case about what I was eating. She packed me lunches when she had time, but she’s busy with her own business.”

  “Mixed martial arts instructor?” I was only half joking.

  “No, but she does have quite a bit of MMA training,” Piper replied. “Cerise is a personal trainer.”

  “She works a lot of hours as a personal trainer?” I asked.

  “Her client base is fairly large,” she explained. “She used to only work out of gyms, but now she goes to people’s homes or offices to work with them.”

  “So, you’re both successful,” I remarked. “Why haven’t you moved out and gotten your own place?”