Steal You Away Read online

  It’s been a while since I’ve been home, but I haven’t forgotten the way all the girls looked at me my senior year. Hell, women twice my age were noticing me by that point; all of them wanting a taste of the bad boy Colson Bennett, Kennedy included. She’ll never admit that about Blaire’s asshole little brother. To her, I’m just the punk kid who got in trouble practically every day for fighting and skateboarding in places I wasn’t supposed to. As my sister’s best friend and my brother’s girlfriend, I don’t blame her for keeping her crush on me a secret.

  I saw the way she looked at me that summer before I left. She could hardly keep her eyes off me. The same way she did tonight when she saw me again for the first time. I didn’t miss the look of need in her eyes when I grabbed my dick for show.

  “…Colson. Think you can show us a few tricks for old time’s sake?”

  I knew I recognized those girls. They were seniors when I was a sophomore. They used to hang out at the skatepark, always checking me out. One of them gave me her number the week before I moved away. Just can’t remember which one.

  I nod and take a long drag off my smoke, before handing it to the brunette when she reaches out for it.

  She grins and places it between her lips. “Give us a good show and we might buy some tacos to take home.”

  Smiling, I yank my shirt over my head and shove the corner of it into my back pocket. The girls look me over with satisfaction. They aren’t interested in skateboarding. It doesn’t matter what tricks I do. They just want to fantasize about my body and the things it could do to them.

  “That’s a good start.”

  “A real good start,” another one adds.

  Within minutes, Travis shows up on his board and joins me. I knew he’d be close by at the skatepark today, and I also knew some of the people hanging out there would follow him here, which means more business for the bar. With the music playing and my old buddy here, we get lost in Underground by MISSIO and skate, giving the girls something to video for social media. It’s getting dark out, which is making it hard to see, but they don’t seem to care. No one appears to be leaving anytime soon.

  A few songs play through before I look up to see Kennedy standing against the building, watching me. The second she notices me looking her way, she turns away and walks back into the bar. Just like in the past, she’s pretending she doesn’t enjoy watching me skate.

  “All right, man.” Travis stops beside me and jumps off his board. “I’ma let you get back to work. I brought you a few customers and spread the word at the park.” He grins when he notices my attention is still on the spot Kennedy was watching me from. “She’s sexy as shit, but you know you don’t have a chance with her. She’s with your brother, man. You know those two won’t be breaking up anytime soon. They’re the couple around here.”

  “We’ll see about that.” He clearly has no idea what I have planned. “Thanks for swinging by with some people. Appreciate it.”

  “Anytime, brother.” He drops his board and jumps on, before riding off. I slip back into my shirt and get back to work, talking those girls from earlier into buying a dozen tacos to go.

  It’s quiet once the new crowd has been served and leaves, just a few random customers here and there. Three hours have passed, so I pull out my phone and check the bar’s Instagram page. My post is gone, as expected, which explains why business died down after a couple of hours. It was probably the few posts that the bar was tagged in with me and Travis tonight that kept it going after Kennedy deleted it. I knew I should’ve left it up on my page. I just didn’t want to overwhelm the girls inside, so I only left it up for an hour. I know how some of these girls on social media work. I’ve had girls drive for hours to get to places I’ve posted on my page in hopes of catching me and getting a chance with me. That’s why I have to be careful what I post there.

  Running a hand through my hair in frustration, I shove my phone into my back pocket and grab some steak from the cooler, tossing some onto the grill. Kennedy sent Libby home over an hour ago, and there are only a few cars left in the parking lot.

  As far as I can tell—unless she brings her food—she hasn’t eaten tonight. I make six tacos, fixing three of them up with her favorite toppings, before shutting off the grill.

  When I walk into the bar, Kennedy is scrubbing down the stools, lost in her head. I take a moment to check out her perfectly round ass in the jeans she’s wearing. She looks up seconds later, disappointment taking over once she sees it’s only me. “Your shift doesn’t end for another hour.”

  “I know. Eat up. We both know you’ve been dying for a taste all night.” I flex my jaw and slide the container forward. “You can thank me later. I’ll let you decide how.”

  Before she can argue, I turn my back and walk away, making my way outside to the food truck. Enjoying the silence, I kick back and eat the other three tacos I made, before cleaning up for the night.

  After locking up, I grab my board and toss it into my truck, before grabbing the joint from the center console and leaning against the front of my pickup truck to light it up.

  I’ve been craving this since I laid eyes on Kennedy earlier. I wasn’t expecting her to be even sexier than she was before I left. I’ve always loved her big green eyes and plump lips, but top that shit off with her now fire-red hair and half-sleeve tattoo and it’s enough to bring any man to his knees, me included.

  I’m halfway through my joint when a white truck I recognize pulls into the back parking lot. Taking another hit, my body races with adrenaline as my brother steps out of it. The fucker still drives that thing?

  Dax ‘Golden Boy’ Bennett. I’ve hated my prick of a brother for years. Ever since him and Kennedy hooked up. Every time I saw him drive by the skatepark when I was outside, I had the urge to swing my board through his driver’s side window. Now I wish I had.

  He doesn’t notice me standing here or he’s ignoring me by refusing to look my way. Gives me a chance to see what the dick has grown into since I’ve been gone. He looks the same as when I left: boring as fuck. Slicked back dark hair and a clean-shaven face. There’s no mystery to the poor prick. Never has been.

  The thought that he might be here to touch or kiss Kennedy has me putting out my joint and debating whether or not I should go inside and show him I’m back. The dick doesn’t use social media, so I doubt he knows yet.

  In fact, if I see him with his hands on her, I’ll likely fuck him up, so I jump into my truck and drive off instead. It’s too early to get fired. As much as Dixie loves my cooking—always has even though I was a fuck-up—beating the shit out of someone inside her bar would be enough for her to fire me. It’s too early for that. I need all fourteen days if I’m going to get to Kennedy the way I want to.

  The dick can try his best to keep her, but it won’t last long. I’m going to steal her away…

  When I wake up, the instant reminder that Colson is back in town and working in the food truck has me groaning and throwing the blankets off.

  I can’t remember what I was dreaming about, but from the unusual amount of sweat on my chest and the frustration I feel, I’ll take a wild guess and assume it was him. Only he would find a way to haunt my dreams and get under my skin without even being around. Which reminds me…

  Hopping out of bed, I throw my hair up and head toward the living room, hoping that Blaire is already awake so we can talk. She was asleep by the time I got home last night, taking away my opportunity to bitch at her for not cluing me in to the fact that her brother was moving back home.

  When I make it to the living room, Blaire holds her hand up as she takes a huge drink of her coffee. “Wait… give me a second to wake up before giving me an earful.”

  “This can’t wait. I found out your brother was back last night, but instead of hearing it from you I showed up at the bar to see my grandmother gave him a job in the food truck. A heads up to talk some sense into Dixie would’ve been nice.”

  “Wait, what?” She sits up straight, eye
s wide. “Colson moved back home? When the hell did this happen?”

  “You mean he didn’t tell you?”

  She shakes her head while downing the rest of her coffee. “Uh, no, the little shit didn’t tell me! I thought you were going to get on my case for… oh, never mind, it’s not important. My baby brother is back and the little jerk didn’t even tell me.” She sets her mug down and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. “Did you say last night? Apparently, my dad doesn’t know either, because I was just there yesterday and he didn’t say shit about him being home. Where’s he staying?”

  “No clue. But he sucks just as much as before, by the way.” I shake my head. “I thought he’d mature while he was gone, but nope. He’s just as good at working my last nerve.”

  “And now he works for you?” She laughs and stands up. “Have fun with that. Didn’t see that coming.”

  “Not cool, Blaire. Yesterday was anything but fun.” I stand and follow her to the kitchen. “He posted about dropping girls’ panties on the bar’s Instagram page. You should’ve seen the comments.”

  She takes a drink of her coffee and spits it out with laughter. “Uh, not funny. It’s a professional business page and Dixie would’ve killed me had she seen it. You know how my grandmother is about us having a clean image on social media and being as professional as possible.”

  “It sort of is funny considering it’s a bar. Admit it.”

  A small smile forms as I shake my head, trying to convince myself that I’m not the slightest bit amused by his antics. If I was anyone else, I might’ve seen the humor in it. “It wasn’t yesterday. A bunch of desperate women showed up out of nowhere and I had to call Libby in for backup. I was totally unprepared. It makes me look bad, and I won’t look bad in front Dixie. She’s still hesitant that I can manage the bar at such a young age.”

  “Oh, you’ll be fine. Colson may be a huge pain in the ass, but maybe it’ll be good for business to have him around the bar.” She shrugs when I narrow my eyes at her. “Look at how slow it’s been for the past few months. You’ve tried social media giveaways and drink specials to get people in, but let’s face it, none of it has worked. The bar needs a change. Maybe my brother is the key to getting Dixie’s back on people’s radar. He’s young, fun, and attractive…” she stops to make a gagging sound “…and girls love him. Always have for some reason.”

  “I hate you sometimes…”

  She smiles and hands me a muffin. “I know, but it’s true. How many customers did he bring into the bar last night?”

  I bite into my muffin, hating that she might just be right about her brother being around; at least for now. “I don’t know. Thirty-plus.”

  “Wow. That’s insane for a Tuesday night. Did the bar make good money?”

  “More than it has in a while. But that doesn’t change the fact that he is going to be a huge pain in my ass. He does what he wants, when he wants.”

  “True, but it may be worth it if he keeps them coming in, though.”

  “We’ll see if he does. But your brother just got back home, and people were probably eager to see him again. I doubt tonight will be as busy. I threw Libby on the schedule for later, just in case.”

  “I guess we’ll see tonight! I’ll stop by later to talk to my brother, but as for right now…” She rinses out her mug and heads for the hallway. “I’ve gotta get ready for work. Good luck with my brother tonight.” She laughs. “My other brother is going to hate this, by the way.”

  “I know, and I’m dreading having that conversation tonight.”

  “I would too. Good luck with both of my brothers.”

  After she disappears to take a shower, I crawl back in bed and grab my phone to pull up Dixie’s social media page. According to notifications, it’s gotten fifty new followers, give or take, and apparently the page was tagged in a few photos last night; all of them with a shirtless Colson on his skateboard.

  When I went outside last night to get some fresh air, I got caught up in watching him just like before he left that summer, and just like back then, the moment he noticed me watching I pretended I wasn’t out of shame. What sucks this time around is that his body is impossible to turn away from. I’m going to have to be even more aware of my actions than before to make sure I’m not losing myself in him too much.

  Setting my phone down, I squeeze my eyes shut and mumble under my breath. Whether I like it or not, I have to face that he’s back. I’ll be seeing his face all over the place whether I like it or not. Apparently, I’ll be seeing a lot of his sculpted body too, because he likes to show it off and it’ll be right outside the bar, and most likely all over our social media page.

  The worst part is… I’ll probably enjoy watching it more than I did before he left. I’m sure Dax will love that.

  * * *

  After cleaning up around the house to keep me busy and my mind off of Colson—which was a lot harder than I expected—I head to Dixie’s early in hopes of avoiding him in the parking lot.

  My shift doesn’t start for another hour, but I figured coming in early would mean missing Colson and not having to communicate with him on my way inside.

  As I pull into the back parking lot to find him standing against the door, resting his skateboard above his shoulders, I realize I was wrong. He’s talking to two girls and Travis, but his attention is focused on me parking my car.

  He’s cool, calm, and collected, just smoking his cigarette, eyes still on me as I step out of my car and shut the door behind me. Swallowing, my gaze wanders down the plain black T-shirt and ripped-up jeans he’s wearing. No one pulls that look off better than he does. I’ve always found the way he dresses to be sexy.

  The tan blonde standing a bit too close in his personal space says something that catches his attention, and that’s when I notice the ass hanging out of those cutoff shorts belongs to Emery Wilson. No one could mistake it for anyone else’s.

  Should’ve known she’d still be on the hunt for his dick. She’s a year younger than Colson and has had a thing for him since she was twelve. She learned how to skate just so she could spend most of her time at the park stalking him.

  Keeping his attention on me, he says something to his friends before putting out his smoke and disappearing inside. What the hell is he doing?

  I hurry inside myself, my attention immediately landing on Colson behind the bar with a towel now over his shoulder.

  “What are you doing behind the bar?”

  He smirks and slaps a coaster down in front of me. “Maybe I’m just getting a soda. Want one?”

  I place the coaster back on the pile, annoyed. “Where’s my grandmother?”

  “Said she had to take off a little early. I was here, so she asked me to keep an eye on things until you arrived.”

  “So, you’re here alone?”

  “Not anymore.” He looks me over, jaw flexing as if he’s holding himself back. “But I would definitely enjoy it if we were.”

  “I can take it from here.” I snatch the towel from his shoulder and make my way behind the bar, ready to get him back outside where he belongs. “You can go out back and skate around for a while or something. Anything but hang around in here.”

  “Why was Dax here last night? Did he fuck you on the bar?” he asks, his question catching me off guard. I thought he’d left by the time Dax arrived.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Maybe I want to make it my business.”

  Exhaling, I toss the rag into the bucket of bleach water and turn to face him. Instead of making his way outside like I asked, he’s making himself comfortable on a stool. The way he’s looking at me is making me the opposite. I can’t deal with his eyes on me right now, so I think of what is necessary to get him outside quicker. “He doesn’t know you’re back yet, but I’m sure he will when he stops in later.”

  “Any particular reason you didn’t tell him?” he pushes, grabbing a toothpick and sticking it between his lips. “Guilty conscience?”

>   “There’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

  “You wanting me wouldn’t bother him?”

  “You’re delusional if you think I want you.”

  “You expect me to believe you’re not thinking about what it’d be like for me to fuck you on this bar right now?” He smirks. I swallow. “We both know my brother isn’t man enough to.”

  “Why are you really back, Colson? And why work here when you can work at Underground Pit with Travis?”

  “Maybe I missed you and decided it’s time I take you from my brother.”

  His confession makes my heart skip a beat. I don’t know how true it is, but doesn’t change the fact it got a reaction out of me when it shouldn’t have.

  “Hey guys!” Libby comes rushing through the door, her blonde hair flying all around her. “I came early to help prep just in case it’s anything like it was last night.” She smiles and high fives Colson. “Nice work, man. My tips were better last night than what I usually make on a Friday night. I might just buy you a drink later.”

  “At least someone appreciates my hard work.” Colson grabs the toothpick from his mouth and tosses it into the trash. “But I think it’s the boss who owes me a drink. Maybe I’ll swing by her house later to collect. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my sister.”

  “She’ll be swinging by to see you tonight. No need to pop in and expect a drink.” I grab an empty glass, fill it with ice, and pour some soda into it. “There’s one right here for ya.”

  He smiles down at the glass of root beer when I slide it in front of him. “You still remember my favorite soda.” He picks it up and begins backing away, looking extra cocky. “And you said you forgot I existed before yesterday. Turns out that was a lie.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, refusing to say anything else that’ll cause him to stay inside longer. My nerves are shot from yesterday and dealing with Dax’s attitude when he stopped in last night didn’t help.

  I’ve been stalking the bar’s social media page since this morning to make sure Colson hasn’t posted anything that will get me into trouble. I don’t need him inside distracting me any more than him working here already has.