Dirty Thoughts - Megan Erickson Page 0,13

with him.”

Delilah zipped her lips.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. So speaking of big dicks—and not the good kind—did you get Dylan’s car fixed?”

Jenna snorted a laugh. “Yep, thanks for dropping me off.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Did Cal bend you over the counter?”

“Delilah, I swear to God, I can’t take you anywhere.”

Her friend erupted into giggles.

The thing was, Jenna had been content to casually date for years. Like Delilah, she’d been busy in New York. She had her friends and her job, and a serious relationship wasn’t something she wanted.

But being back in Tory was affecting her attitude. Back in high school, all she’d wanted was to go to college and then come back with a fancy to degree to her hometown . . . and to Cal. But that was before they broke up, and then it was no longer a future she saw happening. But now she had those visions again of lazy afternoons lounging on her front porch, while Cal worked on his car. Maybe with a couple of kids running around. And a dog.

It’d been so long since she’d wanted that.

It was a shock to think that Cal still had this effect on her. She’d given up on that teenage notion of soul mates long ago.

“I just don’t know,” Jenna said. “I’m surprised all these feelings about him are still there. Do I just miss the familiarity we had? Or am I grasping at straws or . . .?” She looked at her friend helplessly.

Delilah bit her lip. “You and Cal always had something special. Everyone knew it, that your relationship was so much bigger than high school. We were all surprised when you broke up—”

“You know why that happened.” Jenna’s voice surprised her when it came out as almost a growl.

Delilah didn’t react. “I know that, sweetie. You didn’t have a choice.”

“I think he resented me for it, though. He wanted to pay the price without his rich girlfriend getting him off the hook.”

“Maybe. Cal always had a lot of pride.”

“It’s why he got in that situation in the first place.”

Delilah pressed her lips together and nodded.

“But what’s done is done,” Jenna said. “I need to let it go. I’m not going to see him around too much, right? Like maybe in passing while we’re both picking up milk at the grocery store? I can handle a couple more awkward conversations.” Without sharing all your innermost thoughts, she added to herself.

Delilah reached across the table. “It’ll be fine. And anyway, I’ll keep you busy. I’m so glad you’re back. I have a good time with my girls, but you’re my favorite.”

Jenna laughed. “You’ve always been my favorite too.”

Delilah jerked her head in the direction of the small dance floor, where Van Morrison played softly from two speakers. “Why don’t we dance?”

Jenna hopped down off her stool. “Now you’re talking.” Thoughts about Cal could wait. Tonight was a best friend kind of night.

SO AFTER A night of drinking, dancing and laughing with her best friend, Jenna was too tired to stop her mind from wandering on the drive home.

She gripped the steering wheel as her thoughts ultimately led to Cal. It was so easy to remember the good times with him—the school dances where they slipped into dark hallways to make out, the times he’d take her driving late at night to go deer spotting. It’d been a long time since she let her mind sink into all the ways their relationship hadn’t been perfect.

Cal had a temper, which he kept repressed until it blew like a gasket. Brent covered everything with a joke, and little Max had been kind of a mix of the two. Cal, though, was a storm waiting to happen. As a teenager, it had been exhilarating. That bad-boy edge had been attractive. She’d been devoted to Cal, because she knew his soft side—his gentle smile and the way he touched her.

She’d told him she’d come back to Tory after her college graduation or suggested he could move to her. Looking back, she wondered if he actually believed her, or if some part of him decided to self-sabotage.

It’d all come to a head at her high school graduation party, when Dylan cornered Cal and . . . well . . . it didn’t really matter now what he’d said. It was a lot of nasty things and mean words, and Cal got angry. Really angry. He lashed out with a fist, broke her brother’s nose, and doomed their future.

Dylan probably had set him up—no, she was sure of