My Grumpy Old Bear - Jayda Marx Page 0,12
on painkillers and not in my right mind. It got bad enough that when I finally healed, I moved away. The music and mountains drew me to Tennessee. And here I am.”
I pulled my car onto the shoulder of the road, put it in park and clicked my emergency lights on. “What are you doing, Sunshine?” Brooks asked confusedly. I answered him by leaning over the console and wrapping him in a tight hug, making sure not to pull him and hurt his back. After the shock wore off, Brooks circled his arms around my hips.
“I’m sorry you went through all of that,” I told him as I held him tightly. “I’m sorry you got hurt and that Ernie was such an asshole and that your parents took his side instead of yours. I know how badly that hurts and it kills me that you went through it.” I kissed his rough cheek before burying my face into his neck. It was taking all of my control not to cry all over him.
“Thank you, Noah,” he whispered.
After a few minutes of cuddling, I reluctantly let him go. His body was soft and warm against mine and I wanted nothing more than to hold him all day, but we were still on the side of the road. I gave him a tight smile before pulling back out onto the highway.
We rode in silence for several minutes until I cleared my throat.“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Was Ernie your last boyfriend? Before me, I mean?”
“Yes.”
Okay, that explains a lot. He’d not been with a man in over eight years, and the last one he was with was a piece of shit. “Are you scared I’m the same as Ernie? With the money? Did that have anything to do with why you were nervous to go out with me?”
“No,” he answered firmly. “You had no way of knowing about the money, and you’ve been driving me nuts for a month.” He smirked at me and my heart flipped; it was the closest thing to a grin I’d ever gotten from him. “Besides that, I could tell money wasn’t a big factor for you when you mentioned leaving your better-paying job. You chose happiness over money, and that speaks volumes about you.”
“Well, I’m glad you know that, because honestly I don’t care about your money, Brooks. I’m glad you’re taken care of, but I’d want to be your boyfriend whether you were a millionaire or lived paycheck to paycheck.” He reached over to put his warm palm on my thigh and my pulse raced. “But there was more to my leaving massage than just my happiness.”
With Brooks’ story, I’d almost forgotten I promised to tell him my own. As much as I hated hearing what happened to him, I appreciated the fact that he told me. And now I wanted him to hear my story; to uphold my end of the deal and give him some insight into my life as well.
“So, like I’ve told you before, I grew up with a single mom and never knew my dad.” It was something I’d mentioned to him during one of our many talks. He looked so sad when I first told him, and it matched the expression on his face now. That part never really bothered me, though; I never felt like I was missing out without a dad and had everything I needed growing up. “And I know I mentioned the other day that I’m not close to either of my parents, but that wasn’t always the case. My mom and I used to be very close.”
“What changed?” he asked quietly, squeezing my thigh.
“I worked hard through high school and got lots of scholarships for my grades. I paid my own way through community college and got my massage therapy certification. I wanted a career where I could help people without being wrist deep in blood and guts.”
Brooks made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh and my belly flipped. “My mom was so proud; she didn’t go to college, but her son had gone and even paid for it by himself. She bragged about me to everyone she worked with. A couple of years into my career, I went with her to a Christmas party at her office and met a lot of her coworkers. Including her boss Ron.”
Brooks popped his neck and his hold tightened on my leg. I hadn’t even said anything yet and he looked like he was ready to