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glowing at my statement. “I’ve never really been part of a happy family unit before,” she confesses softly.
    I have. And I miss it.
    Badly.
    Colin
    She was off tonight and I missed her. Terribly. I know it’s pitiful, but I mirror my schedule to hers as best I can every week. I tell myself it’s so I can drive her to work and I don’t have to worry about her finding a ride home since she doesn’t have a car. Not that she’s my responsibility or anything.
    Really, I just want to spend as much time with her as possible.
    But today I couldn’t make it happen. We needed more coverage in the restaurant tomorrow night for a special event, so I had to give her a different night off than usual.
    Tonight I worked on the next two weeks’ schedule and made sure we’d be working every night together. I have to take what I can get, considering she’s leaving me. Forever. She’s pissed at me and I can’t blame her. I’m the one who had her exactly where I wanted her last night. Half-naked and warm and soft, her body beneath mine in her bed. Her eyes, her entire face, open and full of so much hope, so much want. Seeing all that, spread out before me like the most perfect offering ever created, overwhelmed the hell out of me.
    So I gave her some bullshit excuse and walked out.
    No wonder she’s done with me. If I were her, I’d be done with me too.
    I left work early because I couldn’t take it anymore and besides, business was dead. Wednesday nights are notoriously quiet. The college students seem to pretend they’re studying that one night a week more than any other. Considering it’s still early in the semester, the majority of them probably are. They all start out with good intentions, but it goes south quick. Plus, there are so many weekly events in the downtown area that bring the kids out in droves. Thirsty Thursday is a big one, the kickoff for the entire weekend.
    May as well rest up considering the next few days ahead, as usual.
    Entering the house, I see there’s only one light on in the kitchen, the dim one over the sink. The house is quiet, no TV on, and I glance around pointlessly, knowing Jen isn’t there. If she were, I’d sense her. Smell her. Feel her.
    She has that much of an effect on me, though I’m not sure she’s aware of it. I’m still mulling over everything she admitted last night. How she said she wanted me. Did she really mean that? I know there’s something between us, an undeniable sexual chemistry that brews every time we get near each other. I always figured it was one-sided, since she never owned up to it. Ever.
    Until last night.
    I replay the kiss in my mind, which hadn’t been much but had felt like everything. I know I want more. I want to slide my tongue against hers. I want to know the sounds she makes when she’s aroused. I want to see her naked, her smooth, golden skin, those long, pretty legs tangled in the sheets. I want to swallow her moans and fill her body and brand her as mine.
    Swallowing hard, I go to the fridge and grab a bottled water, tearing off the cap and taking a quick swig before I slam the door so hard the beer bottles inside rattle against each other. I slap my palm against the switch on the wall as I exit the kitchen, killing the light before I start down the hall toward my bedroom.
    Frustration thrums through my veins, making me angry—the most pointless emotion in all the land, besides jealousy. Why do I always deny myself? Yeah, I shouldn’t fuck around with Jen. Yeah, she’s too good for me. Her brother was my best friend and I let him down in the worst way—and then sent him off to his death when I should have gone with him.
    Making the promise to Danny that I would always take care of Jen had been easy. Actually making good on that promise proved much more difficult. She ran away. I found her almost a year ago, living in her car, stripping at the sleaziest club in the area, for the love of God. She worked most of the night and slept in her