“Since when do you date?” I asked. I’d never known Griff to date.

“Date is probably the wrong word for it, brother,” he smirked, “But I have dated before.”

“Must have been before I came to town.”

Scott stood as well. “Long time before you came to town, Nash. Griff’s a moody bastard; kind of makes it hard to find a woman to stick around.”

“That and it’s hard to find a woman who won’t fuck you over,” Griff muttered as he left us.

“That’s the fuckin’ truth,” I agreed as J and I stood too.

“You heading out,” Scott asked me.

“No, I’m going to stick around and find a bit of fun for the night.”

“Yeah, I bet you are. Heard you haven’t been in here for over a week; you having withdrawals?”

I chuckled. “Smartass.”

J cut in, “Nash, Madison wants you over for dinner soon. Can you sort that out with her when you speak to her next?”

“Will do,” I agreed. J and I still had an uneasy relationship but we were working on it for Madison’s sake. Hell, I’d do anything for that chick.

He nodded and then they left together. As I watched them leave, a blonde chick caught my attention. She had her back to me and what a fine sight that was. I watched as she chatted with two men; it looked like she was doing all the talking, because their attention was on her body and it didn’t look like any words were coming out of their mouths. I couldn’t blame them because she was fucking spectacular in her tight, black dress that hugged her curves and barely covered her ass. Her back was exposed, and most of her skin was covered in tattoos. It looked kind of familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it, and as I was wondering if I knew this chick, she turned around and started walking towards me.

Fuck.

It was Velvet in a blonde wig. My fucking dick was hard, and as I took in her killer tits and hips, it only got harder. Shit, who was I kidding; I’d had a hard on for her for years. She inspired it in a man just by existing. I’d flirted hard with her when we first met, doing my best to get her into bed. We’d come close a few times but she’d managed to resist me and block every attempt I made to get her panties off. She’d used the excuse of not wanting to sleep with people she worked with so I’d calmed my flirting down thinking that she’d eventually come to the party. However, we’d become friends and for some fucked up reason, I didn’t want to screw that friendship up by screwing her. So here I was, with a four year old hard on, and no chance in hell of getting it taken care of by the woman who caused it.

She didn’t stop when she got to me, and she didn’t acknowledge me; she kept walking without a backwards glance. I’d really managed to piss her off this time. She was a feisty woman and over the years we’d had our arguments because she was the kind of woman who gave it to me straight. If she didn’t agree with something I said or did, she didn’t hesitate to tell me. But we’d always moved past every argument; we always knew we could count on each other. When she’d told me to stop getting my dick out for every chick I met, she’d caught me in a bad moment and I hadn’t taken it well. And I’d reacted by cutting the friendship. It’d been a lonely few months without her, but being the asshole I was, I’d refused to own up to my shit. But fuck, I’d missed her. I’d realised how much just having her to sit and talk with meant to me. I might have wanted to rip her clothes off over the years but if you gave me the choice between fucking her and talking to her now, I’d give up the sex in a heartbeat. And that realisation right there had done my head in so I’d kept my distance ever since it’d hit me.

Watching her walk away from me without a word exchanged, hit me in the chest. It was painful; not as painful as some things in my life but it fucking hurt. Shit. I raked my hand through my hair. I had to fix this. But first I had to fix the raging hard on I was stuck with. I scanned the room looking for someone to help me with that. Tonight I’d take care of pressing matters and tomorrow I’d take care of my friendship with Velvet.

Chapter 6

Golden ~ Lady Antebellum

Velvet

As I opened the cupboard to start putting the groceries away, my mother complained, “You’ve got to stop spending your money on me, Velvet. I can buy my own groceries.”

Why did she always have to whinge about the shit I did for her? Sometimes it felt like I couldn’t get anything right where she was concerned. “Mum, we’ve been over this a million times. I know you’ve struggled ever since that asshole boss of yours fired you and I like to help you when I can.”

“You did enough for me when you moved in and looked after me while I was sick. Now that I’m better and you’ve got your own place again, it’s time for you to live your life and stop worrying about me.”

I looked at her like she had two heads. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

She huffed. “I just want to see you happy. You deserve that after all the shit you’ve been through. And fussing over me is a waste of your time.”

I stopped what I was doing and gave her my full attention. “I am happy, Mum. Yeah I’ve had some hard times but I feel like I’m getting my life together. My beauty course is nearly finished so I’ll be doing that full time soon and I’ve made some good friends the last few months. I’ve got savings in the bank for the first time ever and I’ve paid off my car. And, I have you and Anna back in my life which makes me very happy.” I smiled as I thought of all the good things in my life. The good had been missing for a long time, but it finally felt like I was moving past that phase of my life.