Young Love Dies Hard: The Young Brothers, Book 1 Read online

  I fiddled with my mood ring. “Fine. Sort of like old times.”

  I stared at Kasey as her head bobbed to the music. She pulled her phone out her pocket and started to type something. I shifted a little to see who she was texting. Riley.

  “Did he kiss you yet?” Aunt Meg asked.

  My mouth dropped open. “No.”

  She smiled and put the dark clothes into a laundry basket. “Really? I thought for sure it would have happened by now.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  I shook my head. “Our relationship isn’t like that.”

  “Oh, I don’t believe that for a second.”

  “It’s true. We’re just friends.”

  “Uncle Jim and I started off that way. It’s how all great relationships develop. I see the way he looks at you. The way you look back…”

  I let out a nervous chuckle and looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about it. What it would be like to be with Jacob. To kiss him. But I knew it could never happen, especially after his confession last night. He treated sex like a precious commodity. To me, it hadn’t been so precious. “We’re just too different.”

  “She likes him,” Kasey said, a little too loudly.

  I gave her a nudge. “Who asked you?”

  She got up from the bed and pulled the ear buds out. “It’s so obvious, Maeve. You too look at each other with these buggy eyes.” She demonstrated what she meant, making Aunt Meg chuckle.

  “Shut up,” I said, chucking a pillow at her.

  She stuck her tongue out and ran out of the room.

  Aunt Meg picked up the basket and held it to her hip. “You know, if there’s one thing I was reminded of when your uncle had his heart attack was life is too short, Maeve. Don’t deny yourself something good just because you’re afraid it won’t work.” She gave me one more lingering look and left me alone on the bed.

  Chapter Six

  I fluffed the pillows again and repositioned them on the couch. Jacob would be here any minute for his grand campus tour. I’d come back home when Uncle Jim and Aunt Meg were settled. It’d been just a week since I saw Jacob, but it’d felt like a lot longer.

  A huge yawn escaped from my mouth as I checked my phone in case he called. I’d been at work until three in the morning and only managed to get a few hours of sleep. I had to put on an extra layer of concealer to hide the dark circles around my eyes. I sat on the couch and checked my phone again, my leg shaking up and down.

  Finally, a knock rapped on the door. I bounced up and checked the peephole, seeing Jacob’s face on the other side.

  “Hey,” I said after opening the door. “Come in.”

  He smiled and entered with his hands shoved in his pockets.

  “So, this is it.” I closed the door and gestured to the one-bedroom, one-bathroom shoebox.

  He looked around. “It’s great.”

  “I don’t know about great, but it’s home away from home. And it’s close to campus, so I don’t have to worry about parking my car.”

  “Nice.”

  “Did you get here, okay?”

  “Uncle Jim’s old truck barely made it, but other than that the drive wasn’t too bad.”

  “So, I thought we could walk around a bit and then grab something to eat.”

  “You lead the way.”

  I grabbed my keys and slid them into my pocket. Jacob followed me out. It was the first day of September, but the sun was still blasting down eighty-degree heat. I couldn’t wait for fall.

  We walked around as I pointed out the buildings where Jacob’s classes were as well as the Student Center.

  “And there’s the bookstore,” I said. “Did you want to grab your books while you’re here?”

  “Sure.”

  The cool air inside the bookstore was a relief. Jacob printed out his schedule from one of the computers and handed it to the girl behind the counter. I lagged behind and wandered through the aisles. I picked up a book out of the fiction section and read the back cover.

  “Hey, Maeve.”

  I looked up and saw Sarah, my polar opposite with blonde hair and blue eyes. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  She shrugged. “Not too bad. Getting ready for a new semester.” She waved what I assumed was her schedule in the air. “How are things with you?”

  “Fine. Just doing the same.” I made eye contact with Jacob as he approached us with a stack of books in his arms. He caught Sarah’s attention as he got closer.

  “Find everything you need?” I asked Jacob.

  “Hope so. I don’t think I can carry any more.”

  Sarah smiled at Jacob as my gaze switched between the two of them. Jacob gave her a nervous smile back.

  “Sarah, this is my friend, Jacob. Jacob this is Sarah.”

  She gave him a short wave, and he nodded in acknowledgement. Sarah and I worked together at the club. But that wasn’t the only thing we had in common.

  “Randy’s having a party at her house tomorrow night. You guys should stop by.”

  I looked at Jacob. “Maybe, if Jacob’s up for it.”

  Jacob shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Great,” Sarah said.

  Jacob fumbled with the pile of books. “I’m going to pay before my arms fall off.”

  Sarah laughed, and I gripped the book in my hand tighter.

  “It was nice meeting you, Sarah.”

  “It was nice meeting you, too. Hopefully, we’ll see more of each other.”

  Or not. Or you could back off. Or you could sink your teeth into someone else. Not my innocent Jacob.

  She waited until he was out of earshot.

  “Damn, Maeve. Where’ve you been hiding that one?”

  “He just moved here from Florida.”

  “Are you two…?”

  Did I lie? “No, we’ve been friends since we were kids.”

  She pursed her lips. “That’s the best kind of sex. All those years of pent-up tension.”

  “It isn’t like that with him. He’s not that kind of guy.”

  “So what kind of guy he is?”

  I thought about for it a second. “Definitely not the love them and leave them kind.”

  “Okay.” She let out a deep sigh. “But I still think you should get on top of that…or underneath it.”

  I smiled and gave her a gentle push.

  She smiled back. “I’ll see you at work tonight.”

  “Yeah, see you in paradise.”

  Her gaze fell on Jacob one last time as she walked away.

  Jacob lugged his books back to my apartment. I didn’t have anything to eat at the house but knew somewhere where we could eat cheap.

  The restaurant wasn’t busy since the semester hadn’t officially started yet. It wasn’t until we sat down at the table when I noticed my last one-night stand sitting across the room. He was with another girl, maybe his girlfriend.

  “Something wrong?” Jacob asked.

  “No,” I said with a fake smile. “Everything’s good.” I dug my face into the menu, hoping I could go unnoticed.

  The waitress took our order and returned shortly with our drinks.

  I forced myself to keep my eyes on Jacob.

  “So, how do you know Sarah?” he asked.

  “I met her freshmen year.”

  “She seems nice.”

  I smirked. “Yes. She is.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” I said with a shrug. “She’s nice.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “And pretty.”

  “You said that,” Jacob replied.

  “Just pointing out the obvious.” I swirled the straw in my glass. “I could set it up for you, if you wanted to.”

  He scoffed. “No.”

  “It was just a suggestion.” Thank goodness he said no.

  “I don’t need a pimp, Maeve. Thanks.” Jacob chan
ged the subject and started to talk about the baby goat, and how much he’d grown in the last two weeks. “He misses you.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  He took a sip of his soda. “He told me. Duh.”

  I laughed. “Tell him I’ll come visit soon.”

  The waitress came back, set the food on the table, and walked away.

  “You should take the ride back with me tonight,” Jacob said.

  “I can’t. I have to work tonight.”

  “Bartending?”

  I nodded, my mouth full of food.

  “How long have you been doing that?”

  I calculated in my head. “About a year.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “It’s okay.” I was hit with a tinge of guilt about lying. The truth was I started working at the club as a bartender. But when I heard about the money the dancers were making, I convinced Sal to let me start dancing.

  “You make pretty good money?”

  “It’s decent.” It was the best paying job I’d ever had.

  “What’s the name of the place you work at? Maybe I’ll come see you sometime.”

  A piece of food went down the wrong tube. I coughed and reached for my water.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded as I took a sip. When I could breathe again, I reached for my phone to check the time. “We better head back. My shift starts soon.” I had plenty of time until I had to be at work, but I didn’t like the direction of this conversation. I could just picture the look on Jacob’s face when he walked into the club only to find me swinging around the pole.

  Jacob finished the last bite of his food, and I insisted on paying the check. I walked with him back to the truck.

  He smiled. “Thanks for showing me around.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Meet you at your place?”

  “Okay.”

  He smiled, and it sent the butterflies swirling in my stomach. I smiled back, feeling a little excited about seeing him again so soon.

  Jacob got in the old pickup truck, and I waved as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  * * * *

  It was my night on the main pole—my favorite one to work on. It was center stage and twenty feet high. Sarah was working on the smaller stage to the right, and some new girl was clinging to the pole on the smaller stage to the left. I recognized the terrified look in her eyes. Her body was stiff as she stared out to the crowd in front of her. One of my other rules—never look the crowd directly in the eye, only give them the illusion that you see them there.

  I held on to the metal pole, warmed by the friction from my body, and slinked high up — higher than any other girl could reach. I arched my back, my hair fanning behind me. I spread my legs and pointed my toes as my body glided back down. I was nearly at the bottom when someone caught my attention. He’d just walked through the double doors, and his eyes searched the stage. He was looking for someone, and I had a feeling it was me.

  I continued to dance as Rich made his way to one of the chairs in front of the stage. Our eyes locked as he sat down. I wanted him to know he didn’t intimidate me. I was going to give him exactly what he came here for. With one hand clasped around the pole, I swung around and slid to my knees. I made a slow crawl toward Rich, bits of my hair sticking to my damp skin. I lowered the front half of my body and jutted my ass in the air.

  His gaze clung to my body as I did a slow roll onto my back and propped myself up on my elbows, feeling the familiar touch of someone easing cash between the strap of my G-string near my thigh. I crisscrossed my legs before letting them fall open right in front of Rich’s chair. He could enjoy the view all he wanted. But he was going to make it worth my while. I rolled onto all fours again, and he leaned in to add to the green paper stuffed along the thin line of material. My gaze broke away, and I didn’t look at him for the rest of my time on stage.

  Back in the dressing room, I wiped off the sweat and pulled the money from my hips. I had ten minutes to smooth it out and put it in my locker before I had to go back out on the floor. I brushed my hair and put on some more deodorant before leaving.

  Rich was standing near the bar, a beer in one hand. He wasn’t alone this time.

  “Maeve,” he called over the music.

  Sal was watching me. He’d noticed Rich had called my name. There was no way I could pretend like I didn’t hear him.

  I made my way over. “What can I do for you guys tonight?” As if I didn’t already do enough.

  “Looking good tonight, Maeve.” Rich took a sip of his beer.

  “Thanks.” I wondered if his girlfriend knew where he was. Doubtful. They hardly ever did. The ones that did know were usually here with them. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

  The guy didn’t take his eyes off my tits, but he was cute. I could probably talk him into a private dance.

  Rich said the guy’s name, but I couldn’t hear over the DJ’s announcement of the new girls on stage. His name didn’t matter. Just the green in his wallet. I smiled at him and shook his sweaty hand. He was nervous — even better.

  I asked the guy a few questions to butter him up, but it was like trying to pry open a dead clam.

  “How about a drink?” Rich asked me.

  “No, thank you.” Rule number three — never drink at work. Ever.

  Rich leaned in close to my ear. “How about a dance?”

  It wouldn’t be the first time he’d come here for one. “Sure.”

  He followed me to the other room. It was a Friday night so most of the couches were already taken. I walked to the last one empty in the back corner of the room, passing the other dancers.

  “Have a seat,” I told him. He set his beer down and put the money for the dance on the side table. I drew the curtain closed as he lounged back in his seat.

  I started to dance slow and steady in front of him. Did it make me feel objectified? Maybe a little. But this was my job, and I treated it as such. I slinked my way closer to him and turned so that my ass and back were facing Rich. I leaned into him and gyrated my ass on his lap, throwing my head back onto his shoulders. “Where’s the girlfriend tonight?”

  He let out a low groan. “What girlfriend?”

  I reached my hand behind his head and grazed my fingers down his square jaw. Despite his shitty attitude, I still found him attractive. I knew he gave me a hard time because I’d refused to settle down with him and be his girlfriend. I’d hurt him, and he wouldn’t ever let me forget it. I rolled up and turned to straddle his waist. I gathered my hair to one side and undulated in his lap, resting my hands on either side of his shoulders. His hands rested on my hips, and I let them stay there.

  “I swear I thought you mentioned something about her the last time I saw you.”

  His face winced as I settled deeper into his lap. He was putty.

  “Oh, her. We broke it off.”

  “Already?”

  “Maybe you and I can go out again.”

  I leaned into his ear, his face practically nestled into my cleavage. “Maybe.”

  “What are you doing after work?” He was getting worked up. I could feel it through his pants. “Maybe I can come over your place for a little bit.”

  Two weeks ago, he’d called me a slut. Now, he was propositioning me for sex. The song ended, and I slid off his lap, letting my hand graze his hard-on. He shuddered and readjusted in his seat.

  “Maybe some other time,” I said.

  The smile on his face dropped. I grabbed the money off the table and walked out of the room.

  Chapter Seven

  It was nearly seven o’clock at night, and I was still in bed. I was half tempted to call Jacob and cancel our plans for the party that night. I stared at my phone, tangled in my comforter. After I gave Rich his lap dance, the rest of the night at work turned to shit. A few guys had too much to drink and
ended up in a fist fight. I happened to be standing near them and got elbowed to the floor. I was now sporting a nice bruise on my arm and a sore ankle. Those were nights when I hated my job.

  Jacob texted to tell me he was on his way. It was too late to change my mind now. But it wasn’t enough motivation to get up. And so I just lay there until I heard the knock on my door.

  I limped to answer it. “Hey.” My voice was raspy.

  Jacob hesitated. “Hey.”

  “Come in.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said, hobbling away as he closed the door. “I’m just going to jump in the shower.”

  His eyes widened. “What the hell happened to your arm…and why are you limping?”

  He held my hand as he examined the bruise.

  “I had a rough night at work last night.”

  “This happened at work?” His eyebrows shot up.

  I gently freed my arm. “Sometimes the crowd gets rough. It’s no big deal.”

  “Are you a bartender or a bouncer?”

  “I’m fine. Really, it’s not a big deal.”

  “Sit down. Let me check your ankle.”

  I sat on the couch, and Jacob crouched down. He gingerly held my bare foot. My leg flushed with goose bumps as his fingers grazed my skin.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m making sure your ankle’s okay. I’m going to be a vet, remember?”

  “I’m not a horse, Jacob.”

  “I know. You got way better legs. Not as hairy.”

  I smiled as he set my foot back down.

  “You can’t go out like this.”

  “I just need a shower.”

  “Maeve, you look like shit. A shower is only going to make you smell better.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  He stood up. “We’ll do the party thing another night.”

  “But you drove all this way.”

  “So, what? I don’t care about going to a party, especially if you’re not going to be there.”

  I tried not to smile, but my cheeks betrayed me. Damn blushing. I just couldn’t help it when Jacob was around. And the worst part was he was effortlessly charming. It oozed out of him. He fluffed the pillow and instructed me to lie down.

  “Besides, I didn’t drive.” He sat down on the opposite side of the couch and placed my feet into his lap.