Everything keeps coming back to her, regardless of the drinks heās had, the cigarettes heās smoked, or the things heās thrown out of the house. He canāt help but pace around the kitchen, eyes glued to his cheap flip-phone sitting on the kitchen table. The device is taunting him, reminding him of what heās done. I miss you.Ā Itās pathetic, really. Drunk texting your ex-wife? He can hear his fatherās voice in his head now, calling him spineless. Come home.Ā Heās going to regret this in the morning, embarrassment ruining through his veins the moment he realizes what heās done.Ā I donāt want to be alone tonight.Ā He isnāt drunk, technically speaking. Prison may have tanked his alcohol tolerance, but a few beers and some whiskey were still only enough to get him buzzed enough to let his guard down. Heād remember this in the morning, once the light comes through his bed room wind and heās returned to reality.Ā
He should have just stayed at the festival. Drank himself into a stupor with his brothers, and crashed at the clubhouse. But instead, heād managed to get home somewhere past one in the morning -- And soon enough, he was trying to get in contact with Rowan. No response comes, no faint vibration or smallĀ āpingā to signal to him that he has a message to read. Nothing. Only him pacing around the kitchen, willing himself to focus on anything but the damn phone -- To think about the cool tile against his feet, how comfortable a good pair of sweat pants and an old MC t-shirt can be. The warmth of his home, the comfort of his bed. Madisonās bedroom at the end of the hall, door carefully locked, key long forgotten. The silence of hisĀ -- not theirs, he has to remind himself -- home now that heās alone.Ā So much for a distraction. His pacing hasnāt stopped, continuing his movements as his hands run over his face, a pity party of one now in full force.
And then -- The door bell. It stops him dead in his tracks, a mild wave of panic washing over him. A knock at the door in the middle of the night never brought anything good, at least not by Thane family terms. On instinct, Andy answered the door with a baseball bat in hand (thankfully still tucked away in the coat closet, in case the moment called for it), opening the door slowly.Ā āLook, man, I donāt know what you want but -- Oh.ā Rowan, standing at his door, in the middle of the night. RowanĀ was there, standing in the doorway. He canāt help the smile that finds him, a mixture of surprise and relief washing over him.Ā āRowan,ā Andy canāt stop himself from saying her name, the word coming out as smooth and slow as honey. Half a second passes, his eyes never leaving hers, before his hand instinctively reaching out to pull her inside, kicking the door closed with his foot behind them. It was a motion he had done so many times before, for the better half of his adult life -- Heād pull her into his room, closing the door behind them, effectively having her pressed up against the wood, before kissing her as a greeting. Only now, heād pulled her in and paused, hesitation finding him the moment the door shut.Ā āIām glad youāre here.ā Theyāre in close proximity, and he can only hope this doesnāt end up in disaster.Ā