Author's Note: Thank you to the guest who commented on my last chapter, I appreciate it! Please let me know what you think so far, update to come next Sunday!
Chapter Three
Seth knocked on the door of the office where Sasha was working on the computer. It looked like she was working on some accounting stuff. She turned in her chair and smiled at Seth as he came in and sat on AJ's desk. He glanced around the office, it wasn't very big, just enough space for a few filing cabinets, a storage shelf, and the two desks. The wall with the door had a window that overlooked the gym below, and everything else seemed bleak. Seth would have figured Sasha would have added some feminine touches to it, but the most decorative thing was her frilly white throw pillow that she used for back support.
"So what's up with AJ?" Seth asked.
"A friend of his died," Sasha explained, and Seth looked down at the ground. "You know, AJ. He doesn't like talking about his past very much."
"Or at all," Seth corrected with a chuckle. "I don't know, me and Roman were just surprised he would leave this place for longer than half a day."
Sasha stifled a laugh. They had a very good point. If Sasha didn't force AJ to go home every night, he'd probably sleep in the ring. She had to admit, Sasha was worried about him. AJ was thirty-nine years old and he didn't have a family, or even a girlfriend for that matter. When she would ask him about it, he'd joke and say he was just a terminal bachelor. Sasha would leave it at that, but AJ was good-looking, smart, and hardworking. Those were qualities of a good man, a man who deserved to have a family and be happy. He always said his gym and helping the troubled youth in the area made him happy, but it wasn't the type of happiness Sasha meant.
"You okay?" Seth asked, tilting his head.
Sasha snapped from her inner thoughts and smiled up at Seth. She jumped onto her feet and then waved for him to follow her out of the office. "Have you ever seen AJ flirt with anyone?"
Seth, Roman, and AJ went out the first Saturday of each month. They would go get drinks, shoot some pool, or play darts. Sasha had even tagged along a couple of times, which was how she and Seth started getting closer. He came around the gym a couple of months after Sasha and AJ had opened it up. Needless to say Seth stuck around and then brought Roman along. The four of them were the working gears of AJ's gym, but it was AJ who was the real heart of it.
"I don't think AJ is the type to flirt with some random woman."
"You've known him for almost two years and you're telling me he's never come onto a woman?" Sasha leaned on the metal railing and gazed up at Seth, who pursed his lips as he thought.
He shook his head. "Nope, can't say that I have."
"In Boston he kinda had a girl, but it only lasted about six months. Since then he's been single and I've never seen him flirt with a woman or ask a woman on a date or even just for a number." Sasha sighed and started trotting down the stairs with Seth at her heels.
"Is this some convoluted way of you asking me to flirt with you more? Or take you on a date?" Seth asked with a chuckle. They were standing at the bottom of the steps. Sasha looked up at him and smiled brightly. That wasn't her true intention, but they had been dating for five months, and the last date they went on was three weeks ago. He was over due, that was for sure.
"Not really, but now that you mention it." Sasha pushed herself onto her toes and threw her arms around Seth's broad shoulders. His muscled arms wrapped around her waist and then he placed a soft kiss on the crowd of her head. When they pulled apart, Sasha gave him a peck on the lips. "I just think AJ deserves to have someone love him."
"I'll have you know, I love him very, very much. I just didn't know how to tell you," Seth joked.
Sasha rolled her eyes and laughed. "Roman too?"
"Oh yeah, it's a damn good time." Seth pulled Sasha into his powerful chest and squeezed her tight. "Look, when he gets back, Roman and I will take him to some strip clubs or something."
"Nothing says, marry me like a lap dance," Sasha snickered. "But seriously, we should find him someone."
"Roman!" Seth hollered to the burly man, who was spotting for someone over by the benches. When he had his attention, Seth shouted. "We have to make AJ a Tinder account!"
Sasha slapped a hand on her face and began to shake her head. She looked back up and spotted Roman giving Seth a thumbs up. "That isn't what I meant."
"Don't worry, babe," Seth said, giving her ponytail a playful tug. "AJ will find someone when he's good and ready."
Sasha nodded slowly, but she wasn't really sure if Seth was right. Five years was a long time to know someone, and that was exactly how long Sasha had known AJ. In that time AJ had gone on two dates, and had an on and off relationship with some blonde girl, they were essentially fuck buddies though, even though AJ would never call it that.
-#-
AJ pulled into the gravel driveway of the Henderson residence. The grass was in need of cutting, there were weeds in the garden, and the paint of the house was faded. It hadn't been maintained in a while, but it was still the first home AJ ever knew. He cut the engine off and sat in the truck, staring out the windshield for what seemed like hours. Kinsey was still here, in Kingsland. His first day back, and there she was at his little brother's grave. When he had drove into town, he decided he should pay a visit to his little brother. It had been, after all, twenty-one years since he'd been around.
Kinsey hadn't changed at all. She was older, but her hair was still long and dark, her eyes were that same glittering hazel, and she still had that nervous tick—the one where she'd flick her thumb against her forefinger. It was such a natural instinct to her, she didn't even notice she did it. AJ never missed it though, he always noticed that about her. He noticed the crease between her eyebrows when she was cross with him, and he noticed the smell of her shampoo when she used to lean against him.
AJ pressed his palms together and then rested his forehead against his thumbs. He knew it was a possibility to run into her again, he thought about it the whole night and then on the drive up. When he was driving through town, he saw flashes of their younger selves. She was in her pale pink sun dress and strappy sandals, her hair in loose curls, and a smile so bright it could compete with the sun. Her laugh was like a toxin that drove him completely insane, and when he saw Kinsey at the cemetery he craved it.
How did he leave her before? Such a beautiful young woman who loved him and brought out the best in him. She believed in him, supported him, and he just left her behind in a mess of tail lights and dust. AJ didn't think she would ever forgive him for that, but he probably didn't deserve to be forgiven. He unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of his truck, his boots crunching on the gravel as he walked toward the separate garage where Jack kept his old rust bucket of a truck and his wife's convertible. They spent many evenings in their working on that car with Kinsey sitting on the workbench sketching it out.
AJ stopped by a large clay flower pot and titled it to grab the spare key that Jack had hid under there. He got up to the padlock and then twisted the key to unlock it. Pulling the lock off, AJ flipped the latch and rolled the doors apart. A stuffy wave of heat came out of the garage barn that was layered with a thick layer of dust. AJ walked in between the two parked vehicles that were covered by heavy canvas. Grabbing the edge of the canvas covering the convertible, AJ flung it up revealing the 1970 yellow mustang convertible.
"Hello, old friend." AJ smiled as he walked around to pull the canvas off all the way. Plumes of dust puffed up into the air, which he waved away. It looked like Jack hadn't touched it in a while, he probably got to old to move around and take care of it like he used too.
For some reason, AJ couldn't bring himself to leave on Sunday. He would need more time to get Jack's place all cleaned up. There was no way he could leave it like this. Jack put his heart and soul into taking care of his property. It was something that AJ learned from him.
Reaching into his pocket, AJ pulled out his cellphone and called Sasha. It rang a couple of times before she finally picked up. "Hey, it's me."
"Hey, how's it going? Did you make it there in one piece?" Sasha asked. He could hear the whirring of the gym fans in the background along with the sound of bodies being slammed onto the wrestling ring.
"Yeah, I made it here fine. Listen, I might be here a little while longer than I planned. My friend's place, well it's a mess and I can't leave it like this." AJ walked outside of the garage barn and paced out front.
"Take your time, AJ. I promise I'll keep Seth and Roman in line and if anything comes up I'll let you know. But don't worry, we can handle you being gone for a while. Do what you have to do, all right." Sasha was never the type to sugarcoat things, she just said exactly what she thought people needed to hear—even if it was cruel. "It's okay if you want to stay there for a while."
AJ smiled. "Thanks, Sasha."
"No problem, call me if you need anything."
"Will do, take care of my gym."
"Always do."
He hung up and slipped the phone into the back pocket of his jeans. There was a lot of work to do if he wanted to be home before next weekend. Georgia summers were unbelievably hot, but when the night fell there was no prettier sky. He had planned on checking into a hotel, but he knew Jack would rather he'd stay here.
-#-
Kinsey swirled the soapy water in the pot slowly as she gazed out the window overlooking the backyard. Her mind was somewhere else. It wasn't a dream when AJ Styles approached her at his brother's gravestone, it was 100 percent real. She replayed the sound of AJ saying her name. The sound of the front door coming open and slamming shut, followed by the jingle of Marty's collar snapped Kinsey from her reverie.
"Kinsey!" Nathan shouted from the door. His keys jingled as he threw them into the glass bowl on the hallway end table. "I have some news."
Kinsey stepped away from the sink and began to dry her hands on a nearby dish towel. Nathan came into the room, hair slicked back, dark blue jacket folded over his arm, and for once their was a light in his light brown eyes. "What's your news?"
"Me and three of the guys from the office have been invited to a golf tournament that's happening next week. It starts Saturday and goes on until next Saturday. I'll be be going, so can you pack for me?" Nathan asked, placing his folded jacket on the back of one of the barstools.
Kinsey hated to admit it, but she was disappointed. He was more excited to go away for a week than to be at home with her and their daughter. She kept herself together though, faked a smile and nodded to him. "That's great. I'll pack for you when I get back from the attorney's office tomorrow."
"Oh that's right, that guy died. All right, as long as it's ready to go by Saturday morning, then that's fine." Nathan went to the fridge and then pulled out a bottle of beer. He drank at least three a night, and sometimes a couple glasses of wine. It was a routine, and had been for the last eight years. His life was all that mattered not, not their life.
"Jack," Kinsey said. "His name was Jack."
"Okay," Nathan replied with a shrug. "I'm gonna shower, is dinner ready?"
"I'll make you a plate," Kinsey said with a forced smile.
Nathan nodded and then left the kitchen without a single care in the world. Once Kinsey was sure he was upstairs, she fell back against the sink and stared up at the ceiling. This wasn't how her life was supposed to be. She pushed away from the sink and then made her way to the backdoor.
Kinsey sat down on the edge of the porch, and Marty sat down beside her. She looked at her yellow, scruffy mutt and wrapped her arms around him. And suddenly, she was crying.