Chapter One
Lincoln
I stepped out into the open airport, heaving a sigh of relief. I was home—at least for a few days. I knew I was due to deploy soon, so I’d taken some time off to spend the holidays back in Crooked Creek. I didn’t have family here; never had. Being a foster kid had made my life much different than so many other people.
But there was one person still here I wanted to see again.
Noah Brooks.
Noah was . . . he was everything. There was just no other way to put it. At five foot three, he was the cutest fucking guy I’d ever met. He was a bit of a spitfire with a lot of energy packed in a tiny, little body. I’d left for the military basically right after graduation, and then my first duty station had been in Japan, where I’d stayed for two years before being sent to Germany for another two.
I’d kept in touch with him through texts, phone calls, and facetime calls, but it wasn’t the same. And I missed him. I missed him as if he were a missing part of my anatomy.
And I was ready to let him know how I felt. Being without him had been agony. Noah had been my best friend since I moved here when I was sixteen, and I’d been in love with him for just as long.
Problem was, I wasn’t sure if he’d want to be with me when he knew I couldn’t offer him much. I still owed the Army two more years for this contract, and I wanted to make a career out of this, which meant there would be more deployments, more danger.
But I had to try.
I headed over to baggage claim and waited for my bag to make its round. Once I had it in my hand, I headed over to the rental car area. It didn’t take long to secure a pick-up truck considering it was almost eleven at night and not that many people were landing.
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing softly through the speakers as I made my way toward Crooked Creek. I knew Noah was working tonight and would be at the bar until closing time. I was hoping to surprise him, hence why I hadn’t even let him know I was coming back here.
After thirty minutes, the sign for Crooked Creek was lit up by my headlights. It was a brown sign that had been beaten over many, many years by the weather. We were down south, so we didn’t get snow, but it rained a hell of a lot—too much for my damn tastes, especially.
The familiar sights met my eyes. Clancy’s meat market was still standing strong with what looked to be a fresh layer of paint on the outside. Next door, the small grocery store was barely lit up. Across the street, Macie’s bookstore was still there.
All the stores were closed, but there was one place still lit up—Bratt’s. It was the only bar in Crooked Creek and was run by Gemma. She called it Bratt’s because it had apparently been her nickname when she was growing up, and honestly, it fit her. The woman would drive the right man up the wall if she’d ever give one a chance.
I managed to squeeze the rental into a park between an old Tahoe and a beat-up Camry. Blowing out a soft breath, I turned the truck off and wedged my massive body in the tight space between me and the Tahoe. I could hear the noise of the bar through the closed door, but it still didn’t prepare me for the sheer volume of the music and the people when I swung it open.
It was a busy night, most likely because it was a Friday. I slowly made my way to the bar, and as soon as I stepped up to the counter, Noah stepped out of the back. He was wearing a red, checkered flannel shirt, his dirty blonde hair messy on his head. His blue eyes were shining with laughter. He was still as short as I remembered and just as small.
He set two bottles of liquor on the bar and began pouring shots. Then, he turned to me, and his eyes widened. I grinned. That look was well worth the surprise.
“Hey, babe,” I greeted. I’d always called him babe, and he never complained.
“Linc!” he shouted. He slid over the bar and landed right in my lap. I wrapped my arms around his small body, and he literally wrapped himself around me, burying his face in the curve of my neck. I gripped the back of his neck when I felt his tears soaking into my uniform.
“Ah, babe, it’s just me,” I teased. But my heart was hurting, too. God, it had been way too long since I felt this sweet boy in my arms.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he sniffed. He leaned back to look at me, his blue eyes glassy. I reached up to brush some tears off his lightly freckled cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?”
I brushed my nose with his. “Wanted to surprise you.” I patted his ass, and his cheeks flushed. But I needed him to get up, or otherwise, he’d feel the clear boner I was sporting for him. “I’ll wait here while you finish up your shift.”
“You sure you don’t mind?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “Don’t mind at all, babe. Get your cute ass to work.”
He flushed and slid back over the bar. He quickly began taking orders again, and I watched as he worked, loving the way his skin-tight jeans molded to his ass. And since I couldn’t see the line of briefs, I had a damn good feeling he was wearing a jockstrap.
And fuck if that didn’t make my dick so hard it fucking hurt. Because now, all I could do was imagine how perfect his cock looked and that sweet, bare ass.
I knew I’d sat there for a few hours, but before I knew it, Gemma yelled out, “Last call”. And then even faster, the bar was closed, and Noah and I were standing outside by my rental truck.
“Where are you staying?” he asked me.
I shrugged, a cocky smirk playing on my lips. His eyes focused there for a moment before locking back on mine. My smirk widened. “Thought I could room with you while I’m in town,” I suggested.
He eagerly nodded his head. “Yeah! Yes, of course! Just follow me, yeah?” He sheepishly pointed to the beat-up Camry next to me. “That’s mine.”
I shook my head, a frown pulling at my lips. He told me he’d bought a Camry, and I hadn’t thought anything of it when he never showed me pictures. I even remembered us moving on from the conversation pretty quickly, and this would be why. He knew I wouldn’t approve.
“Is that even safe?” I asked him.
He sheepishly shrugged. “Probably not,” he confessed.
I heaved a sigh. He glanced up at me from beneath his lashes with a sweet smile on his face that eased some of my worries. “At least everyone here knows me, so if I ever break down, I won’t be stranded.”
I shot him a deadpan look. A lot worse things could happen with him in that car than it just breaking down on the side of the road.
He giggled and rushed to his car. Shaking my head, I slid into the driver’s seat of the truck and waited for him to pull out before I followed behind him.
