Need You Tonight Read Online Free Page B

have made me read his obituary from her phone.”
    “Shit.” West’s gaze rakes over me, his mouth flattening. “What happened to the guy loved by all the ladies? The one who always knew what to say and how to flash those damn dimples? Do you know how jealous we all were of you growing up?”
    Would he be so damned jealous if he knew how many ladies had paid me for my time? Would his rich ass be so jealous if he knew what I had to do in order to help pay the fucking bills?
    Would any of them be jealous that my first real sexual encounter was with a guy, who was disguised as a woman? I didn’t have a clue until I tried to return the favor, per my job instructions for the evening, and nearly lost my mind when I discovered his junk.
    Would they be jealous to know that the asshole fucking made me do stuff to him? That he threatened my job if I didn’t, and I didn’t know of any other way to make that much money in that short period of time to help pay our bills, to pay our mother’s rehab bills…
    No choice. Never a choice. Do the right thing, Parker. You’re so sweet. Show me those dimples of yours.
    Rage builds inside of me, but I push it back down and slam the lid on that part of me, just like I always do.
    I’m the good brother. The levelheaded one. The one who always had Cole’s back when he’d let his temper get the best of him. I’m the one that all the ladies, from eight to eighty, love.
    “Maybe I got tired of them loving me so much.”

Chapter Five
    Brooklyn
    T HE MOVING TRUCK drives up to my house at seven am, loaded with all of mine and Braden’s furniture. My one last free move courtesy of the military. Last night, I slept in a sleeping bag in the master bedroom. Okay, so I tried to sleep, but ended up tossing and turning until dawn, worrying about the rest of my things.
    I direct the men, showing them exactly where I want the furniture, like the kitchen table with its mismatched chairs Braden and I had found in Hickory, on an impromptu trip. We couldn’t afford the entire set, so we only bought the table and scoured secondhand stores for chairs.
    As they unload the trailer, the tension that had helped keep me awake begins to ease away. It’s like they’re giving my life back to me, one room at a time. Once they leave, I finish decorating the rooms, hanging pictures and placing knickknacks on shelves. The shadowbox containing Braden’s portrait, along with the flag I was given at his funeral, goes on the mantle over the fireplace.
    Dragging the recliner to the left side of the fireplace, I flop down in it and pull up the footrest to survey the house. It looks exactly like our home in Jacksonville. Braden would have loved it.
    “I think I’m going to love it here,” I say to his picture. “All that’s left to do is start a garden. Maybe plant a few more flowers in front.” For whatever reason, talking to Braden’s picture makes me feel so not alone. It’s like he’s still in my life.
    Okay, so I know it’s a coping mechanism, and I know it’s not the healthiest habit to still have after two years, but who’s going to hear me?
    The walls? The floor? The rugs?
    My cell rings. It’s a text from Soon Lin.
    Soon Lin: Go to the grocery store today.
    Smiling, I text her back.
    Me: Up next on my to-do list
    I wish I could have convinced her to move with me, but she felt like she had a duty to help girls like me—young women marrying into the military life.
    Soon Lin: Job search Monday
    I snicker. I swear, if I let that woman plan my year, she would. Well, for a while, she had to. For months after Braden’s funeral, I was numb. I didn’t want to do anything, but sleep. I barely ate. I stopped showering. I stopped going out. Stopped seeing people. Stopped doing everything, but breathing it seemed.
    “The time for wallowing is over, Brooklyn.” The curtains are shoved open, and I pull the sheets up and over my head.
    But Soon Lin won’t have any of that. She rips them off. “Get up.”