Free Forsaking Truth by Lydia Michaels

noises rose up to his ears every few minutes, but other than that

he could have been at the dentist for all the

pleasure he was feeling. Tanya or Tina or whatever was doing a fine job. She

got an A for effort, but Luke really didn’t give a shit if she finished or left

him like that.
    The back door of the

bar opened and Kelly stepped out hauling a bag of

trash to the dumpster. He paused when he saw Luke’s truck and shook his head.

His brother hurled the bag into the bin and slowly approached.
    Kelly’s palm banged

twice on the hood. “Wrap it up. This ain’t no disco. This ain’t no country club

either. And this sure as fuck ain’t L.A. so either

get a room or say goodnight.”
    That blond head popped

up, eyes wide and lips glossy. She dragged her hand over her mouth and cursed.

Kelly raised a brow, but kept his distance.
    “You better pack it

up, sweetheart,” Luke suggested without emotion.
    “Isn’t that your

brother?” she asked.
    “Yeah, but he makes

the rules here. How about I call you tomorrow?”
    “You don’t have my

number.”
    Because he didn’t want

it. He slid her his phone. “Plug it in.”
    Dainty little fingers moved over his phone. “There. Now you have it.”

Smiling, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry we couldn’t finish. Tomorrow

you can come to my place.”
    Not likely. “Sounds

like a plan.”
    As she slid out the

passenger door, Luke stuffed himself bac k in his

pants, lifting his hips to right his zipper. He wasn’t even fully hard. Once

Curls made it back to her Ford Focus, Kelly approached his window and tapped

his beer.
    “You can’t have beer

outside the bar. You know that, Luke.” Ignoring his brother, h e took another swig. “What’s going on, Luke? You were bad

before, but now you’re worse. It’s a different girl every week.”
    He scoffed. “Like you

can talk. I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t made your acquaintance.”
    “That’s different.

They know what they ’re getting with me. I make sure

they enjoy themselves.”
    “I haven’t gotten any

complaints.”
    “That’s because you’re

gone the second you finish. I hear them talkin’. Even saw a few of them cry.”
    Luke should feel bad,

but he didn’t. “I ain’t forcing nobody. I can’t help

it if they’re easy.”
    “That’s fucked up and

you know it. When are you gonna stop acting like a prick and go back to the old

Luke?”
    The old Luke was gone

and never coming back. “Do yourself a favor, Kelly, and stop waiting for me to

be something I’m not. The sooner all of you accept

this is who I am, the sooner we can all get on with this shitty thing called

life.”
    “I’m cutting you off.”
    His eyes cut to his

brother’s and saw steely determination he wasn’t used to finding there. What

did he know? H e was still a kid.
    Finishing his beer he

shoved it in Kelly’s direction. His brother caught the bottle and Luke started

the truck, pulling away before Kelly could give him shit for drinking and

driving. He didn’t need to listen to that crap. He backed out of the lot and drove until the sun came up the following

morning.
     

     
    Sunday morning he went

with his family to church. Luke wasn’t a bad guy. And once his sodden brain

dried out, he didn’t like the cloudy memories he’d created over the last few

wee ks.
    Sheilagh sat beside

him in the pew as Father Mark carried on with his homily. She looked different,

refined or something. Her makeup wasn’t as all over the place as it usually was

and she didn’t seem to radiate awkwardness. This summer had definitely changed her. She was growing up.
    His mom and dad sat

side by side before them and Luke knew without looking that they were holding

hands. That was right. That was what love looked like. Kelly, as usual, wasn’t

there, but Finn was.
    He and Erin sat motionless across the aisle. He wondered how long until his

twin married his high school sweetheart. She was