Travis leaned forward. "Archer, you remember Amber Dalton? She works here now."

Amber Dalton–the girl I had had a crush on when I was fourteen. The one Travis humiliated me in front of. The liquor coursing through my system must have been the reason I felt no embarrassment in front of her. I just continued to look at her, taking in her shoulder length black hair, and those same large, brown eyes that I had loved all those years ago. She was still as pretty as I remembered her.

"Archer Hale?" she whispered, her eyes widening. "My God, I had no idea." Her eyes swept over me. "Well, you grew up just fine, didn't you?" She smiled, and I couldn't help the pleasure that swept through me. It felt like what happened all those years ago had been made okay by the appreciation of my physical appearance shining in her eyes.

"Amber," Travis cut in, "I do believe Archer is ready for that private time I discussed with you." He winked at her.

My head seemed to clear a little and I shook it no, and held out my hand to shake hers–my 'nice to see you again' gesture.

Instead, she ignored my outstretched hand and planted herself on my lap, the overwhelming scent of sweet vanilla wafting off of her. I stiffened slightly, not knowing what I should do with my hands other than keep them hanging by my sides.

"Sounds great!" she crooned, leaning closer and wiggling down on my still semi-hard erection. I sucked in a breath. This felt weird, but good. I wasn't sure what to do.

As the music pumped steadily in the background, Amber leaned in to me and whispered in my ear, "Damn, you're gorgeous, Archer. And your body…" She trailed a finger down my chest. "You know I liked you all those years ago, right? I saw how you watched me down by the lake. I wanted you to come out… but you never did…"

I watched her finger as it moved steadily down my chest to end at the waistband of my jeans where she dipped it just a little bit inside, and then started moving back up my chest. Now I was fully hard again.

"Go on you two." Travis laughed. "Have fun."

Amber jumped off my lap and stood up and yanked me up too. I walked slightly behind her to hide my condition, swaying slightly. Damn, I was drunker than I thought.

Amber led me through the same door Jason had disappeared through, down a long, dim hallway and then pulled me in through a door on the left, shutting it behind her.

There was a chair in the middle of the room and she walked me to it, and then pushed me down gently.

She walked over to a table and fiddled around with something and a minute later, music started wafting through the speakers on the wall. The music was nice this time though–not overly loud and overwhelming. I felt better in here.

Amber walked toward me and I forced my eyes not to droop. It felt like the blood in my veins was buzzing, but I felt numb at the same time.

She straddled my lap and her perfume wafted up at me again, tickling my nose. She swayed to the music for a few minutes, closing her eyes and leaning back so that I could study her. She was pretty, but not like Bree. Now that I was looking at her up close under lights that were a little brighter than out by the stage, I didn't like all the makeup on Amber's face, and I thought there was something a little harsh about the way she looked–something different than when she was a teenager.

She swayed back up until she was completely upright and brought the front of her tank top down. Her br**sts popped out and she grabbed my hands herself and planted them on her. My dick throbbed in my jeans. I rubbed her ni**les the way Bree liked and Amber tossed her head back, moaning. I squeezed her lightly. Her br**sts were bigger than Bree's, but they felt different–not soft, but almost overly-firm, and the skin stretched and shiny.

Amber opened her eyes and brought her head up and then studied me, her eyes dropping as she licked her lips. "You know," she said, unbuttoning the top couple buttons on my shirt, "we're just supposed to give lap dances in here, but Travis tipped me extra to give you anything you want." She reached her hand down and rubbed me through my jeans. My eyes fell closed and I panted out harshly.

"God, you're big, honey," she breathed out, running her lips down the side of my neck now. She sucked the skin there, making me jump slightly when I felt her teeth nip me. "Mmm," she moaned, rubbing herself against me. "I can't wait to ride that big, thick c**k of yours, gorgeous. Do you like it fast and wild or slow and deep? Hmmm?" She crooned. "We're gonna find out, aren't we, baby?"

My body reacted to her words, but inside, something about this felt wrong. I didn't even know this girl. Was I really supposed to use her for sex and then go home to Bree, the girl I actually cared about? Is that really what Jason did with his wife? I wanted Bree to see me like she saw other men–I didn't want her to want to kiss Travis–but this, this seemed… God, I couldn't think through the alcohol and the way Amber was rubbing me through my jeans. All my thoughts were jumbled together, my emotions all over the place. I needed to get out of this room. I'd just get this over with and go home. And then first thing in the morning, I'd go to Bree.

**********

I stumbled out of the room ten minutes later and went to find Travis. He was still at the table we had been sitting at, a redhead sitting on his lap. I tapped him on his shoulder, and he looked back over at me and a huge smile came over his face. He nudged the redhead off his lap and said, "Ready to go home, buddy?"

I nodded, frowning. That's all I wanted, just to get out of here and go to Bree. I wanted to hold her. Depression swept through me when I thought about what I'd done with Amber. I tried to move that aside though–I hadn't done anything the other men at the club had done, apparently. And I'd seen plenty of wedding rings here. Evidently, wives accepted that kind of thing. I guessed I really was a freak, though, because I wouldn't do it again. I felt empty and unhappy… and ashamed.

We drove across the bridge to Pelion. Travis was silent the entire trip, a small smile curving his mouth up. I didn't care what the hell he was smiling about–the alcohol was making me sleepy, and I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes, thinking of Bree.

Travis shook me what seemed like a few seconds later, and I blearily opened his door and stepped out. Right before I closed it, Travis winked at me and said, "Let's do this again, bro." I didn't acknowledge his words, just turned my back on his truck. It was then that I noticed that we were in front of Bree's cottage. I turned around to get back in Travis's truck, but he revved the engine and I stumbled back as he peeled off noisily.

CHAPTER 20

Bree

I turned over in bed, smiling out the window at the dark lake beyond. I had called Melanie and Liza when I found out Archer was going out with Travis and we had had a girl's night of our own.

We'd gone down to the local pool hall in town and drank a few beers and laughed and talked, mostly about small town gossip. Apparently, there was a girl in town who was having affairs with at least three married men. The wives of Pelion were in an uproar. Of course, I didn't think the girl was as much to blame as the men who had made the vows and broken them. But I guessed it was less painful to believe that their men had been lured away by some kind of magic temptress than that they were just lying, cheating assholes.

We also talked a lot about Archer and I told them all about him. They listened to me, shocked, but excited looks on their faces. "My God, we had no idea, Bree," Melanie said. Then she was thoughtful for a minute while I took a drink of my beer.

"You know though," she continued, "you're really the only one who could have figured that out. You knowing sign… and ending up here… and him being alone, with no one to talk to–it's like the most beautiful kind of fate." I had smiled dreamily at that, letting her words wash over me. It was. That's what it felt like. The most beautiful kind of fate.

We made a pretty early night of it and got home by eleven, since I had to work in the morning, and I had showered and then read for a while. I turned off my light and was thinking about Archer and wondering how his night was going. I was so proud of him for agreeing to go out with Travis. He had looked so leery and unsure, and I knew that most of the reason he'd gone was because I'd encouraged it. But it was still such a big step. He had barely been off his own property, except for the occasional trip into town to get groceries or supplies for his projects, since he was seven years old! Going out to a bar or a restaurant was a big deal. I hoped he had had at least a little bit of fun.

I turned over again when I heard a car door shut loudly and what sounded like a big truck go roaring off. What the heck? Phoebe perked her head up at the bottom of my bed and let out a soft bark.

My heart sped up, fear sweeping through me. I steadied my breathing though–if this was someone intending me harm, if it was him, he definitely wouldn't announce himself with a bunch of avoidable noise.

"Stop being paranoid, Bree," I murmured. But I tiptoed to the front room anyway, Phoebe at my heels.

I pulled the edge of the curtain back and peeked out the window. I saw a large form walking unsteadily away from my cottage. Was that… Archer? Yes, yes it was.

I hurried to my door and flung it open, calling softly, "Archer?"

He turned around in the road and just stood there.

I cocked my head to the side, smiling a small, confused smile. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Come here, I'm in my PJ's."

He stood there for a few beats, swaying very slightly, looking… I squinted my eyes into the dim light… drunk and upset. Oh geez, did Travis get him drunk? Great.

Suddenly, he started walking toward me, his head down. He came up my steps and walked right up to me, gathering me in his arms. He held on to me tightly and buried his nose in my neck, inhaling deeply.

I froze in his embrace. Oh God, he smelled like another woman's perfume–reeked of it, actually. Some vanilla, dime store stink. My heart seemed to thud to a stop in my chest and then start up again erratically. What in the hell had happened during guys' night out?

"Archer," I said again, pushing him away from me gently. He took a step back and made a movement that made me think he was trying to shake his hair into his face. But he didn't have long hair anymore. He ran a hand over his newly cropped style and looked at me miserably.

He brought his hands up and signed, somewhat sloppily, I didn't like guys' night out. I don't like strip clubs.

"Strip club?" I breathed out. And that's when I spotted the huge hickey on his neck and the bright pink lipstick smudged on his collar. Oh God. My blood ran cold. "You were with another woman, Archer?" I asked, my heart sinking. My hands seemed to be incapable of doing anything other than hang by my sides.

For several beats, he just stared at me, his tormented eyes telling me everything going on in his head. He thought about lying to me for a second, I saw it flash in those expressive golden brown eyes, but then a look of defeat came over his face and he nodded his head, yes.

I just stared at him for a good thirty seconds before speaking, "Did they bring you up on stage or something?" I asked, hopeful that this was all some sort of bachelor party shenanigan.

His brows furrowed, but then two dots of color appeared on his cheekbones, and he brought his hands up and signed, No, in one of the back rooms.

"The back rooms?" I whispered.

Archer nodded and we both just stared at each other for a few seconds.

"So you were with her with her?" I asked. I could feel the color drain from my face.

Torment washed over his features as he nodded, yes. He looked down at his feet.

I closed my eyes for a couple seconds trying to digest this, and then opened them. "Why?" I asked, tears filling my eyes now.

Archer stuck his hands in his pockets and just looked at me, stark misery washing over his features. But what was I supposed to do with that? He had to know that I would be upset over the fact that he was with another woman. Did he know so little about the world? About relationships? About love? No, I couldn't believe that.

He took his hands out of his pockets and signed, You kissed Travis. His jaw ticked.

I paused, frowning. "I kissed Travis once when you and I were only friends," I said quietly. "But once we became more, I picked you, Archer…" My words faded and then I choked out, "I picked you." Hurt and anger and defeat crashed through my body again as he swayed slightly in front of me, looking like a puppy dog who had just been kicked. But wasn't I the one who had just been kicked?

I cleared my throat so I wouldn't start crying. "You're drunk," I said. "I'll drive you home. You need to sleep it off." I felt numb now.

Archer grabbed my arm, and I looked down at his fingers on my skin and then up into his defeated expression. He let go of me and signed, I'm sorry.

I nodded once, a twitchy movement of chin to chest, and then grabbed my light coat off of the hook by the door and walked through it. I heard Archer close the door behind us and his footsteps following behind me.

I got in my car, and he got in the passenger seat, closing the door softly.

We drove in silence the short distance to Briar Road and when I pulled up in front of his gate, he turned to me in the car, looking at me beseechingly.

"Just go, Archer," I said. I needed to go home and curl up in my bed. I didn't know how to sort through all my feelings right now.

Archer stared at me for a few seconds and then turned and got out of my car, closing the door behind him.

I did a three-point turn and started back to my cottage. When I looked in my rear-view mirror, Archer was still standing at the end of his road, his hands stuffed in his pockets, watching me drive away.