All Chapters of Road to Redemption: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

PaytonAlex pulled up to my house and turned off the truck. I slipped out of his jacket and set it on the console between us. “Thanks for dinner.”“Hey.” He grabbed my hand. “Workin’ shit out, yeah?”I nodded.“Call you next week.”I nodded again.He tugged me forward, but I pulled away from him. “I’m not kissing you in front of my parents’ house, Alex. Not yet, anyway.”“So, it’s fuckin’ payback time, huh?”“What?” I snapped. “No.”“Let me guess. Your dad would go ape-shit over you datin’ someone like me, right?”“No, not at—”“Fine, babe. We’ll do it your way.”“God, you make me crazy.” I let out a frustrated growl. He moved to leave the truck but I pulled him back. “Wait. This conversation isn’t done.”“No?”“No,” I snapped. “I don’t want to kiss you in front of anyone until we know where we’re going with this. It has nothing to do with my dad. And for your information, my dad isn’t like that. He knows me enough to know that if I want to date someone, it’s my decision and he trusts

PaytonALMOST A WEEK later, I was walking out of school when my phone rang. I grimaced to see ‘SMA’ pop up on the screen. I almost ignored it. He’d waited six days to call me and, if I was being honest, I was hurt that he hadn’t called sooner. I thought we’d had a connection, but when day three, then four, then five passed without a phone call, I thought I was wrong.Unfortunately, the truth was I’d missed him, so I answered. “Hello?”“Hey, baby.”I shivered as his voice washed over me. “Alex?” I played dumb.“You busy tonight?” he asked.“Yes.”“Seriously?” He sounded surprised and a little annoyed.“Seriously,” I said. “I have plans with Macey. Why, what’s up?”“Can you blow her off?”I snorted. “No.”“I wanted to take you out on the boat.”“Well, then you can plan a day that works for me and we can go from there.”He sighed. “Don’t get all pissy, Payton. It was just a question.”“Was it just a question, Hawk? Because I was thinking you decided I was going to drop everything at your

Payton“Yeah, Dad. I’m just heading out the door to meet Macey. Alex came to pick me up.” My dad appeared before us and I smiled. “How was your day?”He looked Alex up and down, but not in a judgy way, just in my Dad sizing up my man-friend kind of way. “It was good, honey. How about yours?”“Good. Um, Dad, this is Alex. Alex, Dad.”My dad reached out his hand and Alex took it. “Nice to meet you.”“Nice to meet you too, son.” Dad glanced back at the street. “Is that your truck?”“Yeah.”“It’s a good truck. Safe. Just how I want my daughter to be.”Alex grinned, his hand settling at the base of my spine. “Couldn’t agree more.”“You staying at Macey’s tonight?” my dad asked me.“Yep. Brock and Dallas are gone, so Bailey’s staying too.”Dad nodded. “Good deal. You need me, you call.”“I will, Dad,” I said, and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”He hugged me and then smiled at Alex. “I think we understand each other.”Alex nodded. “Yeah.”Dad let himself into the house as Alex grabbed my stuff a

PaytonI CLIMBED OUT of the truck before he could make it to my side and waited for him to grab my stuff from the back. Once he had my bag, he took my hand and we headed to the elevator and up to the lobby.There was a new doorman, apparently, so we went through the normal process of signing in and getting permission to ride up to Macey’s floor, but we did it without the friendly banter that I normally had with the other doormen. I was glad, however, this new person was as diligent as the others.I knocked on my old apartment door and my brother pulled it open. “Nice of you to join us, sissy,” he said, and pulled me in for a hug.“Shouldn’t you be gone by now?” I asked.He chuckled. “Soon.”I felt Alex’s hand on my lower back and pulled away from my brother. “Brock, this is Alex.”My brother eyed him up and then shook his hand. “We’ve met.”“You have?” I asked.“Yeah, long story,” Alex said.“Where have you been for the last twenty minutes?” Macey demanded as she walked into the livin

PaytonHe sighed and his face softened. “I’m just askin’ you to talk it out with me, Payton. Can you do that?”“Honestly, Alex? I don’t know. You’re not what I expected. You’re sure as hell nothing like anyone I’ve ever met, so I’m kind of lost as to what to do.”He smiled gently and held his hand out to me. “Break it down for me.”I took his hand and he led me back to the chairs. I sat in the one I’d been in before, and he did the same. I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder and staring out at the view of the water. It was so incredibly calming and I needed that right now. “Relationships have always been easy for me,” I admitted. “In the past, I’ve been friends with someone for a while, then we’d go on a few dates and decide if there was something to develop. If there was, we’d see each other for a period of time exclusively, then if we fell in love, we’d take it to the next level.” I focused on Alex again. “There has never been drama. Ever. Even when the relationships didn’t work