Hung Sweetheart Read online

  HUNG SWEETHEART (SWEETHEART, COLORADO)

  AN AGE GAP VALENTINE’S DAY ROMANCE

  LENA LUCAS

  HUNG SWEETHEART

  By Lena Lucas

  www.lenalucas.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © February 2021 by Lena Lucas

  First E-book Publication: February 2021 by Lena Lucas

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  CONTENTS

  Synopsis

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Epilogue Three

  Also by Lena Lucas

  About the Author

  All it had taken was seeing Pepper one time, and I knew she’d change my world.

  At thirty-two, the only positive I had in my life was taking over my father’s legacy in Sweetheart, Colorado. McKenzie Hardware was the center of my universe, but I wanted more. I was lonely, isolating myself from people at every turn.

  But when I’d seen Pepper, something in me lit up. She was like the sun in my very dark world, and I wanted that light to wash over me forever.

  I wanted her forever.

  But I was over a decade older than her and hadn’t ever been in a relationship. What could I offer her aside from my own inexperience and a hardware store?

  Despite the fact that I saw myself lacking, that she deserved better than me, I knew I had to find out more about her. I had to make her mine.

  She was so much younger than me, innocent and fragile. She was soft and perfect to my hard and rough.

  And she transfixed me, mesmerized me. I was infatuated.

  It got to the point where I couldn’t stay away anymore. I couldn’t lie to myself that what I felt for her was just a passing curiosity.

  It was more. She was more. I needed her to be mine.

  Lena’s note: I know you like them fast and right to the point so don’t worry, this one gives you all the goods but with a healthy dose of Valentine’s Day romantic filth thrown in. An age gap double virgins romance to whet your appetite! Enjoy this good old-fashioned safe smut-fest.

  1

  SLOAN

  “You have it bad.”

  I scowled and looked over at Leo, my one and only employee. At only eighteen years old, he acted like he knew more than someone almost twice his age.

  I didn’t bother saying anything, just grabbed the items I’d been unboxing and moved to the other side of the shelving, still within range of the main front window of the hardware store I owned.

  McKenzie Hardware was the go-to place in Sweetheart, Colorado for any kind of fixer-upper materials needed. It was also my father’s legacy, a business he built from the ground up, and one I took over after he passed three years ago.

  I put my blood sweat and tears into this place and was proud of what it had grown into. Not only did we service all of Sweetheart, but we also started shipping nationwide for the harder-to-find supplies.

  And business was booming.

  Leo continued almost absentmindedly, as if he thought I actually wanted to hear this. I clenched my jaw and didn’t respond, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. The kid spoke his mind whether he was putting his foot in his mouth or not. “All I’m saying is every time I come in to work, I see you gazing out that window across the street at The Stop. And you don’t drive a big rig, so....”

  I looked over my shoulder at him and didn’t hide my disapproval. It wasn’t that he caught me clearly staring—a lot—but more so he had the balls to call me out on it.

  He shrugged as he glanced at me, clearly not caring that I was throwing nasty-ass looks his way.

  “I mean, I couldn’t understand what was so interesting. All that’s across the street is that big-ass truck stop and that little diner.”

  He lifted his head and looked at me then, bringing his hand up and tapping his finger on his chin. I could see he started to let his facial hair grow in—well, what little facial hair he had. The mustache he was sporting looked more like a smudge of dirt, although Leo called it a “trash ’stache,” one he was damn proud of.

  “But then I realized it must be about some girl.” His face lit up after saying that, and it took everything in me not to roll my eyes. “And then it all made sense.” He lifted his hand, and his eyes got big. “It was like a lightbulb going off in my head. You got the hots for some waitress who works there, don’t ya?”

  I didn’t bother replying. It wasn’t professional to say anything about it with Leo, and I also felt wildly protective of Pepper.

  He shrugged again and went back to pricing out the rolls of tape that we’d gotten in earlier today.

  Still, I said nothing. What could I say? Deny it? That would be a big fucking lie. I sure as hell hadn’t been hiding the fact that I’d been staring out the window day in and day out for the last year. It got to the point where I didn’t give a shit who saw me watching obsessively, because I was so transfixed by her.

  The world faded away whenever she was in my sight.

  “Don’t you have anything better to do, like pricing those supplies and putting them on the shelf, than giving me a hard time?” I might scowl at Leo, but I liked the kid. He reminded me of myself when I was his age—fifteen years ago. He was smart, a damn good worker, dependable as hell, and he obviously felt comfortable enough with me to say this kind of stuff.

  There weren’t many people—if any at all—who were close enough with me to feel like they could speak candidly. Not anymore. Not after my father passed away. He’d been my only real supporter and friend. I’d always been a loner, content with having little and being surrounded by just as much. Others called me antisocial. My father said I was an introvert and that it was fine to live my life that way, no matter who bitched.

  But look at me now, Dad. Working six days a week and forced to interact and converse with society.

  I smirked and shook my head at my inner thoughts.

  “Did Jack come in for that fencing yet?” I said as I tried to take my mind off of Pepper, which was damn hard because she was always on my mind.

  “Yeah he came by and got it all. Asked where “McKenzie” was. I assumed he was asking for you.”

  I chuckled. Jack, who’d moved to Sweetheart not that long ago, was a former military man, but he made his living as a novelist. A secret one at that. As far as I was aware, no one knew the scarred recluse actually wrote books. No one aside from me. He also seemed to have an aversion to first names since he always called me by my last name.

  Jack was one of the only people in town I conversed with on a semi-friendly basis. Maybe it was because we were both loners and he knew when to leave well enough alone. Unlike Leo.

  I glanced out the window again, my mind right back on Pepper. I knew she had to be coming into work any time now. Part of me wanted to know Pepper’s schedule. Like I’m some kind of fucking stalker? But it wasn’t that I was creeping around, hoping to get glances of her, wanting to stay in the shadows. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to get to kno
w her. But I wasn’t that type of man. Not really.

  Then change that.

  I didn’t go out of my way, didn’t put myself out there, because the very thought of rejection, especially from Pepper, scared the living shit out of me. So I tried to focus on the task at hand, inventorying things, forcing myself not to look out the window. Of course I failed… miserably.

  I was about to turn and head to the back, gather some more inventory, and stock the shelves, when I couldn’t stop myself as I lifted my head and stared out the thick glass once more.

  My heart jumped into my throat, my body tightening. There she was, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Her head was downcast, her strides even. The long fall of her auburn hair fell around her shoulders, and my fingers itched to touch it, to see how soft the strands were.

  I never saw her drive into work, but she had to, right? The very idea of her walking to The Stop, not having that kind of protection and barrier at a truck stop, didn’t sit well with me.

  Although Sweetheart was a safe place, the truck stop did bring in people from all over the country. My hands curled into fists as I thought about someone hurting her. It put me in a blind rage, my need to destroy anyone who tried to harm her rising so fast within me.

  I’m losing my fucking mind.

  This couldn’t be normal, given the fact that I really didn’t know her. I’d never said anything remotely personal to her, and she probably didn’t remember the few professional interactions we had over the course of the last twelve months. The couple of times I actually interacted with her was when she waited on me when I’d eaten at the diner. But I’d hung onto every fucking word, unable to take my eyes off her the entire time I’d been there.

  I breathed out slowly once she was inside, giving myself a firm internal shake. I picked up the now empty box of stock and turned, seeing Leo looking at me, his head canted to the side, this knowing smirk on his face.

  I mumbled something under my breath—a curse—not directed at him, but more to myself. I needed to do something about this infatuation with Pepper. Because ignoring it wasn’t an option.

  I tried that for the past year, and things had only gotten worse, my feelings only growing stronger until they consumed me. Whatever this was that I felt for her was real, and there was no chance of it ever going away.

  That was fucking clear.

  2

  PEPPER

  I should’ve known this day was going to be shit as soon as my father stumbled into the house at five this morning reeking of booze.

  I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep, not only because he woke me up, but because he proceeded to pass out in the bathroom after promptly throwing up for a good ten minutes.

  And then, as if my day couldn’t get any worse from cleaning up vomit, as soon as I’d gotten to work, the other waitress who was supposed to help me today ended up calling off.

  So now here I was, working twice as hard but making the same amount, and dealing with customers who doubled as assholes whether from lack of sleep or because they weren’t loved enough in their life.

  I had a tension headache taking up realty right behind my eyes, so I slipped into the back after I put in the newest order and closed my eyes, leaning against the wall and lifting my hands to rub my fingers against my temples.

  Slow circles, easy in and out breathing, and telling myself everything was going to be okay.

  Of course, that was all a lie most times.

  But I kept trucking—which should have been a cheesy line, given the fact that I worked at a truck stop diner, but instead, it depressed me more.

  My part-time status at Cuyahoga Community College, which was the closet college and located in the city of Steamsprings, should have made me feel proud. But it just made me feel even more tired. My dream, my goal, was to be an interior designer one day—maybe not something a girl with my upbringing would have normally aspired to do, but I loved creating and designing and all things abstract. Maybe one day I’d even have my own business.

  And maybe one day I won’t be working at The Stop.

  In other words—keep dreaming.

  “Pepper?”

  I opened my eyes and pushed away from the wall when I heard Jane calling out. She pushed open the back door and searched for me, her apron askew and her work shoes in her hand.

  “Hey,” I called out and smoothed my hands down my own apron. “I thought you were off today.”

  She looked over at me and gave me a warm smile. Jane Ramsey was one of the only reliable waitresses at The Stop. She and I never called off—not like I could afford to anyway—and she was always picking up extra shifts.

  “Alice called to see if I could come in, since Cheryl called off... again.” Jane rolled her eyes. I knew she had a special kind of hate for Cheryl, or maybe it was just annoyance. Either way, right now, I agreed Cheryl wasn’t dependable, and if not for Jane coming in, I would have been screwed.

  Jane started taking her coat off and hung it up, then sat on the small bench by the back door and removed her shoes. She put her work shoes on, which were just a plain pair of white tennis shoes. I’d taken a page out of her book and bought a cheap pair myself—ones that were aesthetically pleasing—which were comfortable as hell, when I’d gotten horrible blisters the first week I started waiting tables.

  “So, no worries. I got your back, girl.” She gave me a wink, and I smiled in gratitude.

  She stood and walked over to me, reaching behind me toward the hook on the wall that held extra aprons. After she had it on, she exhaled, looked at the closed door that led out to the diner, and wrinkled her nose.

  “I’m only gonna say this once, but if any of those truckers try to hit on me tonight, I’m going to put them in their place.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at that.

  We were about to head back out, when Alice pushed her way to the back room, swinging her head right and then finally left to where we stood. She had this relieved look on her face when she spotted Jane, and then turned her attention to me and gave me a sympathetic smile. I knew it was because of Cheryl leaving us high and dry.

  But then her expression changed, and suspicion filled me. “What?” I asked hesitantly, and her expression turned tight-lipped.

  “Wondering if next week you’d want to do a double.”

  I could tell she was hesitant in asking me, mainly because aside from Jane and me, we were the only ones who were reliable enough to actually agree to work extra shifts, let alone show up for them.

  “You know I’m all for some overtime.” And I was. I was saving up for classes for next semester. Extra money meant extra funds toward college tuition.

  She gave me a grateful smile and then started talking to Jane about her station and what was going on the rest of the night.

  I excused myself, jumping right back into waitressing mode, which meant shutting off my emotions, putting on that fake smile, and pushing through an aching back and sore feet for the rest of the night.

  3

  SLOAN

  It had taken damn near a week for me to talk myself into going back into the diner, which was seven days too long to wait and see Pepper. Although I watched her come and go from the diner most days, going there and seeing her in person hadn’t happened yet.

  Because I’m a fucking coward.

  I clenched my jaw at my internal thoughts, pissed at the fucking truth of them.

  But I resolved myself to just being a man and growing a set. I wanted—needed—to be honest with her and tell Pepper how I felt. And even though a year had passed of me pining after her, obsessing, watching over her... loving her above everything and everyone else, now that I decided to actually come clean with my feelings and tell her, it almost seemed as if I were rushing it.

  So I went through the motions of working, thinking about how I could broach the subject to Pepper once and for all. Talking about my feelings at the diner with her seemed pretty impersonal, but then I told myself it didn’t matter where we
were. I just wanted to see her, spend time with her, and get to know her.

  I wanted to tell her how I felt.

  That I love her.

  I wasn’t even going to touch on the subject that I jerked off to thoughts of her more times than I could count… every night, if I were being honest.

  My desire for her was insatiable, and it seemed nothing could slake it. Hell, even masturbating to the image of Pepper naked on my bed, fantasies of touching her, of burying my face in her long, dark hair, would have me rubbing my palm up and down my shaft until I came so hard I saw stars. And even after that completion, my arousal was even worse, stronger.

  By the time I closed up, the sun had already set, and the lights from the truck stop were damn near illuminating the entire street. Leo left an hour before, leaving me to wallow and obsess over my thoughts alone. Not that I’d tell him—be honest—about how I felt about Pepper, but he did help distract me.

  I stood there and stared at the diner, telling myself this was what I needed to do. It was eating me up inside, keeping this in, my emotions to myself. It was like a sickness that was spreading, and the only cure, the only antidote, was to tell Pepper. And if she didn’t reciprocate my feelings, it would fucking suck, but that was also life. At least I would’ve told her how I felt and didn’t hide it like a coward any longer.

  But on the heels of that thought, I wondered if I’d be able to let her go. I wouldn’t go down, wouldn’t give her up without a fight, but I supposed there would be a time when I had to cut my losses.

  I felt this deep ache in my chest at that thought and lifted my hand to rub the spot over my heart. How was it humanly possible to feel something so strongly for someone you truly didn’t know very well? And although for the last year I’d been watching her, and coupled with the moments I talked to her at the diner, I felt as though I did know her.

  I might not know what her favorite food was, what she liked and disliked, or even if she had any pets, but those were things you learned when you were close to somebody.