Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
The clubhouse door swings open, and Mellow steps out, cigarette dangling from his mouth, a grin already forming. “Well, look at you,” he drawls. “In before nine. Must be serious if it pulled you away from sleep or sex. Which was it?”
I glare at him. “Neither.”
He arches a brow. “Regular bitch is on her period. Got it.”
I shoulder past him. “Shut up, Mellow.”
He follows anyway, because the man has no survival instinct. In fact, I dare to say he wants to dance with the devil and will die with a smile on his face thinking here I come to the flames of hell.
Inside, the usual morning chaos is underway—Stunt arguing with Looney about a part for his bike, Grit polishing his shotgun at the knife like it’s therapy, Saged in deep conversation with Shaft about some business the club has going on.
Just another day.
And yet I feel out of place.
Like I left something behind in that bakery.
No. Not something. Someone.
“Riot,” Gainz calls, not bothering to look up from the papers in front of him. “Office. Now.”
Fantastic.
I head into the back, the door clicking shut behind me. Gainz doesn’t look up at first; he’s scribbling something on a form, jaw tight. When he finally lifts his gaze, one look at my face seems to tell him everything.
“You look like shit,” he states and I want to punch him.
“Good morning to you too.”
He drops the pen and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. “So. You and Kelly.”
I stiffen. “We’re done.”
His brows rise slowly, like he’s giving me the chance to walk that back. I don’t.
Gainz exhales through his nose. “Thought you were takin’ that slow and steady.”
“Slow and steady turned into complicated,” I mutter.
“Complicated or you caught feelings?”
I shoot him a sharp look. “Don’t start.”
He tilts his head. “I don’t need to start, brother. You already in the middle of whatever the hell this is. And you’re handling it poorly.”
“Thanks for the insight,” I snap.
“Chux know?” He asks and I shake my head.
“He hasn’t asked, I haven’t shared.”
Gainz doesn’t blink. “Tell me what happened.”
I scrub both hands over my face. “She wanted more.”
“Did she say that?”
I hesitate. “Not in those words.”
“So you guessed,” Gainz deadpans. “And decided for both of you.”
My jaw ticks. I’m not here for therapy. He called me in here for what I assumed was club business or work. Not some bullshit chat about who I’m fucking or not fucking in this situation.
“She kept lookin’ at me like she expected something I can’t give her,” I share frustrated, but also knowing outside of my brother, Gainz is my closest friend. “She deserves more than a man whose life is strapped to chaos and club business. More than nights that end with me leaving before dawn because I can’t promise what comes next.”
“She didn’t ask for promises,” he counters. “She asked for honesty.”
Honesty. A foreign language I’ve never been fluent in. I pace the small room. “I did what was best.”
“Bullshit.”
My head snaps up. Gainz stands, bracing his palms on the desk as he leans toward me, eyes sharp. “You did what was easy. What was familiar. You pushed away something good before it had a chance to scare you.”
My fists clench at my sides. “She wanted more.”
“And you didn’t want to want her back.” His voice softens—not gentle, but knowing. “Because you did. I saw it.”
I look away, throat tight. “She said don’t fall in love with her.”
“And did you?” he asks.
Silence.
It stretches between us, thick and uncomfortable.
Gainz sits back down. “That’s what I thought.”
I blow out a harsh breath. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”
“For now,” he says. “But don’t kid yourself—this isn’t over. Not for you.”
He’s wrong.
Except he’s not. And that pisses me off more than anything.
Before he can dig deeper, my phone buzzes. I check the screen: a message from the hardware store confirming my panel part is ready for pickup. Needed to change out a piece in the electrical panel of my house and I am thankful for the chance to escape this shit.
“Gonna go grab that part,” I mutter.
Gainz nods. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Define stupid.”
“Anything involving your feelings.”
I flip him off on my way out, and he chuckles.
But the second I step outside, the weight settles back on my shoulders.
I can’t stay here. Can’t sit still. My head’s too loud and too full of Kelly standing in that hallway, chin high, heartbreak in her eyes she tried like hell to hide.
Acquaintances, she agreed.
She didn’t mean it. And I hated that she even tried.
I swing a leg over my bike, rev the engine, and let the vibration drown out everything else. The ride helps until it doesn’t—until I’m parked outside the hardware store, staring down the strip mall at the glass door knowing she isn’t far from me.
I can envision it perfectly. Her curls spilling over her shoulders. Her laugh. Her eyes going soft when she thought I wasn’t looking.