“That’s all well and good, but any apology needs to come from her, and I just don’t see her doing that.” Liza answered him before turning and leaving the room.
“She’s not wrong,” Whiskey responded to the closed door.
“No, she’s not,” I agreed before turning to my buddies who were looking around my place like they’d never been here before. Hell, to be honest, it had definitely changed, and I couldn’t help but hear that little voice in my head that said, ‘it’s for the better too’.
“Things look different in here,” Fox finally announced, mirroring my own thoughts, and proving we still had the chance to get back to that close-knit friendship we once had where we enjoyed being on that save wave-length.
“Well, things change with time.”
“Yeah, I get that, but it looks almost like a fucking home in here. You have your guy shit,” he pointed to some of my clothes strewn across the loveseat. “And you have the girly shit,” he added as he pointed out some of Liza’s makeup sitting on the bedside table on her side of the bed. She didn’t wear a lot, but she had it just in case her ‘face was fucked up in the morning’. Her words, not mine. Fox pointed to the bed where Liza and I had been working before they interrupted. “Then you have that,” he stated with a wave of his arms as he stepped closer and took a glance at what each of us had been working on. “You’re doing work together?” He finally asked.
“Yeah, she helped me on a tattoo consult I had last week, and now I’m helping her with a rebranding campaign she’s working on.” I shrugged my shoulders as if that were no big deal. Fox took the time to really take in my response. He seemed to come to some conclusion as he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest.
He shook his head back and forth for a minute as if he couldn’t believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He spoke them anyway. “We haven’t been there for you.” It was a simple statement, but it had both Whiskey and myself snapping our full attention to him. Fox turned from me to Whiskey and frowned. “We haven’t. We’ve been failing our best friend, because we were too caught up in our own shit. We didn’t even help you get Liquid Lines set up.”
“We offered, a few times, and he kept refusing,” Whiskey protested.
“Yeah, I imagine that’s because he was trying to run away from our bullshit instead of getting sucked into more of it.” Fox turned back to me, as did Whiskey. “I’m not wrong, am I?”
“You’re not wrong,” I agreed.
“Why the fuck couldn’t you talk to us about it?” He asked then.
“I tried.”
“The fuck you did,” Whiskey argued.
“The fuck I didn’t. You just wouldn’t hear me. Every time I told you that the group sex wasn’t my scene you pulled me in anyway, and told me it was time to get over Camilla. I was long over Camilla, but you never gave me even a second to talk about her, the fact that I was over her, or anything else. You just blew it off every time like I was still pining away because I wasn’t jumping on the nearest pussy. I knew what I fucking wanted and needed in my life, and it wasn’t easy pussy to take the memories away. I wanted a fresh start with someone who wouldn’t walk into a tainted past if they came here and found 10 club whores and your girlfriend that I’d been fucking. I never wanted to bring a woman into a situation where she would have to wonder about my fidelity or what some sweetbutt might say when I wasn’t there to hear it.” I slumped into the chair I had in the corner, ignoring Liza’s clothes that were spilling off of it.
“I was making sure that when I found the right woman, she would be okay with my lifestyle, comfortable being around my friends and family. I wanted to make sure I deserved her as much as she deserved me. You get what I’m saying?”
“Hell,” Fox breathed out. “And we stole that shit from you.” I didn’t answer as he looked around and took in the well-lived in state of my room. “She’s perfect for you, isn’t she?” He finally asked.
“Yeah, she is,” I told him.
“And we fucked it up before she ever got here, because we were too stupid to listen to what you were actually telling us. We thought…”
“I know what you thought, Fox. I just couldn’t convince either of you that you were wrong, especially when you had your girl telling you that I was just in denial the whole time. I don’t know what her deal is with me, but I’ve told her, in more ways than one that I was ONLY her friend. There should have been no misunderstanding there.” I sighed. “Then from the moment I brought Liza here, she’s been in her face about how I belong to the three of you. I fucking don’t. I explained everything to Liza so she would understand. I did that the first day Amy got in her face while trying to get into my room – a room she should have never felt she had the right to enter without my permission – and I thought that would be enough. You know? I thought, okay, this is all out in the open. She knows my truth, but damn it, every time we get settled, and I feel like we might be able to move forward a bit, there’s another load of drama popping up. I watched her cringe, as I had to go over what kind of sex I did and didn’t have with Amy while she stood there listening and watching earlier. Do you think that’s how I want to try to start something with a woman I’m falling for?”
Both Whiskey and Fox stood there looking shell-shocked. “I shouldn’t have to put off my feelings for a woman I’m sharing space with, because I’m afraid of the drama that’s going to creep up on us. I shouldn’t have to fucking deal with having to talk about sexual acts with another woman in front of her. I shouldn’t have to deal with having a woman claiming to be pregnant, and me being the possible father when that’s damn well impossible, in front of the woman that I am falling in love with. And she shouldn’t have to be dealing with any of that shit at all, period!” By the time I got that all out, my voice had risen to a bark, just below a yell. My bark was starting to into a bit of a bite as well, because all the anger I had been shoveling away finally found a way to the surface, and my inner calm was no longer capable of holding it at bay. “I blame all of you for this. I’m fucking pissed as hell at you both and at Amy too. You’re all fucking ruining something that could be so fucking good!”
I pointed to the bed. “Look at that! Fucking look!” I yelled when Whiskey didn’t seem inclined to take his eyes off of me. “I’ve never been so at peace before in my life as I am sitting side by side with her just doing our thing. Look what happens though. We couldn’t even keep that peace for more than two hours, because she was trying to talk me through all the shit that just went down in the kitchen a while ago. You took a moment that should have been fucking Nirvana for me, and you spoiled it with your selfish ass bullshit.” I tugged at the lengthy spikes on the top of my hair in frustration as they both glanced back my way. “I never wanted to lose any of you as a friend, I never would have thought there would come a time when I didn’t have your backs and you didn’t have mine. I gotta say though, I don’t want any of you near me right now, because you’re taking the one good thing I have had in a really long time and you are laying a taint on it so thick, that I don’t know if I can dig my way back out. The one thing I was trying to avoid happening if I ever found a woman that was worth my fucking time… and it’s coming from my best friends. Not some strange club whores like I had imagined when I avoided random pussy. No, she’s getting kicked out of our room so we can rehash the drama you guys and your girlfriend have brought into my life, unwanted and uninvited. You are supposed to have my six, man.” I slumped over a bit, because it literally felt like the weight of the world – at least my part of the world – had dropped right on top of my shoulders.
“I tried being her friend. I tried placating you guys even when it fucking didn’t sit right with me. I tried to make everyone else happy, but when the fuck were any of you going to think about me and what I actually wanted? Now, you’ve fucking spoiled what I wanted. How the fuck do we carry on a friendship now when all I see is what you’ve ruined for me with your selfishness?”
“Je
sus, man!” Whiskey finally spoke up after my voice broke on the last. “Holy fucking hell. I didn’t… we were…” he glanced in desperation at Fox who looked just as lost. “How the fuck do we make this right?”
“Take Amy away from the clubhouse. You guys have a place in town. Take her there, and keep her away for a while. I don’t fucking want to see her after that shit she just pulled. You guys might not have known I never had sex with her, because she led you to believe otherwise, but she damn well knew better. I am not okay with what she did today. That was purposeful and malicious, and then she tried using her tears and crying to get you to miss the fact that not only did she lie to you about the extent of our alone time, but she was knowingly starting drama in front of Liza, and doing it repeatedly. I can’t make myself be okay with it. She purposely attempted to sabotage something for me. Whether it was just a simple friendship with Liza, or a budding relationship, it doesn’t matter. Amy set out to fuck that up for me, and you two stood by helping her out. Whether you realized you were doing it or not. You want to make shit right, keep her the fuck away from me until I am ready to deal with her. Her feelings on the matter mean fuck all to me at this point.”
“We will,” Fox said without hesitation.
Chapter 11
Liza
Why don’t you do those fancy bartender moves I see in movies?” I asked Rabbit as he poured another shot.
“Look around, woman! Who the fuck would I be impressing with those moves? My brothers or their Old Ladies?” He shook his head dramatically back and forth. “The BRATs want to sleep with me anyway, so I don’t have to bother trying to impress them do I?
“I suppose you have a point,” I laughed as I agreed with him. “Want me to show you some tricks I learned when I worked in the casino bar?”
“Oh, hell yeah!” One of the guys sitting at the bar shouted. I wasn’t familiar with him since he wasn’t around often.
“Shut it, Mech!” Rabbit hissed at him, then he turned his bright smile on me. “Okay, Ms. Bartender Badass, show me your skills!”
“Be prepared,” I stated, building up the tension. I took a fifth of rum, a glass, a lime wedge, and pulled the spray nozzle that the soda came out of so that it was closer to me. I popped the lime wedge in my mouth peel side first so the wedge was facing outward. Then, I flipped the cup, started a slow pour of the rum, and took the soda spray nozzle and started spraying while I had it aimed at Rabbit. It took a full minute, me spitting out the lime wedge as I laughed, and the other guys joined in for Rabbit to get over his shock.
“You little bitch!” He yelled as I continued to double over in laughter. That was until he pulled the seltzer water sprayer and began hosing me down. We were both laughing so hard that it took us a minute to realize we were being pelted with maraschino cherries. “What the hell?” Rabbit yelped as one nearly got him in the eye. “Damn women!” He hollered as he stood up and I glanced over to see Charlie laughing at our antics.
“I hope you both know that you’re cleaning this mess up before I go back to work behind the bar.” Both she and her man, Rage, were standing there with Iceman and Rabbit’s brother, Spinner, laughing their asses off.
“Guess she taught you a trick after all, huh, brother?”
“Fucking hell. I knew not to trust a woman!” Rabbit joked as he popped me with a coiled up hand towel that he snapped at my ass.
I started mopping up all the soda spray as I continued laughing. “Totally worth it!” I giggled out.
Rabbit looked at Iceman then, “I hope you know we’re keeping her around. I don’t care what goes down for her brother back home. I vote Liza gets to stay.”
“Oh, me too!” Charlie seconded the motion while hopping up and down in her seat as she hit Rage in the side to make sure he knew she meant business.
“Well, you get my vote by default, because I like sex!” Rage announced, clearly not ready to go against his woman’s vote.
“I don’t know why you assholes are voting like it counts. If she wants to stick around, she can stick around. I have no problem with that. Now, get this mess cleaned up, and give me a beer while you’re at it.” Iceman’s smirk gave him away though. He liked me too!
For the first time in a long time I felt like I belonged somewhere. More importantly, I felt safe here with these people. That feeling meant everything! My happy-joy-filled feelings were somewhat short lived when little miss “I’m pregnant with every man’s baby” came strolling up to the bar.
She ignored the rest of the people gathered around, and just gave a cursory glance to the wet state of things – me being one of those things – before launching in with her request. “Can you and I talk?” I turned to glance at Rabbit who just shrugged at me, as if to say that was entirely up to me.
“Sure, why not.”
“Of course you’ll talk so you can get out of cleanup,” Rabbit joked. He also tapped his cell phone to let me know he was just a text away if I needed him. “Use the bar break room in back there,” he said as he tipped his head to the door behind where we had been working.
“Good call,” Iceman told him for some reason. I just tipped the hinged section of bar back so that Amy could get back there, and then we both walked to the little room beyond the storage area.
“What did you want?” I asked bluntly.
I hadn’t expected an actual apology, and the venomous glare I was getting let me know I wouldn’t be receiving one. “I’m not sure how you’ve hoodwinked Tango, but I’m going to need for you to find your own room in this place. There are plenty down the hall with the Sweet butts now that you’ve had four of them fired and none have been replaced yet.”
“Where I sleep, or why I sleep there, is of no concern of yours,” I told her as I crossed my arms over my chest. It wasn’t a defensive gesture. I was trying really hard to not want to hit a pregnant woman. Keeping my hands locked up tight to my chest was part one in keeping my hands to myself.
“It is when you’re clearly having an affect on one of my men,” she started to say.
“You can stop right there. As if he didn’t make his stance clear enough earlier, Tango isn’t your man. He doesn’t want to be your man. He never wanted anything more from you than friendship, and sweetheart, I hate to tell you but your crazy bullshit has the friend-ship sailing away at this point. I’m not sure it will ever return.”
She stepped closer, menacingly so. I kept my hands locked tight, but ready to spring into action if necessary. I didn’t want to hit a pregnant woman, but I’d be damned if I didn’t defend myself if one happened to attack me. “You WILL stay away from him. We were all just fine before you showed up, and we’ll be just fine once you and your problematic ass is gone. I still don’t know why you’re here, but I refuse to lose what’s mine, because you don’t know your place.”
Someone must have clued the guys in to the fact that Amy sought me out, because a booming voice carried over what she was saying in that instant. “Amy, you will back away from Liza now. You’re about to lose a whole lot more than just Tango’s friendship if you keep this shit up.” It was Fox talking.
“W-w-what?” Amy sputtered out as she turned around to see Whiskey, Tango, and Fox all glaring at her.
“You heard him,” Whiskey intoned next. “You have already caused Tango enough trouble, and Liza too. Get over here. We’re taking you to the house, and you are not to come back here without one of us escorting you, understood?”
“What? You can’t do that! She… this is…” She turned so fast none of us saw it coming when the flat of her hand smacked right across my face leaving a burning redness behind in its wake. I stood there, breathing heavy, but refusing to touch her as Fox moved in quickly and snatched her up throwing her over his shoulder.
“I’m really sorry about that, Liza,” he ground out as he hauled her ass out of the room, still shrieking about how everything was my fault.
“Holy fuck!” Whiskey yelled out as he shook his head back and forth. “I honestly don’t
know what the fuck is wrong with that woman, but we will be finding out.” He turned to me then. “Are you okay?” Just as he asked Tango came to me with a sandwich bag full of ice and placed it on my face.
“You okay, babe?” He asked gently. I nodded my head, still too stunned to speak at the moment. “Come here,” he said to me as he pulled out a chair, sat down, and then proceeded to pull me onto his lap. He kissed my shoulder and kept whispering over and over again how sorry he was.
“This isn’t your fault,” I told him.
“No, it’s not. Fox and I should have done something long ago about this shit. You have our apologies. We’ll keep Amy away. I already sent a message to Mech to remove her access to the clubhouse until we get her head on straight. She won’t be allowed here anymore without one of us by her side. I’m so sorry, Liza. Truly. I don’t understand what’s going on with her, but I promise we’ll figure it out.”
I waved him off. “Go, tend to your woman. I suggest you go to her next doctor visit with her and let them know she’s behaving oddly. There might be something wrong, hormonally speaking.” I smiled reassuringly at him as I told him this and he just looked so taken aback by my words.
“The fact that you’re concerned for her health after she hit you…” he took a breath before continuing. “I hope you know that none of this is his fault. We put this problem on his shoulders, he didn’t ask for it. I hope you don’t hold it against T.”
“Why on Earth would I do that?” I asked in all honesty. I knew this wasn’t Tango’s fault. I would never hold someone’s past relationships over their head anyway, but this hadn’t been a relationship. It had been one, long, series of miscommunications. Whiskey smiled at me then.
“Good to know. I better get going. No doubt, Fox has his hands full.”
Once everyone else was gone I moved a little so that I could get Tango to stop hiding out with his head dipped down behind my shoulder. When I finally got him to look me in the eye I smiled at him. “I hope you know I don’t blame you. I don’t think less of you. How could I? I told you about how the men who saw my scars turned me away even though that was a part of my past that was not my fault. I would never do that to someone else. You are an amazing man, and there’s no way I am going to let someone else’s actions and issues burry your greatness. You don’t bow your head, don’t take on her shit, and don’t think for one minute that I don’t know her drama is just that. Hers. It is not a reflection on you, Tango.”
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: Aces High MC (Aces High MC - Dakotas Book 2) Page 11