by K. Renee
As soon as the clock hits noon, I feel the fear hit me. What if they come back? Same time, same place kind of thing… I look over my shoulder at the shop and notice that Bentley isn’t out there any longer. I try to look out the window to see if his bike is here, but I don’t see anything. Sighing, I continue to file a few miscellaneous papers that were left out on accident before I decide that I should go and get some food.
Fear can’t keep me hidden in this damn place.
Just as I grab my bag and put my hand on the door handle, someone is pushing it open. Fear paralyzes me slightly, but as soon as I feel him, it all disappears.
“Sorry,” he mutters pushing the door the rest of the way open when I move out of the way. “I brought you something to eat. You looked pretty freaked out when you checked the clock at eleven-thirty, and I didn’t want you to have a panic attack or something.”
I feel my heart skip a beat. “Come on, sit down.” He ushers me back to my desk where I always eat, and I sink into my chair.
“Why?” I ask, not really sure what the hell is going on right this second.
“Because you don’t deserve to be afraid to leave this place at lunch. We will always protect you.” I feel my stomach flutter. That is probably one of the nicest things he’s ever said to me. “If you’re afraid to walk out to your car, just find one of us. We will go with you.”
I nod my head, afraid of how my voice might come out. “Thank you,” I squeak out. He sets a bag down on my desk and starts to pull things from it. He places a sandwich and soup down before grabbing a spoon and some napkins.
I stare at him in awe as I recognize the name of my favorite deli from around the block. “I asked them what you always got, and the girl made sure that it was made how you liked it.” He grabs the bag and makes his way out of the office and towards the shop.
“Thank you.”
He stops dead in his tracks. “Don’t worry about it. It was my pleasure.” He turns again, continuing towards his workstation without looking back.
Chapter Fifteen
Bentley
Three Weeks Later
Most days, I try like hell not to walk into that office. Every time I see her out of the corner of my eye, I want to go in there and kiss the shit out of her, but I can’t. She’s someone else’s, and there is nothing I can do to change that.
The weeks go by similar to that first day I brought her a sandwich from her favorite place. I bring lunch to her, and she looks at me like I hold the damn stars for her, but that’s as far as it goes. Every day is the same damn thing, and most days it isn’t enough.
I want so much fucking more.
Tonight is their damn engagement party, and all of us are supposed to attend. Anslie has been working day and night on getting everything just the way she wants it and threatened to maim me if I fuck it up for Brynn.
I told her I couldn’t promise her anything and that’s the damn truth. I want Brynn and if fucking up her party is the way I get her to see that, then I don’t give a fuck. She’s the only thing that I’ve been able to think about since I’ve been home and fuck if it isn't slowly killing me inside.
I knew I was fucked when it came to her, but I didn’t know how true that was until now.
Since I got home from Seattle, I’ve spent way too much time alone when I’m not working or dealing with shit at the strip club. My life revolves around the club and nothing more. I haven’t gotten off in three damn weeks, and I need the fucking release if I’m going to have to be in the same room as them. I don’t think I can deal with the lovey-dovey shit that I see my brothers and old man pull on their women.
I might just have to throw up and tell everyone to kiss my ass.
Locking myself in my room sounds like a better way to spend my night, but then I’ll be thinking about her while I jack off, and the real thing sounds so much better. One more night with her might do, but I don’t know how sure I am of that. One will turn into two and soon she’ll be a bad habit that I can’t kick. Plus, she’s a good girl who would never do that to someone she loved.
A cheater isn’t the type of woman she is.
As I walk into the bar, I see my sister pointing to the prospects, telling them where to put shit. I head right for her, and when I reach her, I put my arm around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head.
“Hey, Ben,” she says grinning up at me. “What do you think?” I take the time to look around the room, and I see some of the things that I know are Brynn’s favorites. Calla lilies fill the vases on the table tops, and the decorations are in her favorite colors, gray and teal.
“I think you did good, little girl,” I say, still hating the fact that this party is going on still. I want nothing more than to just tell everyone that this fucking thing was canceled and to go home, but I know my sister will raise hell. She’ll send Brant after me and fuck, I don’t need another round with him. Not right now at least.
“She’s going to love it,” I say when I stop feeling sorry for myself for a second. It’s the damn truth though. Brynn will love what Anslie did with the bar.
It doesn’t take long for people to start showing up and me to head to the bar to start drinking. Our old man asked us all to be here to support Brynn and her fiance, but I’d rather be anywhere but here right now. At the strip club is a better spot than this place tonight.
I feel her before I see her. I grab my glass that one of the prospects brought over to me and I down the fucker. I motion for him to pour more before I actually get a glimpse of her. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach when I see the back of her. Her dress is red and tight as fuck. My dick hardens at the sight of her ass in that damn thing as I scan over the rest of her back.
White blonde hair is curled in long strands around her shoulders, and I have to force myself not to move. If I do, I’ll do something that will piss her off. Her laughter fills my ears and I down the new glass, motioning for the poor bastard to just leave the bottle with me instead.
It’s going to be a long fucking night if I have to see her looking like that all damn night. The fucker’s hand slides down her back and rests right above her ass, and part of me wants to march right over there and remove it. He doesn’t deserve her, but neither do I.
The minute she turns, I can feel her eyes on me. I try like hell to ignore her, but it’s impossible. I turn my head and see her staring at me. I take in every inch of her, and it takes my breath away. Instead of pouring the liquor into the glass, I just drink it straight from the bottle, not giving a shit what it looks like.
A hand lands on my shoulder, and when I look behind me, I see my old man standing there, looking at the same thing I am.
“She’s a beauty,” he murmurs before asking the prospect for a drink of his own.
“Yeah,” I mutter. I don’t really want him to think that I’m going to cause a problem for him, so I try to keep my thoughts on how fucking amazing she looks to myself. Two people in this damn family knowing is enough.
“I really thought that shit was gonna go differently.” His voice brings me out of my thoughts.
I turn to face him, leaning back against the bar. “What do you mean?” Part of me already knows what he’s hinting at, but I don’t give him anything to go on. If he knows, then that means pretty much the whole damn club knows.
“I expected her to fall for one of the brothers.” He taps a hand on the bar before giving me a knowing look. The same damn look he gave me when he told me about Anslie and Brant while she was in high school still. He knew that they were something for far longer than the rest of us. He once told me that he saw the writing on the wall and knew the moment he saw them together that they would have broken the rules.
“And which brother is that?” I ask, hating the fact that he can read all of us so fucking well.
“You and I both know the answer to that already, kid.” Instead of saying a word, I just take a swig from the bottle. “If you didn’t give a shit, you wouldn’t be getting drunk at her engageme
nt party.” I roll my eyes in an answer. He fucking knows all. That’s why he’s made such a good president over the years.
“It’s our bar, why wouldn’t I be getting drunk here? It’s not like I’d get shit-faced somewhere else and then drive back here,” I say, trying to get him off my dick about it. I don’t want to talk about how I feel about Brynn and I sure as shit want to get wasted right now.
I look over at them again just as he pulls her to him and kisses her. Every instinct in me is telling me to go over there and knock the fucker out, stealing her away from him but I know that it would only piss her off. All I ever seem to do is piss her off unless it’s me bringing her lunch. That is one thing I can do right apparently.
“You can tell yourself all you want that she isn’t the one for you, but I see it when I watch you. If you want her, go fucking tell her and stop being a pussy, kid. She watches you every chance she gets and we all see how her eyes light up when you bring her her favorite lunches every day since you got back.” With that, he walks over toward the happy couple and pulls Brynn into a hug.
He whispers in her ear, and I watch a blush creep up her neck before she looks over at me. I take another big swig and feel the liquid burn as it settles in my stomach. My old man shakes that douche’s hand before patting him on the back and makes his way toward Henley. I watch as he pulls her to him and kisses her like it’s going to be the last time. He’s always been that way with her, and I feel an ache in my chest just thinking about the connection that they have.
I want that shit too, but now I’m too late.
The girl I crave is going to be someone else’s wife. I take another swig from the bottle, and I start to feel the effects of the liquor. I am definitely not done in the least, and I can bet money that by the end of the night, two people are going to hate me.
---
An hour into the party and I’m already having a hard time standing. I’m drunk as shit, and Brant is the unlucky bastard that has been put in charge of keeping me away from the bride-to-be. As soon as I start to walk toward her for what seems to be the hundredth time, he puts a hand to my chest and stops me.
“You need to sit your drunk ass down and stay the fuck away from her,” he grumbles in my ear. I do as he says and take a seat, but it doesn’t keep me in place for long.
When Brant is busy telling Anslie something, I get up and practically run across the damn room to where Brynn is standing talking to some girl that I don’t even bother looking at. I don’t say anything to her, I just wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her mouth to mine, kissing the shit out of her.
I don’t bother caring about the loud gasps in the room or the sound of the boots coming toward me. All I care about is kissing the girl in front of me.
Her body melts into mine for a second before she’s pushing me off of her and Brant and Anslie is getting between us. Anslie gives me a dirty look before turning towards Brynn who looks ready to punch me. I hear the commotion beside me, but my focus is only on her.
“Get him out of here, now.” My old man’s voice drifts through the others, and Brant and Robbie are dragging me through the damn room toward our rooms.
“I want to talk to him before he goes,” someone says from behind me, but they don’t let me stop moving. They just continue to drag me while I stumble every few steps, knocking into both of them.
“Her fiance is pissed,” Robbie laughs as we come to a stop in front of my door. Brant unlocks it as quickly as he can before he pushes me through it.
“Anslie is pissed,” he mutters. I can’t help but roll my eyes at that. When isn’t my sister pissed about something lately? If I didn’t know any better, I would guess she’s pregnant or something again.
Chapter Sixteen
Brynn
The funny thing about inviting the guy you were hung up on to your engagement party is that something bad is bound to go wrong.
Personally, I thought that for sure I’d be the one to do something stupid. That’s one of the reasons I am not drinking tonight. I knew that I would be trapped in the same bar as him all night and alcohol always makes me do stupid things. I had sex with Bentley after a few drinks. I thought I was falling for him after a few more when I got home that night and every night that he ignored me after that.
I was an idiot to ever think that he would want more than just one night with me. I mean, he can have any woman he wants, some plain girl from Las Vegas isn’t what he’s looking for.
“I can’t believe he had the nerve to kiss you in front of everyone,” Aaron grounds out. He’s pacing in front of me, and part of me is still hung up on that kiss. One kiss shouldn’t change everything, but for some reason it does. I shouldn’t want anything to do with Bentley after the way he treated me, but I do.
“Just because his dad owns this place doesn’t give him the right to kiss my fiancee in front of everyone.” He’s been going on like this since Bentley was drug out of here by Brantley and Robbie. Aaron tried to get them to stop, but they knew better. I’m sure even in his drunken state, Bentley would have punched Aaron just for speaking.
I put my hand on Aaron’s arm, and he finally stops moving. He turns to face me, and I stare into his eyes, trying to find something that reminds me why we are even together. He made me forget the pain and that Bentley left me with when he all but ran away.
“I love you.” His lips brush against mine and he says it again. “I love you, Brynn.”
I don’t say anything, I just wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me. I can’t say the words. After that kiss, I don’t even know how I feel. It’s like I’m stuck inside of a bad dream and I’ll never be able to wake up from it.
“Hey, Brynn.” I pull away at the sound of Anslie’s voice. Looking over at her, I can see the unsure look in her eyes as she takes us in. “Can I talk to you for a second?” I nod my head and look up at Aaron for a second before I release him and follow her toward the bar.
We come to a stop in front of the bar, and she motions for drinks before ushering me to sit down next to her.
“What’s wrong, Anslie?” I ask, hating that she looks ready to throw up at any second. The guy behind the bar sets two drinks in front of us, and I watch her gulp down half of her glass before she turns to face me.
“I’ve never seen my brother like that. I don’t know what is going on with him lately, but I think it has to do with you.” My mouth drops open, and I just stare at her, not saying a word. How the hell is his crankiness my fault?
“He wanted nothing to do with me. He was the one that pushed me away.” The words are choked out. I grab my glass and down the entire thing, hating the way the liquor burns as it goes down my throat and into my stomach. I cough a few times before asking the guy behind the bar for another drink.
“He’s in love with you.” I close my eyes at that. There is no fucking way.
Shaking my head, I grab the glass again and take another big gulp of the amber liquid. The burning isn’t as bad this time, and when I open my eyes this time, a tear slips from the corner of my eyes.
“You know, I always thought that when I agreed to marry someone, my engagement party wouldn’t be ruined by a guy who didn’t give two shits about me two years ago when I was head over heels in love with him.” I slap my hand over my mouth, and my shoulders slump when I hear him clear his throat behind me.
Turning my head, I see Aaron standing behind me. He has a pissed off expression on his face, and I know that I’m partly to blame now. He’s probably angry that I never told him about Bentley and my feelings for him.
Anslie puts her hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze before downing the rest of her drink. “Do you want me to stay?” she whispers, so I only hear her.
I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking that it might be a good idea, but shake my head no. “We should probably go. I’m sure we need to talk about this,” I whisper back. She nods in understanding before standing up and making her way toward the rooms down the hall.
“Let’s go.” I don’t say a word in response because I already know he’s angry. There is nothing that I could say or do right now that would make this a better situation, so I just do as I’m told.
Aaron grabs my hand and all but drags me through what’s left of the party, and we get stopped by Cason near the entrance. He doesn’t say a word, but he watches me closely. He looks between Aaron and me before his eyes go down to my wrist. I shake my head no, and Cason doesn’t say anything other than have a good night.
I pull out of Aaron’s grip and wrap my arms around the man that has been nothing but supportive since I started working for him at Wayward Cycles. “Thank you for everything. I’m so sorry for the drama.”
His arms tighten around me, and he whispers in my ear, “You need anything, call.” I nod my head quickly before pulling myself from his grip and walking with Aaron out the door of Wayward Tavern and toward Aaron’s truck.
For the first time ever, he doesn’t open the door for me or help me inside. Getting into the truck, I try not to let it affect me. I know he’s mad and that is probably why he is being like this. Bentley was out of line and fuck it was so damn hot even though it should have never happened.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath trying to think about something, anything other than what is going on right now.
“You were in love with him.” His voice is angry and bitter.
I don’t answer right away, but I’m sure he already knows the answer since I just said it out loud to Anslie at the bar. “Brynn.” His voice raises a few notches, and I flinch at the sound.
“Yes,” I whisper into the truck. My whole body goes numb with that admission. I can’t believe I just admitted to that. Aaron stops the truck abruptly, and I freeze. I don’t know what is about to happen and part of me is terrified that he might do something crazy.