by Sam Crescent
“How about I join you?”
“You want to spend the day with me and Skylar?”
“I couldn’t think of anything better.”
“Okay. Get your butt down here, Paul.”
He was already making his way out of the diner, ignoring Damon as he spoke. Straddling his bike, he turned the engine over.
“Paul?”
“Yeah.”
“I get the feeling that she has been through so much already. I think it would be worth taking our time with her.”
Paul paused. “We haven’t talked about this.”
“We both know we want her, Paul. I’m not going to pretend I don’t.”
“We’ll talk.”
“Okay.”
Hanging up his cell, he was about to pull out of the diner’s parking lot when Damon stopped him.
“Where the fuck are you going? James asked us to help Lucy out today, remember?”
Paul groaned.
With Dane, Lucy’s husband—or at least soon to be ex-husband—back, they had been providing some help in buffering the relationship between Dane and his family.
Dane had left his family, just got up one day, and didn’t come home for a good few years.
The club had tried to look for him. One of them had even gone out to check out all the leads, but they had come to nothing. The problem with Dane was simple. He would have only ever been found when he wanted to.
Of course, Dane had turned up when Lucy, his wife, had started to move on. She had finally gotten somewhere good with the rancher, Lewis. Even her oldest son Ryan had been dealing with his father’s abandonment. Then, in classic Dane style, he had come back out of hiding, and screwed them all over.
Paul released a sigh. “Get Randy to help you. I’ll swap, and do an extra next week. I’ve got to go.”
Before Damon could complain at him, he was out onto the main road.
Guilt swamped him, and he stopped his bike and glanced back. Damon had his arms folded, and was waiting.
This was the one part of being in the clubhouse they never passed up.
They had all wanted to vote Dane out, but because he had a family, they had decided to keep him in the club.
The man was an unreliable asshole.
Which is exactly what you’re being.
Turning his bike around, he pulled in front of Damon. “Give me a second.”
Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed Leo’s number.
“Hello.”
“You’re going to have to do this shit without me. I completely forgot that I was on Dane patrol.”
Leo laughed. “I already figured that out. I wasn’t waiting for you. When it came to Dane we all drew the short straw.”
“If the asshole didn’t have fucking kids, I’d have buried his ass already. Fine, have fun with Skylar. We’ve got to talk though.”
“We will tonight. Have fun.”
“I already know you’re going to have way more fun than me.”
Pocketing his cell phone, he waited for Damon to straddle his own bike, and then they were heading toward town. Only they veered off, and went down one of the streets toward Lucy’s home. It had long stopped being Dane’s when he left.
The moment he pulled up outside of the house, he heard shouting, and he saw Dane’s bike.
“Fucking asshole,” Damon said.
It was hard for all of the club. Dane had been one of them, but he had screwed that over, and now none of them could trust him.
Climbing off his bike, Paul knocked on the door, and made his way toward the noises. Dane, Lucy, and Lewis were in the kitchen. From the look on Lewis’s and Dane’s faces, things were not going well.
“Paul,” Lucy said, with a sigh of relief. “Erm, Ryan needs some help in the garden. I don’t suppose you could help, could you?”
“You don’t need me in here?” he asked, looking at Dane. His club brother was an embarrassment to their patch.
Dirty Fuckers MC played hard and partied hard, but they were fucking loyal. That was what they did. They were loyal to the core. Dane had broken that when he left his family.
“I’ve got this,” Damon said.
Nodding, Paul made his way out toward the garden, watching as Ryan was throwing his fists against the punching bag they had installed a few months ago.
“Hey, kid,” he said.
Ryan looked toward him, and smiled. “Paul. I didn’t know you were coming here.”
“Asshole turned up before we could get here. You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Paul stood behind the punching bag, and allowed Ryan to have at it.
“Are you sure?” Ryan asked.
“Dude, punch the bag already. Just seeing Dane again makes me want to hurt something. You’re his son, and he’s betrayed your trust. Tell me you don’t want to hit something.”
“I do.”
“Then be a man. You take that anger, and you channel it elsewhere. Remember, never hurt anyone that didn’t hurt you. You never hurt a woman or a kid, or a guy that can’t fight back. You have morals.” Paul slapped the bag. “Remember all of those points, and it means you have what it takes to be a Dirty Fucker.”
Ryan snorted. “Who came up with your name?”
“It was a joint effort.” He winked. “Now, get your head out of the gutter. You need to understand and be able to cope with that anger, that rage.”
Ryan started to hit the bag. At first it was a light touch, nothing too hard. Paul held the bag, and as Ryan became more confident, and less afraid of hurting him, he really gave the bag some, unleashing all of that anger until he pulled away, sweating, looking exhausted.
“I can’t do anymore.” Ryan shook his head, and collapsed onto the ground. “I’m a bad person, aren’t I?”
Paul sat beside the kid.
“No. What makes you think that?”
“I get so angry sometimes. I want to hit him. I want to hurt him.”
“Dane?”
“Yes. It’s all him. He’s not my father.” Ryan shook his head. “I can’t let him get close. Not again. He keeps stopping by at the school, and my friends can see him.” The disgust on Ryan’s face was clear to see. “Then he arrives this morning just as Lewis does, and kisses Mom, and he goes crazy. I don’t want to be like him.”
Paul sighed. “He’s your father no matter what, and I get it. I do. You don’t want to be like your father, and you shouldn’t have to be. You’re a better man than that, Ryan.”
“Hitting things, that doesn’t make me a good man.”
“No, hitting people who don’t deserve it. Now that is what makes you a bad person. You’re a kid, and yeah, I know you’re a teenager and whatever. Just remember all of us were boys once. Some of us have to deal with that aggression. It’s not just you.” Paul glanced back at the house. “Is that why they’re fighting? Dane couldn’t stand to see Lucy with someone else.”
“That and Lewis has asked if we would all move in together. Dane’s telling them no. He’s our father, and he’ll have the final say.”
“Just because Dane’s your father, doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s an asshole.” Paul winked, and he heard more shouting. “I have a feeling some ass kicking is going to happen. Do you want to move in with Lewis?”
Ryan glanced around the garden, and then looked toward the house. “I think it would be good. He said he’d teach me how to ranch, and he thinks it would be good for me. I’ve talked to him about dealing with this.”
“Putting you to work is a good way of keeping you out of trouble.” Paul ruffled Ryan’s hair. “Come on. Let’s go and see the damage your dad has caused.”
****
“That is a lot of books,” Leo said.
Skylar walked out of the library with about ten books, maybe more. A couple were cookery books, and a few more were romance books. She was bored being stuck in all day, and all night. Whenever she had nightmares of the past, they always kept her awake, and she didn’t want to spend her evenings thinking ab
out the past. No, she wanted to think of the future, or fluffy romance goodness.
“I intend to do a lot of reading.” She had also applied for a position in the library. She was hopeful of the job there. Working in a salon wasn’t what she wanted to do with her day. The chemicals always made her nostrils itch, which was weird, she knew that, but it was the way it had always been. “Do you know anywhere else I could apply?”
“Do you know much about the law?”
“Nope.”
“Then besides Teri, nope. I think applying in the real estate offices was a big mistake, and the grocery store, let’s not forget the law enforcement station, as well. There are just some things you’re not going to be able to forget.”
She smiled. It had been good to start applying for work. The real estate offices hadn’t been about applying for a job though. No, she had asked them for places to rent. The woman there had looked her up and down, and told her no.
There was also the internet to check out as well. She wasn’t out of options. At least not yet, and she wasn’t going to give up hope of finding somewhere to live.
“So Paul called and he was going to be joining us, but he got held up, so I was wondering what you thought of a little bit of shopping?” he asked. “My treat.”
“You want to take me shopping?”
“I want to take you to have some fun. There’s a mall near the city. It’s a couple of hours. What do you say?” he asked. “We’re not on my bike either, so it’s all comfort.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll be happy with that,” she said.
He opened up the trunk of the car, and she placed the books in carefully, and then climbed into the passenger side.
Once he was seated in the driver’s seat, he started the car and pulled away. Opening the window, she basked in the feel of the fresh air on her face. It was nice to get out into the sunshine.
“Those pancakes this morning were so good,” he said.
“I’m pleased you enjoyed them. They’re what I make whenever Teri is feeling poorly, and as you saw this morning, she looked like death warmed up.”
“She does not handle her liquor well.”
“All that partying will catch up to her, but I’m not going to judge. We like to live our lives differently.”
“Yeah, have you had anyone in your life then? Someone that we can expect to come back and claim you?” Leo asked.
Skylar laughed. “No, of course not. There’s no one waiting for me either. I’m all good and alone.” She ran her hands down her thighs. “I mean, I’ve had boyfriends before, so don’t think I’ve not.”
Leo looked over at her.
“What about you? Any girls?” she asked.
“Nope. No one. I am a free agent. Neither has Paul, just so you know. What happened to your last relationship?”
“You’re a little nosy.”
“I’m curious, not nosy. Besides, friends should know these kinds of things about each other.”
“That’s what we are? Friends?”
“Don’t you want to be my friend?”
He pouted, and she felt guilty. “Of course I do. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this kind of talk.”
“What talk?”
“Friends.” It was mortifying actually. She had never had a friend before. Kind of silly really. “I’ve never had anyone to talk to. Teri has been my best friend.”
“She’s your sister.”
“I don’t make friends easily.” Understatement of the decade for her.
“Well, good for you, I happen to be awesome at making friends, and I can guide you into all the awesome things.”
“I bet you could.” She laughed.
Leo was a fun, loving, amazing guy. He was sweet, charming, and everything that she had hoped to be with one day. Of course that would never happen.
“So tell me about your previous guy. We’re friends here, remember. Don’t leave out the gory details.”
“I met someone. He wasn’t … very nice. It ended, and I came here.”
“That is so not giving the juicy details. Okay, I’ll tell you about mine. So one day, two women walk into a club. They live in town, and two men spot one woman, and she’s cute, nice even. One thing leads to another, and the two men share her. She tells them all night how she would love the opportunity to be loved by two men, and how much she could love two men. So these two men decide to give it a shot. At the end of the day, these two men are not getting any younger, and with old age being a factor, they figure it’s worth a shot.”
Skylar stared at Leo as he told his story.
“Anyway, the next morning, clarity is with you, right? But this woman still tells these two men that she wants forever. Now, both of these men think this woman is exactly who she says she is. She’s beautiful, charming, nice, and kind, and she seems to want exactly the same thing that these two men want. A family, a future, love. So, this woman strings the two men along, saying how much she would love to have a family, fall in love, and get everything that these two men one day hope to have. Anyway, you know what sucks for these two men?”
“No. I don’t know,” she said.
“These two men discover that she was only having a good time, and was using them to get another man. She was cheating on them, and all the time these two men thought they could have hope. Even though the same two men were only doing it for the other one to make him happy. Now these two men have to live with the club thinking they are heartbroken. I guess in a way they were, but more because they were sucked in by a woman’s falseness.”
“You’re not heartbroken?” she asked.
“Nope. I cared about the woman she was pretending to be. That woman didn’t exist. I was pissed off more than anything. Now that is sharing a past experience, babe. Your turn.”
She ran fingers through her hair. Even though she had pulled it up that morning to do breakfast, she had taken it down to go out.
“I had a boyfriend, and at first it was fine. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t get chills, or feel much of anything. Being with him was nice, and that niceness changed when I saw his friends. They laughed and mocked him because I was a girl who was fat. I was the fat girl. Yep, that was me. Then he wanted me to lose weight, and he kept constantly telling me exactly how horrible I was. Let’s just say that for a long time life has sucked. Anyway, Teri inviting me came at the best or the worst time in my life. There’s no one from my past who is going to be coming for me. Don’t worry about that.” She smiled at him.
Leo pulled into the parking lot of the mall. “I think you’re a very beautiful woman, Skylar.”
“I’m fat.”
He sighed. “You can stop that right now. Some people may think you’re fat, but I don’t. I think you’re a beautiful woman.”
She stared at him, and was shocked to see that he truly believed that. There was no humor in his face. Leo meant what he said.
“Thank you.” Her cheeks heated. “That is probably the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.”
“I noticed you and Teri don’t talk about your childhood. I take it your parents weren’t exactly loving.”
She froze. “I just don’t talk about that.”
“One day maybe you will trust me enough to talk about it.” He climbed out of the car. “Come on, let’s go and shop.”
Skylar took his hand, and turned him. “Thank you. You didn’t have to tell me about your story, but you did. Thank you so much.”
Leo smiled, and he leaned in close, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Like I said to you before. You’re going to learn to trust me.”
She wanted that, more than anything. Leo was a sweet man, and she hoped one day, she could be able to have someone that she could call a friend.
Chapter Four
Paul was at Skylar’s door, and he saw it was partially open. It was a Saturday evening, and Leo was already at the diner waiting for them. His friend had spent so much time with Skylar that he wanted the same chance.
With the door open,
he was able to see Skylar. Did she not know that the door wasn’t closed? He figured as much because she was walking around in a pair of red lacy panties and a matching bra.
Gritting his teeth, he tried not to give away that he was peeping. She looked so womanly. Her curves called to him, and her tits, they were nice and large. He couldn’t wait to have her riding his cock. She would be so perfect for them.
She was just pulling on a dress, and he took a few steps away, then cleared his throat, knocking on the door.
He heard Skylar squeal, and then she was opening the door. “I didn’t even know that was open. I’m so sorry if I gave you a show there. Oh, my God, this is so embarrassing.”
Her cheeks were beet red, and he didn’t like to see her so uncomfortable.
“I don’t know what you mean. I was wondering if you’d like some company for the diner. I can be quite magnificent,” he said, pushing his hair to one side, and pretending to be a prince.
She laughed. “That’s funny.”
“I have to say, people don’t realize how amazing I am. It’s the Dirty Fuckers image I’m afraid.”
“Your name is very colorful. I doubt when people see it they instantly think of tough and scary bikers.”
“You’re right. They probably think of smelly bastards.” He shrugged. “It’s a name that we all liked, and of course we were all thinking about sex, and how we like it. Dirty, mean, and everything that makes sex good.” He leaned against the doorframe, watching her as she pulled on a pair of flats. She stood and smiled at him.
“Good sex. I get it.” She smiled. “You didn’t see anything then with the door being open?”
He could tell her, and then she would act differently around him. He didn’t want that. “I didn’t see a thing.” Sometimes a little white lie was best. “Leo told me that you had a productive day.”
“Yes, we did. It was a lot of fun. At least, I enjoyed it, and I bought some things I probably shouldn’t have.”