And that was how we watched my favorite movie.
My crazy pregnant friend annoying the hell out of my new sarcastic friend all while I tried not to think about Pipe or how much my heart still hurt when I was around him.
The man had broken my heart, but I still wanted him, nonetheless.
I really was a fool.
*
Chapter 8
Pipe
“Who the hell were you on the phone with? It’s barely nine o’clock in the morning.”
“A realtor.”
Nickel raised his head from the pillow and cracked one eye open. “Say that again?”
I shook my head and walked into the tiny hotel bathroom. It was a good thing Karmen hadn’t slept at the hotel with us last night. This room barely squeezed in the two double beds leaving two feet between the TV and bed. Shit was fucking tight. “I was on the phone with a realtor,” I called. I turned on the water and splashed cold water on my face. I had woken up twenty minutes ago, immediately grabbed my phone, and headed outside to put my plan into motion.
“Okay, so I did hear you correctly,” Nickel mumbled.
I grabbed one of the dingy towels and wiped my face. “Yeah,” I mumbled.
“So, you buying a house in Weston?”
I leaned against the door frame and shook my head. “Nah. I’m renting a place.”
“Really? You’re done living at the club? I never thought I would see the day.”
I shrugged and tossed the towel over my shoulder. “Guess I’m finally growing up.”
“So what place are you renting? Please don’t say one of those shit ass apartments over in Clearview.”
“Nah, it’s a duplex.”
Nickel scratched his head and fell back on his pillow. “Where the hell is that?”
“About five minutes from here.”
Nickel shot up. “Hold the fuck up. You’re moving here? How the hell is that going to work with the club?”
“I already talked to Wrecker. I don’t plan on living here longer than six months. We’re only an hour from Weston, so it’s really not an issue for me to drive back and forth every day.”
“You’re fucking crazy, brother. You know that chick intentionally moved away from you, right? Now you’re going to chase her down and move in directly next door to her? Seems a bit drastic to me.”
“I think you mean crazy.” I still couldn’t believe myself that I was doing this. Seeing Nikki had fucked me.
When she was in Weston, living in the same town as me, I didn’t feel rushed. I knew she was different from any chick I had been with, but I figured I had time. Now with her gone and possibly moving on from whatever the hell happened to us, it lit a fire under my ass. I still didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I wasn’t going to give her up that easily.
“So, what? You gonna move in next to her and just happen to fall into her bed every night? I have to tell you, brother, Nikki is nothing like the chicks in your past. Which, by the way, was exactly what you treated her like back in Weston.”
“What the hell do you mean?” There was no way Nickel knew what happened between Nikki and me.
“I mean the fact she walked in on you getting it on with some club whore.”
“You fucking spying on me, asshole?”
Nickel shook his head. “No. She told Karmen and Alice what happened between you two, and I happened to overhear.”
“What the hell did she say?”
Nickel shrugged and tossed his feet over the edge of the bed. “She came over to your room, planning on hooking up with you and you were there with some other chick.”
“That’s all she said?”
“Wasn’t what she said, more like how she said it. You should have known that although she said she knew the score with you, she wasn’t going to be able to be pushed away.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. I would need a fucking cigarette if I was going to have this conversation. “I didn’t push her away. I wasn’t fucking thinking when Toni said she could come to my room.”
“Obviously, since you decided Toni was a better choice than Nikki.”
Toni was far from better than Nikki. All Toni was good for was relieving the pressure a bit. “Look, I fucked up. A guy like me never gets a shot at a chick like Nikki. I live in a world of Toni’s who are a dime a dozen and disposable.”
“Well, you’re a fucking idiot for not realizing soon enough Nikki was better than your wham, bam, thank you ma’am bullshit.”
“Look, I don’t need you to go all fucking Dr. Phil on me. I fucked up, and I’m going to try to fix it.”
“Well, good luck brother, because from what I saw and heard from Nikki, you got a lot of fucking work in front of you for her to even start talking to you again, let alone letting you back into her bed.”
I walked back into the bathroom and tossed the towel on the floor.
I may have a lot of work to do, but I was hoping the reward at the end was going to be worth it.
Nikki was going to be my reward.
*
Nikki
“I’ll call you when we get back to the club. I have work all week, but Nickel said we can come back out next weekend to hang out.”
“You’re welcome to come whenever you want. Maybe next time you could bring Cora with you and leave the guys at home.”
Karmen glanced over her shoulder at Nickel who was standing next to Pipe and his bike. “I think I can make that happen. I’m pretty sure if Cora was with me, Nickel wouldn’t have a problem. She’s one tough chick who could take care of me,” she laughed.
“No plotting, woman,” Nickel called as he pointed his finger at us.
“That man has no idea what he signed up for,” I mumbled.
“Trust me, he had an idea, but there’s still more to come,” Karmen cackled.
She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. “No crying,” I warned.
“I’m not crying,” she mumbled into my neck. “I have something in my eye.”
“Is that what you’re going with?”
She pulled away and shrugged. “Just go with it. The only reason I’m not kidnapping you and tossing you in the truck is because I know I’ll see you a few days.”
“Well, thank you for that.” There was the crazy part coming out.
“Make sure you tell Alice bye for me. She’s really not that bad. Not a replacement for me, but she’ll keep an eye on you for me when I can’t be here.”
I laughed and leaned against the porch rail. “Well, I’m glad you can see a use for her. I’ve become rather fond of her. She’s one of the first people I met when I moved to town.”
Karmen wagged her finger in my face. “Just don’t replace me, woman.”
I held up my hand. “Not gonna happen, okay?”
“Baby girl, let's get a move on. I got shit to do. You being one of them.”
Karmen rolled her eyes and gave me another quick hug. “It’s probably a good thing you and Pipe didn’t work. You’d be putting up with stuff like that.”
I plastered a smile on my face and nodded my head. “Yeah, thank God.”
Karmen shook her head. “Nice try. Maybe next week, you’ll be better at faking being okay.”
“Give me a little credit. The man is standing right there looking like every girl’s wet dream.” Pipe was smoking again, and I wished I was his cigarette.
Damn. They needed to leave, like now.
“I’ll call you. Make sure you answer the damn phone,” Karmen called.
Nickel grabbed her hand and pulled her to the car. He tucked her into the passenger side and gave me a two-finger flick before he slid into the driver’s side.
Nickel backed out the driveway, and Pipe sat on his bike watching me.
What did he want? I wasn’t going to say bye to him.
I couldn’t put myself through that.
I stood my ground on the porch, gave him a little wave, then disappeared into the house. I slammed the d
oor shut behind me, giving myself credit for not giving into my need to go to him.
I couldn’t control myself not to peek through the curtains and watch him, though.
God broke the mold when he made Pipe Marks. Tall, powerful build. Strong, broad shoulders. Dark hair, long enough to give him the wild, carefree look. Chiseled features that made my knees weak. Tattoos covering skin that screamed bad ass.
He was fucking hot, and there wasn’t any way I could deny it.
He cranked up his bike, gave one last look at my duplex, and took off down the street.
That was going to be the last time I saw Pipe.
I couldn’t go through this one more time. He broke my heart all over again.
Pipe was gone, and I was going to be okay.
Eventually.
*
Chapter 9
Pipe
“You sure about this?”
I tossed three more shirts in my bag and zipped it shut. “What’s the sense in waiting?”
Wrecker kicked back in the chair I had in the corner. “You think about the possibility this chick left because she really doesn’t want to see you again?”
It had crossed my mind. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You bump your head while you were in Kales Corners? What the hell do you mean it doesn’t matter?”
I tossed my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my cut off the bed. “It means if she doesn’t want me there, then I’ll have to change her mind.” How the hell I was going to do that I had no idea, but I knew I had to give it a shot.
“So you just move in next door to her, woo her or some shit, and then you both move back here happily ever after?” Wrecker scoffed and shook his head. “You sure you ain’t drunk right now? Because that is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“You didn’t say that shit when I asked what you thought of me moving to Kales Corners.”
Wrecker stood up and stroked his beard. “That’s because I thought you were moving in with the damn chick because she wanted you to. Crazy fucker, moving for a chick that doesn’t want you anymore.”
That right there, I didn’t believe. Nikki may have barely spoken a word to me, but I saw the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. What cemented the idea of me moving there was when I saw her watching me from the window. If she didn’t care about me, she wouldn’t have done that.
“You’re just gonna have to trust me about this, brother.”
“Well, you’re your own man. All I can tell you is you’re fucking crazy.”
I may be, but I didn’t know what else to do. The chick had somehow managed to get under my skin, and I had no fucking clue how to get over her. So, I might as well try to get under her again and either work her out of my system or just make her fucking mine.
*
Chapter 10
Nikki
“Where is my hash?”
Bos leveled his stare at me. “You write it on the ticket?”
Not this again. “I gave you a separate ticket for it.”
“Then it’ll be coming.”
“I put down that it was supposed to go with the ticket before it. How would you like to be sitting at a table where everyone else gets their food, and you don’t?”
“That wouldn’t happen because I know to put everything on one ticket.” He moved away from the window and grabbed a pan off the heat. “One table, one ticket,” he reminded me.
“You know what, Bos, just make the damn hash.” Gah, I was so ready to go home. It was a quarter to seven, and I had just over an hour left until we closed.
“I’m making it, I’m making it,” he grumbled.
Alice had the night off, and I was the only one working beside Bos. The grumpy old man was not the greatest company.
“Hash up,” he shouted as he smashed the bell that was next to my head.
I glared at Bos and snatched the plate off of the ledge. “I know where you live, old man.”
“That mean you’re going to stop by and clip my toenails for me?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Why in the hell would you think that?”
“Because that’s all I need from you, darlin’. Mazie takes care of all of my other needs.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and from the way he moved, it looked like he was trying to do a two-step shimmy.
I gulped and closed my eyes. “Jesus, Bos, I’m never going to be able to wipe that from my mind.”
“That ol’ Mazie could teach you young guns a thing or two.”
While I headed over to the table at the far end of the restaurant with their hash, I tried to imagine what Mazie could teach me. Except I was picturing Bos on the receiving end.
Sweet Jesus. That was not pretty.
“Here ya go,” I mumbled as I set the plate down. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Um, I think I’m good, Nikki, but there is a question I have.” Richard shifted uncomfortably in the booth and ducked his head.
“What’s up?” I chirped. Richard came in every Monday and Wednesday like clockwork. He sat in the same booth and ordered the same thing. Except for today, he had added on the hash last minute. I was rather shocked when he had called me over to add it to his usual.
“I uh, I was, well, I was wondering if you were seeing anyone.” His cheeks flushed deep red, and his eyes were still pointed down at his lap.
“Well, not really. Not since I moved to Kales Corners. I’ve been kind of busy just settling in and working.” I knew where this was headed, and I was scrambling trying to figure out how I was going to let him down easy without hurting his feelings.
“Well, you’re doing a really good job here. Way better than Alice ever did.”
I hesitantly smiled at his compliment. Putting down Alice wasn’t really a wise choice. “Alice taught me everything she knows. I would be a mess without her taking me under her wing.” When I had decided to apply at the diner for work, Alice had been my saving grace. Bos had been the one to interview me, and I could tell he had written me off the second I told him who I was. Alice had bustled out of the kitchen, tying her apron behind her back and told Bos to cut the bullshit and give me the job.
Back in Weston, Karmen and I had worked at the nursing home, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to work at another place like that without Karmen. We were a team, and as much I told myself moving here was the best choice, I still missed her something fierce.
Richard cleared his throat, knocking me out of my thoughts. “So, I was wondering if maybe we could go to the movies Friday and see a movie at the movie theater.?”
I couldn’t help but smile at his bumbling. Richard was a nice guy, and only a few years older than me, but he really wasn’t my type. Thankfully, I didn’t need to make up an excuse why I couldn’t go out with him. “Actually, my best friend from Weston is coming over Friday and staying with me all weekend.”
“Oh,” he mumbled. “Maybe we can do it some other time.”
“Yeah, maybe we can.” There, I didn’t crush his hopes, but I also didn’t agree I would go out with him. “I’ll let you get back to eating before your food gets cold. Make sure you tell me how that hash is before you leave. Bos makes some of the best.”
Richard nodded and tucked into eating.
I moseyed back to the register, wiping down tables as I went.
“Heard you got a date for Friday,” Bos said quietly.
I rolled my eyes and slapped my rag down on the counter. “You might not want to eavesdrop, Bos. You might hear something you don’t like.”
He rolled his eyes and leaned against the pass thru window. “Just be careful with Richard. He’s a nice guy, but he’s a bit strange.”
“What does that mean?” I glanced over at Richard, and he looked like your normal, average guy. “Does he have six toes or something?”
Bos shook his head. “No, not that crazy. I mean his marbles aren’t all where they are supposed to be. He’s always been a strange one, but I’ve hear
d some not so nice things from the women he manages to get dates with.”
“Well, dang, Bos. It sounds like you actually care about me.”
“Don’t read too much into, darlin’. I just don’t want to have to read your obit in the newspaper and have to find a new waitress. Stay away from Richard,” he warned.
I saluted him and grabbed my rag off the counter. “Can do, because I had no plans on dating him anyway. But your overwhelming concern for me has truly touched my heart.”
Bos flipped me off and lumbered over to the storage closet mumbling about smart asses and women who are full of piss and vinegar.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I hollered to his back.
After Richard finished his meal, he left me a huge tip which I regretfully pocketed, then Bos and I closed the doors and cleaned up.
“What are you doing?” I asked as Bos followed me closely out the door and grabbed my arm to keep me close to him as he locked the door with his other hand.
“Just humor me, young gun.”
“Young gun?” I scoffed. What in the hell was this man up to?
“I know you didn’t notice, but I have for a while. I was hoping he was harmless, but tonight cemented my thoughts. Richard is after you.”
“After me? What in the world do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t have a good feeling about him. I’m walking you to your car, and then I’m going to follow you home.”
I batted my eyelashes and fanned myself with my hand. “Well I do declare, Bos, I thought you had Mazie to take care of all your primal needs.”
“Fucking smartass,” he mumbled. “Just humor an old man, okay?”
“Whatever you say, Bos.” If it made him feel better to follow me home, then so be it.
“How much of a tip did he leave?” he asked as I unlocked my car doors.
I glanced over my shoulder or him and gulped. “Fifteen.”
He ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “Nikki, his damn meal didn’t cost more than ten dollars. You don’t think it’s odd that he left you a hundred and fifty percent tip?”
Fallen Lords MC: Books 1-3 Page 24