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Teresa
Teresa watched Vance leave her place. She knew she would see him again in a few hours at the charity, and their next encounter made her nervous. What had happened with Vance since last night had occurred in such haste that she could not wrap her head around it yet.
First, there was the date, which had been amazing. Vance had been caring, attentive, and fun to hang out with. The place he had taken her to was definitely going on her list of places she had to frequent more often. Then they had gone dancing, something she had not done since she left the club.
Teresa remembered the last time she was back in her town, still with the Grim Rebels, when a boy took her to a club. She wasn’t very used to that kind of place; she would rather hang out at rock pubs than clubs with loud pop music and millions of teens. But her date had insisted, and in spite of the kind of music that they played (definitely not her taste), she’d had quite a good time. That was the last time she had danced with a guy and dated at all because it had been that night when her life changed.
The guy she was dating was not from her motorcycle club: he was from another gang, one less underground than her father’s. It was the first time she’d dated outside the club, and it was new to her. This boy, Max, reminded her of the other guys she usually dated but was a lot more caring and different enough to be a novelty.
They had gone out for dinner, and afterward, Max had taken her to his sister’s club: she ran the place, and the gorillas in the entrance let them in with no problem. Both had danced the night away, and she had ended up spending the night with him.
But when she went back home the next morning, her father was waiting for her.
That was their worst fight ever. She threw things at him, and he ended up breaking her arm and beating her up, just because he wanted her to marry someone from his club. No outsiders allowed – he didn’t trust them or like them.
“Yer old enough to know yer place, and yer place is in this club!” he had shouted at her. “Ye can’t do what ye please. Ye shall be the woman of the man I choose for ye, so enough of that already! Don’t even think about going off on your own!”
His voice still echoed in her head when she thought about it. That day she realized that her father did not care about her, never had, and never would. She was just a pawn; a woman to marry to the best biker to make sure that his club, the only thing he really cared about in his life, remained within the family. She was just a breeding tool to perpetuate the Grim Rebels... and she would not have it.
She had run away the moment her arm had completely healed. She took all her belongings in a duffel bag, threw her phone away, and grabbed her motorcycle. She drove all night long until she arrived at the next city, where she sold the motorcycle for a good amount of money. Her bike was the only thing she would really miss from her past: the freedom that she felt when driving it was long gone, but it was a price she was willing to pay to obtain real freedom.
With the money from the motorbike she bought a bus ticket to the furthest town she could manage and booked a hotel for a couple weeks under a false name. As paranoid as that may have been, she couldn’t take any risks in case her father tracked her down. She knew that if he did, there was no way she could run away again.
She got a waitressing job at a restaurant and spent the next three months saving money to move again to the city where she was now. She wanted to make sure that her father would not be able to track her down... Although she now realized it had been a futile attempt, in the long run. She bought a new phone, which he somehow traced, and it was obvious that she would never get rid of him.
Except if she married Vance.
Vance Tate.
What an unexpected turn of events. He was her first date since she left home. She danced with him and spent the night with him.
The events of that night made her shiver: she had never been with a man like Vance. Somehow, he knew exactly what to do to entice her, arouse her, and make her feel as if she could be loved. Not just fool around in bed, but actually, be loved. She had longed for love her whole life and was starting to think that it was not for her when Vance appeared. It had been too soon to tell if she really loved him, but she really thought it would work out eventually.
And now, because of her damn father, they had to get married! What Vance had done to help her meant the world to her, but she was also really afraid of the consequences. Her whole life she had been fighting the dominance of men and had run away from home precisely because she did not want to get married – at least not to please her father.
Getting married to keep her father away was not what she had in mind when she thought about marriage, but at least that would make her free from his grip once and for all. If she married, he could not force her to marry anyone else.
But what if Vance turned out to be just like her father? Teresa trembled just by thinking about it. Well, I can divorce him if I’m not happy with him, she thought, trying to find comfort in that.
Teresa took her phone and looked at the time: she still had an hour before her shift at the charity. I might as well tell her now, she mused with a sigh and dialed Anna’s number.
Fifteen minutes later, they were both sipping their coffees at their usual café.
“Oh, my God, tell me everything!” Anna exclaimed, squealing. She wanted to know all the juicy details, but she definitely wouldn’t be expecting the juiciest detail of all.
“First, he took me to a café for dinner, and it was really nice – the food was better than I expected. Then we went to a bar to have some drinks and dance for a bit,” Teresa told Anna.
“Dancing? You?” Anna laughed. She had insisted many times that her friend come dancing with her and the other girls, but Teresa had always refused.
“Yeah, I know, but I also didn’t date, and look at me now,” Teresa joked, and Anna laughed.
“That’s so true. And? What else? Did he kiss you?” she asked excitedly. Teresa looked away, embarrassed. “No way! Did you spend the night together?”
“Would you lower your voice, please?” Teresa begged when the customers at the café looked at them.
“Sorry.” Anna did not look sorry at all, and Teresa smiled a bit.
“Yes, we did. He came to my place and left this morning.”
“Oh, my God, Teresa!” Anna squealed. “The whole night! He must have been really good!”
“You have no idea,” Teresa replied. Both laughed again before Teresa looked at the door, avoiding her friend’s eyes. “But there is more.”
“What is it?” Anna asked curiously.
“We... I mean, Vance and I...” Teresa stammered. Anna looked at her with raised eyebrows., Teresa did not look at her friend. “We are going to get married.”
“WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Anna screamed so loud that the manager had to call their attention. Completely embarrassed, both girls abandoned the café, and once they were outside Anna yelled at her again. “Girl, are you out of your damn mind?”
“I know, I know, it’s so unexpected, but I’m not crazy!” Teresa tried to defend herself, although her excuses sounded weak even to her. She didn’t want to tell her friend about her father, so it was hard to make it sound sane.
“How did this happen? You didn’t even want to date the guy, and now you’re marrying him!” Anna looked both outraged and worried for her, and Teresa felt guilty for not telling her the whole truth.
“I know!” Teresa exclaimed. “But after spending the night with him, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Last night meant a lot to me, Anna. And don’t tell me that it’s because I’ve been out of the game for too long – it’s not that. There are things about me that you don’t know, and that I want to tell you in time... and Vance gets them,” she confessed.
Anna looked at her with such sadness in her eyes that Teresa bit her lip in regret.
“Teresa, you know you can tell me anything,” she said. She sounded worried and disappointed.
“I know. And I will, I promise. Just not today.” She took a step forward and hugged her friend. Anne jumped in surprise; Teresa was not very fond of hugs and other touchy, affectionate things. She hugged her friend back, enjoying the moment.
“But marrying him...” Anna said when they parted. Teresa smiled, and Anna dropped the sentence.
“Just be happy for me, will you?” Teresa asked.
“Of course I’m happy for you!” Anna cried. “But will you be happy with him? I’m just worried, you know that.”
“If I’m not, I can divorce him right away,” Teresa promised. Both laughed and started walking in the direction of their work buildings.
“Now I’ll have to tell the others! We have to throw you a bachelorette party! And plan the whole thing!” Anna exclaimed, excited.
“I’m going to need your help doing all of that, I’m afraid,” Teresa acknowledged.
“It will be a day to remember, I promise!” Anna winked. Soon they parted ways to their respective jobs.
Teresa walked slowly down the streets, heading to the charity. Was she really crazy for marrying Vance? What would happen to her? She was feeling anxious about everything that happened when she got to the charity.
Through the glass doors, she saw Vance already working inside. He was cleaning and arranging the tables for lunch, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw him there, smiling and chatting with her co-workers.
Maybe it was already too late for her. Maybe she had already fallen for Vance, and her heart was in his hands. It was up to him now to decide what to do with it, and Teresa hoped he would not crush it.