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Blade
The rally in Daytona is packed like they always are. Being here is second to Sturgis, but it’s a hell of a time too. We roam around just drinking and shooting the shit with the other MC’s that have come out. We never show up where there are rivals and that’s what makes these things fun. We can all hang out and just be who we are with no other worries hovering around us. Except for me, there are far too many worries. I’m on edge after the meth went missing. I’ve been on edge even before that, but for whatever unknown reason having Lola around has settled me a little. Maybe it’s her cocky ass attitude that I like. Or the fact that she doesn’t hold back with her thoughts. I don’t know for sure what it is, but there is something there that I want to explore.
Putting all these thoughts to the side, I kick back with a beer in my hand as we sit around the fire talking with the Sons of Sinners MC president, Wicked, and a few of his boys while the others mingle and have a good time.
“How is business runnin’ your way, brother?” Wicked asks, taking a drink from his whiskey bottle before passing it to me.
“Not bad. Work’s keepin’ me busy.”
“You still runnin’ that construction company?”
“Yeah, still up and runnin’. Got a big job out in Coconut Grove comin’ up,” I tell him. His eyes widen and a smile crosses his face.
“No shit? That’s one hell of an area, yeah?”
Nodding my head, I take a long pull from the Whiskey and pass it on. “Yeah. It’s somethin’ else over there. Outta my league but I’m the best at what I do,” I say with a smirk.
“Heard that. We’ve been talkin’ about rebuildin’ the clubhouse. That motherfucker is so old it’s grown mold and shit. Maybe when you get a chance you can run down and shoot me some prices,” Wicked says, his face serious.
“Hell yeah, I can do that. Can’t have your old lady livin’ in shit now that she’s pregnant,” I tell him. He nods his head.
“Yeah, doc said it ain’t good for her to be breathin’ that shit so she stays at home a lot. Hate that part when I want her close by, ya know? You got an old lady, Blade?”
Shaking my head my mind drifts to Lola. She would make a great old lady but I don’t know that much about her. The parts I do know intrigue the fuck out of me though.
“Nah.”
“You want a family at some point?” Wicked asks curiously. I know how much his family means to him. They are his world.
“Someday, yeah. I’d always wanted a few kids runnin’ around. Come home from work and just see them smilin’ at me. Somethin’ like what I used to have when I was kid.” Wicked grins and nods his head.
“It’s a lot to handle. With the boys and Gin bein’ pregnant, it can get overwhelmin’ at times ,but like you said, seein’ their faces light up when you walk in the door, that’s all that matters.”
I hear a small gasp behind me and Wicked’s eyes move over my shoulder. Turning my head I find Lola standing with her mouth open, her eyes wide. I give her a soft smile that she doesn’t return before she spins on her heel and walks away.
“That one with you?”
I turn back to Wicked and nod. “Found her beat to shit outside one of my jobs and brought her back to the clubhouse. Been around about a while now,” I say when the bottle of Whiskey comes back to me. I take a long pull before handing it to Wicked and shoving out of my chair.
“Thanks for that, brother. Let me go check on her.” Wicked smile and nods his head as I walk past the fire and towards the water. I find her sitting there, staring out at the sea, the Florida sand sifting through her fingers.
“You took off pretty quick, you okay?” She doesn’t answer so I walk closer and drop into the sand next to her.
“Did you know that not all rivers flow into the sea? Some of them dry out and disappear, never once touching another body of water,” she says, her eyes distant.
“What’s this about?”
Lola continues sifting the sand between her fingers never once looking over at me.
“Did you know there were four kinds of lies?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“White lies are the little lies that we tell to protect people. Grey lies are the ones that are harder to clarify. We tell them to protect others and ourselves but they aren’t so bad. Black lies are about simple and callous selfishness. Something we want and desire and red lies are about spite and revenge that may even end in blood.” She still doesn’t look over at me and I find myself wondering which one of those is her. Which lie belongs to her.
“We all do things for a reason. The lies might not be that bad, but if it’s a way to protect yourself, who is someone else to judge you?” With that she turns toward me, hurt and confusion dancing in those beautiful eyes.
“Have you ever been lied to, Blade?”
“More than I care to admit. I pride myself on bein’ truthful, though. It’s the one thing that I have the utmost integrity in. Lies can break down walls but they can also build them. We all have secrets, Lola.”
She shakes her head and blows out a breath. “How do you tell the difference? What’s a lie and what’s a secret when they all seem to mold together?” She asks, making my heart kick up its pace. She’s a mystery to me. She’s something else and that is what keeps pulling me into her.
“A lie is manufacturin’ somethin’ that isn’t true or concealin’ it. A secret is merely an omission. At least to me, that’s how I see it,” I tell her as her eyes fill with tears. She quickly reaches up and wipes them away before grabbing another handful of sand and watching it run between her fingers.
“How can they feel so much the same then?”
“It’s a matter of opinion.”
“Lola?”
I jerk my head around when I hear a man’s voice coming from behind us. I turn and look over my shoulder the same time Lola does to see another man in a cut staring at her. I bring my eyes to meet hers and my heart constricts.
“You aren’t bound to me, Lola. You wanna fuck some guy, be my guest. No need to lie or keep secrets, yeah?” Anger rushes through my veins as I shove myself off the ground. I don’t give her a chance to respond as I stomp toward the cabins. Brushing past the guy I don’t recognize and have no fucking urge to now, I give him an evil stare. He just chuckles but I keep walking keeping my head up. I fucked up. I thought I saw more in that girl, but I was her way out of a situation. I made the mistake of thinking she could be more and maybe, just fucking maybe I had finally found something to look forward to in my life.
“Blade!”
Her voice sounds so small as she calls out to me but I don’t turn to look at her. I don’t need to hear what the fuck she has to say. She can keep her secret or lie – whatever it is – because I don’t want to know now. I keep walking until the cabin we’re staying in comes into view. Shoving through the door, I pull my cut down my arms, tossing it on the couch and ripping my shirt over my head. Anger that shouldn’t even exist rushes me as I drop to the floor and begin doing pushups, trying to rid the fucking hatred from my system. I thought there was something more going on between us. I thought she felt that spark like I did but maybe I was fucking wrong. I should have known better. I should have known not to get attached to her. Not even in the Navy did I feel this much hate. I was killing people that deserved to die but this, this is something I’m unfamiliar with and I hate it.
Sweat trickles down my temple and covers my skin when I hear the door close. I don’t look up, knowing it could be one of the guys looking for me, but at this point I don’t need to see any of them either. Huffing for breath, I keep going, keep pushing myself until I can feel something that isn’t ripping me apart when I hear her.
“He asked me to hang out earlier and I told him no. He’s nobody. Just some guy from another club.”
Fuck her. I don’t give a damn what she does. She isn’t mine. She isn’t anyone’s for that matter.
“Do whatever you want,” I huff as I keep going.
“Can you just stop!” she screams louder. I shove off the floor heaving for air as I look at her.
“You’re here. You’re not mine. You can do whatever you want, Lola. I’m not holdin’ you hostage, babe.”
Her eyes slowly sadden but there’s a spark in them. She walks closer to me, resting her hands on my sweat slickened chest before brushing her lips over mine. Still trying to suck in enough oxygen, she invades my space. Her hands roam over my skin, the wetness only adding to the pleasure that rips through me. Her kiss becomes wild and heated. When I don’t respond to her, she takes a step back and sighs.
“I’m sorry.”
