“I have the same amount of work that Zoe—”
Rogue cuts her off. “Leave now, and don’t make me tell you again.”
She hesitates but then walks away, leaving the two of us alone.
“You know her?” I ask him, cringing. “Clubhouse parties? What the fuck, Rogue? You must have known the whole time that she works here, and you never said anything? Have you slept with her?”
“Keep your voice down unless you want everyone here to know our business,” he tells me calmly, taking my arm and leading me back outside before I can even clock in. My boss isn’t going to be happy, but right now I don’t care. I want to get to the bottom of this.
“Have you or have you not slept with her?” I ask him plainly.
“Zoe—”
“It’s a yes-or-no answer, Rogue,” I tell him, pursing my lips.
I mean, I already know the answer. There’s only one reason he’s hesitating right now, and it’s because the answer he has for me is one I won’t want to hear.
“Yes, I’ve slept with her,” he says to me, lowering his face to my level. “In the past. Before I met you. You can’t be angry at me for anything I’ve done before I even met you, Zoe. I didn’t come to you a virgin.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m well aware of that fact, but how about mentioning that you slept with someone I work with? Someone who has mentioned you twice to me, and I was thinking that you wouldn’t give her the time of day,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring up at him. “I have to see her every fucking day, and now she’s going to be all smug and shit because she’s fucked my man!”
“I wasn’t your man when I fucked her, though,” he replies, his eyes pleading with me. “Yes, I should have told you that I’d slept with her, but I didn’t even know you knew her! Do you want me to give you a heads-up about anyone in your general vicinity that I’ve slept with? Because how much time do you have?”
I grit my teeth. “Fine, you’re right, I can’t be angry about how much of a man-whore you were prior to me, but I can be angry that you didn’t tell me you’d slept with someone at my work. That’s not my general vicinity, that’s my place of employment, and we don’t have that many staff. Now I have to spend the day working with one of your ex-groupies who is going to ask me a million questions about you, then probably rub it in my face that she already had you before me. Have a wonderful fucking day, Rogue.”
I storm back inside, ignoring the fuck I hear leave his lips. I clock in and get straight to work, and when Marissa approaches me in the hallway, she’s the last person I want to see or talk to.
“Are you sleeping with him now?” she asks me, not looking smug, like I’d thought she’d be, but more confused. “You don’t seem like that kind of girl, Zoe. You do know he sleeps with women one time only. That’s all you get. Once. No repeats. That’s the kind of man he is.”
“So you slept with him once and that’s it?” I ask her, frowning at her. She sounds like she’s warning me away from him, when she’s already been with him and has raved on about him every time he was mentioned, how amazing and talented and good-looking he is. She can’t act like she wouldn’t go there if she had the chance.
She nods. “I used to go to the MC parties with a friend, just for a few weeks, before I met Greg. We had fun, we partied, and yeah, we slept with a few of the men. And then I saw Rogue come in when his mom was transferred here. Just be careful is all I’m saying, Zoe.”
Great, now I’m getting advice from Marissa, and her tone even sounds like she feels sorry for me.
Wow.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” I tell her, then carry on my way. I don’t want to talk to her about Rogue, especially when she acts like she knows him more than me.
Maybe she does.
Or maybe I’m overreacting.
Either way, I push it out of my head and continue with my day, which completely drags on. Mrs. K isn’t talkative today, so she doesn’t mention our conversation yesterday, which I appreciate because I don’t think I could handle that. After my shift is over, I find Rogue sitting on the hood of my car, waiting for me.
“Still angry at me?” he asks, holding up a bag of food.
I sigh and take the bag. “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t want to fight” is all he says, and that I agree with, because I’ve been feeling like shit all day, wondering if I overreacted or not, and working out if I did because my period is due soon and I’m overly emotional. The conclusion I came to, though, is that I can’t help the way I feel; even if I’m upset for something that someone else might think is ridiculous, I’m not going to apologize for it. No one can tell me not to be hurt over something. My feelings are real and need to be respected.
“I don’t want to fight either,” I admit, sliding up next to him. “Do you want to go to mine or yours?”
“Mine,” he says, kissing my temple. “I have a surprise for you.”
I arch my brow and clutch the brown paper bag of greasy food to my chest. “Should I be worried?”
He just grins and opens my car door for me the second after I unlock it. “Race you there?”
“Very funny,” I growl, getting into my car and calling out, “You better be going the speed limit the entire way, or I’m giving the whole MC a PowerPoint presentation on the statistics of motorcycle accidents!”
Rogue laughs at me and waits for me to pull out of the lot before he follows. It’s kind of scary having him on his bike so near my car, but I concentrate on the road because he obviously knows what he’s doing. I make it to the clubhouse before him, but only because he lets me. He gets off his bike and puts the code in to open the gate, and then we both park.
“So what’s this surprise you have for me?” I ask him warily as we walk inside, his hand on the small of my back. I come to a stop in the living area when I see everyone jump out from behind the couch and entryways, scaring the absolute fuck out of me. There’s a sign from wall to wall, saying:
I’m sorry I was a man whore before I met you.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, and then I can’t help it—I giggle a little.
Erin comes over and pulls me in for a hug. “This party is for you, from all of us, to apologize on behalf of Rogue’s penis and its old wandering ways.”
I’m most surprised, though, when I see Vanessa walk up to me with a wide smile. “Vanessa? What are you doing here?” I ask, jumping on her and wrapping my legs around her waist. “Come to help me celebrate this monumental occasion, have you?”
“Rogue picked me up and brought me here,” she explains, twirling me around excitedly. “I love this place!”
Her hair is up in a big bun on top of her head with a pink flower, and she’s wearing a tight black maxi dress that I can see me stealing in the near future. “I’m glad you’re here and you finally get to meet everyone.”
She puts me down and whispers in my ear, “You’re right, Prez is hot for an old man.”
I laugh and shake my head at her, not surprised that she thinks so. “I know.”
I turn back to Rogue with my hands on my hips but amusement in my eyes. “Do you just have that sign lying around for occasions like these?”
He cups my face in his hands and kisses my lips before saying, “We like our signs around here, and I couldn’t think of anything else that fit. Erin helped me make it.”
“Of course she did,” I reply with an eye roll. “Thank you for bringing my sister here. She’s been wanting to meet everyone in the MC.”
“I know, you mentioned it to me,” he admits, running his hand down my back.
“You can be so thoughtful,” I say, snuggling in to him. “When you want to be.”
Erin comes out with a tray of food, and I ask Rogue why he handed me that bag if he knew there was going to be food here.
“Did you even look in that bag?” he asks me, eyes crinkling at the corners. “It wasn’t food in there. I mean, there was, but then I took it out and put something else in.”
“Why would you take food out?” I ask him, frowning. “I left it in the car, should I go and get it?”
He shakes his head. “No, you can look at it when you get home. It’s not important, I just didn’t want to show up empty-handed, and it was the only bag I could find to put it in. Plus, I knew you’d assume it was food, which amused me.”
“I’m curious now.”
Knuckles and Ace come and stand on either side of me, each wrapping an arm around me.
“So, since this party is about saying goodbye to Rogue’s slutty ways and embracing his new monogamous life, Ace and I have compiled a video for everyone’s viewing—”
“Oh, fuck no,” Rogue inserts, putting his hand up. “I’m trying to get out of shit with my woman, not get into more.”
“We’ve kept it relatively PG, don’t worry, we’re not stupid,” Knuckles murmurs, glancing down at me. “It’s girlfriend-friendly. Don’t worry, Zoe, it’s basically videos of Rogue being drunk and stupid on loop for your viewing pleasure.”
“I’d like to see this,” Vanessa says as she returns after eating half the food Erin set down. “I’d also like to know how much trouble I’d be in if I hit on your president.”
“How old are you?” Ace asks Vanessa, eyeing her.
“Thirty. I know, I know, I only look twenty-four,” she says, winking at them.
“Prez is in his forties,” Rogue says to her, shrugging. “And he has someone he’s seeing.”
“Seeing or dating?” she asks, arching her brow and cocking her hip. “I totally saw him checking me out.”
“She thinks everyone checks her out,” I tell the men, lowering my voice. “That’s Erin’s dad, Vanessa. Why don’t you hit on Jasper? He’s single and cute.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Rogue growls, pulling me closer to his side. “You’re going to be throwing me a party soon with the way you’re going.”
“What sign will she put up for you?” Vanessa asks, laughing. “Sorry for checking out your friends?”
“I’m not checking out anyone,” I tell them, rolling my eyes and resting my hand on Rogue’s chest. “You can look at someone and know if they’re decent-looking without checking them out. Calm your ass down.”
“Nice save,” my sister adds, sticking her face in between Rogue and me. “So, shall we get this party started? I brought a bottle of vodka, and I’m going to open it and pour shots for everyone.” She leaves before any of us can answer.
“She’s fun,” Erin notes as she joins the group, watching Vanessa walk away. “And her body is smoking.”
“And she has a crush on your dad,” Knuckles mutters, running his hand over his beard. “Fuck, growing up with her must have been interesting, Zoe.”
“You have no idea,” I mutter, shifting on my sneaker-clad feet. “She’s crazy, but she’s loyal, and she loves hard. She’s a good woman to have at your back.”
“She’s a jujitsu fighter,” Rogue says to Erin, studying her. “Didn’t you want to learn some moves?”
Erin’s eyes widen. “No way. Vanessa? That’s badass. No wonder she has such a big mouth and confidence. When you can fight, you can say whatever you want, because you can back that shit up.”
I look down at her stomach and then back up at her. I don’t think she’ll be doing any kind of fighting any time soon. Then it hits me, and I have to wonder why she’s keeping the whole thing a secret, and why she’d tell me, a stranger at the time, something so personal. She catches me eyeing her and gives me a slight shake of her head, letting me know that my suspicions are right, she hasn’t told anyone yet.
Why, though?
And how has she been explaining not drinking? Is she going to try the whole water-in-her-cup-and-pretend-it’s-vodka routine? I make a mental note to ask her if we have a moment alone.
I turn my head as Vanessa comes back in with a bottle under her arm and shot glasses in her hand. I’d like to see Erin get out of this one, because my sister is known for her alcoholic peer pressure. Vanessa sets out all the shot glasses and starts to pour.
“I need a chaser, Vanessa. Not all of us are alcoholics,” I tell her, hoping to save Erin by maybe tipping her shot into my glass or something like that. Pull some Houdini shit, I don’t know, but I need to save the poor girl and her unborn child from explaining something that, for some reason, she’s not ready to.
“I’ll get some orange juice and lemonade,” Ace inserts, disappearing from the room. He returns with the two bottles and plastic cups and starts pouring. I take an orange juice, as does Erin, and when it’s time to drink, I hand Erin an empty shot glass, which she wraps her fingers around to hide. She then pretends to take the shot with the rest of us.
I realize we’re being completely ridiculous, and she could just say she doesn’t want one, but I’m guessing she might not be one to usually turn down such an offer, so people might know that something is up. She’s not going to be able to pull this off for much longer, though, that’s for sure.
Maybe she’s struggling to tell her dad?
Looks like biker chicks have problems too.
21
“Why haven’t you told them yet?” I whisper-yell at Erin the second the two of us get a moment alone in the kitchen. “And why the hell did you tell me and not anyone else? I feel like this is a lot of pressure that I’m not ready for.”
“I was testing you.” She smirks, running her hands over her stomach. “I wanted to see if I could trust you or not.”
“What if I told everyone other than Rogue?” I ask her, scowling.
“Fair call. Look, I don’t actually mind the men knowing; it’s my dad I’m avoiding telling, and if I tell one of them, I know they’re going to tell their president what’s going on,” she explains to me, wincing. “And then he’s going to tell my mom, and then I’m going to get the hugest fucking lecture on how I haven’t finished my nursing degree yet, and how it’s going to be put on hold because I couldn’t wait a little longer without getting knocked up.”
“Rough,” I mutter, now understanding her reasoning. “You’re just going to have to bite the bullet at some point and tell them, though. How long can you drink fake alcohol?”
Her lip twitches. “I don’t know, but you’re right. I need to just tell them, like ripping off a Band-Aid—short, quick, and painful.”
“I don’t think that’s what the saying is,” I muse, leaning against the counter. “This place is going to be filled with babies.”
“I know,” she mutters, expelling a deep sigh. “This was never the plan, not for me, anyway, but you know what? The timing is never right, and I will finish my degree after the baby is born, and everything will be fine.”
“It will be,” I assure her, smiling.
Celina walks into the kitchen. “Sorry I’m late for the ‘sorry Rogue is a man-whore’ party, ladies, I wanted to keep an eye on the babysitter for a little while to make sure she was competent before I left.”
“She proved herself?” Erin asks her cousin, who is wearing a beautiful red wrap dress, her dark hair up in a high ponytail. “Is this the first time you’re leaving Walker and David with someone who isn’t family?”
Celina nods, her green eyes widening. “Yeah, and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially when Rogue called us last minute and said we need to be at the clubhouse because we’re going to party like the old days. I figured that meant it was a kid-free event, so I called a babysitter I met last week. I put cameras in the house, so she may or may not die tonight.”
“Is she hot?” Erin snickers, opening the fridge and scanning its contents. “You know, like in the movies. It’s always a hot, slutty babysitter or nanny.”
“I guess. She’s qualified,” Celina says, jumping up on the counter. “She can look like fucking Beyoncé, for all I care, as long as she’s going to look after my boys properly.”
“Who looks like Beyoncé?” Shack asks as he joins us in the kitchen, an empty pitcher in his hands. “Who made t
he Long Island iced tea? It’s fuckin’ amazing. And we need some more.”
“They finished that pitcher already?” Erin asks, her blue eyes widening. “It’s a weeknight. You are all animals.”
“Yeah, and some of us have to work tomorrow,” I insert as Erin takes the pitcher from him and starts to make up some more.
“We don’t.” He grins, shrugging. “And come on, this party is basically us saying goodbye to Rogue’s manhood. He’s ready to settle for one vagina for the rest of his life.”
“That’s saying hello to his manhood, not goodbye,” Celina says, pursing her lips and leaning back on her palms and studying Shack. “Only a real man can look after, provide for, be faithful to, and love one woman.”
Shack blinks a few times, then frowns at her. “We have too many fuckin’ women in this clubhouse these days.”
“From what I’ve heard, there used to be a lot more,” I grumble, making the three of them laugh.
“He never told us exactly what happened that needed a party apology. Will you tell us?” Celina asks me.
“Well, it’s such a small world that Rogue has already slept with one of the girls I work with,” I explain to them, my jaw tight. “And Rogue knew but didn’t think to tell me about it. He apparently assumed I didn’t know her, but I do. She used to come here for parties or something.”
“What’s her name?” Shack asks, sounding curious. “It’s been a while since we had random women here.” He looks to Erin. “I blame you for that.”
Erin shrugs, unapologetic. “It’s not my fault all the women were shady. Find some decent ones, and I won’t care if you bring them by or not.”
“Her name is Marissa,” I tell Shack when he brings his attention back to me.
He thinks but comes up short. “No idea. Then again, if you showed me her body, it might ring a bell.”
“You’re such a pig,” Erin comments, handing him the refilled pitcher. “No wonder you’re one of the few single ones left.”
“That’s because I’m smart,” he fires back, placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek, which she quickly wipes away.
Going Rogue (The Cursed Ravens MC Series Book 3) Page 12
