“Hold on a second.”
“Hold on? Do you even know where you are?”
Biting back my smart-ass reply, I dropped my arm to my side and stepped out into the hall. “Hello?”
Silence met my soft call. I was pretty sure Nic’s yelling from my phone was louder than me. I tried again a little louder. “Hello?”
Still nothing.
I walked down the hallway and into the living room. Empty. Okay, maybe no one was here after all. Looking around the room for an idea of where exactly I was, I spied a pile of junk mail on the table addressed to “Current Resident.” Snatching up the nearest one, I rattled off the address. “I’m at 1520 West Eleventh Street.”
“Eleventh? What the hell are you doing on that side of town?”
“Having sex with a hot biker. What do you think? Will you just get over here?”
Nic huffed. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever. I’ll be there in twenty. Just…don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”
“Apparently my ‘something stupid’ left so I’m good there—no danger of sleeping with the biker again. Just come get me.”
“Fine. Bye.”
“Bye,” I replied but she’d already hung up.
I looked around the empty room, feeling a little awkward. I was alone in a stranger’s house. I mean we weren’t totally strangers; he knew I liked to drink beer and I’d spent a good portion of last night tracing his scars and tattoos with my tongue. But we didn’t know anything really important about each other. Hell, I didn’t even know his real first name.
Zag. I seriously doubted that was the name his mother gave him.
Not that it mattered last night.
Last night had nothing to do with talking or learning about each other at all. Wham, bam, thank you, scary biker dude. Rinse and repeat.
Heh. We repeated more than three times last night. Or at least I did. Another huge grin swept across my face.
I probably shouldn’t be grinning like a fool when Nic showed up. I didn’t want to give her any more ammunition.
But I had at least fifteen minutes before she arrived. What should I do with them? Search for my panties? I walked back to his bedroom and looked around in disbelief. Something about digging through the mess on the floor really didn’t appeal to me. Maybe it was the huge mass of clothes scattered everywhere or the pile of greasy rags in the corner. I took a quick glance but something told me it wouldn’t be easy to find the scrap of material in all this.
With a sigh I left the room and went back down the hall to the front room and decided to look for my purse. Hopefully it was here in the living room. If I had to hunt through that pile in his bedroom for my bag I might go insane.
Where the heck did I leave it last night?
I scanned the living room, taking in the worn leather couches and the obvious grease stains on the carpet. Was this what passed for biker chic? He had a few framed beer and motorcycle posters on the wall and one large group photograph. I took a few steps closer to see the picture better.
The photo had at least twenty bikers, all clad in leathers and grouped around one huge motorcycle. Zag stood on the edge of the crowd, his arm around another large and heavily tattooed man. Both were grinning ear to ear.
My lips curved at the sight. He looked so happy and carefree. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed he was capable of such a relaxed and easygoing expression. Lord knew he was all things intense last night.
Finally spotting my purse on the arm of the sofa near the door, I walked over and grabbed it.
Wait, if my purse was in the living room, why was my phone on the bed next to me this morning? I quickly thumbed through my phone’s apps but didn’t see anything strange. All the numbers on my recently called and calls received lists were familiar. What the heck was going on?
I pawed through my purse but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary there, either. All my credit cards and the spare twenty in my wallet were accounted for. Weird.
I jumped when the cell in my hand vibrated. A beat later, the notes of Kelly Clarkson’s latest song rang out. My thumb flicked over the screen and I answered.
“Hey, Nic.”
I walked over to the door and fumbled with the ridiculous number of deadbolts barring my exit.
“I’m out front. Hurry up before he comes back.”
“Holy shit. It’s not like I’m running away from an ax murderer.” Although judging from the number of locks he had, that might not have been much of a stretch. Who puts six deadbolts on their door anyhow? A feeling of unease swept over me. Just who had I slept with last night? “He’s a good guy.”
At this point I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince myself or her of that fact.
“Whatever. Just get your ass out here.”
After unlocking the last deadbolt, I opened the door and stepped through. Finally, I could breathe. And no crazy maniac jumped out to stop me. Shaking my head at the silly thoughts Nic had given me, I twisted the one lock I could set and shut the door behind me.
I waved at Nic sitting in the driver’s seat of her little Camry, stuffed my phone into my purse, and walked over.
Of course I couldn’t help it if my eyes slid over to inspect the empty driveway. Zag’s bike was long gone. There was only a black tire streak in the driveway to mark the spot it’d been parked in last night. So he really did leave me all alone in his house this morning. I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or abandoned. Relieved that we didn’t have to do the awkward morning-after dance. And abandoned because—well…that bit was obvious.
I debated for a second if I should’ve left him a note or something to let him know that I’d enjoyed last night, but I wasn’t sure what to leave. And given the way he’d left without a word, I didn’t think it’d be welcomed. A small part of me shriveled with the knowledge that I most likely wouldn’t see him again. Apparently I’d been wrong. That amazing magnetism I’d felt between us hadn’t been mutual.
I slid into the passenger seat of Nic’s car and tried not to think about my tangled feelings. As soon as I saw Nic’s eyes, I knew I had a lot more than my silly feelings to worry about.
“I’m not going to say it,” Nic sniped as she pulled the car away from the curb.
Thank God. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the headrest. If she wasn’t going to harp about it, I wasn’t going to bait her. Maybe we could spend the whole ride with only her silent judgment filling the air. For once her car wasn’t vibrating with her crazy love of all things hard rock. Lord knew if it was the other way around I’d be doing the same, too.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Then again, maybe not.
“You don’t know what happened last night, Nic. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I don’t know what happened last night because someone sent me a cryptic text and then turned their phone off. What was I supposed to think?”
It didn’t help that she had a point. We told each other everything, but for some reason I really wanted to keep this one thing to myself. What I’d had with Zag last night had been amazing, and something that I don’t think Nic would understand. She was as bad as my mom when it came to men—appearance and impressions mattered. At the end of the night he was still a scary biker and that was that. Neither of them would understand why I’d want to spend the night with a big, bad biker no matter how sexy he was. Honestly, at this point I wasn’t sure if I understood it myself, either.
“I’m sorry, Nic. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just wanted someone to know where I was and who I was with in case—”
“In case something happened to you? Because it’s stupid to disappear with a random stranger regardless of the fact that he’s a member of a biker gang?”
“You know you can be a real bitch sometimes, Nic. Don’t even start with me. I’m not gonna sit here if you’re going to preach at me. You don’t know what happened last night. You don’t know what happened with ‘the respectable lawyer.
’ Did it ever occur to you that Zag was actually the better guy? He saved me last night. If it weren’t for him—” My voice strangled and I couldn’t finish. The thought of Charlie’s hands on me last night had bile tickling the back of my throat. Tears sheened my vision but I blinked them away. He wasn’t worth another second of my time, let alone a single tear. “You don’t know, Nic. So maybe next time ask before you start laying into me.”
Nicole’s eyes darted between me and the road, and her brow wrinkled in concern. “Crap, I’m sorry, hon. I just—” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. What happened? Do you want to talk about it? Do we need to go to the hospital? Or the police?”
“No, nothing like that. But it might have ended differently if not for Zag. So can we cut the sanctimonious bullshit? It’s not like you haven’t had a one-night stand.”
Nic bit her lip and tilted her head. “I never had a one-night stand with a biker,” she murmured snarkily under her breath.
But I still heard it regardless. Or maybe she wanted me to hear. Whatever. I was done with it. Done with her snide little comments and knowing looks. “Pull over.”
“What?”
“I said. Pull. Over.”
“Crap, Jess, I’m sorry. I won’t say anything else. I swear.”
“Fine.” I sat in the passenger seat with my arms crossed over my chest.
We drove another few miles in stone silence. Finally, at a stoplight, Nic looked over at me and cracked a small smile. “At least tell me he was hot.”
“Nic!”
“What? If I can’t lecture you, at least give me a few sexy details. Did he offer you a mustache ride?”
“Oh my god.” My hands flew to my seat-belt buckle. “That’s it. I’m getting out.”
Nicole laughed. “Damn. You’re sensitive. Stop, stop.” She reached over and batted my hands away. “Come on, Jess. Give me something. Was he old? Young? Built? Or was he bald with a paunch?”
My head hit the headrest with a soft thump and I looked up at the roof unable to meet Nic’s searching blue eyes. “He was sexy. Probably thirty-something with longish hair, at least down to his chin. And his body was ridiculous. One of those outrageously built hard bodies that make you afraid to take your own clothes off because you’re so not in their class…Not that I had much choice. He was so masculine and take-charge. He ripped my clothes off before I could even have an insecure thought. I was too busy thinking about him and what his tongue was—”
I broke off embarrassed at how much I’d already confessed. We might’ve been friends for fifteen years and told each other everything, but there were still some things we didn’t talk about, the nitty-gritty sex details being one of them. Especially when Nic was so blatant in her disapproval of said partner.
I snuck a peak at Nic and she stared at me with the most incredulous look. I don’t know if she was amazed at my rare overshare of sex details or the fact that I’d been so pleased with my choice of lover last night. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which would’ve been worse in her eyes.
Scratch that. I was pretty sure I knew.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. “But it was just a one-night thing. I won’t be seeing him again.”
Nicole tore her eyes away from mine and pulled into the intersection. “And you’re okay with that? It sounds like you really liked this guy.”
My laugh sounded forced even to my own ears. “I think it was pretty obvious that it was a one-night thing. Maybe that’s what made it so hot? Anyway, it’s over now.”
Nic nodded along, but I could tell from her raised brows she was still skeptical.
To be honest, so was I. But what else could I think? He hadn’t said one word about seeing me again. And then he left without a word. Clearly we were one and done.
No matter how much I wished for more.
At least we were only a few blocks away from the Vine. I couldn’t wait to get out and away from Nic’s probing questions. It was hard to convince myself that I was happy my time with Zag would only ever be one night when she kept pelting me with questions that reminded me how amazing he was.
“So what did you get up to last night?”
Nicole rolled her eyes as she signaled to turn into the Vine’s parking lot. “Nothing as exciting as you. Emily and I went to see a movie and then out to dinner. We missed you.”
“Yeah, well, maybe next time. I could use a girls’ night out.”
Nic nodded as she pulled up behind my car.
I unbuckled my seat belt and grabbed my purse from the floor. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem.” Nic gave me a half smile. “I mean that, Jess. Anytime you need me, just call.”
I jerked my chin in a small nod and grappled for the door handle.
“I mean it. I’m sorry if I came off all sanctimonious or whatever. I was worried about you.”
“I know. I’m sorry, too. On the bright side, I’m pretty sure after this weekend I’m done with dating for a while. Especially with guys my mom swears are the one. Lord, she has the worst taste in men.” I made a wry face.
Nic laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement. After a second she sobered and pushed her curly brown hair out of her eyes with a slight frown. “Are you going to tell her?”
“About Zag? Hell no.”
“No, I meant about ‘the respectable lawyer.’ ”
“Oh. I don’t know. On one hand, it would make her think twice about setting me up with any and all successful men she meets. But I don’t want to hurt her. Ugh. It’s never easy with family, is it?”
“Nope.”
I collapsed back into the seat with a sigh. “What do you think I should do?”
“I don’t know, hon. I think maybe if you don’t want this to happen again, you should tell her something. She needs to know your boundaries.”
“So I should tell her that attempted rapists are on my ‘hell no’ list? Seems kinda obvious to me.”
“Wait. What? He tried to rape you last night?”
My eyes had been drawn to the site of Charlie’s foiled attack. It looked so different in the daylight. Like any other parking lot, really. But last night it’d felt so menacing, or at least it had during. Not so much after Zag showed up.
“Jess!”
“What? Sorry. Yeah, Charlie was one of those asses who think ‘no’ is a negotiation starting point.” I tried to make light of what had been a very scary situation.
“Holy shit. Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“You mean when you were harping on how going home with a biker was a bad idea?”
Nic’s lips twisted in a sardonic expression. “Point taken. But just to clarify, going home with any stranger is a bad idea.”
I snorted. “You’re so full of it. What about that casino gaming conference in Atlantic City? I seem to remember you going home with a programmer.”
“That was different.”
“Because he wasn’t a biker? If you’ll remember, I went out with a respectable lawyer last night who attacked me in the parking lot. Zag stopped it from happening. He’s a good guy. So no, it’s not different in my book.”
“Okay, okay. I get it. Zag’s a good guy. But are you all right? Do you want to talk about it? About what happened with Charlie?”
“Not really. I just want to go home, take a shower, and forget everything about that horrible date.”
Nicole gave me a devious smile. “Well, not everything, right? Sounds like you have some great memories in your spank bank. With your biker.”
I wasn’t touching that one with a ten-foot pole. “Thanks for the ride.”
Rolling my eyes, I got out of her car and shut the door behind me.
Nic opened her door and got out. “Ah, come on, Jess. I was just teasing.”
Nic’s eyes were soft and troubled. Dammit, she really had perfected the doe-eyed wounded look. I’d seen her use it a thousand times on parents, teachers, and boyfriends. After fifteen years of friendship, I thought I’d developed immunity to i
t. Apparently not.
“But are we good?”
I let out a sigh and nodded. I could never stay pissed off with her for long. “Yeah. We’re fine.”
Nic slumped in relief. “Okay. Good. Wanna meet up at Mackay Mocha House later?”
“Yeah, sure. Just give me a few to go home and shower and change.”
“Let’s say ten-thirty?”
“Sounds good.” I gave her a one-handed wave, unlocked my car, and got in. Then watched from the rearview mirror as she got back into her car and pulled away.
I put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space. Whatever. We were friends—sisters, practically. I could forget this morning and her annoying judgments. She meant well and had been worried about me Wasn’t that what friendship and sisterhood were really all about?
Of course it’d be a while before I introduced her to my next guy. Especially if he happened to be someone like Zag.
Chapter 4
JUNE 8
With more than a little trepidation, I pulled up at my parents’ house a few blocks over from my own. I probably could’ve walked but it was unseasonably hot for early June. Call me a prima donna, but I live for air-conditioning in the summer.
Stepping past the two extra cars in the driveway, I gave a fervent prayer that my nephew, Kaden would distract my mom today and leave me free and clear on the blind date interrogation. But I wasn’t holding out much hope.
Before I made it onto the front steps, the door burst open and the whirlwind that was my nephew descended. Kaden threw himself off the top step and I caught him with a grunt. “Geez, kiddo, you trying to break a bone?”
“Aunt Jess! Guess what?”
I had to laugh as I hoisted him up on my hip. He might’ve only been five, but the kid already had the entire family—including me—wrapped around his little finger. I snuggled him close and breathed in that scent that was undeniably his—dirt and sunshine. “What?”
“I’m getting a puppy.” His little face was alive with glee as his brown eyes danced. He was the spitting image of my brother—dark hair and eyes and a mischievous smile. On Kaden, it was impossible to resist.
I stepped through the door and gave my brother Brent an incredulous look. “Really? A puppy?”
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