“I am Nikki,” Karmen babbled. “When she hurts, so do I. She’s like my sister.”
Alice slowly turned her head to look at me and grimaced. “I’m not sure what to do,” she whispered. “I feel like she can flip on me at any minute.”
“She can hear you,” I whispered back, laughing.
She turned back to Karmen and plastered a smile on her face. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Karmen stopped crying, and now it was her turn to look at me. “Huh?” she asked, confused.
Alice shrugged her shoulders. “I felt that was a safe thing to say. Can you really attack someone who says sorry?”
Her reasoning was good. “True. Plus, you confused the hell out of her too. Apologize and blind her with confusion.”
Karmen shot up and grabbed a paper towel off of the counter. “I’m not attacking anyone,” she sniffled. “I’m just a little emotional, and I know Nikki is hurting even though she plays it off.”
“I’m fine, Karmen. And soon, I’ll be good. I just needed to get out of Weston.” Everything about that damn town seemed to remind me of Pipe. Even things that had nothing to do with him reminded me of him because I would think of going to places with him or doing things with him. I was a mess when it came to the man, and the only way to get over Pipe was to completely get away.
“But why do you have to go so far away from me? We’ve been together since we were kids, and now you’re just gone.” She was on the verge of tears again.
Sweet heavens. Talking to her really was like walking through a minefield. One wrong word, and kablooey, she was crying and losing it.
She looked down at her belly and glared at it. “How is it possible to love and hate this kid all at the same time? What in the hell is going on with me?”
“At least she knows she’s unstable,” Alice mumbled.
Jesus. “Not helping, Alice,” I hissed. I snapped down the footrest, rocked out of my chair, and wrapped my arms around Karmen. “You need to breathe, Karmen.”
“I am breathing,” she insisted. “Although I’m apparently unstable.” She pulled out of my arms and leveled her glare on Alice.
Alice held up her hands. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Karmen dropped her arms to her side. “I don’t even know what to say to that.” She turned to look at me. “This is my replacement?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Well…”
Karmen stomped her foot. “Seriously? You were replacing me?”
She looked outraged and ready to flip the switch and go crazy on me.
I laughed. There wasn’t anything else to do. This baby really was causing havoc to her hormones. “She’s not your replacement, Kar. I could never replace your crazy ass.”
“Yeah. I mean, you totally have the market cornered on being the pregnant, crazy, dating a biker, friend. That is all you, sister.” Alice pointed her finger at Karmen and winked. “No one can pull that off like you do.”
“You know, I thought she was super sweet when I first met her, but it’s like the more comfortable she gets, the more sarcastic she gets.” Karmen flopped back down on the couch and grabbed the bag of chips from Alice.
“See, that’s my niche. The quiet, shy, yet terribly sarcastic one.” She wiped her hands on her legs and nodded at the TV. “So, you think we can watch something other than the news? I’m more informed on what’s going on around here than they are.”
“Only if I get to pick the movie,” I insisted.
Alice rolled her eyes but agreed.
“Hold on. We never finished our conversation.” Karmen rubbed her belly and leveled her gaze on me. “Are you ever going to move back to Weston, and am I still your best friend?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “This is home for now, and I can’t even imagine ever replacing you.”
Karmen sighed and shoved a chip into her mouth. “I guess I’ll accept those answers for now. I at least know where you live now so I can just visit you whenever I want. Maybe I could ask Nickel to move the club here.”
“Wow, he’s the president?” Alice asked.
Karmen laughed and shook her head. “No, he’s the Sergeant at Arms. I just like to think he could talk Wrecker and Pipe into moving,” she giggled.
“I think that is one idea you just need to give up on.” I grabbed a movie from the pile in the cabinet under the TV and slipped it into the Blu Ray player. “I think Kales Corners is a bit behind the times for the Fallen Lords.”
“This is true,” Karmen laughed. “I don’t think they could handle one bar and limited, well, everything.”
I sat back down and pointed the remote at the TV. “Okay, so are we all done talking about me?”
“For now,” Karmen and Alice said in unison.
I hit play and kicked up the footrest of the recliner. “Good. Now we can watch my favorite movie ever. Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. in the freakin’ hilarious New in Town. Prepare to laugh your ass off, ladies.”
“Oh geez. I’ve seen this five times with you, woman,” Karmen laughed.
“But you know you’re going to laugh still.”
“Again, this is true,” she agreed.
“Hmm, I’ve never seen this before,” Alice hummed.
“Probably because it doesn’t have Vin in it,” Karmen snickered.
“Hey, I’m the snarky friend in this relationship,” Alice grabbed the bag of chips back from Karmen and tucked it next to her side. “We all have our roles. Stick to ‘em.”
“Is she for real?” Karmen asked.
Unfortunately, she was. Karmen was right when she said Alice started out shy and quiet then once she got comfortable enough, she cranked up the sarcasm and lost any filter she had before. “She most definitely is.”
Karmen settled back into the couch, kicked her feet up between her and Alice, and ignored the glared Alice gave her. “I’m the needy, crazy, pregnant one. Don’t mess with me,” Karmen reminded her.
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 door 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 f
or 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?”
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