“Well,” he said. “While we’re here, do you wanna play some pool?”
I nodded yes, but even before we broke on the first game, it was obvious that the magic of the night had been lost. I wasn’t willing to say that I’d completely lost interest in interacting with Michael, for I could see that he was contrite and sorrowful for what he had done, but the spark had definitely vanished.
The spark for what, well, I didn’t want to say what it could have turned into. Definitely not sex, and definitely not working with him. But something just short of that?
Well, he was handsome.
Attractive, or hot?
I shouldn’t have to be still figuring out this question.
It only took us two games before Michael realized that it was probably best to just call it a night. He re-racked the balls, gave Jess a twenty for the drinks, and put his hand on the small of my back.
“Thanks for coming out with me,” he said. “I would like to keep hanging with you, though.”
“Of course,” I said instinctively.
I shut my mouth before I could say anything else.
But as it turned out, once we got outside, I didn’t need to say anything else. Something else came up that had our attention much more than each other.
Michael’s tires had been slashed.
Patriot
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Brewskis is where they pull this shit? Seriously? The one sacred spot in town and they pull this?
Amazingly, Kaitlyn’s tires had not been slashed, though the two shithead Saints were probably smart enough to realize that if they had, I would have hunted them down. But that didn’t do anything to quell my anger. They had crossed a line that should never have been crossed.
Maybe the Fallen Saints figured this was a technicality of some kind. The act had not actually occurred in Brewskis, just on the bar’s parking lot, so it wasn’t as bad as if it had happened. Maybe in some respects, if I just kept my mouth shut, we could avoid escalating this into more needless, bloody violence.
But there was just one small problem.
There was literally no way I could keep this a secret from the rest of the club members. I didn’t have the tools or the equipment to fix a flat tire myself. I’d have to take it back to Carter’s for repairs. And once that happened, Axle and everyone else would want to know why my tires had been slashed with what was clearly a knife.
And as it was, I wasn’t leaving my bike here.
And, beyond that, I was not about to let the fucking Saints get away with this. I just had to be smart about how we retaliated.
“Okay,” I said, trying to keep my composure. The last thing Kaitlyn needed was to see me lose control and never see me again. “I’m sorry you’re having to see this tonight. I’m sorry I took you here.”
“Michael—”
“No, it was stupid of me,” I said. “I figured a few drinks would loosen us up and make things fun, but instead, I just put you in a far more stressful situation than at Mama Sue’s. I should have just... I don’t know, taken you to a park or something.”
Yeah, it was corny and stupid. What else was I supposed to say? Already, Kaitlyn had clearly shown this place disturbed her more than it being seedy. The less I said, the better.
“You’re fine, it’s okay,” Kaitlyn said. “Yes, next time, let’s not come here. The bikers in the booth...”
She didn’t say anything. But just because she didn’t say anything didn’t mean that I couldn’t pick up that something was going on. The Fallen Saints had triggered some sort of unexpected reaction in her.
Family’s history... wouldn’t want to be with her... does she have family in the Fallen Saints? Friends, maybe?
Suddenly, I realized how bad it could look if I wound up dating the family member of a Fallen Saint. But even if that was the case, this was not the time and place to bring that up, most especially since my attempts to learn more earlier had gotten met with such heavy resistance, I might as well have begged Kaitlyn to push me away.
“I know,” I finally said. “Let me make some calls. You can leave anytime you want.”
