She scoffed. “As if.”
I put my hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “Between Cal and my own sister, I knew you’d had four guys over to meet your parents, but you’d dated at least twice that many. I hated hearing that shit. Seemed like there wasn’t anywhere I could go to avoid it.”
Her eyes shifted side to side like she was trying to read me. “But you’re the one who shoved me aside. All because I stuck up for you to those high school jocks.”
I tipped my head back and let her go. Righting my head, I drove my hands in my hair. “It was high school. No guy wants to be known as the one who had to have someone else stick up for him.” I dropped my hands to my hips. “And you know me, you know my dad. I definitely don’t want to rely on someone else taking care of shit for me.”
“But there were five of them.”
“Four.”
“Five. Colton was coming out of the woods.”
I didn’t know if that was true or not, but Alexandra had a memory like a steel trap. “Fine, there were five. It was years ago, and I was immature, but I knew I didn’t want you to get in trouble and those assholes would make sure webothgot blamed for shit.”
She stared down at her feet for a beat. “You’re right.”
I closed the distance between us and grabbed her hands. “I won’t abandon you, Lex. We’re older now, and if shit goes bad, we’ll talk it out and deal with it. Like adults.”
She lifted her hands and put them on my chest. “All right. I’m sorry I got a little weird.”
I smiled. “Don’t be. We gotta be open with each other. Right?”
“Right.” Her eyes skated to the side. “Wait, is that….” She looked up at me with a disgusted expression. “Is that the couch from your parents’ house?”
I nodded.
Her eyes widened. “The same one we…”
I grinned. “Where we had our first kiss. Yeah.”
“Wow,” she said with a grimace.
“It’s a great couch, Lex.”
She sat down like the couch might bite her. “You aren’t exactly close to the clubhouse here.”
I sat next to her. “No, but I’m not that far. Besides, it's more central to wherever the club might send me. Lisa’s shop, Platinum’s, your dad’s business. The only time it’s a problem is when I have to go to Hock’s Pawn shop. But even then, I’m going against the flow of traffic.”
“What do you want to do in the club?”
“Haven’t decided. Figured I’d have to do whatever the Memphis brothers wanted. Now, it looks like I might be able to start my own general contracting business after all. Not sure I want the club investing in it, but their terms could be better than a bank. I’ll have to take it one day at a time.”
She yawned and her eyes watered. I caught sight of the microwave and saw it was quarter to eleven. “Let’s go to bed, Lex. It’s been a long-ass week.”
She shot me a grin. “And it’s only Thursday.”
I parked my bike outside the clubhouse at six-thirty Friday morning. Prospects were expected to keep the common room clean at all times, but we had to do a deep clean before the start of the weekend.
I went inside through the back door, and grabbed the mop bucket from the utility closet near the back door.
I’d gone ten feet when Volt, Blood, and Razor stalked my way.
“He actually looks scared,” Razor said.
Blood kept his eyes fixed on me. “I don’t think so. He’s definitely not scared enough.”
At this stage, it was hard for me to know if this was all bluster to provoke me and then force me into more bullshit chores, or if they actually meant to be intimidating because Alexandra and I were involved.
