She twisted her full lips. “I can’t say I’m surprised. You were a girl chaser in school. But if I’m honest, I didn’t find it attractive back then and I don’t now. Like, do you ever plan to settle down? Can you be committed to one woman?”
I thought about her questions. Couldn’t say I had imagined myself settled down and committed to one woman before my accident. But after it, I didn’t think any would be interested in my damaged body. Funny how events in our lives changed us.
“You don’t have to answer,” she said. “I’m getting too personal a little too quickly.”
“Yes, to both questions. If it’s the right woman.” Which I believed Kelly Lloyd was the perfect woman. It sounded crazy even to me to declare such things after one day, but I couldn’t deny the peace and ease I felt with my old friend. She’d alwaysbeen easy to be with back in the day, and now, I saw her with a fresh pair of eyes.
Shelley returned with our drinks. She placed them on the table and left without saying a word.
“Quick service,” Kelly said, reaching for her drink. “Should I be worried that she poisoned my martini.” She sniffed it.
“If she did, I’ll kill her.” I took a drink of my beer.
Kelly gasped and her eyeballs almost popped out of her head. “You’re joking, right?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Nobody gets away with hurting my friends.”
She sipped her cocktail and looked forward.
Maybe I should use a filter more with Kelly. She didn’t know the man I’d become after high school. That’d I’d killed a man before and had beat up many more. Not everything my club did was legal and the locals called us outlaws.
What if she didn’t like me once she learned more about me?
Well, I’d have to breakout my charm… “Are you seeing anyone?”
9
Kelly
The server returned to our table, glared at me as she put our drinks on the table. How rude. She didn’t even ask if there was anything else we wanted.
“Quick service.” I picked up my cocktail. “Should I be worried that she poisoned my martini.” I was only half serious but sniffed it just in case.
“If she did, I’ll kill her,” Gideon replied in a serious voice.
My heart stopped and I gasped. “You’re joking, right?” He’d better be joking. How could anyone say, so casually I might add, that they would kill someone?
“Nobody gets away with hurting my friends.”
I faced forward and slowly drank my lemon drop martini. What was I to say to that? I couldn’t tell him what popped into my head,you’re insane and need help.What if he was mentally unhinged? Telling him could trigger him.
But as I sat with my thoughts for a moment, my gut told me that Gideon wasn’t an evil man or someone I needed to be afraid of. And I always trusted my gut.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
His totally random question made me choke on my drink. “No, not seeing anyone.” I covered my mouth and tried not to die coughing. This was so the Gideon I remembered back in highschool. He liked to catch people off guard with wild questions. It was how he amused himself and it appeared he still enjoyed it.
“Me either.” He set his beer down. “I can see that I unnerved you with my comment about killing Shelley if she poisoned you. You can relax. I would never kill someone for funsies. They would have to be actively trying to hurt someone I loved. I mean, I’ve never even hit a chick.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” I twisted around in my seat to better see him. “I don’t know much about your MC, but from what I could tell last night, it’s not a hobby. You’ve hurt people before, right?”
“Yes. Just like I’ve been hurt when an enemy stole a garbage truck and ran me over.” He jugged his beer and I sensed I’d hit a nerve.
“Tell me more about your injuries.” I peered at him with a small smile. My God he was handsome. Far more attractive than I ever thought he’d grow up to be.
In a way, I was curious about how we might be together. I wasn’t the type of girl to have a one-night stand, but I would love to get laid. An orgasm would release the built-up tension in my body. If it was epic enough, I might come back for more.
“Well, I was hit from behind and dragged across the asphalt. My right leg was broken in two places and my pelvis was fractured. I’ve had four skin grafts on my chest. Basically, I’m a mess.” His sad gaze met mine and my heart broke for him.
