CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Cami
“Here ya go, beautiful,” Brand said as he came up beside me, placed a grapefruit down on the counter in front of me, and kissed my temple. Like he did every time he was around me. The kiss on the temple thing, not the grapefruit. That would be weird. No, I didn’t have a secret craving for grapefruit, in fact, I wasn’t even a little bit of a fan. So, I scrunched up my nose in a mix of confusion and disgust and looked up at him.
“Uh…thanks?” I shrugged.
“No,” he said as he shook his head and laughed at me. “Damn, sometimes you are so adorable.” If that had come from anyone else, I might have been insulted and angry. “It’s time, Cami. You get to work on your inking skills. I learned on pig skin fresh from the butcher, but given that you don’t eat meat, I figured this would be better.”
I loved that he had figured out I was vegetarian without me having to tell him. And I loved that he didn’t even make a big deal out of it. Though I wasn’t quite vegan—there were simply things I could not give up like cheese and caramel—he had taken notice that I didn’t like to drink milk. Anytime he would feed me he would order something meatless or take me somewhere that had a good selection of vegetarian meals. He even went as far as to check and make sure the beans at his favorite taco place were cooked without using any kind of lard or meat product.
This guy.
I was so head over heels for him it wasn’t even funny.
“You seriously learned on a dead pig?” I asked though I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d done my fair share of research going into this, and I had read a few things about people doing that because it was pretty much as close to human flesh as you could get.
“Yep. Sketch, what did you learn on?” Brand called out over his shoulder.
“Pigs feet. Had the butcher chop them off right above the knee for me, gave me more to work with.”
“Blade?” Brand went on trying to further prove his point.
“Cadavers.”
What?!
That made me freeze, and Brand, too. Guess that was something he wasn’t aware of.
“Uh, um, okay. I don’t even want to know,” Brand said, clearly a bit thrown off by this new information.
“Yeah, probably best,” Blade said and I heard his stool rolling around in his room the way it did when he was getting set up for an appointment.
“You got something going on? There’s nothing on the books.” Brand asked, noticing the same thing that I had.
“Yeah—”
His words were cut off by the jingle of the front door opening. Brand and I turned just in time to see B-ry stride in with Ky trailing behind.
“What’s going on?” Brand said in a greeting.
“Here to see Blade,” B-ry answered and flashed me a smile. “Hey, Cami. How are you doing, girl?”
“Hi. Good. You?” I said sweetly.
I’d gotten to know most of the guys over the last couple of weeks. Sure, I had my favorites, but I was not going to say who.
B-ry was forever giving me smiles and asking how I was doing. Mouse made sure I never had a frown on my face. Knight…well, he was really wrapped up in his girlfriend, Gwen, but both of them were nice to me. Tripp watched me with an intensity like he was either trying to figure me out or watch over me. I hadn’t been able to make up my mind on that one. Lake, oh sweet Lake. He reminded me a lot of Brand and I often thought of him like the brother I always wanted. I saw Sketch like that too.
And then there was Ky. Sometimes he was standoffish and sometimes he was there, right alongside the other brothers, laughing and carrying on a conversation with me. I liked the guy, but I could tell that there were some heavy things weighing on his mind. Or, maybe he was just moody. Like male PMS, moody.
“Wonderful, or at least I will be once this shit show gets started,” B-ry said answering my question with a sly smirk, one that told me something was about to go down, but I didn’t have the first clue what.
“Are you getting something done?” Brand asked as he walked with them over to stand just outside of Blade’s room, but still within earshot. And you can bet your sweet bottom I was listening in.
“Figured I’d get my dick pierced,” B-ry said and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
Sketch has his done. Seems like some ladies love that.
“Fuck yeah they do!” Sketch called out from inside his room.
Crap!
Had I said that out loud? Yep. I definitely had, because as I looked over at them, my cheeks turning from pink to bright red, they all looked at me with humor in their eyes.
“Your girl’s seen Sketch’s dick? Thought you didn’t share, man.” B-ry said still looking at me and by the way his lips were twitching, I could tell he was trying his hardest not to laugh.
“Fuck off, first of all,” Brand said, playfully pushing B-ry’s shoulder. “And second, it’s Sketch. It’s not like she wanted to see his junk.”
I smiled at Brand and he sent me a soft smile back. One that told me he wasn’t the least bit mad or jealous, and I flipping loved it. I mean, not like there was any need for him to be. His was the only “junk” I wanted to see or ride pretty much forever.
“So true,” I said. “Scarred for life now.”
They all laughed and I joined in.
“Come on, fucker,” Blade said, looking at Ky. “Let’s get this done. You’re not going to chicken out now, are you?”
“Nope. I’m good.” Ky straightened his spine and boy was I curious about what was going to happen.
Ky couldn’t have been here to get his…no…I didn’t see him as the kind of guy that would need or want his nether-regions pierced. But then again, I didn’t know him all that well.
The bell jingled again, pulling my attention from what was going on in Blade’s room. I was about to open my mouth, but it seemed I didn’t even get the chance to get a greeting out.
“Okay, so this place isn’t as bad as I pictured it in my mind,” my sister’s voice called out as she secured her giant sunglasses on top of her head and looked around the shop. “I know I was in here before, but I didn’t really look around.”
“Princess,” B-ry called out with an odd sense of familiarity in his tone. As my head whipped to look at him, he was stepping out of Blade’s room to lay eyes on my sister.
Okay, clearly I was missing something. I looked back at my sister, only to see her nose scrunch up as she looked at B-ry. Her face a mix of something I couldn’t even begin to explain. It was like she had got a whiff of rotting trash, however, something in her eyes lit up in the most unusual way.
“Too-good-for-me-biker-boy,” she mocked, her smile was as tight as her rigid body. “Somehow I’m not surprised to see you here. Come to add to your collection.” She wiggled her fingers in the direction of his tattooed arms.
“No, baby doll,” he replied, smirk permanently etched on his face.
With a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest.
“He came to get Blade to put a hole in his equipment,” I said and then snapped my mouth shut in horror that the words had come out of it. Though, I was pretty sure he was joking about that.
“Hmm.” Her eyes did a slow up and down of his body, pausing for just a moment at his crotch area. But the sneer on her face and arched brow let everyone know that she wasn’t checking him out in the least. “Are you sure Blade will even be able to find it, let alone be able to put something through it?”
Oh, wow. I’d never seen my sister show her claws like this. As much as I was almost enjoying this, I had a feeling I should stop it before things got out of hand.
“Oh, peaches, you know damn well I am not lacking,” B-ry said, his voice as smooth as butter as he talked. “I’m not like your boy, I don’t need to put a huge ring on someone’s finger to keep them satisfied. But in case you need to see the proof…” Then there was the tale-tell sound of a buckle jingling and I knew it was now or never. That ring in question was currently tucked under her crossed arms. I was surprised she wasn’t waving it around and giving him a comeback so good he’d feel like he was literally slapped in the face.
This left my sister quite speechless, all the color leaving her face as she looked away from him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked in such a loud burst it even caught me off guard. While I genuinely wanted to know the answer, I also knew that she needed an out right then. There was something going on, I could see it in her eyes, and it was strange.
Sure, I was kind of living with her, but I had to be honest, the last week I’d pretty much spent every night at the compound with Brand.
“I love the color of this place. And the light comes in through these windows so perfectly.” She carried on as if I hadn’t asked her something, her eyes, skimming over where B-ry was like she was trying her best to ignore the fact that he was there and that the whole shop hadn’t witnessed their encounter. “To be honest, I was expecting some dark, metal filled place or something.” She let out a strained, forced chuckle. The kind that she gave at parties when she felt like she had to find something amusing. The same one that she also used to hide how nervous she was. I couldn’t tell which she was going for at the moment. I would have said nervous, but the way she scanned over the area, genuinely taking it all in, I had to wonder.
“Laurel.” I tried to grab her attention before she could say something rude or embarrassing.
“Hey, Brand,” she said with a wide smile as he came over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. And yes, kissed me on the temple. Sigh and melt.
“Hey, Laurel. What brings you to this part of town?” He wasn’t being a turd nugget, I could tell from his tone. No, he was joking and lucky for me, Laurel picked up on it and her smile widened.
“I thought I could steal Cami away for a bit,” she said then turned her attention to me. “I figured we could go to lunch. I have to something I need to tell you.” The way she acted it was like I could just take off if I wanted to. I shouldn’t have expected anything less, after all, she’d never really worked a day in her life.
“I’m working. I can’t just leave because you want me to,” I said in a calm enough tone.
As my eyes met Brand’s in a pleading ‘please say no’ kind of way, because I felt like she was about to drop a huge bomb on me and I didn’t want to know. For some reason, I thought it might have to do with our parents and me…and well, the whole threat that our mother had laid down on Brand and his club. I wasn’t trying to avoid, I simply wasn’t ready to pop the bubble I’d been living in the last couple of weeks.
Instead of helping me out, Brand merely flashed me those beautiful dimples of his.
“Go,” he said waving his hand. “It’s fine. We’re not busy right now, anyway.” He didn’t hesitate to crook his finger under my chin, tilt it up, and plant the sweetest of kisses on my lips. Simple as it was, I felt it all the way down to my toes.
I guess I had no choice but to get this over with. Before I moved from behind the counter, I studied Laurel for a beat or two. Her purse was lodged in the crook of her elbow, her hair was perfectly in place, and her outfit was nothing less than stellar. But as my eyes roamed over her body, I took in the tight posture and oddly placed hands, the right covering the left as they rested almost casually on her stomach. Not necessarily an odd pose, but something about it set alarm bells off in my head.
“Yep,” I said moving like lighting around the counter and over to her, not even bothering to grab my purse. “We’re gone.” I grabbed her elbow and turned her towards the front door.
“Later, princess. Hope you didn’t get your Louboutin’s dirty while slumming it for a whole minute,” B-ry called out after us, but I was too concerned with my sister to even care about his comment.
Laurel, however, looked over her shoulder and glared. I mean it was the glare of all glares. I was surprised the guy was still standing after that. But in a blink, her focus was forward and we were both moving out of the shop.
Since there weren’t a lot of places around this area to eat, and none of those would meet her standards, I let her drive us further into downtown. It was no surprise she chose the Phoenix Fire Café. An upscale place with a good salad selection. No, she wasn’t anti-meat, but she did like to watch her figure. Something my mother had instilled in her pretty much from day one. And it also was no surprise when the waiter appeared that she ordered sparkling water and the summer mix salad with light dressing on the side.
I, on the other hand, ordered the breaded eggplant and grilled cheese sandwich. Flipping delicious, let me tell you.
“Okay, this isn’t easy to say,” she started and suddenly I wished I’d ordered some wine.
“Are you…pregnant?” The last words came out as a harsh whisper as I leaned in. “I mean, if you are, that’s great. I’m excited. And I’m here for you no matter what you need.”
“Oh, God! No. Wow, Cami.” She let the weird nervous laughter hang in the air. “I, um, I broke it off with Brice.”
Oh.
Wow.
Um.
Yeah, I didn’t have the first clue what to say. But I would tell you that was the furthest thing I expected for her to tell me right then. So as my shocked silence lingered between us, she started to fidget more and more.
“What?” I finally asked. I needed to make sure I had heard her right.
“I broke up with Brice. I gave the ring back and all.” She held up her left hand, empty ring finger and all.
“Okay, I need you to explain everything to me because I’m really confused right now. I thought you were perfect for one another.” Or at least that was the impression I’d gotten from her.
“We are, in a sense.” She sighed and I wished for a split second that I could be in her head because I had no clue what was going on in there. “On paper, we are perfect. But something has always felt a little off. I don’t know. I’m sure I’m not even making any sense. It’s just…the way you talked about Brand and that dazed, can’t-help-but-to-melt-inside look you get every time made me see things in a new light.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d done this. I know it wasn’t really my fault, but something she’d seen made her realize that she was missing something. I couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or not. I mean, I wanted her to be happy more than anything, but would she be able to handle the cost of this decision?
“I want someone who makes me feel. I want every kiss to leave me confused and breathless. I want his touch to send lightning through my veins. I know it probably seems silly and maybe a bit stupid. I can tell you that I’ve never felt anything like that from Brice. Things with him have always felt…comfortable, at best.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“Yes,” she answered with certainty. “I’m going to go to the house and let Mom and Dad know after this. I just wanted to tell you first, I doubt it will go over well. If you don’t hear from me by tonight, then start looking for my body.”
She tried to joke but it fell flat, and I could see the trepidation in her features.
“It will all be alright,” I said as I rubbed the back of her hand with false comfort. I knew my words did nothing to ease the stress she was feeling. The only thing I could do was be there for her after the fallout.