Jasmine sat on the couch with her legs crossed underneath her as she nursed a glass of wine with a widening grin.

“Honestly, I can’t believe this has happened,” Cadence said with disbelief. “I really can’t… I mean, it’s crazy.”

“You’re telling me,” Jasmine said as she sipped from the glass. “This time yesterday, I was scared I was going to get evicted and have to move home with my parents. Now, I have a job working for a goddamn Forsaken Rider… It’s insane.”

“Tell me more about him,” Cadence said as she looked on dreamily. Jasmine hadn’t known her friend had harbored such a secret desire for the badass bikers that ran their town as well. But it was good to be able to talk about it with someone. Jasmine had seen them around Slate Springs for years, and when she had become aware of who they were, she had been instantly intrigued. They seemed so elusive and superior, that was the only way she could explain it. They owned a lot of the property around Main Street, and they ran several businesses which catered to carnal, nighttime desires. She knew they owned the strip club on the outskirts of town, along the highway, and also a biker bar in what was regularly called the “bad part of town.”

“He’s different,” Jasmine said thoughtfully as she found herself staring off into the distance. “He’s quiet but not quiet… Does that make sense?”

“Not at all,” Cadence scoffed.

“Okay, let me try again…” she bit her lip. “Like, he thinks about things. It’s like he has to really weigh everything he is going to say, because he never says anything he isn’t sure of.”

“Okay…,” Cadence urged her to continue.

“Maybe that’s an age thing?” Jasmine offered. “I mean, he must be at least forty.”

“That’s so hot that he’s older,” Cadence fanned her face. “Is he sexy?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Jasmine felt herself blushing again.

“Yes, he’s sexy,” she said with a smudge of embarrassment. “But, obviously, I can’t think of him like that. He’s way too old for me, and I’m working for him.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t think of him like that,” Cadence roared with laughter. “In fact, I think that means even more reason for you to think of him like that.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

“You’ll have me fired before I’ve even started this job if you’re not careful,” she scowled.

“I want to know more,” Cadence said eagerly. “What’s the house like? What was he wearing? Did you see anything illegal when you were over there?”

Jasmine took another sip and cast her mind back to earlier that day.

“The house was beautiful,” she said with a smile. “A beautiful old place, you know the road where all the old mansions are?”

Cadence raised her eyebrows.

“Shit, really?” she asked.

“Yeah, in there,” she said. “He said his family’d had it for years.”

“From an old Slate Springs family then, he must be… That street is legendary. No one on it wasn’t one of the first settlers of this town. His family must have been here for decades, hundreds of years even.”

Jasmine shrugged.

“I got the feeling he was pretty well rooted here. But that he’s also the type of guy to keep to himself.”

“And what about the mom?” Cadence sat forward with wide eyes. “Where’s she in the picture?”

“Well, this is the thing, I don’t know,” Jasmine said. “I was on the verge of asking, but then I realized it was incredibly rude and too soon. I mean, I’d just met the guy and I didn’t want to pry too much. He did say one thing, though… He said he wasn’t married and it had pretty much just always been Maddy and him.”

“Wow,” Cadence exhaled. “Maybe she died…”

The girls both looked off into the distance and a sadness descended over the entire room.

“Maybe,” Jasmine whispered. “I don’t know any other good reason for anyone to leave those two behind. Maddy was just incredible. Such a smart little girl and full of personality. And Brick, well…”

“He’s hot as fuck?” Cadence laughed.

Jasmine blushed again.

“Stop it,” Jasmine sipped her wine. “You’re going to turn this into a thing.”

“It already is a thing,” Cadence cackled. “You want him bad, just admit it!”

“I do not! Stop being so ridiculous! He’s far too old for me!”

“That doesn’t mean a damned thing…” Cadence trailed off and a mischievous look crept over her face. “Imagine being with a daddy… An older man… With all that experience he has hidden away. Damn. I could think of worse ways to spend my time.”

“You’re insufferable,” Jasmine rolled her eyes. “You’ve never even seen him or met him, and you’ve already decided I have a crush on him and that you want to fuck him.”

“You do have a crush on him, I can smell it a mile off,” Cadence said matter-of-factly. “And let’s be honest here… You said it yourself, I’ve only ever had bad sex. Maybe a daddy could teach me a thing or two about good sex. Wouldn’t you agree?” 

“Stop saying daddy,” Jasmine scowled. “It sounds so filthy.”

“That’s because it is,” Cadence grinned.

Jasmine got to her feet and wandered over to the window. She looked out over the alleyway and through the gap in the buildings so she could see the car headlights from the passing traffic flashing past as they zoomed up Main Street.

“He is sexy…” she admitted. “It took me by surprise, actually. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. He’s just so… so… different.”

“I like different,” Cadence sighed as she stared into space. “I’m imagining him right now… All dangerous and lawless, ripping off his top. You said he had tattoos, right?”

“Yep,” Jasmine smiled as she remembered the ink that had worked its way all down his muscular arms.

“Hot. As. Hell.” Cadence growled.

“Maybe you should go babysit for them,” Jasmine said with irritation. “You’re clearly interested.”

“Nah,” Cadence brushed it off and let the dreamy look fade from her face. “It’s all well and good pretending, but if it came down to it, I know I would never have the nerve. Older men scare me.”

“I know what you mean,” Jasmine whispered. “He scares the hell out of me.”

She sipped her wine and felt the warmth spread right through her body. He was intimidating, but the way she had seen him with Maddy proved to her he had to be a good guy deep down. He was so gentle and caring, he clearly loved his daughter more than anything.

“So, are you excited for tomorrow?” Cadence asked as she got to her feet and wandered into the kitchen area. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the bottle of wine to top off their glasses.

“I’m looking forward to having purpose again,” Jasmine said as she looked back over her shoulder and held out her glass. “I can’t believe how stagnant these past few weeks have been. It’s been awful. I can’t sit around doing nothing, it’s just not my style.”

“Yeah, you’ve always been the type of girl who likes to be on the go.”

“Exactly!”

Cadence let the cool wine trickle into Jasmine’s glass and then filled her own.

“I wonder what you’ll be doing,” Cadence mused. “He might have you cooking dinner for them both, wearing a little apron and playing the wifey.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous,” Jasmine rolled her eyes. “You really are mad sometimes. I’m there to look after Maddy, not be the hired help to run the household.”

“But he let you open the shutters,” Cadence half-laughed. “Maybe he secretly wants you to go in there and spruce things up.”

“I think this is your fantasy, not mine! Like I say, maybe you’re the one who should be playing babysitter, not me.”

“No way,” Cadence laughed. “I hate kids. I couldn’t think of anything worse.”

Jasmine shook her head. “Once again, you are insufferable.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine sat her glass down and rubbed her temples. “Now I have the dilemma of what the hell I’m going to wear. It has to be appropriate, but I don’t want to look like a nerd.”

“What you had on today sounded perfect,” Cadence offered.

“Well, yeah, but I can hardly wear the same thing two days in a row, can I?”

“Oh, you want him so bad,” Cadence laughed. “I can’t even begin to tell you how obvious it is… Oh what will I wear? I can’t wear the same thing two days in a row!” 

“That’s just some of life’s rules, Cadence, it has nothing to do with me having a crush on my new employer.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cadence winked as she skipped forward and planted a kiss on Jasmine’s cheek. “Good luck tomorrow. I want to know everything.”

“I’ll keep you well updated, don’t worry.”

“And text me his address, for safety reasons, you understand,” Cadence winked again.

“Come on, out!” Jasmine laughed as she pushed her toward the door. “I don’t know how I put up with you sometimes, I really don’t. You drive me insane.”

“But you wouldn’t know what to do without me,” Cadence trilled as she stepped out the front door and started down the hallway. “I hope you can sleep tonight, don’t have too many hot and heavy dreams about Daddy Brick now, will you.”

“Stop. Saying. Daddy.” Jasmine said through gritted teeth.

“Haha, bye babe,” Cadence blew another kiss as she skipped off down the stairs and Jasmine had to hide her smile as she turned back into her apartment and closed the door.

She turned the latches and locked herself in for the night and then she began to tidy everything. It had been such an interesting day. She had enjoyed being with Maddy so much, and now that she had spoken to Cadence about Brick her mind was actually racing with scenarios.

He was sexy.

She couldn’t deny that for second.

But Cadence had just gotten carried away. There was no way Jasmine could seriously consider crushing on a man almost twice her age who she was working for. It was just madness. She shook her head and carried the empty wine glasses back into the kitchen and placed them in the sink.

She had two options for the rest of the evening. Either spend her time rooting through her closet and stressing over possible outfits, and then cleaning and tidying so she didn’t have to do it the following day, or going straight to bed with a good book and getting a good night’s sleep.

“Look after yourself for once,” she said aloud as she began to turn the lights off in the front room.

Her shoulders were aching and her muscles were tired. She turned off the TV, blew out the candles and then walked to her bedroom. The sight of her bed was so enticing she could barely even be bothered to remove her make-up. She stripped off her lounge pants, throwing them into a ball in the corner of the room and slithered her way under her bed covers and stretched her arms over her head.

“Bliss,” she moaned as she rolled onto her side and reached for her book.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had just climbed into bed early and gone to sleep. She was so used to getting up early to go to work in Lisa’s store that it was an alien concept for her to be starting work much later in the day.

“I could even sleep late,” she whispered to herself as she found the last chapter she had been reading. “But that would be foolish. You have to make sure you’re fully ready.”

She got comfy in bed, propping herself up on pillows and letting the bedside light cast a warm glow over the pages. It was cozy and idyllic in there, and because of that, it wasn’t long before she started to drift peacefully off to sleep. The words she had read bled in front of her eyes and she couldn’t take any of them in.

All she could think about was Brick.

The daddy.

And the fact that she would never admit it, but she couldn’t wait to see him again.