Chapter Six
When I came out of the bathroom, Chloe was holding a toddler on her hip. The little girl had wispy blonde hair and it made something inside of me ache. This was what a normal life looked like. Kids and a house, and a loving family, even if they weren’t your blood. This was what happiness looked like, and God I wanted it so badly.
I just stared at the child for a long moment and Chloe smiled. “Do you want to hold her?”
“Please?”
Gently, Chloe handed the baby over to me and I smiled at the little girl. “Hi there, Mariana. My name is Brittney.”
“Brittney is your name?”
I nodded and looked at Chloe, chewing my lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I was a bit distracted,” I tried to joke.
“Don’t apologize. I understand completely. It was far more important that we knew you were alright.”
I glanced over at her again. “And you really aren’t going to send me away?” I asked softly.
“Of course not. We’re going to find a place for you to live.”
“I won’t be staying here?”
“Unfortunately not,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Damien’s sister lives with us. You were sleeping in her room, actually. We just don’t have enough space.”
It was a little bit of a letdown, but I nodded. I needed to seem thankful and in a way, I was. I nodded and smiled weakly. “Of course. I understand.”
“But, before we hash all of that out, why don’t you come with me?” she said, heading downstairs.
A young cute woman with hair almost as dark as mine sat on a large leather couch, munching on popcorn and watching a sitcom. Chloe leaned over the couch and dropped Mariana onto the woman’s stomach, causing her to groan.
“You mind watching Mari for a bit, Kisha? I’m going to take our new friend to the bar.”
Kisha waved her hand idly and shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. Go enjoy yourself. I’ll be on diaper duty.”
Chloe pressed a kiss to Kisha’s lips. “Thanks, sis!”
Kisha rolled her eyes but balanced Mari on her belly, making kissing faces at the child. “You going to sit still and let aunty watch her show?”
“No!” the baby squealed.
I couldn’t help but smile as Chloe led me through the front door, almost wishing that I was staying with the baby and Kisha. I was a little surprised that Chloe was taking me to a bar, but I didn’t argue. I knew that a dive bar was a biker gang’s best friend, but seeing how put together everyone appeared to be, I was kind of shocked they drank at all.
We walked to an older looking building on the edge of the community and when she pushed the door open, the sound of Southern Gothic music floated through the air. It was like outlaw bluegrass. I actually liked the sound and sighed softly as I followed her inside.
I could see a few pool tables, regular tables, a well-stocked bar, and a dart board. Chloe led me to the bar and we both took a seat. She smiled and offered me a beer, but I shook my head.
“Got Coke?” I asked.
“Sure do,” she said, waving the short, stocky bartender down. The woman slid a Coke across the slick bar top and I caught it with ease.
“You don’t drink?” Chloe asked me.
“I’m underage and I never really had a taste for it,” I explained.
Chloe chuckled. “I was underage when I started drinking, but I respect your decision.”
I smiled thankfully and sucked down the Coke, sighing at the burn that coated my throat. It felt good. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until I took that first sip
“So, can I ask why you brought me here?”
Chloe shrugged. “I thought it would be nice for you to get to know everyone.”
“This is everyone?” I asked, looking around.
There were a lot of people in the bar, but it was far more relaxed than what I was used to. The bar that Chaos frequented was always rowdy and there always seemed to be fights. Because of the activity the bar always seemed much more crowded than it actually was. There were people here drinking, but none of them were acting like asses. It was refreshing to say the least.
Chloe walked away for a while and I knew I should have been walking around mingling, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I felt insecure and even a little scared. I’d been thrown into this situation without so much as a warning. I was still trying to ground myself and figure out what I was supposed to be doing.
A hand on my hip suddenly brought me out of my trance. I spun around, hand raised and ready to slap whoever was touching me out of pure instinct. As I turned, my eyes settled on the face of the man who I’d gotten sick on only a few hours prior. I gasped, quickly dropping my hand.
“Ryder?”
He offered me a charming smiled and I could have melted. “Who told you my name?”
“I asked Chloe and she told me,” I whispered, almost breathless.
He chuckled and nodded. “I’m flattered you had enough interest to ask. I’m sorry if I startled you just now.,” he hummed.
I suddenly felt weak in the knees and I couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that was bubbling up from my throat. This man made me feel like a babbling high school girl. I didn’t stand a chance against him. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
“You play pool?” he asked.
A grin came across my face and suddenly I felt confident again. This was my element. "I've been playing pool since I was old enough to see over the table," I said with a smirk.
He whistled and walked over to the wall, pulling a cue down and handing it to me. "You want to go, then?"
I took the cue, the smile never falling from my lips. "Hell yeah!"
Ryder was a pretty good player. He handled the stick the way I imagined he handled his women. His movements were controlled and graceful, something I didn’t really expect from a biker. Everything he did had an air of sensuality to it, and it made me shiver. I kept my eyes on him, watching his every move. I never wanted to take my eyes off him.
Ryder definitely knew his way around a pool table, but as good as he was, I was better. I loved pool; it was how I'd earned my money as a child. I would take on all the gruff men who thought they were better than me, take then down a notch, and rob them blind at the same time.
I won the first two games and when the third came around he paused and sighed, looking at me and shaking his head.
"Alright. Let's make the last game interesting,” he offered mischievously.
I looked at him and cocked a brow, scoffing a little. "You want to make a bet? After you lost twice?" I asked, clicking my tongue. "Seems like a dumb move."
"Hear me out."
"I'm all ears,” I said.
"If you win, I'll cover your bar tab for a month."
I hummed and rubbed my chin. "Alright. You got me interested."
"But if I win, you let me take you out for a Coke.”
I cocked a brow and leaned on my stick, looking him up and down. A small crowd had gathered around us and were watching us intently, waiting for my answer. It felt like a rash thing to do, given that I was just rescued by Ryder after being beat up by someone I referred to as my boyfriend. But I suppose that it would be pretty obvious that I would no longer want anything to do with that guy anyway. Finally, I grinned and offered my hand.
"You're on!"
We shook on it and the crowd cheered. It was the first time that guilt worked its way into my chest and squeezed my heart. Without being asked, these people were welcoming me into their lives. They treated me like one of them, even though I'd been sent here to destroy everything they'd worked so hard to build.
I'm not sure if it was that thought that threw my focus, or the fact that I kind of wanted to lose. A date with this man sounded heavenly, but even though I wanted a date, I wasn’t going to let myself lose on purpose. Not a chance. I had way too much pride for that.
As the game went on, however, Ryder started to let his true colors shine. Either I was really distracted or he’d been holding back the first two games. When all of the balls were pocketed, I was left stunned and gaping at him. Had that really just happened? He leaned on the pool table and offered me a little grin.
“Looks like you owe me a date,” he said in a way that made my toes tingle.