Chapter Sixteen
Brynn
The funny thing about inviting the guy you were hung up on to your engagement party is that something bad is bound to go wrong.
Personally, I thought that for sure I’d be the one to do something stupid. That’s one of the reasons I am not drinking tonight. I knew that I would be trapped in the same bar as him all night and alcohol always makes me do stupid things. I had sex with Bentley after a few drinks. I thought I was falling for him after a few more when I got home that night and every night that he ignored me after that.
I was an idiot to ever think that he would want more than just one night with me. I mean, he can have any woman he wants, some plain girl from Las Vegas isn’t what he’s looking for.
“I can’t believe he had the nerve to kiss you in front of everyone,” Aaron grounds out. He’s pacing in front of me, and part of me is still hung up on that kiss. One kiss shouldn’t change everything, but for some reason it does. I shouldn’t want anything to do with Bentley after the way he treated me, but I do.
“Just because his dad owns this place doesn’t give him the right to kiss my fiancee in front of everyone.” He’s been going on like this since Bentley was drug out of here by Brantley and Robbie. Aaron tried to get them to stop, but they knew better. I’m sure even in his drunken state, Bentley would have punched Aaron just for speaking.
I put my hand on Aaron’s arm, and he finally stops moving. He turns to face me, and I stare into his eyes, trying to find something that reminds me why we are even together. He made me forget the pain and that Bentley left me with when he all but ran away.
“I love you.” His lips brush against mine and he says it again. “I love you, Brynn.”
I don’t say anything, I just wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me. I can’t say the words. After that kiss, I don’t even know how I feel. It’s like I’m stuck inside of a bad dream and I’ll never be able to wake up from it.
“Hey, Brynn.” I pull away at the sound of Anslie’s voice. Looking over at her, I can see the unsure look in her eyes as she takes us in. “Can I talk to you for a second?” I nod my head and look up at Aaron for a second before I release him and follow her toward the bar.
We come to a stop in front of the bar, and she motions for drinks before ushering me to sit down next to her.
“What’s wrong, Anslie?” I ask, hating that she looks ready to throw up at any second. The guy behind the bar sets two drinks in front of us, and I watch her gulp down half of her glass before she turns to face me.
“I’ve never seen my brother like that. I don’t know what is going on with him lately, but I think it has to do with you.” My mouth drops open, and I just stare at her, not saying a word. How the hell is his crankiness my fault?
“He wanted nothing to do with me. He was the one that pushed me away.” The words are choked out. I grab my glass and down the entire thing, hating the way the liquor burns as it goes down my throat and into my stomach. I cough a few times before asking the guy behind the bar for another drink.
“He’s in love with you.” I close my eyes at that. There is no fucking way.
Shaking my head, I grab the glass again and take another big gulp of the amber liquid. The burning isn’t as bad this time, and when I open my eyes this time, a tear slips from the corner of my eyes.
“You know, I always thought that when I agreed to marry someone, my engagement party wouldn’t be ruined by a guy who didn’t give two shits about me two years ago when I was head over heels in love with him.” I slap my hand over my mouth, and my shoulders slump when I hear him clear his throat behind me.
Turning my head, I see Aaron standing behind me. He has a pissed off expression on his face, and I know that I’m partly to blame now. He’s probably angry that I never told him about Bentley and my feelings for him.
Anslie puts her hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze before downing the rest of her drink. “Do you want me to stay?” she whispers, so I only hear her.
I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking that it might be a good idea, but shake my head no. “We should probably go. I’m sure we need to talk about this,” I whisper back. She nods in understanding before standing up and making her way toward the rooms down the hall.
I see her stop and give me a small smile before going into one of the rooms and shutting the door behind her.
“Let’s go.” I don’t say a word in response because I already know he’s angry. There is nothing that I could say or do right now that would make this a better situation, so I just do as I’m told.
Aaron grabs my hand and all but drags me through what’s left of the party, and we get stopped by Cason near the entrance. He doesn’t say a word, but he watches me closely. He looks between Aaron and me before his eyes go down to my wrist. I shake my head no, and Cason doesn’t say anything other than have a good night.
I pull out of Aaron’s grip and wrap my arms around the man that has been nothing but supportive since I started working for him at Wayward Cycles. “Thank you for everything. I’m so sorry for the drama.”
His arms tighten around me, and he whispers in my ear, “You need anything, call.” I nod my head quickly before pulling myself from his grip and walking with Aaron out the door of Wayward Tavern and toward Aaron’s truck.
For the first time ever, he doesn’t open the door for me or help me inside. Getting into the truck, I try not to let it affect me. I know he’s mad and that is probably why he is being like this. Bentley was out of line and fuck it was so damn hot even though it should have never happened.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath trying to think about something, anything other than what is going on right now.
“You were in love with him.” His voice is angry and bitter.
I don’t answer right away, but I’m sure he already knows the answer since I just said it out loud to Anslie at the bar. “Brynn.” His voice raises a few notches, and I flinch at the sound.
“Yes,” I whisper into the truck. My whole body goes numb with that admission. I can’t believe I just admitted to that. Aaron stops the truck abruptly, and I freeze. I don’t know what is about to happen and part of me is terrified that he might do something crazy.
“You love him. It’s not in the past.” He scoffs at his own words before he continues. The street we are on is quiet, and no cars are around for miles. “I always knew you were hung up on someone, but I never expected it to be one of them.” He says it like there is something wrong with them.
“What? Are they good enough to work on your bike, but not good enough to be with?” I ask. I don’t even see it coming. The crack of his hand hitting my cheek stings like a motherfucker and my head jerks to the side.
“You’re just a biker whore like the rest of them.”
I don’t let him see how it affects me. He doesn’t deserve it. Opening the truck door, I hop out before he can reach for me. I always promised myself that I wouldn’t let anyone hit me like that. I take off the ring and throw it inside the truck before slamming the door. He yells something at me, but I just ignore it and start walking back to the clubhouse. I know that people will still be there and someone will take me home.
Shit. He will probably be there when I get there. Maybe Anslie or my sister will let me stay with them? I hear his truck peel off into the distance, and I finally let out the sob that was stuck in my throat.
Grabbing my phone from my bag, I dial Anslie’s number and pray that she answers. My heels sink into the dirt on the side of the road, and I know that they are going to be ruined by the time I get there. It’s chilly, and I’m lucky that the alcohol is still keeping my body somewhat warm.
“Hey, is everything all right? I’m so sorry about my brother –” she goes to continue, but I cut her off.
“I need a ride.” My voice cracks and I have to wipe the tears that start falling down my cheeks.
“Where are you? Are you okay?” I try to stop the tears, but it’s no use.
“I’m maybe two miles away. I’m walking.”
She yells at someone in the background before telling me that someone is coming to get me. I hear Brant’s voice, and soon it’s him I’m talking to instead.
“Are you okay, Brynn?” I swallow and try to think of the best way to answer the question.
Am I really okay? Yeah. The only thing that is hurt is my heart and my cheek. “I’ll be fine,” I finally whisper. He grunts something out to someone and before I know it a couple of bikes are coming in my direction.
“Get his ass back into his room. I’ll deal with it.” I shiver at the thought of Bentley wanting to know what’s going on. He’s going to be pissed when he finds out that Aaron hit me. One thing that I know about the Wayward Saints is that they don’t allow any man to physically hurt a woman. A few of the ole’ ladies had been hurt by men before and from the whispers I’ve heard, it didn’t end well for those men.
A Harley comes to a stop in front of me, and I tell Brantley that they are here for me. “Robbie won’t let anything happen to you,” he says before he tells Anslie that her brother is with me.
“Hey, darlin’. Come and hop on. Let's get you somewhere warm.” I nod my head and tell Brant thank you before hanging up and tucking my phone back into my purse. Robbie takes it from me and shoves it into his bag before getting back onto his bike and helping me on.
The ride back to the Wayward Tavern is quick and ice cold. The wind made it ten times colder in this damn dress and hard as hell to hold on without showing my vagina to everyone in a ten-mile vicinity.
When we pull up to the bike shop, Robbie helps me off and grins. “Be careful. If Bent finds out you were flashing your cunt to everyone here, he might go all caveman on your ass and drag you back to his room.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes.
Sometimes I think these guys are still fourteen-year-old horndogs.
The doors to the bar slam open and Anslie and a few of the other ole’ ladies come outside and straight for me. Anslie grabs my face and forces it to the side before grimacing. Shit, it must be worse than it feels.
“He is going to kill him.” Her voice is low, and she looks over her shoulder at Brant before releasing me. “Are you okay?” I nod my head, afraid of my own voice. I don’t even know if I could say the words right now. A loud commotion comes from behind the girls, and all heads turn towards the doors of the clubhouse.
“Bash, get the fuck off of me.” His voice rings clear through the night, and I can’t help but shiver at the thought of what he might do.