“It shouldn’t take more than ten more minutes to get this section back on grid with the rest of them. Do you have to stay here after that or could I interest you in a drink up at Harley Heaven?” He never took his eyes off the wires he was stripping so carefully and so skillfully.
He had to know something. Jayda had just offered her the rest of the night off and now he was offering to take her to his bar for a drink. Coincidence? She thought not.
Frowning, not liking the idea of all this possibly being planned behind her back, Jazmyn said, “I think I should stay the rest of the night. Maybe some other time, though. You know, like when nobody is planning shit without me knowing.” The more she talked, the madder she became. “You know, if I’m going to get laid, I’d like to be the one deciding when and by whom—not a group of so-called friends. What did they do? Did they pay you to come in here and play along? Did they pay you to have sex with me because they think I’m a prude and not worthy of being a member of their little group after all these fucking years?”
Jazmyn saw red as Gage goggled at her, seemingly shocked. Boy, he was a good actor, for sure. They hadn’t wasted their money—or whatever they’d paid him with. No telling what they had done to procure his services. Did none of them think she would eventually find out?
She flung the wire toward him and put her hands on her hips. “Well? I’m waiting. Go on, tell me what they did. I can take it; trust me when I say you won’t hurt my feelings by telling me the whole thing.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him, tears of rage prickling in her eyes.
“Jazmyn. I honestly have no fucking idea what you’re talking about. I swear. I see that you’re mad as hell, but I’m not in on any plan behind your back. And, I completely agree: if you’re going to get laid, you should choose who, when, and where. I’m not sure I know what you meant by all that, but you’re absolutely right.” He reached for the swinging wire that she had flung but didn’t break eye contact.
Studying his eyes, his expression, his every single movement, Jazmyn detected no lie, no deceit. He was telling the truth. Or, at least he thought he was telling the truth.
“What exactly did they pay you to do here this evening, Gage?” She held her stance but the tears had stopped prickling.
“They didn’t pay me anything. Jayda had told Drake about these damn lights still being on the fritz and he asked me the other day if I’d come down and fix them next free day I had. I told him I would and here I am. Drake called Jayda and told her what time I’d be coming by. I haven’t even talked to anyone here except you.”
The world shifted and nausea flooded Jazmyn’s midsection. She had just made the biggest ass possible of herself—and in front of, and to, the one man she thought she might actually hook up with in the foreseeable future.
There was no way to go back and fix any of what had just transpired between them. Sitting heavily in the seat, Jazmyn heard a retching sound. Realizing it came from her, she turned away from Gage as he approached.
“You all right? Are you going to be sick?” He offered her a plastic bag from his saddle bag.
Pushing it away with her hand, she remained turned away from him. “I’m fine. I’m sorry, Gage.” She tried to look at him and couldn’t do it; shame and embarrassment kept her from it. Turning in his direction, eyes down to his knees, Jazmyn said, “I’m so sorry that I said those terrible things. It just seemed as if you were in on it with Pepper and the others maybe. Things happened before you got here that…that…well, mixed with the things you were hinting at and saying to me, seemed like I was the butt-end of some bet, or something.” She stood and ran for the stairs. “I’m sorry, Gage.” She yelled from halfway down.
Madison intercepted Jazmyn in the lounge room. “Hey! What’s wrong, Jazzy? Are you okay?” She stepped in front of Jazmyn, impeding her escape. “Hey, what did that asshole do to you?” She shook Jazmyn by the shoulders. Not getting an answer, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. “You stay right there. I’ll take care of this.”
“Where are you going, Maddy?” Jazmyn found her voice. Maybe Madison hadn’t been in on the thing, but Jazmyn was sure that at least Pepper had planned some, if not all, of what had happened this evening.
“I’m going to throw him off the balcony. I don’t know what he did or what he said to you, but I’ll make it right.” Madison grabbed the doorknob and jerked the door open.
“No! Maddy, come back here. He didn’t do or say anything. It was all a huge misunderstanding. Everything that has happened here this evening with Pepper and then with you letting some cat out of the bag that I still don’t know about, to Gage showing up and hitting on me out of the blue all just melted together and felt like a conspiracy of some sort. Let it go. It’s not him, I promise.” Jazmyn grabbed her purse and tote bag. “I just want to go home and forget today ever happened. I just made the biggest ass of myself up there. I’ll never be able to face him again.”
“Was it because of Pepper throwing that damn lube up there? Tavia took her out back and is still out there with her because of it. None of us knew she was going to do that, Jazzy. She’s being a dick for some reason today. Maybe Tavia will get it out of her what’s going on.”
“The lube was only part of it, Maddy. Pepper and me making that bet and then Gage showing up after you said whatever it was you weren’t supposed to say. When he was flirting with me, he asked if I wanted to go to H.H. with him and get a drink this evening. He knew I had to work, but asked anyway. Jayda had just told me to take the rest of the night off and take Gage for a ride when he was finished with the lights.” She shrugged and gave Madison a look that said the rest.
“Oh! I see how that all got fuckered up. Too many coincidences for one night—especially with all the rousting about we’ve been doing over these sexy-as-hell Black Mountain Bikers.” Madison walked over and hugged Jazmyn. “You go on home and I’ll tell the rest of them you were sick and needed to rest tonight. Tavia will text you as soon as she’s done with Pepper, I’m sure. I’ll tell her to be sure to shoot you a message to be sure. Go on. Get home and do whatever you need to do to feel better. Don’t let this bring you down, girl.” Maddy smacked Jazzy’s ass as she left the lounge.
Jazmyn left by the side door, not wanting to pass the others as she left and not wanting to accidentally look up and make eye contact with Gage. Thinking about the things she said, the things she accused him of made her stomach knot up. So stupid!
She hurried to her car and pulled out of the parking lot without looking back except in her rearview. Three curves down the mountainside, it came to her that she almost always ran from her problems and hid when things got hard or uncomfortable. That’s something she vowed to work on in the coming months. She was a grown woman and needed to be stronger if she wanted to survive in the business her and the girls had started up.
By the time Jazmyn arrived in her driveway, she’d pretty much cooled off from the incidents at the Hideaway but she was still mortified at how she’d talked to Gage. She was convinced that he was innocent in all the happenings. She’d had no right to talk to him so badly.
As she gathered clothes to take a shower, she checked the time. It was opening time at the Hideaway. Tavia still hadn’t texted her to say what had happened between her and Pepper. Jazmyn hoped they hadn’t argued too harshly. It was uncommon for the group to argue amongst themselves, but not unheard of, by any means. They were women and they were prone to being catty with each other at times.
Even in college they had sometimes argued. Although it had been a long time since the last argument, in Jazmyn’s mind, this one was justified. She had given Pepper more than one opportunity to stop and zip her lip, but she had not done so. The reason she would go at Jazmyn was elusive.
In the shower and beginning to physically feel better, Jazmyn came to a conclusion about Pepper that she wasn’t sure about—maybe Pepper knew that Gage was interested in Jazmyn and it had upset her because she liked him. Or, worse, maybe Gage had, at some point rejected Pepper’s come-ons. That had always been a sure way to piss her off. Though, why she would decide to take it out on Jazmyn, she didn’t know. Maybe she’d hoped Jazzy would throw herself at Gage and he would reject her also—misery loves company and all that bullshit.