Chapter Thirty-Five

Ian

It was another night without sleep for me. Another night where I tossed and turned over and over again. The thoughts kept milling about in my brain. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see Eliza again. She wasn’t in the wrong, and I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. But now I was worried that I had ruined everything by being so hasty so quickly. Why did I have to react like that? She probably hated me now. And if she spoke to anyone about what was in the newspaper, they would more than likely be telling her to stay away from me. It was the price I paid for joining a club with a bad reputation, and I had always been okay with that decision. But now I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be in the club anymore, especially now that Patriot was in charge over me. I wasn’t sure if I could bear the humiliation.

I spent the rest of the day walking around like a zombie. Sometimes I tried to get back into bed, and every now and again I would feel myself dozing off. But then I’d wake up again and remember why it was that I couldn’t sleep to begin with. It was incredibly frustrating. Now, it was the afternoon, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my day. I needed to clear my head. So I did what I always did when I was feeling down: I climbed onto my bike and went for a ride.

I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I soon found myself riding toward the spot where I had taking Eliza that very first time. I hadn’t even realized I was there until I stopped my bike and got off. I loved that spot. I loved it mostly because nobody else seemed to know about it. It was the perfect clearing to sit and think for a while. I got off the bike and started walking, but I immediately saw that I was wrong. Someone had found out about this place. Up ahead, in exactly the spot I was heading to, was someone who from afar looked like a woman. I was just about to turn around and get back on my bike when the woman started to look more familiar to me. I took a few more steps and squinted. The sun was shining in my face, and I was battling to see. But it didn’t take long for me to finally figure out that it was Eliza. And she’d spotted me too. She stood up and turned toward me, and I felt my heart rate increase as I walked toward her.

Eliza was wearing a yellow sundress, with a big straw hat. She looked ridiculous and beautiful all at once. I looked down at her little white sneakers and smiled.

“Hey, Lashes,” I said.

She smiled. “I was hoping you’d be here.”

“Really?”

She sat down and patted the ground next to her for me to join. I sat down and faced her. I’d forgotten how beautiful she was. And as the suns’ rays hit her face, she looked like an angel.

“Yeah,” she said. She was playing with a blade of grass, looking at it instead of looking at me. “I wanted to talk to you, but I was scared that if I went to your work or home that you wouldn’t let me in. I knew you came here when you needed to clear your head.”

“How did you know I was coming today?” I asked.

“I didn’t. I was planning on coming every day in the hope that one day you’d come. And here you are. On the first day.”

“Here I am.”

“Ian, I’m sorry about everything. I feel so awful about what I did. It was just my immediate reaction to call the cops. And I know that I ruined everything for you. I cannot believe what the media did. I called them, by the way, but it didn’t seem to get anywhere.”

I smiled. “You called them? That’s nice of you. Yeah, they’re sharks. Trust me, I’ve been through all of this before. And I’m sorry for getting so mad at you. It wasn’t your fault that they did that. You didn’t know how hungry they’ve always been to come after the club. It’s not the first time that one of the members has been in the paper for reasons that were untrue. The only reason I got so angry is because we’ve been trying to sort out our reputation for so long. But that’s not your fault. Anyway, I blame Raymond.”

Eliza chuckled slightly. “I blame him too. Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way.”

“Has he called again?” It was the one question I’d been dying to ask Eliza the whole week. I wasn’t sure if I had frightened Raymond away or if I had just added fuel to his fire.

She shook her head. “No. I think you scared him for life.”

“Good. I also punched him in those pearly white teeth so that he couldn’t use them to charm any more people.”

Eliza laughed. “Thank you for that. I still can’t believe he came to the party like that. I don’t even know how he knew about it. What an idiot. I sometimes can’t believe I was ever with him.”

“He really is an idiot. I’m glad you’re through with him. And I’m sorry for messing up your party.”

“Nah, you didn’t. To be honest, not many people knew about it. Most people were still inside at the time. And thankfully the paper didn’t mention the party at all. My boss didn’t even know.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Yeah, I was worried about him finding out through the papers. I mean, the party wasn’t mentioned, and neither was I. But you were, and he knew that you were at the party. But he was cool about it. He really liked you. So did Mae. They were totally on your side, by the way.”

“They were?” That was a surprise to me. I wasn’t used to having people on my side. And even though John and I were completely different in many ways, I had liked him too.

“Yeah. Actually, it was Mae who suggested I go and talk to you. I think she knows I’m miserable without you. I’ve been moping around all week like a sad puppy.”

“You were? I was worried that you might have seen a side to me that you didn’t like. I’ve been worried about that all week, actually. It’s why I haven’t been in touch with you. I figured you didn’t want to see me again.”

“You think I saw a different side to you because you hit a guy that has been harassing me for ages? I don’t think that exactly counts as you being violent. John told me that he would’ve also punched him. Hell, I wanted to punch him. He was asking for it. I still think you’re the sweetest guy in the whole world.”

I smiled at her. The sun was starting to set, and a cool breeze was blowing through Eliza’s hair. Her hat had fallen to the ground after she’d tilted her head back to laugh, and she hadn’t put it back on. Her hair was long and silky and smooth. I didn’t need the sun. With Eliza’s bright-yellow dress and beautiful shining blue eyes, it was all the sun I needed.

“You stole my spot, you know,” I teased.

“Since when was this your spot?”

“Oh, I claimed it a long time ago.”

“You did? Well, you’re going to have to work very hard to get me away from here.”

“Is that a challenge?” I asked.

Her eyes shone brightly at me as she laughed. “It’s a challenge, Gunner.”

I looked at her in surprise. She was looking at me with so much intensity that I was taken aback. She licked her lips.

“Gunner, is it?”

“Yeah, you’re Gunner right now.”

I looked at her sundress blowing in the breeze, and leaned in. I was more than happy to be Gunner again.