Page 118 of Misguided
“Nope. Not goin’ anywhere.” I casually light my smoke as she winds up beneath me.
“Why not?” she cries, throwing her hands in the air.
“Because I’m what you need, remember?” I remind her of the words she spoke in the tent last night. “Even if I piss you off. So here I am.”
She lets out a snort, staring in the opposite direction. “You’re unbearable, you know that?”
I nudge her with my foot to get her attention. “Love you.”
I watch the mess before me untangle itself as she works it through in her head. I wouldn’t have said all the shit I did or treated her with the care I have if she didn’t mean something. I sure as fuck struggle to understand it properly myself, but the truth of it is there.
She can’t be that fucking stubborn that she’s going to deny what we have out of principle, can she?
“I’ve only had one long-term relationship—if that’s even what you want to call it—within the club, Dog. I thought I loved him too, and yet it didn’t end well. I guess that’s why I jump to conclusions a lot.”
“Sawyer?”
“Yeah.”
Well, fuck me dead. Hell of an act to follow …
“Although” —she huffs a sad laugh— “it should be easier for us now Daddy’s gone.”
She buries her face in the crook of her arm, stifling the silent tears. I know the woman cries though because she can’t hide the way her shoulders shake or the definite shift in the air.
“Promise I won’t be that much trouble,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. “At least … I think not.”
Damn. Will I be? Maybe not to the same psycho extent, but shit, if the stuff with Dad and Derek blows up then I can’t promise the fallout will be pretty.
Mel pulls in a deep breath, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater before lifting her head high again. “Where do we go from here, then, Dog?”
I know where I want to go, but that kind of suggestion ain’t real appropriate about now. Not when we got in this predicament because of it.
“I guess we figure this shit out with my brother and then decide what the fuck we’re goin’ to do about the fact we live at different clubs. Whatever happens along the way, we deal with it as it comes.” If this thing between her and me is going to grow roots, then no better way to stress test it than with a temporary long-distance relationship.
“I’m staying here,” she says with finality. “You’ve got reasons to be here. I’ve got nothing that I have to be back for right now.”
“What about Hooch?”
“What about him?”
“Don’t you want to spend time with him?”
She shrugs. “Sure, but there’ll be plenty of chances for that.”
“You one hundred percent sure, babe?”
“Yeah.” She unfurls her legs and stands.
“He finds out why you’re not comin’ home, he’ll roast my fuckin’ balls over the grill for gettin’ too cozy with you.”
Mel chuckles, quickly killing the sound as soon as it escapes. “I’ll have a word with him, convince him you’re nothing but a gentleman and a scholar.”
“Ha.” I reach out and pull her to me, tucking her tight little self under my arm. “Good luck with that.”
She pats a hand against my chest, and I capture it under mine as she looks up at me with those fucking eyes so full of doubts. “Thanks, Dog.”
“For what?”
“Not leaving when I told you to.”
“Never goin’ to go anywhere, babe.” I curl my arm and swing her to my front in the process so I can lay a kiss on her head. “Now how does a shower sound?”
“Like a thousand tiny raindrops from heaven.”