Page 18 of JoJo

Then Tash shook her head as if in disbelief. “I can’t imagine how horrific it would have been if this Becca chick just showed up with a baby in tow in two months and Angel never knew. What the hell was Sweet thinking trying to hide something like that? It’s not like he cheated. Obviously, since you know, she’s having the baby now.” She shook her head in disbelief and walked back to her bike. “I’m going to make sure her room is set up, because from what Leanne was saying when I spoke to her briefly after that text, she thinks this Becca chick is going to give the baby up.”

That had my attention. “Who does that?” I asked.

“I don’t know. A woman who thought she was in love and had to watch her man marry another woman while carrying their child? I imagine she’ll regret her decision down the road, but I feel for her too. None of this could have been easy on her. It’s not easy on Angel, and Sweet - while he is a dumbass - is caught up in the shitstorm just as much as the women. It’s a sad situation.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” I answered back. Still, that didn’t mean I was going to take any of them butting into my own personal situation since they couldn’t even get their own shit together.

“I’m fixing up her room with baby stuff, just in case. They’ll need a place they can keep the kid for now, and I don’t think Sweet has as big a place over at the Aces clubhouse.”

“Angel has a kitchenette in her room,” I reminded her.

“Sweet definitely doesn’t have that,” Steel confirmed.

“That settles it. If you want to come by and help out, I’d appreciate it,” Tash extended the invitation. I knew what it was. This was her way of getting me there so that I had to face Keys sooner than later and we could work our shit out. I tipped my head towards her indicating I’d be there.

“Tomorrow,” I finally told her. “I’m freakin’ exhausted.”

She didn’t say another word, starting the Bobber she favored and heading off back down the mountain road I lived on.

Once everyone was gone, and the drama died down, I turned to go back inside, but I ran into Steel’s chest because he hadn’t moved yet. Instead of moving back, his arms came around my waist and he pulled me closer. “I’m sorry that by trying to help you out, I ended up causing more problems.”

“No, you didn’t do this. I have a feeling Sweet insinuated himself into our mess because it was something he felt he could control. Knowing about the baby issues where he has zero control kind of solidified that fact. He’s a dumbass. Angel would have been upset, sure, but she would have stood by him if he’d been the one to tell her as soon as he found out it was a possibility. He doesn’t need to try to deflect his bullshit issues off on us though. That’s not fair, and completely uncalled for. We’re both adults. He makes enough mistakes of his own. We should be allowed to make our own - if that’s what this turns out to be.”

“Damn, can’t really argue with that.” Steel spoke quietly. “Why don’t we head back inside. It’s been a long damn day.”

“You could say that again.”

“It’s been a long damn day.” He deadpanned the phrase again so perfectly that it took me a minute to process before I started laughing.

“You’re an idiot,” I teased.

“Got you to laugh though. I have no regrets.” His words seemed to hold more meaning than just how he felt about the silly joke and my response to it. Steel’s penetrating gaze had me hesitating when I should have been turning to go into the house. The light was reflecting in his eyes in such a way that it produced a metalic, almost liquid silver appearance that I instantly got lost in. It didn’t take long for him to notice my hesitation as he closed in on me forcing me to feel the heat rolling off his body and warming my own.

“Come on, you can stare to your heart’s content once we’re inside,” he teased. I playfully slapped his chest then.

“Oh shut up. Your eyes were like liquid metal in the fading light.”

“That’s a new one,” he gloated. “I’ll have to write that down in the big book of poetry I inspire from the ladies.”

I knew he was teasing but those words stopped me in my tracks. We still hadn’t discussed what our exact circumstances would be. He didn’t miss that hesitation too. There was one thing I could definitely say for Steel at this point. Not much slipped by him.

“Let’s get that talk out of the way first so when one of us makes a joke, we aren’t leaving the other in doubt, shall we?”

“You said you had no regrets. Is that true of everything?” I finally came out and asked him.

“If you mean the part where I married you to help us both out, definitely. I have no regrets. I wish Sweet wasn’t trying to put his shit off on us, but I guess the situation seemed similar.”

“What does that mean?”

“My ex, Jenn,” he huffed out a troubled sigh. “We broke it off because she did get pregnant. One of the other guys in the club is most likely the dad, though. I guess there’s a slim chance it could be mine. Remember, I told you about waking up to find her already…”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, the timing of that doesn’t seem to match up with where she is in her pregnancy. I think it was her attempt to hide her infidelity after she found out.”

“She was seriously going to try to make you think it was yours?”

“That was her plan, I guess, until Flint stepped up and admitted they’d been together.” He hung his head then. “He was supposed to be my buddy, my brother. His betrayal stung far more than hers ever could.”

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