Page 6 of A Twist of Fate

“Lay it all out?” I asked, forgetting about Kane and what he was up to.

“Yep! I don’t need you backing out with the excuse that we didn’t hash that shit out in the beginning.”

“And what stakes would you try to wrangle in our little wager?”

“Well, I think if you can’t finish that pie, I need to stay over at your place so I can console you. Since you’ll be a giant loser and everything.”

I laughed at that. “Oh yeah? So, what’s in it for me if I win and eat the whole thing?”

“Well, besides a stuffed belly? You’ll need me to stay the night so I can take care of you in case you get sick later,” he told me as if it was something I should have already considered.

“You are too much. Those are your stakes? Seriously? Either way you get to stay over.”

“Exactly!” He offered with a grin and then placed his hand at the base of my spine, just above my ass to help guide me out of the shop. For some reason, I couldn’t fathom telling the charming bastard no.

Chapter 2

Unrequited

Kane

My fists clenched tightly at my sides as I watched Ever ride away on the back of the bastard’s bike. He didn’t deserve her. No one wearing that fucking patch on their backs deserved the time of day from that girl, let alone to bask in the glory of her sweet smiles, or to have her arms wrapped around him as they rode off into the fucking sunset together. Throwing shit in the shop wasn’t the proper adult response to what I was feeling. Instead, I managed to prep myself for some ink therapy, and started to work on my own thigh. It was an angel with wings spread, but her face was obscured by hair that had fallen loose from whatever had been holding it back.

“You’re going to have to get a handle on that,” Zeke told me as he stood watching over the half-wall at what I was up to.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.

He chuckled in response. “Right, and I don’t know whose face that is behind all that hair,” he mentioned as he tipped his head toward the tat I was working on.

“It’s not anyone in particular.” The denial rolled off my lips sounding for all the world like the truth it wasn’t. I’d be dishonest if I said I never looked at Ever when she used to come around my parent’s house with my sister. I kept my distance because she was too young then, and it made me feel like a fucking pervert for seeing the woman she was becoming as each year passed. Granted, we weren’t that far apart in age, just five years, but still. Five years, back when she was underage, was a world apart. I wasn’t sure why it killed me so much now that she was obviously interested in Deck. I knew him to be a decent guy, despite the biker club he was in.

“What would Erin think?” Why was this fucker bringing up my sister? It was a moot point anyway, wasn’t it? I stopped the machine in my hands, set it down carefully and turned my full attention on my best friend.

“What would Erin think about what?” He gave me a look, and I knew I wasn’t fooling anyone. “Listen, she made a choice before I said anything. Now, the choice is something I have to live with.”

“You don’t. Nothing’s set in stone, but if you decide you want to go after her, you better bring your ‘A’ game because I have no doubt that dude will!”

I blew out a frustrated breath and tried to shake the shitty feeling off. “Haven’t felt interested in someone in a real way in a long time,” I confided. “I don’t know what Erin would say. Part of me thinks she might be angry with me for trying to steal her friend, but honestly, I think she’d be happy so long as Ever was.”

“Yeah, that sounds more like Erin, actually,” Zeke admitted with a smile. “She’s a good kid,” he added before glancing away. “You know, you may be overlooking someone in the shop family who wouldn’t hesitate to hop on the back of your bike.”

“What the fuck?” I asked, forgetting that there was another woman working with us for a minute. Then I heard the tinkling sound of her laughter coming from up front as she worked to get someone scheduled for an appointment. “Oh!” I managed to get out as I realized Zeke was trying to tell me that my girl, G, might have a thing for me. “Nah, I don’t think you’re on track with that one. We’re just friends. I think, if anything, she has it bad for Sully. They’re always playing around and…” I didn’t get to finish my thought because Zeke slapped me on the shoulder, shook his head, and laughed.

“You are hopeless, my friend.” That was all he said before he walked off to go join Gretchen and whatever potential client up front was making her laugh. I glanced back down at the angel on my thigh. It wasn’t quite done, but I could finish the shading later. The moment was gone, and the work no longer appealed. I got myself cleaned up, wrapped, and then spruced up my station before leaving for the day. Once I was finished, I noticed that Gretchen was no longer up front, and Zeke was standing at the front desk eyeing me knowingly. Yeah, okay, after he mentioned her possible crush I was waiting to see if it was true. Oh well, there was always tomorrow, and lucky for me, just as I was about to head out the door, a fine ass red-head with a killer smile and tits for days walked in. She flashed me a grin, winked seductively, and then turned right back around to follow me out of the shop.

“I’d really like a tattoo, but you can ink me later. I’d rather go wherever you’re heading right now instead.”

Well, that was a little more forward than I liked, but what the fuck? Sometimes, a man just needed to fuck out his frustrations with a warm and willing body to get over what he couldn’t have. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled the woman over towards my Harley. “You ride?” I asked her.

“I ride hard,” she breathed into my ear. As she did, I glanced across the street to the pizza joint where Gretchen was standing with Ever’s brother, two pizzas in his hand as he moved her toward his bike and they laughed. Dumbass didn’t think that through. I chuckled and pulled the redhead closer as she sucked on my earlobe. Only this time when I glanced back up, it was to see shocked disapproval on Gretchen’s face before she quickly turned away.

I wasn’t sure why it mattered who I was with. Obviously, she was about to go hook up with Ever’s biker brother. What was it with the women in my life choosing those bikers? I shook the thought off and hopped on my own ride, making sure the red-head was tucked up tightly behind me. “Hang on, honey!” I directed the woman and then we were off and headed back to my place.

I should have never taken the bitch back to my house. We fucked, barely, after several shots between us. Then, she just made herself at home. She wouldn’t take a fucking hint that it was time for her to go. Truth be told, I was too fuckin’ tired to care and ended up falling asleep with her there in my bed. That was not my first mistake that night, but it was one of many that just snowballed from there. As it turned out, my first mistake was in not listening when Zeke spoke. The man knew what the fuck he was talking about.

There was no going back and undoing things though. Instead, I woke with the red-head draped across me. I pushed her off, got up, took a shower, and got dressed all the while she was still passed out in my bed. She wasn’t really though. I saw when her breathing changed and knew she was faking it so that she could draw this shit out longer. “You need to get the hell up, it’s time to go. I’ll take you to your car on my way to work.”

She lifted her head, feigned grogginess, and smiled brightly at me. If only the woman realized her makeup from last night was melted all down her face in an unattractive way. “Don’t you want to go for round two this morning before we venture out, baby?”

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