Page 9 of Rider

She put her hand out on my shoulder and started to get up from the table. “Then dear, that’s what should matter. I’m sure this club of his isn’t all bad and look at the good that they were doing tonight for those kids. That counts for something too.”

I tried to take her words to heart. She had been around a long time and her own great love affair. Once Mrs. Lopez left for the night, I sat at the kitchen table looking at my phone but refusing to touch it. This would be a hard thing to endure but I’d suffered worse. Colton and I would get through this no matter how hard it might be for the foreseeable future. It was with that last thought that I finally got up from the table to head to bed. I left my phone on the table still not wanting to see the screen.

Rider

It had been three days since I had heard from or seen Rayleighn, and I was in a shit mood because of it. Whatever I had done I didn’t know and I was taking my bad mood out on anyone who came into my path. Today I had been extremely agitated. I spent most of the morning working on an engine rebuild to only have Ink come in and drop a wrench on my foot. If I hadn’t been wearing my boots then it could have broken a bone. It just set me off even more and I ended up yelling into his face to the point spittle was going on to his skin. Griz had to pull me away.. “You need to get your shit together.”

I just stood there breathing hard, staring back at him, holding the tool I had been using on the engine. He reached down and pulled the tool from my hand. “What’s going on with you man? I saw you Friday night with that girl and you looked happier than I’d seen you in years. Now you’re pissed off at the world and two seconds away from getting into a fight with your friend and club brother. It’s the girl, right?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, it’s the girl. I thought we had a good thing going, I dropped her off at her house Friday night and I’ve not heard a word since. I texted her later that night and then again on Saturday and she never responded.”

He chuckled. “Dude. It’s been three days. Don’t text her again, you look desperate.”

“Fuck. I know. That’s why I didn’t message or call on Sunday and I didn’t today either. I’m not going to.” He gives me a skeptical look like he doesn’t believe anything I’m saying right now. I’m genuinely upset that she’s completely ghosted me. I knew she was young but I didn’t think she was immature. And ghosting someone is extremely immature. Yeah, I’m not gonna call her.

Griz stood there eyeing me. “Spit it out. What is it you wanna say?”

“I knew Friday night when you walked in with her it was gonna be trouble, dude.”

I shook my head. “Nah, no trouble.” I really did think Rayleighn was a good girl but there was something off about how we left things that night. I think my club life was what worried her the most. I was never gonna leave the club so if that was something she couldn’t get behind then yeah, there wouldn’t be anything between us. Did I dig her? Yeah, a lot. “I just think she’s a cool ass girl, who had a good head on her shoulders and her life ahead of her. She seemed to get my personality but I guess not if she hasn’t called me back.”

Griz shook his head. “Want me to do some digging? Find out more about her?”

Without hesitation my answer was no. Griz was our club enforcer and he could find out almost anything about anyone whether it was the easy way or the hard way. I didn’t want him snooping around her life and finding out things that I didn’t know. I wanted to learn more about her in a normal manner. If she was already pulling the plug on this then I didn’t want to get more involved, let alone anyone else from the club. “No. Let her be and don’t use any resources on it.”

Griz just smirked at me. “Ok dude that’s your choice but you and I both know that if anything becomes official between you two I gotta check her out.”

“Yeah, I know man. Ol’ ladies always gotta be checked before they reach that status.”

Griz clapped me on the back. Let’s finish this engine and get the fuck outta here and get a drink.”

I smiled, probably for the first time since Friday. “Yeah, ok. I’m down with that.”

Three hours later we walked into Mystic Venom’s club owned bar, Venom Lounge. The club was crawling with honeys from the clubhouse and tons of the guys from the club who had just gotten off work. We normally didn’t hit the lounge that often because we had a bar at the clubhouse but on random nights and special occasions we would all crowd in here along with locals who decided to stop in and get a drink. Tonight it seemed like half the club was here drinking. I looked over to Griz. “Is this just a coincidence or did you make this happen?”

He lightly shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, I made a few calls.”

“You better not have told them any of my shit.”

That made Griz burst out laughing. “Nah your secrets are safe with me, brother. Ink on the other hand, he’s probably crying like a little girl about how you yelled at him earlier.” With that Griz wandered over to some of the other club members and left me to get a drink at the bar.

No sooner than I sat down on a stool and ordered a drink one of the club honeys I had made the mistake of sleeping with about a year ago slid up beside me. My jaw involuntarily clenched, this chick never quit. I was in a low place when I slept with her and if I could take that one night back I would, because she was mental. She wouldn’t take my rebuffs seriously, she was always trying to get at me and every time I turned her down she’d try to get with one of the other members of the club. She was a club honey on a mission to become an ol’ lady. But she wasn’t going to be mine, that was for sure.

“Looking good tonight, Rider.”

“Go away, Lucy. I’m not in the mood tonight or any other for that matter.”

“Oh babe, don’t be like that. You know you miss me. When are you going to stop pretending that you’re not into me? I know you think about that night. I do and I want a repeat. We could be so good together, baby.”

I turned on my stool ready to get up when she placed her hand on my chest. I was a man that believed you should never lay a hand on a woman but God this bitch was trying my patience. I reached up and removed her hand from my chest. “Lucy, this is the last time I’m going to tell you. It’s never going to happen again. You might remember the night that we were together but guess what I don’t. You were just someone that I used to get off on when I was going through a rough time. You aren’t my type and you for sure will never be anything more to me than the one night stand that you were.” I said it with enough malice in my voice to get the point across. I almost felt bad when I saw her eyes fill with tears, but my sour mood and her persistence made sure I didn’t have any regrets about the hurtful things I just said.

Before Lucy’s chin can quiver I see her steady herself and find from somewhere a renewed confidence. I can’t react fast enough before she’s leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on my lips. I don’t even have time to push her away before she’s walking away and telling me in a sing-song voice that she’ll see me later. Bitch is here physically but mentally she’s out there somewhere on another planet.

I throw my drink back and put the empty glass on the bar. My sour mood wasn’t getting any better with that interaction and I didn’t want to draw out an evening that started rough. I stood up and started for the door but only got a few feet towards it before something black and red caught my eye. When I turned my head to see what got my attention my heart nearly stopped. Actually scratch that, it didn’t stop, it started racing. Sitting in one of the back booths, still wearing her coat, sat my little ladybug, and she was staring right back at me.

Rayleighn’s green eyes bore straight into mine and I knew whatever I had thought about these last few days of her ghosting me was total bullshit, because the fire in her eyes told me she had all kinds of feelings for me and that she just saw my exchange with Lucy. I turned on my heel and made my way over to the booth. She had another woman that I had never seen sitting with her. She didn’t look like a hang around from the club so it had to be one of her friends. From the looks of it they had just arrived because they were both still wearing their coats and didn’t have any drinks yet.

I approached her table and hung my left hand in my back pocket. It was a nervous habit, and I was profoundly nervous. “What are you doing here Rayleighn?” Ok maybe not the best way to start the conversation but I was nervous. She had avoided me for days and then just saw another woman kiss me. I’m sure I didn’t look too great in this situation.

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