Page 35 of Shame

I shake my head. “No, it’s broken. There’s a hamper in the bathroom.”

“Broken how?” he asks, getting to his feet.

Shrugging, I say, “Leaks everywhere. I’ve been meaning to take a look at it—”

He walks into the dining room and comes back a moment later without the towels. I’m sitting on the couch now, scrolling through movie options.

“Where is it?” he asks.

“Where’s what?”

“The washer.”

I frown, tilting my head up at him. “Why?”

“I want to look at it.”

“No, you can’t do that, Shark, you—”

“Kaison.”

“What?”

“My name is Kaison.”

“Oh—I thought, uhm…” Well, I guess what I thought is kind of ridiculous.

“Thought you couldn’t know my real name?” he asks with humor in his eyes. I shrug in response. “Just show me where the washer is, and I’d prefer you call me Kaison.”

Chapter Eleven

Kaison

The look on her face when I tell her to call me by my legal name is funny as hell. I can only imagine what she thought about that. Probably like she shouldn’t know it or something. Plenty of people outside of the club don’t understand why we have and use club names, and they think using our real name is off limits. Which is true for most people. It’s a privilege to know our real names—if you didn’t know us before the club. But the only person who uses my real name anymore is Pig, and even he’s getting better at not doing it.

Cora isn’t part of the club, and not that I want to keep her separate from it because I know that’s not possible, but I want this just for me right now. Something for myself that I don’t have to share with everyone else. A little secret no one knows about. Something the guys can’t tease me about. It’s nice to have her just for me.

She gets up with a sigh, and I follow her through the kitchen. There’s a narrow door beside the bathroom I thought was a pantry, but when she unlocks all the locks on it and pushes it open, I see a set of concrete steps leading down. The dingy smell tells me they lead underground.

Cora moves down the stairs with ease. They curve around the cement walls, and I hardly fit because of my large size. Falling down the stairs is never fun, but falling down these stairs would really be a bitch. Bet that’s why she keeps it locked up, so her father doesn’t fall down them. Which has me going back up and closing the door behind me before I squeeze back down. It isn’t locked, but hopefully we’ll hear it open if he gets up and, for some reason, comes this way. Don’t think we’ll both be down here long. I only need her to show me where the washer is, and she can head on up.

I hunch when I follow her, not wanting to hit my head on the beams. The washer and dryer are about twenty feet in on the wall to the left. When she stops, she laughs at me.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry,” she says, covering her hand with her mouth. “I should have told you it’s a small space.”

“I’m fine, sweetheart.”

She steps away when I get to the washer to give me room. I lean over it to look behind it, and when I can’t see, I pull out my phone to use the flashlight. Still can’t really see. Tugging it out of its spot, I get a better look and see the issue immediately.

“You need a new drain hose. This ones broken clear in half.”

“Is that expensive?” she asks.

“Fifteen bucks, maybe. A heavy duty one would be more. I can pick one up tomorrow and fix it for you.”

“No, absolutely not. Sh—Kaison, you’ve done enough for me already,” she says adamantly.

I love the way she says my name. Love that she fights me on things. I scoot the machine back in place, then go to her, grabbing her waist.

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