Page 33 of Blue

“He’s talking to me.” Rogue shrugged out of his cut and draped it over the back of the chair. “Where’s Bullet?”

“He’s ripping up the carpet in the master. If you want to paint in here, I’ll work on the nursery.” He pointed to the counter. “Whoever takes the last cup, starts a new pot. You got your choice, Blue. Kitchen with the asshole, bedroom with Bullet, or working on the nursery with me.”

Romeo headed down the hall, and I hung my cut with Rogue’s and grabbed a cup of coffee. “This is Romeo’s place?” Because Romeo and Levi rented a room at the clubhouse. I hadn’t heard about them moving. Was I the asshole for thinking of myself? I needed a room to rent.

Rogue leaned a hip against the counter and stirred the paint. “It will be.” He turned to the cabinet. “Pick a room. I’m paying you to work.”

I stared out the window.

Rogue picked up the paint brush and climbed onto the short stepstool. “He’s your brother, Blue. You gotta trust him with your truth.”

I wasn’t sure who he meant, but I wasn’t ready to talk to Bullet. “I got no issue with Romeo.”

“He’s got history with your girl. Talk to him.”

“Fuck.”

Rogue’s quiet laugh followed me as I strode down the hall and found Romeo in the first bedroom. The walls had been painted soft yellow with white trim. The hardwood flooring looked as old as the house. It was worn but still glossy. Boxed furniture leaned against the wall.

“Levi must be excited to move out of the MC.” I slid my hands into my pockets.

Romeo opened the window. “She doesn’t know. This was Levi’s room growing up.” He smirked. “Dozer and I practically grew up in this house. Fuck, bruh, I can’t think about the memories in here, knowing this is going to be my little bean’s room.” He pointed to the canisters of paint. “Do you want to paint trim or put together furniture?”

I crossed the room to the boxes. “You three were close?”

Romeo squatted, the skin of his knees poking through his jeans. “Dozer and Levi were close. I always had a crush on Levi, but she’s good, you know. Too good for me.” He grabbed a paintbrush and started on the windowsill.

“Levi and Kiss were friends.” I dropped the first box flat on the floor, pried open the staples, and grabbed the one page of diagram instructions for a changing table.

Romeo slowed the stroke of his paintbrush. “Best friends. It’s hard to think about those times, knowing how much I hurt Levi. I never meant to hurt Kiss, either. I ended up hurting them both.”

My gut clenched, and my tongue thickened in my mouth. This was my opportunity to talk about Kiss. “I’ve got some shit to tell you.”

Romeo kept painting so I kept talking.

“It’s about Kiss.”

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about her. I didn’t know you knew each other.”

I sat on the floor and sorted the bolts and numbered pressed-wood pieces. “A couple months ago she showed up at Indulgence while I was working. She wanted to talk to Bullet. I didn’t know who she was or what her situation was.”

I wanted to tell him that I’d been attracted to her, and that I hadn’t known she was a Heller. Once I knew, I gave zero fucks that she used to be Romeo’s lay. But I probably would’ve been hesitant to get invested in a junkie. Too late now. She still might run from me, but I wasn’t walking away from her.

“I don’t know what to say. You have history with her.”

Romeo set his paintbrush across the top of the canister. “Blue, I’m painting my baby’s room. I’m all in with Levi. I always have been. I want nothing but good things for Kiss. The problem is Kiss lives for the high. Once she found heroin, nothing else mattered.”

I nodded. “She was using again. She’s trying to get clean.”

“She’ll try, but it never lasts.”

“Romeo…” Fuck. Talking about feelings and shit was harder than I expected. “I like her.”

“I’m not going to warn you off her.” Romeo dipped his brush into the paint again. “Just don’t catch feelings. Kiss chases the high. Before she got into heroin, she was part of the crew. I wish she could find a reason to stay clean.”

I wanted to believe I could be that reason, but she’d already left me once for black.

“I’ve got a lot of guilt about the way I treated Levi,” Romeo continued. “For the first time, my life isn’t shit. I have Levi and the bean, the shop, and now Bear and Willow are giving us the house.”

---