Page 18 of Havoc

With a totally straight face, I told her, “I don’t know if you consider a sex club interesting or not, but that’s what’s in our basement.”

She stared at me for a long, hard moment and then asked blandly, “Are you ever serious?”

Ha, I thought to myself, she didn’t believe me. I didn’t bother trying to convince her. “I’m always as serious as a heart attack, woman.”

She stated calmly, “My name is Riley. I know you remember it because you used it to introduce me to your friend, Mace.”

Gesturing between the two of us, I asked, “Is that how it’s going to be between the two of us? Me trying to be decent to you, while you try hard to put a stick up my ass so it’s less obvious that you have one up yours too?”

“Calling people out of their name is disrespectful,” she responded firmly.

“Fine, Miss Riley. We’ll use names from now on.”

“I appreciate it. I’m gonna go ahead and call it a night. I’ve got a session scheduled with another client in the morning.”

Feeling sorry for whoever the fuck had to endure a session with her tomorrow, I jerked my chin at her. “Drive safely, Riley. We wouldn’t want nothing bad to happen to you before you get a chance to unfuck me, Riley. It’s been nice talking to you Riley.”

She looked irritated that I was using only her name, like she asked. If I were being honest, I’d admit that this wasn’t one of my better moments. In fact, it was all kinds of immature.

She grinned and bore it, for the sake of professionalism, I suspected. “Goodnight, Havoc. I’ll see you on Friday.”

Watching her walk out of the clubhouse with her back straight and her shoulders squared reminded me she wasn’t gonna put up with much shit outta me. I made a mental note to stop fucking this up by agitating the situation. The goal was to get this the fuck over with as soon as humanly possible, not drag it out forever.

After Riley left, I sat nursing my fifth beer of the night, not feeling the least bit inebriated.

Storm threw a package of peanuts down on the table in front of me and slid into the seat that Riley had vacated. “You look like a man who could use some protein.”

I tore the package open and dumped a mouthful of salty goodness into my mouth. “Thanks,” I said as I chewed.

He jerked his chin at me and asked, “How did your meeting go with Riley tonight?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I said while dumping yet more nuts in my mouth.

“Try me,” Storm shot back, his voice firm.

“I shit you not, we spent three solid hours rehashing the situation with the sprinklers and, unsurprisingly, didn’t come to any great epiphany. It felt like a complete waste of time to me.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad. Ali found her really helpful. You will too if you just give her a chance.”

“Fuck that, boss. The only thing I got out of it was a raging headache.”

“You just need to try harder, Havoc.”

“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say because you don’t have to deal with her. By the time she left the clubhouse, I felt like beating my head against a wall. I honestly don’t know if I can do this. And what’s more, I question her ability to help me.”

“Look, she’s one of the best life coaches in the area. There had to have been something you liked about the session.”

Rubbing my jaw, I answered truthfully, “For a minute there, I thought we were establishing rapport. Then she went right back to being a preening goodie two-shoes.”

Storm was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Did it ever occur to you that you have something to teach her as well?”

“Not really. She’s smart and has her life together. I think that’s why she comes off as so superior at times. It’s because she is fuckin’ superior.”

“She seems very rigid and driven, like she doesn’t touch grass nearly enough. If you start paying attention, you might find that you’re smart about all the things she isn’t—and vice versa.”

When I didn’t immediately respond, Storm slapped me on the shoulder and said, “Think about what I just said and try your hardest with this chick.”

When he ambled off, I sat there holding my beer, wondering if our club president could possibly be right. I had to admit that the idea of us helping each other took the sting out of feeling like a dysfunctional freak that needed a minder.

---