Page 36 of Bound by Family
“Yeah, you wackin’ off in there? Because, you’re not tappin’ anything at the club,” Jacks joins in, and he’s not wrong.
Something’s fucking with my head. No, not something—someone. But I can’t seem to stop myself. I look forward to talking to her. It lightens my day and makes anything that’s annoying or frustrating disappear. I can talk to her about anything. Feel like shit, then talk to her, andbam, feel good.
“I’ve got shit to do.” Keeping my eyes focused on the road, I’m not sure why I don’t want to tell them about Bristyl. Maybe it has something to do with having one thing that’s solely mine. It’s not like she’s a forbidden secret or any of that shit. Talking with Bristyl is just different, and I don’t know how to explain it to them. They wouldn’t get it. At least, I don’t think they would.
“Coop, seriously, it’s been over a week,” Green adds his two cents.
“Have I neglected any of my club responsibilities?” I charge back, feeling fire in my veins. They say nothing, because I haven’t. “Anything at the shop or X I haven’t done?” Again nothing. I may be talking to Bristyl, but that doesn’t mean I fell down on my job in any way, shape, or form.
“Brother, it’s just not you, and we want to know if we can help,” Green says, concern in his tone.
“There’s nothin’ wrong. I appreciate it, but it’s all good.” I’m not changing what I’m doing. I’m a grown-ass man, and if I want to talk to a woman on the phone and get a few laughs, then I will. What would be better is if I could see her.
Later that night, I call. She answers on the second ring.
“You’re early.” That damn purr to her voice, and I know she’s not even trying. It’s all the damn time. Everything she says has it. Hell, she could be talking about something serious or her family and it’s there. Makes me so damn rock hard.
“I’ve got an idea. Saturday, want to meet me in Marianna? That’s about an hour drive for you. I’ll find a place for us to eat and see each other.” Once the thought came into my head in the truck, I couldn’t shake it. Seeing her became high on my to-do list.
She doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. I’m pretty sure she’s shocked.
“How long of a drive is that for you?”
“You don’t have to be concerned about that, just think about your drive.”
“I damn well have concerns, Cooper. I don’t want you driving what? Four, five hours here. I mean …” She gives a little cough. Her concern for me is cute. “I want to see you. I just don’t want anything to happen to you on the road.”
A shit-eating grin crosses my face. “That ride’s a drop in the bucket. Can you do it?”
“Of course, but—”
“No buts. I don’t have shit going on here at the club this weekend. It’s perfect timing. And beautiful, it’s around three hours. That’s really nothin’.”
“You sure you want to meet up? Do you think that’ll change things?”
“What do you meanchange things?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like I know you, and we’ve seen each other twice. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
I chuckle. “Beautiful, everything about this is strange to me. I’m rollin’ with it and askin’ you to do the same.”
“Okay, it’s a plan.”
“It’s a plan.”
* * *
I roll out early,only stopping when I need to fill up my tank and take a leak. The anticipation of seeing her builds with each passing mile.
As I pull up to the diner, her Dodge Challenger is parked on the right side of the lot. I pull up next to her and shut down my bike. Her sexy blue eyes stare up at me through her window. Damn, she’s even better looking than I remembered, or is it actually knowing a woman that makes them more than you envisioned?
I drop the kickstand as she gets out of the car. Bristyl pulls her light blue T-shirt down nervously, her hand giving a slight tremor. There she goes again, being cute.
“Hey, beautiful.”
A rosy pigment comes to her cheeks and spreads down her chest. The cut out V doesn’t hide anything. Her plump breasts look full pressed against the shirt. I swallow back the saliva that coats my mouth.
“Hey, how was the drive?”
