Page 9 of Knight
CHAPTER FOUR
Gwen
I hadn’t seen Knight in seven years. I didn’t know what I expected but it sure wasn’t the icy welcome that I received. I wanted to cry but I held my tears back. It was all I could do not to jump into his arms the moment he realized it was me standing there, but the fact that he hadn’t turned to look in my direction wasn’t lost on me. Good thing I didn’t because I could have bet that I would have been dropped on my ass. It was that cold. It was almost as if he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that I was there.
It cut me.
It gutted me.
This was the boy that used to hold me at night when I couldn’t stop crying. The same boy who brought me a treat when he knew I was having a bad day. The very same one that danced with me under the stars late at night and gave me my very first kiss.
That was when I realized that boy no longer existed. He died that night when he turned his back and walked away from me without so much as a look back.
I was living with the memory of a ghost. The hopefulness of a teenage girl. He would never bemyKnight ever again. No matter how much time had passed. You couldn’t go back, time only ticked forward and with that brought a man I didn’t even recognize.
With a heavy sigh, I turned away from the hall he’d walked down. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come here. But then again, I had no idea that he was even here until I’d seen him walk into the bar. It seemed that Dad conveniently left that information out. Though I couldn’t blame him. He never really knew what went down between Knight and me, he simply knew that we didn’t talk anymore. Even if I was hurt, I didn’t want to put a tear in Dad’s relationship with Knight or his dad, Cringer. It wasmybaggage to deal with. I had tried my best to stuff the feelings down for so many years.
“So, sweet cheeks, you the new girl?”
I turned my attention to the smooth voice. My brow raised almost as if to challenge him for the pet name. His dark hair was pushed back from his face. His nose was a bit crooked like he’d gotten in one too many fights, but for some reason, it worked on him. His smile was lopsided in that smug but charming way. If it were anyone other than me it might have worked. But I grew up around guys like him and therefore, knew what was hidden behind the outward charm.
This guy must have been fairly new.
I studied him a beat longer, his dark brown eyes didn’t blink once.
“Dude, don’t even think about it,” an all too familiar voice said as he walked up behind me. I couldn’t hide the wide smile that overtook my face even if I wanted to.
I turned and practically threw myself at Mouse.
“What are you doing here?” I squealed.
His mother had done her best to keep him away from the club. That woman was so head over heels for Brew, Mouse’s dad, that she stayed by his side, but she wasn’t a fan of the club. Mouse only came around every so often and usually only for big events. He was three years older than me and he had earned his name at a young age.
His mother, Beth, was very overprotective, and who could blame her. Mouse was always shy from the start and he would always scurry off and find a corner to hide in. Yep, that was how he got his name. That and sometimes he would squeak when he tried to talk. It was something he later grew out of as the confidence of his looks kicked in. Once he hit high school he was quite popular with the girls, just like Knight had been.
I shook off all those old thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to get buried in how I felt back then and all the damage that Knight had done.
“Well, got my patch a month after you took off for college. Then they were looking for people to help set up this chapter, and here I am.” He pulled me in, giving me one good squeeze before releasing me.
I took a step back. Man, he really had changed in the few years I’d been gone. He seemed a bit taller, or maybe it was just because so much time had passed. His face held no shyness in it at all and his smile was fucking blinding. It was good to see him happy.
“Bet your mom isn’t so thrilled about this,” I said with a pointed look.
“Yeah,” he said as he blew out a harsh breath and scratched the back of his neck. “She definitely didn’t let me leave without a few choice words. But what can ya do? I love her, but I gotta live my life.” He gave a little shrug.
“No, I get it,” I agreed with a nod.
“It’s in the blood, right,” he added with a knowing look of his own.
That was what it felt like. My blood, my heart, it was all tied to the club. I walked around for three years feeling incomplete and it took me a long time to figure out why.
Before we could say anything else, my eyes caught on a figure stalking down the hall. As it drew closer, I saw it was Knight. His hands were fisted at his sides and I could have sworn there was smoke coming out of his ears. He was pissed and trying his best to hold it back. The room suddenly felt like it was too quiet. He walked past, heading for the front door, his eyes focused on a nonexistent point ahead. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he didn’t give me one look but I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.
“So, ah, Knight’s here,” Mouse said like I hadn’t already figured that out.
“Yeah.” I took in a calming breath.
“Gwen,” Dad called out from the back of the hall. “Can you come back here a moment?”
