Page 15 of Make You Love Me

“For starters, my boy Ford has a low-key hard-on for chick flicks, so he makes us all suffer through them. I ain’t going to lie, some of them are catchy as hell. And second, there is no girlfriend. I would have kicked her to the curb after the way you made me feel at that party, anyway. It wouldn’t have been fair to her.”

She looks at me shyly with a sweet smile I don’t deserve.

Nodding my head towards the hole we’re on, I say, “Let’s finish this game before another jackass comes along.”

***

Two hours later, after getting my ass handed to me in putt-putt and grubbing on some seafood at The Shack, Lottie and I are sitting on the beach in between her grandma’s house and my place.

This girl is something else. Unlike anyone I have met. Her kind and smiley personality is just what my grumpy-ass needs.

Honestly, I’m not the type of guy to hang with chicks. They normally get theirs and I get mine, and then we part ways. The girls back home know not to even attempt to get more out of me. They see me as a fun rebellious phase that meets all their criteria. Tattoos—check, motorcycle—check, football player—check, asshole—check. I’ve never minded before because I love to fuck without the strings attached. But with Lottie, I like that she doesn’t see me that way. I don’t want to just tick all the boxes on her rebellious bad boy fuck list. I want to be more to her.

Lottie’s had me hanging onto every word she’s said since the moment I met her. She isn’t surface-level like a lot of rich girls I know.I could see that a few days ago on the boat over the excitement she had for all the new things she was discovering about Nori Beach. Even more when she made sure we planned to eat the fish and not just catch them for sport. Lottie said if we weren't going to eat them, then we should leave them for someone who needs it. Her face lit up when Nate told her he normally takes about half of the smaller fish he catches to the shelter in town. A few local guys do that, and the shelter holds a fish fry on most Fridays. Once she heard that, she was grabbing the rod and insisting I show her exactly how to use it. Nate promised he would take all the other fish we caught that day to the shelter if she would let him cook the Mahi for us one night this week. Lottie liked that idea. The fact this girl, who has probably never wanted for anything in her life, genuinely cares about others who don’t have that luxury makes me like her even more.

Pulling us out of our comfortable silence, Lottie says, "So I told you a bit about my family earlier. Tell me about yours.”

“My dad raised me pretty much on his own… Well, with the help of my grandparents and like fifteen other bikers.” She looks at me with confusion, so I continue, “My dad is the President of the Rebel Knights motorcycle club, his chapter is in Richmond Hills.”

“Oh wow, I knew you rode a motorcycle, but I didn’t expect that. That’s actually so cool. I’m probably going to sound dumb saying this but the only information I have about motorcycle clubs is what I saw onSons of Anarchy… but what exactly does your dad’s club do or are they just a bunch of guys who get together and enjoy riding bikes?”

That makes me chuckle. “Well, they for sure aren’t on aSOAlevel, but they dabble in some slightly illegal things. Where do you think I got that good-ass weed from?” We both laugh at that statement.

“Mostly it’s a brotherhood made up of guys who, yeah, enjoy riding bikes, but that’s not all they do together. For instance, we own and operate the best motorcycle repair shop in the state. They have several other businesses, but also do a lot of community outreach and charity rides. My dad is the best man I know and honestly so much more than a dad to me.” I rarely talk this much, especially about myself, but I want her to know everything there is to know about me.

Well, maybe not everything.

“Earlier you mentioned your mom had you when she was young. My dad had me pretty young too, so he always says we grew up together. He says I taught him as much as he taught me over the years. I have two ride-or-die best friends that have had my back as long as I can remember, but nothing tops my relationship with my dad.”

“That’s so awesome. I feel like my mom and I would have been like that if she hadn’t died when I was so young. I’m very thankful for my great-grandparents though, they have given me an incredible life and more love than imaginable.”

“I hate that she was taken from you, babe. I bet she was incredible, like you.”

Her eyes hold so much emotion as she says, “Thank you, she really was something else.” Lottie looks down at the bracelet she’s been twirling around her wrist.

I reach out to touch it. “Was this hers?”

She nods her head. “Yes, it was one of her most prized possessions and sadly, I never got to hear the story behind where most of the charms came from. But I know she never took it off.”

Noticing one charm in particular I say, “Did you know seahorses mate for life? Fun fact I learned last year in biology.”

“Yes, I do actually,” she says with a sad smile, staring mindlessly at the charms around her wrist. “The person who gave her this was very special.”

The emotional moment is broken by her phone ringing. She pulls it from her pocket and quickly places it face down on the blanket I brought with us. She’s ignored several phone calls throughout the night. Once when I first picked her up and again at The Shack. I haven’t liked the look on her face when she glances at it, so now curiosity is getting to me.

Nodding my head towards the phone, I tell her, “You know you can answer that if you need to.”

“No, I think I’m going to have to block him because even though we broke up, he keeps calling and harassing me. His ego can’t believe that the fat girl broke up with him.”

Realizing she’s talking about that douchebag Jonathan, I grab the back of her head and bring her closer to me so our eyes are at the same level.

“First off, never ever call yourself fat in front of me again. I don’t think you understand how perfect you are. Let me put it to you like this… yes, girls have gotten my attention before, and no, I’m not a virgin, but my dick has never had an immediate reaction to someone based on their mouth-watering curves. I promise your body is what my dreams are made of. Don’t even get me started on this face… you are perfect.”

In the moonlight, her hazel eyes have turned as dark as the ocean tonight. My girl is turned on, but I’m not finished.

“Secondly, let me put a stop to his punk ass. Please give me the word and I’ll call him right now…”

On cue, her phone vibrates again. Silently praying it’s him, I reach down to flip the phone over and love that his name is ‘bitch boy’ in her phone now. I look to her for an answer.

---