“You’re telling me.You should have seen me trying to learn to spell my own name for school.”I rubbed my hand over the spot where my mother used to crack a ruler against my knuckles when I got it wrong.
Rick chuckled, though if he had known about the lengths my mom had gone to, to teach me, I don’t think he would have found humor in the situation.He took the cup of ice the waitress brought over and put a few of the cubes into a napkin before he passed it to me.
“Not sure if it will help with the swelling at this point, but the ice might numb it a bit.”I followed his orders and put the paper thin napkin up to my mouth.“So, tell me what do you do when you’re not ditching shitty friends in Vegas?”
I wanted to laugh and cry at his very apt description.“I am an artist, kind of.”
“You either are or aren’t.”
“I am.”I stated with more confidence than I felt.“I do metal work and create statues out of scraps I find.”
“Yeah?”Rick questioned, and I could see a hint of admiration in his eyes before he added, “I’d love to see some of your work.”
“Sure,” I agreed because after the night ended, we would probably be headed our separate ways.That was for the best, since I rarely showed my work to anyone I knew in real life.It was more like no one in my ‘real life’ had ever been interested in seeing it, which should have been a whole batch of red flags.People bought my art at shows and online, but they were always strangers.I wasn’t sure how I felt about Rick seeing those intimate pieces of my soul, or if he’d even be around to push the issue.He was still an outlier, for the most part.Even as I tried to sort through my feelings about him being in my life longer than a night, I had to admit that something in my gut told me he wouldn’t remain on my periphery for long.Whether it meant we would see more of one another or slip away never to be heard from again remained to be seen.
4The Damsel
Baffle
I could tellby the way Nell reluctantly agreed to show me her art that it was never going to happen.At least, that was what she thought.Eventually, she would realize that I wasn’t simply hanging around because it felt like she needed someone to protect her.
From the minute I heard her tell that asshole off the night before, I’d been intrigued.She was loyal to her friend and it cost her when the prick walloped her with a backhand that immediately split her lip open.That was when I stepped in.The fuck if I was going to stand back and watch as a woman was abused.I heard the filthy shit he spouted to her.
“I’m going to fuck you raw, babe, whether you want it or not.Then I’m going to watch as you walk toward me down the aisle with my cum still soaking in your pussy.You’re going to stand there and watch me marry your best friend and know that she’ll have to share with you.It’s like we’ll be saying our own vows at the same time.Maybe we’ll keep the living arrangements.Roommates with benefits.”
I shook off the shit he spewed and remember the satisfying feeling of his nose crunching under my fist.He deserved more but it was clear the woman he had been harassing needed to get out of there.I had planned to come back for the bastard.I was positive our local chapter of the club could help me track him down later.Nell had been my priority, though.I knew what it felt like to have that bit of control taken away and there was no way I’d let her be touched by that same grimy feeling that you couldn’t quite wash off.
While she hadn’t been raped in the physical sense, she’d been abused and threatened.Her relationship with her friend had been perverted.It was enough to send me back to the night when one of my best friends stole my choice from me.I shook my head to push the thought of Roxy away.She was back in Violence again and allowed around the clubhouse, too.She claimed to have gotten help and sought out a therapist.The only people who knew what happened were Bigfoot and me.We both kept a close eye on her while I also tried to keep my distance, despite the issues it caused with some of the women in the family.
“So, I still have to go to this bachelor party.You can sit in the back and pretend to be mute if you want.When it’s over, we’ll head off on our own and try to figure out where you go from there.”
“Don’t you need to stick around and celebrate with your friends?”Her worried eyes were a bit glassy as she stared up at me as if she was pleading with me not to leave her and also to not drop her in a room full of strange men.
My shoulders shook as I tried to hold my laughter at bay as I thought about how the night might play out with my club brothers.“Fuck no.Bigfoot’s going to take his woman back to the hotel and fuck her like he already made her his wife.Damn sure don’t want to be there for that.”I chuckled again when I thought about how Sammy would feel about an audience.“His almost-wife would kick my ass up-and-down the strip if I even hinted at ruining their alone time with my presence.”
Nell giggled.“I guess that’s understandable.She sounds awesome, if that’s true.”
“She is and I think it would be good if you could meet her, but I respect your need to protect your space right now, all things considered.If you change your mind, I can take you to meet her and maybe…” I really didn’t want to do that.There was no sane reason why I didn’t want to be separated from Nell.None.If any of my club brothers acted the way I was, I’d give them hell for it.I had given Bigfoot hell for falling so hard and fast for Sammy, especially when it seemed like she was trying to hide from him.
Nell pushed her reddish-brown locks out of her face and heaved out a sigh.She then tried to offer me a half-assed smile before she winced and pushed the ice back up to her busted lip.The beauty then frowned at water that managed to drip down her hand.“Thank you,” she said.“I mean that.I don’t know that I’d be comfortable with anyone else, to be honest.”I waited to see if she had anything else to say and when she didn’t, I pulled her hand back away from her face.The napkin that held the ice before was soaked all the way through.I took it and stuffed the remnants in a half-full glass on a nearby table.Then I grabbed Nell’s hand and pulled her along with me.
“Where are we going?”
“To get ready for a party,” I said over my shoulder before I turned forward and made a hole through the crowd to pull her through.“After that, we’ll figure everything else out.”
“Really, I appreciate it, but you don’t know me.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to help.”
“Why, though?”I heard her ask, despite the noise of the casino around us.When we finally made it to the door and out into the stifling Vegas night, I turned and smiled before I winked at her playfully.
“I like a good damsel in distress story.”
“Oh, for the love of…” The rest of what she’d been about to say was lost in a humor-filled huff as I yanked on her arm again to get her to follow me.It was a gentle, but jarring enough, motion to get her moving.“I’m not really dressed for a wedding.”
“A Vegas bachelor party,” I corrected as I glanced down at my jeans and t-shirt and shook my head.“Sweetheart, my friend is the president of our chapter of the KOAMC.We’re dressed just fine for whatever happens tonight.”I turned enough to see the dubious look Nell threw my way.When I really studied her, it was obvious that the annoyance was a cover.She was scared.Her hands shook, even as she tried to hide the fact from me.
“Shit!”I whispered and grabbed her hand and tugged in the opposite direction.
