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Loud noises came from the other end of the table, and I turned my head to see who had just walked into the room.
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of Jagger standing there, with his handsome smile and those bourbon-colored, kind eyes.
To this day I wondered how he found his way here when he would look way better in a brighter, much friendlier setting.
But his handsome face and perfect dark hair hid the man he was inside. Jagger had his demons, like most of these men, and he often struggled with himself and his intrusive thoughts.
Jagger wasn’t any different than these men. He hurt people, inflicted trauma to those who deserved it, and like most of the others, he had killed before.
That should’ve been enough to stay away from him like I did with every man in this club. But Jagger was different in my eyes, and I never understood why.
When he was with me, he was caring and gentle. He protected me, assured me whenever I needed reassurance. I loved him for that. He was my best friend and I saw him as a big brother, and I was lucky to have him.
Some of the guys greeted him while others were oblivious to his arrival, and just as his eyes were about to meet mine, I was shaken from my thoughts.
“Remedy,” Woodrow called out in his deep voice, and I jerked my head to look at him.
“Hm?”
“More beer. Go grab us some,” he demanded.
I nodded and got up from the long, wooden bench we were all sitting on, then grabbed the empty beer bottles from the table and stepped back. Before turning away, I glanced at Jagger. His eyes were on me.
I smiled and held up the bottles to indicate where I was going, then I made my way over to the kitchen, letting the two-way doors fall closed behind me.
I dropped the empty bottles into the large bin, then walked over to the cooler to pull out more beer. When I set them on the counter to refill the cooler, the doors opened again and I smiled at the sound of his footsteps.
“Sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. We had things to handle.”
I quickly turned around and met his eyes, smiling a real smile in a long time.
He opened his arms as he took a step toward me, and I fell into him, resting my head against his chest. “Jagger,” I breathed.
“Happy birthday, baby.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then rested his chin on it while he held me tightly against him. “Everyone been treating you right?” he asked, rubbing my back.
I shrugged. He knew my birthday didn’t make a difference. “Where were you?”
“Charleston. Had to drop off something and visit the Charleston Chapter. Made it back in time to celebrate with you,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
I turned and tilted my head to look up at him. “I don’t feel like celebrating. I cooked all day. I want to go home.”
Jagger was twenty-seven, just like JT. And it was just my luck that the two of them were best friends. They grew up together, and I hated how often times, Jagger chose JT over me.
I couldn’t blame him though. They were brothers, though not by blood. They had each other’s backs in kindergarten, and they still did now at the club.
He lifted his hands and cupped my face, then leaned in to kiss my cheek, right by the corner of my mouth. He wouldn’t kiss me the way he would other girls. He had his favorite sweet butts, who he treated like trash, but I was the one he ended up in bed with.
We cuddled, talked, and eventually fell asleep. But in the morning, he was always gone. It didn’t bother me as much as it had when this first started almost a year ago. We were friends, and though he was an attractive man, I wasn’t attracted to him that way.
Sadly.
There was a different man I laid my eyes on a few years ago, and ever since, I couldn’t shake him. He didn’t look at me. Didn’t even notice my presence. That was all I got from Fender. His indifference.
“Let me change your mind. I just came back and I’m starving. Come sit with me, and if you still want to leave once I’m done, I’ll drive you home.”
I studied his face, then sighed. “Okay.”
He chuckled and caressed my cheeks with his thumbs, then he pressed a kiss to my forehead before stepping away and grabbing the beer I had taken out of the cooler.
