AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Walking in the door of the clubhouse, I go to turn toward the hallway where my room is when movement catches my attention. Brick is standing by the pool table and a woman with no shirt on is in front of him. She drops to her knees as he looks down at her with a scowl on his face. My heart breaks for some reason. It’s not like we’re together and he won’t even talk to me. However, it feels as if this was set up for me to see.
“Autumn, you’re back from work,” Quinn calls out, not seeing her brother by the pool tables as she comes from the hall leading to the other rooms.
Brick quickly pushes the woman away from him and stalks out of the common room. I don’t know what that’s all about considering he didn’t even look in my direction. Oh well. He’s not my man and can do whatever he wants to do with whoever. None of it is my concern and shouldn’t matter to me. I’m not sure why it hurts so bad though. Ghost and him always make me feel as if I’ve done something wrong to them. That I’ve hurt them in some way and I’m not sure why that is. They barely talk to me and I shouldn’t have to feel any type of way about it.
“I just walked in. I was planning on taking a shower and hanging out in my room until dinner,” I tell Quinn as the woman finally pulls herself up off the floor.
“I’m cooking. Why don’t you hang out in the kitchen with me?” she asks as she makes her way through the common room and toward the kitchen. “I just handed Brindley over to Wicked as he finishes up the paperwork in our room here so I don’t have to worry about her while I cook.”
“Um, let me drop my stuff off and I’ll be right there. I’m not gonna make you cook alone. It’s time I started pulling my weight around here. I should’ve already been doing something more than what I have been. Everyone else does,” I state knowing I’m speaking the truth.
“Okay. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she responds before disappearing.
Unlocking my room, I drop off my bag and grab a hair tie before heading back out and making sure my door is locked. I was warned by Quinn and a few of the other ol’ ladies about keeping my door locked because the club girls have been known to go in and try to take things from them in the past. They quickly put a stop to it, but it doesn’t mean they don’t still take precautions to prevent it from happening again. So, I’ve listened to them and keep my room locked at all times. Even when I’m inside, the door is locked.
Finding Quinn in the kitchen, I wait for her to tell me what she needs help with. I see her with a large bowl filled with hamburger meat. There are seasonings, bread crumbs, ketchup, and eggs sitting next to the bowl. I’ve never really cooked before other than simple things, but I think this is going to be meatloaf. It’s been a long time since I’ve had meatloaf.
“What can I do?” I finally ask her as she begins mixing everything together in the bowl.
“If you want to peel the potatoes and cut them up for mashed potatoes, that will help me out a lot,” she answers, pointing to the two bags of potatoes sitting on the counter behind me.
With a nod of my head, I get to work peeling the potatoes and cutting them up into smaller pieces as I’ve seen done by the ol’ ladies before. This is the first time I’ve ever done this so I hope I’m not messing anything up.
“So, I have to ask what’s going on with my brother, Ghost, and you?” Quinn finally asks the question I know she’s been dying to know for weeks now.
“Nothing is going on. They helped me when I needed it, but I’m here at the clubhouse and not sleeping in my car any longer and I’ve got a job. They don’t need to babysit me and have their own lives to worry about. I’m simply a blip on their radar and just another in a long line of women for them,” I answer her without really answering her.
“Bullshit!” she calls out, moving the mess of hamburger and what she mixed into it to the pans waiting for the mixture. “Something happened between the three of you and now you’re all acting very strange. My brother never turns down a woman and I’ve seen it happen more often than not in the last few weeks. Ghost is quieter than normal and has been keeping to himself. The only person he seems to spend any time with is my brother. And that’s only when Brick doesn’t have Brindley with him. So, I’m gonna ask again what happened between the three of you.”
“We had sex. Well, I had sex with Brick and gave Ghost a blow job. After we were done, I made sure Ghost knew I wasn’t going to be clingy and I knew it didn’t mean to expect anything more from either of them. Ghost took care of me after it happened and that’s the last time I really talked to either man. So, nothing is going on with either of them. Everything we did was consensual and we’re all adults here,” I tell her, my words spilling out faster than I thought possible as a blush covers my face and neck.
“Okay. Why would you be clingy?” she asks, confusion filling her as she turns to face me fully.
“Because I was a virgin until I was with them that day. It’s been a few weeks now and it’s not a big deal,” I tell her while going back to peeling and cutting up potatoes.
“That is definitely a big deal. Did they know you were a virgin when you had sex with them?”
“They did. I told them when we were talking about being clean and all that stuff. So, I mean, it’s not a big deal. I wasn’t holding onto it for any reason. It just hadn’t happened for me yet.”
“Are you sure they didn’t hurt you?” she asks, concern filling her face now.
“They didn’t hurt me. I mean, no more than having sex for the first time hurts. It happened and we’ve all moved on from it now. Nothing more has to happen or be talked about regarding the situation,” I tell her, trying to make sure she believes me because I don’t believe myself at this point.
“I’ll let it drop for now, Autumn. I have a feeling this situation with you three isn’t over yet though. Is that why you haven’t been around the clubhouse when you’re not at work lately?”
“No, it’s not. I’ve found somewhere I can be alone and have the peace I crave when so much about my life is up in the air right now. There’s no time for a relationship, guys, sex, or anything else. When the situation I’m in has been resolved, then I’ll think about finding someone to start dating. I can tell you it won’t be anyone in this club though. I’m not saying they aren’t nice men, but I can’t have sex with Brick and Ghost and then date someone they consider close. That’s just not right,” I tell her, knowing deep in my heart if I can’t have those two men, I don’t want anyone else here. It’s better if I just leave Cedar Bay and find someone to date and settle down with.
Quinn and I finish making the meatloaf and potatoes for dinner. She also makes peas and heats some of those brown and serve rolls. There’s literally enough food here to feed an army as people start filling the kitchen. Brick and Ghost are among the last of everyone to arrive and they look shocked to find me here helping Quinn out. I keep my attention off them as I help serve the food as the kids’ plates are made first before the ol’ ladies come through to get their food. All the men are served last. Neither man says a word to me, they simply hold their plate out for me to put mashed potatoes and peas on before moving along the line. Wicked actually brings Quinn’s plate through with him so I’m the last one to get any food.
There’s not much left as I try to figure out what to put on my plate. I take the last half scoop of potatoes and a spoonful of peas before grabbing the last roll. Everyone took large portions of the meatloaf so there’s nothing left of it. Oh well. If I get hungry later on, I can figure something else out. After adding some butter to my potatoes and roll, I grab a bottle of water before heading out to join Quinn and Wicked. Neither one of them are happy with the lack of food I have, but there isn’t anything else left. I don’t make a big deal out of it but multiple people still look over at our table. I can see more than one person wants to say something, but they don’t. My gaze doesn’t wander to where Ghost and Brick are sitting away from everyone else at a table alone. For now, I’m good and that’s all that matters.
Chapter Seven
Brick
VENOM HAS OFFICIALLY lost his fucking mind. While there’s nothing to support Autumn’s mother or the man she’s supposed to marry coming for her, he wants her to have a shadow suddenly. I don’t know why he’s made that decision and he won’t tell us. All I know is that Ghost and I were nominated to be her babysitters and it’s the last thing I fucking want to do. Being around Autumn will lead to nothing good for me. She already consumes my fucking mind and no matter what I do, she doesn’t leave. If I’m at work, she’s on my mind. Trying to sleep, I dream of her. Every fucking second of my day I’m consumed with Autumn. I’ve even found myself comparing every woman I come across to Autumn. None of them fucking compare to her on any level. This shit fucking sucks.
Whenever Autumn’s not at the clubhouse or garage, Ghost and I are supposed to be with her. I know she’s not going to accept us following her around, so we’ve been staying under the radar as much as possible for the last week. I have to say, Autumn doesn’t do a lot. The only place we’ve seen her go is to the library. She goes inside and spends hours in there. Neither one of us follow her inside, choosing to sit in our trucks and wait for her to come back out. Ghost and I position ourselves so we can see the entire building to make sure no one goes in and tries to bring her out by force. I don’t really know who we’re supposed to be looking for as far as her mother and the man are concerned.
