2. Chapter Two
Istand outside the building, waiting for Jason to pull up. My little side kick, Charlotte, is beside me chatting my ear off.
“I love having Katie for a mommy.” She hugs herself happily.
“Yeah, it’s really great,” I say absently, my gaze focused on Jason’s car as he parks. He has someone with him.
My friend, Lexi, gets out of the passenger side, juggling her books. Jason wraps his arm around her as they head toward us.
I wish I could say something … feel something … move …
Charlotte tugs at my hand. “Kelsie, are you okay?”
I pull my eyes away from the duo. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get you to your room.”
Charlotte’s eyes narrow when Jason and Lexi walk past us. They ignore me entirely. I grab Charlotte’s little hand and follow them inside.
“I didn’t know Jason liked mean girls,” Charlotte says, skipping happily beside me.
Lexi stops abruptly, and Jason’s arm falls off her shoulder. “What did you say, you little freak?”
Charlotte just laughs. She tugs at my hand and guides us around the pair.
“You’re not a freak,” I whisper as we hurry down the hall.
“I know that, but Jason is an asshole.”
“Charlotte,” I scold gently. “That’s not a nice word.”
“Nice people deserve nice words. Not nice people deserve not nice words.” She hugs me around the waist and then rushes into her room.
Dropping my head, I turn and hurry toward my first period class. The entire room quiets when I enter. I ignore everyone, focusing on my laptop. As soon as I’m logged in, I message Jason.
Me: I’m sorry about last night.
I risk a look over my shoulder, finding him staring at me. His friend Matt sits down behind him, leaning forward to look over his shoulder at my message. I spin around, nervously waiting for his reply.
Jason: You need to see a therapist.
Me: I do see a therapist.
Jason and Matt both let out a harsh laugh behind me.
Jason: I think you better look for a new one, because it’s not working.
The twinge in my chest makes me slam my computer shut and jump from my seat. When I break free from the walls of the school, I suck in a deep breath. I glance around the parking lot, blinking back tears. Fuck, my dad has my car today. He’s getting the oil changed.
I slip back into the building and hide in the library until the final bell rings for the day. I hurry down to Charlotte’s room, but I’m too late. Lexi and her group of friends already have her cornered.
“Doesn’t she remind you of Wednesday Addams?” Lexi laughs.
I push past the group, grabbing Charlotte’s hand and pulling her away. “Don’t listen to them,” I say quietly, squeezing her fingers tightly in mine.
She keeps her emotions carefully in check until we step outside. The second she spots Kat waiting for her across the street, she tugs away from me.
“Mommy!” she cries out.
Charlotte begins to explain to Kat why she’s upset. Spotting my mom’s car, I rush around her vehicle, sliding into the passenger seat of her Beetle.
“I can’t believe how mean little girls can be,” my mom says when she finally joins me, firing up the engine.
She thinks Charlotte is getting picked on by her own peers, not mine. Why wouldn’t she? I decide not to correct her. “Is Dad finished with my car?”
The hurt in her eyes has me apologizing. “It’s not that I don’t like riding with you. I … I just really wanted to go see Billie Rose today. I need to get some baby snuggles in.”
Her shoulders drop, relieved that I still enjoy her company. “Yeah, I think it’s done. But we’ll run over to his shop and check.”
Nodding, I watch the reflection of her vehicle as we pass by the store fronts of downtown. I love it here. It reminds me of my hometown’s main street. I grew up in the Midwest, and my mother had an aversion toward big box stores, so we did most of our shopping locally.
“So, how did your talk with Jason go?”
“Good,” I say, keeping my answer short.
On the way to school this morning, I assured her I would have a talk with him and set some boundaries. I was determined to let him know I wasn’t going to let him guilt trip me into sleeping with him again.
Her gaze darts between me and the road. “I’m glad it went well.” The wrinkles around her eyes tighten as she forces a smile on her face. I know she wants more.
I sigh, laying my head against the seat. “He thinks I need to go to therapy.” A chuckle unexpectedly bursts from my mouth, surprising even me. Covering my face, I glance away from her. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny.”
“Why is it funny?”
“I’ve been going to therapy every week for the entire year we’ve been dating, and he didn’t even know.”
She pats my hand. “You’re not obligated to share every part of your life with someone just because you’ve been dating.”
She’s absolutely right of course, but the thing is I did share that part of my life with him. I’ve mentioned my therapist several times over the past year. Sure, I never shared the details of why I went, but I did tell him I was in therapy.
“I know.”
I breathe a sigh of relief when we pull up outside my dad’s shop. Honestly, I don’t know why I’ve been keeping things from my family. I’ve been hand selecting which parts of my life to share with them. My gaze lands on my car. It doesn’t look like it’s moved since I dropped it off this morning.
“I’m going to run over and ask JD something,” my mom says. “I’ll be quick. Ask Dad what’s up with your car, and if it’s not done, I’ll run you out to see Billie Rose.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I tell her, walking backward up the steps of Dad’s shop.
“It’s okay. I have to go to the warehouse anyway. I want to check in with Jesse and see if she needs any help. Some of the members from the NorCal Chapter have been staying there.” She gives me a little wave, turning to jog across the street.
My dad is focused on his client when I step inside. He glances at me, nodding toward the big man in his chair. “Tank, this is my daughter Kelsie.”
The man gives me a quick nod, careful to keep his eyes on my face. He drops his gaze back to the piece my dad is working on before greeting me. “Nice to meet you.”
“Kels, this is Tank. He’s VP of the NorCal Chapter.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I say, going to stand by my dad.
My heart slows as I stare into the dark green eyes of a monster coming to life on the man’s skin. It’s breaking through a door, wood splintering across his arm. My dad is an amazing tattoo artist. My cheeks begin to warm when I realize Tank’s gaze is resting heavily on my face. A shiver runs up my spine.
My dad pauses his machine, rubbing his hand down my arm to warm me. “How was school?” he asks.
Tank immediately removes his scorching gaze from me. My skin cools as if the sun just disappeared behind a cloud. I don’t have time to wonder about my visceral reaction to this man, because I’m too busy being mortally horrified that my dad just asked me about school. Ugh. It makes me sound like a child.
“Fine,” I mumble, pulling away from him. “Mom’s going to run me over to Billie Rose’s since my car’s not done.”
“It’s done. Tank just dropped it off. He changed the oil this afternoon.”
“Oh. Thank you.” I bend toward him slightly, locking my hands behind me. “I appreciate that.”
Tank grunts a response, not looking at me. He turns his focus to his phone as my dad cleans up, seemingly satisfied with the progress they’ve made for the day.
It gives my dad a chance to interrogate me. “So, really, how was school?” he asks again, not buying my previous answer.
“Some girls were picking on Charlotte today,” I tell him, deflecting his attention away from me.
He shakes his head. “Kids these days.”
“I know, right?” I agree, taking a few steps toward the door. “I better get going. I’ll let you get back to work.”
Tank suddenly stands. “Hey, man, can you give me a lift back to the warehouse? Petey was going to give me a ride, but he’s got some business to take care of.”
“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got another client coming in five.”
“I can give you a ride,” I hear myself say.
My dad turns to me. “That’s okay, Kels. I’ll ask Mom to run him out to the warehouse.”
Tank’s gaze goes from my dad to me.
Swallowing hard, I keep my focus on my dad. “Dad, don’t be ridiculous. I’m going that way. The warehouse is just across the lake from Billie Rose’s. It’s not a problem.”
Tank looks at my dad, not moving.
My dad rises, bringing himself eye to eye with the only man I’ve ever seen as tall as him. “She’s my baby,” he tells him.
I remember the day I realized my dad would protect me from the devil himself. Up until then, I’d been walking around taking half breaths. The air that filled my lungs that day made me dizzy with relief. I’m struggling desperately to hold onto that feeling, because right now all I want to do is scream at him to stop.
Instead, I groan. “Dad.” My eyes fall to the floor, my cheeks burning hot.
“Do you understand?” he asks Tank, completely ignoring my embarrassment.
“Absolutely,” Tank answers coolly.
Without taking his eyes off Tank, my dad reminds me to buckle my seatbelt.
“Absolutely … I mean, of course,” I mutter, hoping nothing else embarrassing comes out of his or my mouth.
Tank turns away from my father, and winks at me. My stomach completely flips over itself. I wish I had a moment to analyze that feeling, but my mom opens the door behind me. I brush past her, hurrying to get away from my parents.
“I’ll be home before supper.”
I hope Tank is right behind me. If my dad finds out Mom is heading to the warehouse too, he’ll want her to give him a ride. And for some stupid reason, I want that job.
When I get to the car, I begin patting my pockets. Shit, where did I put my keys?
Suddenly, they are dangling in front of my face. I step back, bumping against Tank’s very solid chest.
He chuckles, his body vibrating against my backside. “You’re a skittish little thing, aren’t you?”
My fingers wrap around the keys, snatching them from his hand. I spin around and push against his stomach, needing some space between us.
“I am not.”
He raises his hands and backs away. I slide into the driver’s seat, watching him in the rearview mirror as he heads around the back of my car. Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m not quick enough to keep up with someone like him.
I swear to god, my car almost drags pavement when he gets in. Jesus, he’s big. Okay, so he isn’t any bigger than my dad or the twins. It’s … it’s his presence that’s large. It fills all of the empty space around me.
I’m just giving him a ride. It’s no big deal. I take a deep breath. Great, now even his scent has filled the space in my lungs.
My hands tremble as I start the car and back out.
We only get a few blocks down the road before he breaks the silence. “So, what happened at school today?”
My first thought isn’t how he knows something happened today. No, my first thought is how embarrassing it is that I’m still in school. “I’m almost twenty,” I blurt out, cringing internally as the words leave my mouth. Why did I say that? That’s not what he asked.
“I know.”
He knows?
“I’m sorry you had a bad day,” he continues, motioning toward the little ice cream shop on the edge of town. “Pull in here.”
I don’t know why I listen to him, but I do. Like I said, he fills the air around me. Nothing exists outside of this car right now.
“I didn’t have a bad day, and there’s no drive-thru here,” I tell him.
“That’s okay. I’ll run in and grab it.” He points to a parking spot under some trees. “What do you want?”
My hand rests on the shifter after I park. “I don’t want anything. Thank you, though.”
He laughs. “Okay, I see you’re going to make me guess. If I’m wrong, you’ll be stuck eating whatever I get you.”
A giggle erupts out of my mouth before I can stop it. “I do like surprises.”
“A risk taker. I like it.” He grins at me before he gets out and jogs across the parking lot toward the building.
I smile nervously, tucking my hair behind my ear. I’m not really sure what’s happening. This is so out of character for me. Or is it? I really don’t know.
Minutes later, he returns, juggling two cups in one of his big hands as he opens the door. After he drops into the seat, he holds one out to me along with a spoon.
“It’s mint chip,” I whisper into the cup.
“Isn’t that your favorite?”
I don’t have time to ask how he knows that, because Jason and Lexi pull into the stall beside us, pulling my attention away from him. Great.
Tank turns in his seat to see what’s grabbed my attention. “Isn’t that your boyfriend?” He points out the window.
I reach over and grab his hand, pulling it down. My brows pull together. Wait a second. How does he know I have a boyfriend?
When I don’t answer him, he turns back to the window for another look. He chuckles darkly, shaking his head.
“What a dumbass,” he whispers under his breath. He sets his ice cream down before opening his door.
“Wait! What are you doing?” I lean across the seat, my fingers grazing his jacket as he pulls away from me.
I’m expecting him to confront Jason, because that’s something a Skull would do. But that’s not what he does. I look in my rearview mirror as he rounds my car. I lean away from him when he opens the door. He plucks the ice cream from my hand while tugging me out of the car at the same time. Before I know what’s happening, he’s lifting me onto the hood. He steps between my legs, and stares into my wide eyes.
“Showtime,” he says quietly.
Jesus, he has the prettiest moss-green eyes. A smirk pulls at one side of his mouth before he feeds me a spoonful of ice cream.
… and then he kisses me. His tongue spears between my lips as his hand wraps gently around my throat. My eyes fall closed. Oh my god, he’s kissing me! When I gasp into his mouth his only response is to push my head back, deepening the kiss.
The air leaves my lungs, and my head feels all kinds of fuzzy. What is happening?
His hot mouth contrasted against the cold ice cream makes me shiver against him. He smiles against my lips. My stomach does this funny little dip and flip, and I swear to god my scalp is tingling as if my hair were growing.
Jason revs his engine beside us. My eyes fly open, and I try to jerk away from Tank, but he doesn’t allow it, only tightening his grip. His fingertips dig lightly into the muscles at the side of my neck. Embarrassingly, a little noise escapes from somewhere in the back of my throat.
Our eyes are open, and we stare at each other. All thoughts of Jason leave my mind right along with the squeal of his tires.
Tank continues to kiss me for several more seconds before he finally pulls away. His eyes never leave mine. A look of concern begins to replace the heated one he was just giving me.
“What was that about?” he asks, waving his hand toward the spot Jason was just parked in.
I shake my head, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. “Yes, what was that about?” I snap, throwing his question back at him. My chin juts out as I struggle to control the tremble of my voice.
He leans forward, crowding my space. I hold tough for a total of two seconds before sliding away from him. My therapist would be so disappointed in me.
“I’m pretty sure that was Jason dumping me,” I mumble my pathetic response. I pull up my legs and spin away from him, jumping off the side of the hood. Tears are already running down my cheeks as I fumble to open my door.
His chest heaves fast as he continues to stare at me through the windshield. He’s so angry. I know it’s not directed at me, but …
The fear on my face must show, because he steps away from my car, softening the scowl on his. It’s too late. I’m done. My hand trembles as I back away. My eyes go to the rearview mirror as I turn out onto the road.
Oh my god. I really just left the VP of the NorCal Chapter stranded.
I left him!
Instead of going to Billie Rose’s, I decide it’s best I go home.
My hands are still shaking when I dump his uneaten hot fudge sundae in the trash.
What the hell just happened?