Chapter 14 #3
Camryn narrows her eyes then turns around, getting back to her task of stocking the beer. “Where’s Jimmy?” she asks.
“I sent him home.”
“You can go home, too. I’m almost done.”
I think…I think I actually made a good point and she doesn’t want to admit it. Stubborn fucking woman.
“Nope, I’m here until you leave.” I tip my lips in a biting smirk.
She lets out a huff of annoyance but doesn’t argue. That’s a first.
We finish closing the bar in silence, working in tandem. I take out the trash, she puts new liners in. I put all the stools up while she sweeps.
Instead of talking, I let her chew on her thoughts, but I wish I knew what was going on in that head of hers.
I went on my run before we had a chance to talk about the night before.
If I’ve been thinking nonstop about what that kiss meant, what exploring whatever is between us would mean, then it’s only reasonable she’s been doing the same thing.
And if I know one thing about Camryn, if you give her a chance to mull something over for too long, she generally settles on an opinion that’s not in my favor.
Camryn walks behind the bar and opens a cupboard, pulling out her purse and keys. “All set,” she says, then double-checks the front door before I follow her out the back door to where my truck is parked.
She doesn’t say anything as she gets in and starts the truck.
I jog around to where my bike is parked.
Camryn pulls out of the back lot and starts down the street before I’ve had a chance to even start my motorcycle.
If it were anyone else, I’d say fuck it and go to the clubhouse—or maybe even Midnight Rose for some fun. But it isn’t anyone else. It’s Camryn.
She may be one of the most opinionated, stubborn women I’ve ever met in my life, but she’s also got the biggest heart of anyone I know.
She is abrasive as hell when she’s pissed.
But when she lets you in, even if it’s just a fraction, you’re treated to the side of her that’s loyal and cares about the people she loves so deeply she’ll go to bat for them time and time again—even against a six-foot-two biker.
Her scowl can make you shrivel in on yourself, but her smile lights up every dark part inside.
The woman is a contradiction on all fronts, but as the saying goes, nothing easy is worth having.
And it may damn me to hell, but I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else, more than I even thought possible.
She’s parked the truck in the driveway and is walking up the porch steps when I round the corner of our street.
I pull in behind the truck and park, ripping the helmet off my head, charging up the stairs after her.
Before she can slam the door in my face, I stop it with my booted foot, following her into the house and slamming the door behind me.
“I’ve had about enough, Camryn. What the hell is your problem?”
She marches into the kitchen and pulls a bottle of wine from the fridge and a glass from the cupboard, slamming everything around. I’m surprised the glass doesn’t break with how hard she’s gripping it as she pours the wine.
“You, Barrett. You’re my fucking problem.” She puts the glass to her lips and chugs several mouthfuls.
“You’re going to have to be more specific, pup. I seem to piss you off by breathing.”
She shoots me a narrowed look, fury blazing in her eyes. “Okay, well, let’s start with you walking in tonight and making it sound like I’m holding you down and you can’t get rid of me no matter how far you run.”
“That’s not what I meant when I said that—”
“Then let’s move on to you saying the only reason someone would be interested in me is because I’m—how did you put it?—oh, fresh meat, that’s right. I’m just a new girl to add to the dwindling roster of single women in Shine.”
“Okay, I can see how that would sound bad—”
“And before all of that, you left without so much as a goodbye, see you when we get back, or even a fuck you before you left. Nothing. I woke up, and you were gone.”
And there it is. That’s why she’s actually upset.
I inhale deeply, giving myself a minute to collect myself after her tirade, and splay my hands on the counter between us. “You think I ran out on you?”
“You did,” she replies in that stubborn, I’m right, and you’re wrong tone.
“You knew about the run. Knew I was leaving.”
“But you just left. You never texted or called. Didn’t talk to me about what happened the night before.
” Camryn looks down at her wineglass. Her jaw flexes a couple times before she speaks again.
“I feel like I’m alone in this. In feeling like this.
I’m confused about what that kiss meant.
I’m confused about what you said. It makes me feel stupid, like it was nothing to you.
” Her gaze travels from my hands—that are clawing into the counter in an attempt to stop myself from grabbing her and slamming my mouth to her again—to my chest, and finally to my face.
“It wasn’t supposed to be, but it was something to me.
I swore that it would be the only time, but it doesn’t feel like it should be, and I don’t know what to do with that. ”
This is probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen the woman in front of me. The sensible part of my brain is warning me of danger. If this ends, it won’t just be me and Camryn who get hurt. But the other part is screaming at me to kiss this stubborn, infuriating, beautiful woman in front of me.
I take a deep breath, and our gazes lock as I think about what the hell to do next.