10. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Jokester – Two Days Later
I take a deep breath, put on my leather jacket, and look in the bathroom mirror while my mind runs miles.
I take in my outfit and tilt my head. My hair is up in its usual man bun, and I’m actually wearing a button-down dress shirt, jeans, and boots.
I never wear button downs… Maybe I should wear a dark blue button down instead of black….
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I shake my shoulders out. My palms are sweating, and I can feel my pulse race. Maybe I should change into something casual, but she might like the black shirt…
“Fuck, why am I so nervous?” I mumble as I walk out of the en-suite and into my bedroom, wincing at the several shirts thrown on my king-size bed.
Shit, you’d think I’ve never dated before…. I pause. Well, to be fair, I haven’t.
Shaking my head, I leave my room and head to the living area. I look around and ensure it’s tidy. The glass coffee table is clear of trash, and three small candles on either side. I did dust this morning and mop the hardwood floors, something I never thought I’d fucking do, and the place doesn’t smell like dirty old gym socks.
Fuck I can’t believe how nervous I am…
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I check the time. I have ten minutes until I need to leave and pick Esmerelda up, which should give me time to check the meatballs gently simmering in tomato sauce on the stove.
Yesterday, I looked up her father after I noticed he gently encouraged his daughter to sit with me and date me. I found he owns a law firm in town, Jacobs family law, and I gave him a visit, though I didn’t expect that fucker Cody to be working there.
“Can I help you?” the man who was with Esmerelda when we first met a week ago asks, raising a brow at me.
He’s in a suit, his hair gently styled, and instantly, I want to hit him as jealousy hits me hard.
He was her first boyfriend, and the fucker is still around, like a bad smell. Don’t get me wrong, he could be the nicest guy in the fucking world, I still won’t like him.
Clearing my throat, I ask calmly, “I came to see if Mr. Jacobs had a moment.”
He assesses me momentarily before picking up a phone and says, “Damian’s here…” and my mouth parts.
How in the fuck does this fucker know my name unless… Fuck me, she’s talked about me.
He smirks and puts the phone down as a door opens, and Mr. Jacobs walks out in a suit holding a happy Aiden. I grin at the little boy, whose eyes light up when he sees me, and he squeezes his hands towards me, muttering, “Dam-Dam…”
Mr. Jacobs chuckles, “One afternoon with you and Levi and he’s hooked.”
I smile wide and hold my hands out for the little tyke. He throws himself at me, making me chuckle as I catch him.
“Hey, little man,” I say as I plop him on my hip and bounce him a little. Then I look at Mr. Jacobs, who is leaning against the desk, smiling, while the man, Cody—I think Esmerelda said his name was—crosses his arms over his chest and raises a brow.
“What can I do for you, Damian?” Mr. Jacobs asks while Levi grabs my silver chain.
“I came to ask you what Esmerelda’s favorite food is,” I reluctantly admit in front of her ex, “She’s accepted a date tomorrow.”
“Spaghetti and meatballs,” he says without hesitation, and I raise a brow because I thought I was going to have a fight on my hands. He shrugs and admits, “Since Aiden’s been born, Mer has put him before everything else. I saw how you looked at her but, more importantly, how she looked at you, and that is enough for me.”
“And me,” Cody adds. I look his way with a furrowed brow because I honestly thought the fucker wanted her back especially with how he looks at her. He just smiles sadly and admits, “I messed up with her when we were teenagers.”
“And by messed up, he means my daughter was a bet because she was a loner in school, and as soon as she gave him her virginity – something a father shouldn’t know – he dumped her and went back to his actual girlfriend, who also was the school bully and the idiot is lucky my daughter has a soft heart allowing him to be her friend,” Mr. Jacobs explains, and my eyes widen as Cody winces.
“Not my finest of moments,” he admits, “I knew I messed up, and for months, I apologized, and while I wanted to try again, I broke her trust,” sadness etches off him and my jealousy spikes until he says, “Whatever feelings she had for me died that day, and now she’s my best friend, and I just want to see her happy,” he gives me a pointed look, “Her last boyfriend was before Aiden was born. The ass butt dialed her while he was sleeping with my then girlfriend, so don’t hurt her, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
Well, my girl definitely hasn’t had any luck with men huh….
“She didn’t love Mark, and he never would have made it, Cody, you know this,” Mr. Jacobs says, catching my attention. He looks at me, “Her favorite movie is Lady and the Tramp, she hates olives with a passion and kids, as you’ve guessed are her soft spot because of her brother,” I smile and look at Aiden, who is playing with my chain as Mr. Jacobs finishes, “She’s currently taking a business class getting ready to take over the bakery fully, something she is nervous about and keeps trying to put off and is nearly done with culinary school. That is all you're getting, and as Cody said, don’t hurt her.”
I’ve never felt so fucking grateful as I did yesterday, and even though I hate that her ex is her best friend and clearly still holds a small torch for her, he wants her to be happy and knows it won’t be with him.
His girlfriend showed up with his lunch making his cheeks heat, which was fucking hilarious, but it was also good to know that he has a girlfriend, though the woman definitely celebrated way too loudly when Cody explained I was going on a date with his ex.
Guess she wasn’t happy about him being close to Esmerelda.
My phone rings, and I quickly grab it, looking to see it isn’t Esmerelda, or Mer, as her dad calls her. However, I scowl when I see it’s Bethany.
Fucking woman won’t get the hint.
Shaking my head, I decline the call and grab my truck keys, knowing Esmerelda is not ready for the Harley just yet, which is parked in the shed just outside the backdoor to my apartment.
Whistling, I lock up and descend the stairs, and instead of going out the back, I head towards the front to see how many clients I have tomorrow morning but pause when I see Bethany pacing the waiting area as Hammer talks rapidly and points to the door.
Yep, fuck that shit.
Wincing when she pulls the middle finger at him and his face turns red and I slowly walk backward refusing to even entertain that shit and head to the backdoor because, again, the woman won’t get the fucking hint.
“I’m sorry okay!” the waitress from the other day snaps as I walk into the bakery ten minutes later.
I raise a brow, seeing Esmerelda glaring at the other woman, her face red, and she snaps, “Sorry? You’re sorry? You started a physical altercation with a heavily pregnant woman after she called you out for trying to hit on her husband in front of her!”
Oh shit….
She points at the counter, and my eyes go to it, and oh holy shit…Glass is scattered everywhere.
“You smashed the counter, Trina, a counter you know my mother bought for this place!” Essy continues…
Huh, Essy… I like it.
The woman, Trina scowls, “She called me a whore!”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t act like one by hitting on a married man with his pregnant wife right there then telling said pregnant woman that you are most likely better in bed when she called you out!” my soon-to-be girl shouts then points at the door, “Leave before you lose your job!”
Trina winces as she eyes the smashed counter and seems to understand her fuck up. She mumbles, “I’m so sorry, Ess,” and grabs her bag before rushing around the smashed counter. She halts when she sees me, her hazel eyes teary, and I raise a brow.
She looks at Essy, then back at me, and clears her throat before continuing her path out the door. She rounds me without a word, which, by the looks of things, is the only decent thing she’s done today.
I hear a sniffle, and I quickly look at Essy. Her face is in her hands, and her shoulders are shaking.
“Shit,” I mutter and rush towards her.
I round the broken counter, glass crunching underneath my boots and gently I cup her jaw, making her look up, and my heart breaks seeing the sadness in her beautiful brown eyes.
“Damian, I’m sorry, I forgot….” She hiccups. “May-maybe we should re–”
Her words cut off as I gently rub my thumb over her bottom lip, doing what I’d had hoped, and without a second thought, I lean down and press my lips against hers, making her gasp as so many little electric shocks vibrate through me.
Like fuck am I letting that woman ruin our date.
The kiss is light, with no tongue, but so fucking perfect as I gently grab her hands with mine and remove them from her face before I pull back. Her eyes race between mine, and I whisper, “I’ll help you clean up, then we’ll head back to mine, dinner is simmering.”
A few of her tears fall, and I quickly kiss them away before kissing her forehead, then I turn to the counter.
The glass is smashed, but with Acid’s help, I should be able to get it replaced. This kind of shit is his domain, it just means either telling him what it is for and making sure he doesn’t speak to the rest of the club or lie through my fucking teeth.
Fuck…
I feel Essy’s eyes on me as I bring the water to boil and grab the pasta. After helping her clean up, which took forty minutes, I sent a text to Acid, deciding to lie through my teeth for now, then, I guided Essy to my truck, helped her inside, and brought her to my apartment, using the backdoor just in case Bethany was still in reception, promising to show her where I work another time.
I did see a few bikes out front, and one looked like Butchers, but Hammer knows to keep them away from my personal space, fuck he packed my room for me back at the club, not that there was a lot there, but it made the brothers realize I meant it when I handed in my cut or so Hammer stated who still doesn’t know why I walked away.
“So you live above a tattoo shop and can cook?” Essy says from leaning against the curved archway leading from the kitchen to the living area, and I chuckle.
“I also tattoo downstairs,” I admit, and she hums.
I look her way to see her eying up the tattoos on my arms, and I smirk, happy I rolled my sleeves up before weighing out the pasta and then placing it in the boiling water.
She’s still in her jeans and a black t-shirt that hugs all her curves that are in the right places nicely, but she has let her hair down, which reaches the middle of her back and fuck me, she looks beautiful.
“Spaghetti and meatballs?” she confirms, and I hum. She chuckles, “Let me guess, my dad?”
I look her way and admit, “Apparently, Lady and the Tramp was your favorite movie?”
I quickly lift the lid on the pot before the water boils over, balance it, and then set the timer.
“And my mom’s,” she whispers, and I look her way, giving her my whole attention.
This is the first time since meeting her that she has brought her mother up.
She smiles a little and says, “That counter at the bakery, Dad said she spent three weeks designing it.”
Sadness surrounds her, and my heart hurts as I realize her mom isn’t in the picture, I mean, I kind of figured I just didn’t want to bring it up.
Essy sighs and walks into the kitchen before leaning against the counter beside me, looking at the food. I turn to ensure the sauce isn’t sticking before she mumbles, “Mom died three years ago while giving birth to Aiden.”
I look at her in shock because fuck me I didn’t expect her to say that, but she doesn’t look at me. She focuses on the food and explains, “I was in the waiting room when Dad walked in looking lost with a baby in his arms.” She looks at me, “My whole focus has been to help my dad with Aiden, and I’m supposed to be taking over her legacy, but I can’t even stop my employee from starting fights and smashing something so precious, something she knew was precious.”
Ah fuck….
I sigh and move into her space, pushing her up against the counter as I cup her cheek. We lock eyes, and I whisper, “I have a friend. He’s currently having a new glass made with the measurements I sent him. It’ll be fitted tomorrow morning before the bakery opens.”
Her eyes water, and I can’t help but react. I lean down and press my lips against hers, but this time, she doesn’t gasp. Instead, she licks the seam of my lips, and I open, tangling my tongue with hers as I wrap my arm around her waist, holding her close as my whole body lights up and everything in me settles.
Yeah, she’s definitely the one.