8. What Happened?
What Happened?
Fly
Out of the millions of possibilities of random things that could have happened today, that wasn’t even on the list.
What just happened?
More importantly, why did I let her walk away?
My hand still tingles from when I held her close to me. And my lips can still feel hers even though she’s almost completely out of sight.
What was I thinking, walking up to that woman and kissing her…letting her kiss me?
Never in my life would I have thought it would be that sexy to have a woman kiss me first. I need to convince her to do that again soon. Right after she tells me her name.
This definitely wasn’t the end, like she seemed to think.
I close my eyes and see the stunned expression on her face when I released her from the kiss. The blend of shock, awe, and passion made a perfect kiss into something else.
Something I want…no, something I need to explore further.
If I were a betting man, which I’m not, I prefer to trust skill rather than put blind faith in the impossible, I would gamble every cent I had on that being her first kiss.
But the woman I just met wasn’t a shy little wallflower, and she certainly wasn’t dressed like a nun. That little wrap dress of hers showed enough curves to make a man drool.
Not that I would ever do that…
This definitely isn’t over.
***
The control center in the middle of the labyrinth’s basement is always a hub of activity inside the clubhouse. Sometimes more so than any other place.
Today it’s packed as I walk inside.
What’s Leech doing in here? The doctor never bothers to come down here.
His eyes are glued to one of the screens, just like the other guys. Something happened.
The pit of my stomach clenches. “What’s going on?”
No one turns to answer except Bishop. “We’re looking to see if anyone else got kissed.”
WHAT?
No, that’s so not cool. Yeah, I know there are cameras almost everywhere on-site except for the bathrooms and private rooms, but I didn’t think about that when we were kissing.
“So far it’s been Bram and Bear.”
What? That means they haven’t found mine. “What’s going on?” Playing dumb seems like a good idea so that they don’t hunt me down and find it.
“Rogue’s woman brought her friends here today…the crazy ones—” Bishop grins. “It seems they made a pact to kiss all the bikers. So we’re searching to find who the crazy one kissed.”
Crazy one? “Winnie?”
“Yeah, that’s her. She scares everyone.”
“But everyone wants to be the one she kissed, too.” Except for me. I wouldn’t trade my kiss for a million from any other woman.
“Exactly.”
“There. I think we found it. She’s walking up to Integer. No way is a woman like that going to kiss the nerdiest one of us.” Leech is one to speak. Being a biker and a doctor doesn’t exactly correlate to being cool.
Winnie leans in and whispers something into Integer’s ear for a long moment. He blushes, then nods. Winnie leans in and lays one on him.
The room fills with wolf whistles and cheers.
That was the fakest kiss I’ve ever seen in my life. She made it look passionate, and he was totally into it…but Winnie wasn’t. Not even a little bit.
A woman’s eyes change when they lose themselves in a kiss. They soften.
Stop thinking about kissing the mystery woman again. There’s time enough for that later.
Why would Winnie pretend to enjoy kissing a man when she didn’t?
Why would any woman?
We all tell so many lies in a day without even thinking about it. Most are small. Just enough to keep up social expectations. This goes way past that.
I don’t like puzzles. At least not ones I have no plans on solving, and Winnie’s fake kiss is definitely a problem for another man.
Now why my mystery woman wouldn’t tell me her name is a problem I need to solve. Soon. Preferably after or while kissing her.
Vandal’s voice pops into my ear. That boy better fix his situation before I need to step in.
***
It’s a short ride from the compound to my house.
Most of the guys own houses right outside of the compound.
They’re all on about twenty acres, but close enough that if one brother needs help, we could be there in a few minutes…
faster if we ignore the speed limit, which has been known to happen on occasion.
My house is exactly what I worked with the designer to create. A sleek, modern space filled with natural elements and practically wall-to-wall glass windows. From the outside, the windows reflect the surrounding trees, making it practically invisible. That’s what I wanted.
Or I thought I wanted until I moved into the space.
It’s huge. Past huge into massive.
A complete waste for just me.
My bike slides right into place next to the others in the eight-car garage.
Not a sound greets me as I enter the kitchen.
Why did I bother coming home to eat? There’s always something at the club that’s hot and tasty. And there is always someone to talk to. I drop my cut on the back of the couch and settle in to watch the television.
Would the mystery woman like this place? Or would it feel too sterile, too cold for her?
What do I know about her just from those few moments?
She’s neither tall nor short but looks taller than she is because she’s thin…edging towards a little too thin, but she still has curves.
The way she looked at that granola bar on the ground…I knew that look. I’ve lived that desperation.
Stop. Just because you thought you saw something doesn’t mean it’s true. That could be me transferring my insecurity issues onto someone else.
Like I didn’t already funnel some of it into this place.
She could have just been having fun with her friends and decided to kiss a random stranger.
It didn’t feel like that.
That kiss…felt real…felt more meaningful than my last relationship.
I lean back against the couch and picture her smile…
“You ready to eat?” Vandal’s voice pops up into my ear.
That sure doesn’t sound like him getting smart. I’m going to have to have a discussion with that boy.