Chapter Eight
Charley
It’s after eleven when I wake up, which is really late for me. I’m usually at Elegance by now. Rolling over onto my back, I stare up at a ceiling that isn’t covered in mildew and cobwebs, there are no mysterious stains on the walls or curtains that might as well not be there they’re so thin.
The mattress is comfortable and the sheets smell like fresh air, which sounds like the biggest cliché ever but considering I’ve been sleeping on cheap sheets that I was washing and rotating every few days, this is like heaven.
Snuggling in under the duvet just a little longer, I close my eyes and wish this wasn’t just one night.
One day. Soon. I’ll get my own place. I haven’t slept so well in ages. It has a lot to do with not falling asleep praying no one gets into my room and robs me, or worse. Waking up feeling so rested and safe is something that hasn’t happened to me for a very long time.
And the reason for that is a six-foot biker whose smile is as dangerous as his reaction to the men trying to hurt me. I couldn’t hear everything he said, but the men knew who he was and they were scared of him.
It should worry me, but just like with Beast, I’m not afraid of him. He’s said some things that bothered me, and there is the whole getting a blow job in the back room that irked me, which I have no right or reason to be thinking about.
How the hell am I supposed to deal with Nashville? Last night, I was so relieved to hear him outside my room, chasing those men away, I could have kissed him. Which brought all manner of thoughts that rendered me speechless, until he demanded I pack so he could take me away from there.
If I’d had my wits about me, I would have argued more, but at the same time, what he did for me probably saved my life.
Who would have thought he’d whisk me away to this beautiful house? It was not what I was expecting at all.
After a shower, I creep out of the bedroom. I've procrastinated as long as possible, worrying about how I’m going to pay to get my car fixed and where I am going to sleep tonight.
His bedroom door is wide open, and I peer inside, but he’s not there and the bed is made. Short of walking right up to the door, I can’t see much more than the bed. Which means he is up already.
I’m not sure how to face him. I was too stunned to react properly last night. It was only after I had locked the door and was lying in bed that I let my mind think about what could have happened.
That was the first time anyone had tried to get into my room. I’d thought about it happening more than once and I was prepared for it in a way, with two knives hidden under my pillow and in the dresser.
Both of which are still there. They’re easily replaceable, hopefully the next place I go is somewhere I won’t need them.
The house is quiet and for a second, I wonder if Nashville has left already but he is standing in the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee reading something on a laptop he has set up on the counter.
What the hell do I say? This is the first time I’ve seen him in normal clothes, as in a Black Keys T-shirt and dark sweatpants, without the leather vest. I mean, why would he wear that in his own house? You never see him or any of the other bikers who frequent Elegance without them.
“Morning.”
My eyes jump up to his face instead of ogling his chest. I was admiring the T-shirt, nothing more, I love The Black Keys.
“Sleep well?”
“I did, thank you.”
“Coffee? Fresh pot just brewed.”
“Thanks, I can make it.”
I walk to the coffee pot and grab a mug from a metal stand, keeping my back to him. How do I tell him thank you, but I need to leave and not come back, and let’s not talk about what happened last night ever again? That’s not too much to ask.
The burn of his eyes makes me almost overfill the coffee mug. I take a good gulp before I turn around. He’s watching me intently and isn’t even trying to hide it. Holy shit.
“If you’re hungry, I can throw something together.” He exits out of the window on his laptop and closes the lid. “You okay?”
“I’m… fine,” I rub at my brows then lean back against the counter.
“If this is about you staying here, don’t sweat it.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I laugh. “I’m not staying here.”
“If you think you’re going back to that crack house you’re wrong.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I’m not telling you what to do, I’m telling you what is not going happen.”
“What?”
“It’s not happening.”
“Staying here is what is not happening.”
“Fine, we’ll figure something else out but going back there isn’t one of the options. I know what happens in that building and I cannot stand the thought of you being there. You don’t belong in a place like that Charley.”
“It’s…” I clear my throat, feeling stupid. How do I say it’s all I can afford and no matter how shitty it is, no one will ever go looking there for me? Same as at Elegance.
Shame burns through me at everything I’m hiding and the real reason why I want to dance at Elegance.
“There is no harm in asking for help.”
“Who was I supposed to ask?”
“Anybody at Elegance, they all would have helped.”
“I’m not asking for charity, Nashville.”
“Callum.”
“What?”
“My name. It feels weird you calling me Nashville. You’re thinking I don’t look like a Callum?” he raises an amused brow. “Funny story, my dad is Scottish, he came over to the US in his early twenties, met and married my mom and they had four sons.”
“There are four of you?”
“Yep and all our names are Scottish and begin with the letter C. Dad always said if they had a girl mom would get to name her and it didn’t need to be Scottish or begin with a C.”
“And that never happened.”
“Nope, she kept on having boys. Camden, he’s the eldest, then me, then they had Craig and Cameron is the baby.”
“Camden and Cameron.”
“Cam and Ronnie, keeps things easier.”
Wait, how did he divert the conversation so easily? By giving me a small piece of information that led me in a completely different direction. He grins, knowing exactly what he just did.
“I have to be somewhere in about twenty minutes,” he looks at his watch. “You’re going to have to get yourself to work.”
“I’ll call an-”
He slides a set of keys across the counter, there is a BMW logo on them. There was a giant BMW in the garage behind the amazing Mustang that I would love to drive.
“Stop dreaming about the Shelby,” he says with a knowing look. “No one drives my baby but me.”
“Your baby?” I smirk.
“Correct. There is a fob to the garage that will let you in and out inside the car.”
“Nash… er Callum,” I quickly amend when he gives me a look.
“I’m in a hurry so can we argue about this later. I’ll see what I can do about your car and we can figure something out about where you’re going to live but for now, you come here. I mean it Charley. I’m hardly here so you’ll have the place to yourself.”
“You don’t even know me, how do you know you can trust me?”
“I’m an excellent judge of character.” He walks around the island, picks up the keys and puts them in my hand, then leans in closer.
“And I know when someone needs help but is too proud to ask for it. Take this for what it is Charley, a temporary arrangement until you get on your feet. And think about those people back in that crack den.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
“I’ll have to burn the place down, with them all in it, if you even consider going back there.”
“Are you serious?”
“Deadly. You should get to work, there is a key to the house on the ring. I’m not sure when I’ll be back so help yourself to anything. Within reason,” he winks. “Although I got to touch your underwear, so if you want to go rooting around in mine.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter the burn in my face coming back.
“Don’t leave.”
“But I can’t impose.”
“Not imposing. I really have to go. If you pull any stunts, don’t forget, I know where you work.”
I’m still standing there, staring at the empty doorway long after he’s walked out. “What the hell just happened?”
And oh my God, how could he bring up that he had a handful of my underwear last night.
“He’s crazy,” I look down at the keys in my hand.
How am I going to explain to everyone when I show up at Elegance driving this thing? There is no way I can stay here with him but he is right about one thing, I can’t go back to that place, not after those two men tried to get into my room.
They might have been afraid of Nashville, but he won’t always be around to protect me. I’ll just have to do what I was planning, find a cheap motel. I can do that but right now, I need to get to work.
Sleeping so late means I’m behind schedule, and there is no time to fit in any dance practice. I can worry about everything else later.
Lily is the only person I’m getting closer to at Elegance but telling her about last night isn’t happening. I hate the thought of her finding out I’ve been lying. The only thing I can do is keep it to myself. Along with the fact I’m staying at one of the Blackhawk Disciples houses.
Beast isn’t around the whole night, none of the Disciples are and I can’t help but be disappointed that Callum didn’t show.
It’s weird to think of him as Callum. It’s easier than calling him Nashville and I kind of like the idea of knowing his real identity, which in turn makes it easier to go back to his house, in his car.
This isn’t something I can get used to. I’ve had the big house, the fancy cars, my life isn’t like that anymore, I’ll find somewhere else and tell him I’m going, tomorrow, because he isn’t here.
I’m oddly disappointed, it’s not like he didn’t tell me he wouldn’t be around much. It never entered my head that he meant it literally.
Three days pass of me coming and going and hardly any sign of him ever having been here, except for a cup in the drainer or a fresh batch of laundry being done, including my clothes, which I’m not overly thrilled about but it’s nice having fresh clothes to wear.