Chapter 2 #2
I shouldn’t even be considering this. Still, the thought lingers, wrapping around me with a dangerous kind of comfort.
What if this is exactly what I need? A fresh start.
A chance to focus on myself for once instead of waiting around for a man who can’t decide if he wants me or not.
I’m tired of feeling like an afterthought.
Tired of telling myself that the next time Aero pulls me close, he’ll finally let me stay.
Maybe walking away is the only way to save myself from the heartache. Maybe this is how I finally move on.
“I’ll think about it.” I tuck the card into the strap of my dress, meeting his gaze once more.
He studies me for a second, like he’s trying to figure me out, then nods. “Do that.”
With one last glance, he steps back, disappearing into the crowd as easily as he’d appeared. Dog lets out a low growl, his body shifting closer, as if he senses the shift in me.
“Yeah, boy,” I drop my fingers to his head, smoothing them over his fur. “I know.”
My hands clench around the bottle as my eyes instinctively find Aero again across the crowded room.
I take a sip of my beer, hating the way my stomach tightens.
I hate the way I feel right now. Like I’m standing on the outside of something I’ve been trying to break into for months. Like I’m not enough.
I shake my head, forcing a smile as Zoey bumps my shoulder.
“You okay?” she asks quietly.
I turn my gaze away from Aero, fighting the sour taste in my mouth, and catch the concern in Zoey’s eyes. I force a smile. “I’m fine.”
It’s a lie, I’m not fine. There’s an ache in the pit of my stomach I can’t get rid of from the frustration of wanting someone so badly, knowing he’s just out of reach. I want his attention, but it’s like he’s deliberately avoiding me tonight and I hate that I care so much.
The crowd shifts, and I catch a glimpse of Marianna out of the corner of my eye.
She’s standing with Grizzly talking. I can’t help but watch them for a moment, noticing the chemistry that neither of them will admit, not with her uncle being a member of the club and Grizzly being…
well, Grizzly. But it’s there, that little spark, flickering between them.
I can’t help but wonder if they’ll ever let themselves give in to whatever this thing is between them.
I hate to admit it but it almost helps to know I’m not the only one being denied something I want.
From behind me Emery appears, her lips spread into a wide smile and her eyes dancing with excitement. “You’re never going to guess what just happened.”
Cocking my grin, I raise an eye, “By the smile on your face, I’m not sure we want the sexy details.”
Emery laughs and smacks me on the arm playfully, “Not that. Aero agreed to help me get the shelter up and running and introduced me to Quinn from the Royal Harlots. She’s willing to help me too. We might actually be able to pull this off.”
“That’s great,” Zoey squeals, “I’m happy for you.”
The mere mention of Aero’s name makes my heart flutter but I don’t give into my desire to glance over my shoulder to see him. “It is Em, if anyone can pull this off it’s you. I know how much it means to you.”
That’s the thing about Aero. He can be cold, distant, and downright impossible to read.
Sometimes an outright asshole, but when it comes to his club and the people who matter, he shows up.
Always. He puts their needs above his own every damn time.
Maybe that’s the problem, because there’s never anything left for himself.
The music shifts, a familiar beat pounding through the speakers, and Zoey and Emery let out matching squeals of excitement.
“I love this song!” they shout in unison.
I laugh as Emery grabs my hands, twirling me until the room blurs around us.
The bass vibrates in my chest. Zoey jumps in, her smile wide, her feet moving quick as we spin into a wild circle of laughter and energy.
Midge and Marianna follow, their laughter loud enough to rise above the music.
For a moment, I let it all in. The joy, the chaos, the warmth of having them by my side.
I shove my feelings for Aero into the background where they belong, at least for now.
Maybe tonight, I let the weight of past mistakes and bad choices drown under the next drink, the next laugh, the next song.
Even with my back turned, I feel the weight of his stare, heavy and heated, rolling off him like a storm from across the room. If I turned now, I know exactly what I’d see, dark, brooding eyes that have been my undoing too many times to count. But I don’t look. I can’t.
I laugh louder with Zoey, spinning again, pretending I don’t feel the space Aero has put between us and I hate how badly I want him to close it.
The longer I push it down, the harder it fights to surface.
The longing, the frustration, the desperate part of me that wants him to see me the way I see him.
I’m not just another warm body in his bed.
I’m not a fleeting thought. I want to be the one he turns to, the one he needs.
And even though I try not to look, I do.
My gaze is drawn to him like a magnet, locking on to the hard set of his jaw, the way his leather vest hugs his broad shoulders, the tension rippling through his muscles.
He stands with his arms crossed, cold and distant, but his eyes…
God, his eyes. They burn with the kind of intensity that makes me feel like I’m everything only to turn cold and leave me feeling like nothing.
I want him. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
I tip my head back, taking another slow sip of my drink, trying to swallow down the doubt clawing at my chest. If Aero wants me, really wants me, then he needs to say it. He needs to show it. And if he won’t then maybe it’s time I stopped waiting.