Chapter 14
Quinn
As my salad was placed on the countertop, I grabbed a plastic fork and headed to the table where Cameron and Amree were sitting. Setting the tray on the table, I looked at my phone and sighed. Keith still hadn’t texted me. I don’t know why I was so upset over it. Things were never going to be serious between the two of us. How could it be? I banged two of his friends while he was in the same building. Why would any man want to be in a relationship with a woman like that? Furthermore, why would I want to be in a relationship with a man like him? He was rough and sexy, terrifying and sexy, dangerous and sexy…
“Earth to Quinn,” shouted Amree as she snapped her fingers. Jolting out of my trance, I set my phone down and poured French dressing onto my salad. “Waiting on your boyfriend to call?” she asked with a grin.
I could feel my cheeks flush. “He’s not my boyfriend.” Clearing my throat, I admitted, “He’s a friend with benefits; that’s all.”
Her grin grew even more expansive. “But you are waiting for him to call.”
I shrugged, stirring my salad. “It really doesn’t matter. I don’t have time to mess with him right now anyway.” I took a bite of my food and sighed. That hit the spot. “My boss is pushing for me to send him a new article.”
“So, write one up about this cop killer,” blurted Cameron.
“I can’t. Someone else is covering it, even though that someone doesn’t live in the same state. I tried to explain that I would be the better candidate to write a story about the topic, but he dismissed me. He said I need to write some sort of spooky story for Halloween. The problem is, I do this every Halloween, and I’m running out of crap to write about. And before you ask, I’ve already done articles on both prisons.”
Cameron popped a French fry into his mouth. “So, make something up.”
“Yeah, just pick a place and make it spooky,” added Amree.
“Like where?”
Her eyes grew wide with excitement. “The Imagination Kingdom! That place has been abandoned for years. You can make up some kind of creepy urban legend about it.”
Taking another bite, I contemplated her words, that wasn’t a bad idea. If there was no groundskeeper, it would be overgrown, giving it a creepy feel, and if it were spooky enough, I wouldn’t even have to make up a story. I could just do a piece on the abandoned park itself. People have done it before, and with enough pictures, it should be effective clickbait. I was about to Google the park when Amree slapped me on the shoulder. I scowled at her, and she pointed behind me. Slowly, I turned around, and my face instantly got hot. Walking through the door were none other than Keith, Taven, and Zane.
“Hey there, Sweet Pea,” Keith chirped as he gripped my face with both hands and drew me into one of the hottest kisses I had ever experienced. Normally, I would reject such a show of public affection. But the way he took it made me return the kiss forcibly as if there were no other people in the building with us.
“This is a public place!” The reminder made me pull away.
Keith glared at Cameron but kept the cocky grin on his lips. “This your boyfriend?”
“We’re just friends.”
Keith’s grin turned devious as he looked at me. “So, he’s jealous.”
“He’s gay,” I squeaked.
“Oh, so he’s jealous of you.”
Cameron crossed his arms. “I’m not jealous of anything. I just don’t appreciate you manhandling my friend like that.”
This time, Keith laughed, “That wasn’t manhandling…” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. Before I could get a grip on what was going on, he effortlessly tossed me over his shoulder, smacking my ass for good measure. “This is manhandling.”
I was so shocked that all I could do was dangle over his strong arm, looking mortified. Zane pinched my chin with his finger and smiled flirtatiously at me. “Hello, Sugar. Did you miss us?”
“Keith McKnight, you put that young lady down this instant! Don’t make me kick you boys out of here. You will act like civilized human beings while in my establishment!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Keith let me slide down to the floor.
As I frantically fidgeted with my shirt, I saw the person who shouted. She was a heavy-set black woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties.
Her intense eyes were on Taven. “I know you all think you’re some badass bikers, but neither one of y’all are too good for the switch.”
Taven averted his eyes, as did the other two. “Sorry, Auntie.”
The woman smiled. “That’s my boys. Now give Auntie some sugar.” The woman puckered her lips and leaned into the group of men. To my happy surprise, each of them placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Now come on, get you some grub. I know you all eat like you’ve never seen food before. Come on now.”
“I’ll be right there,” called Keith as he turned his attention back to me. “I thought we were going to hang out today.”
Crossing my arms, I shrugged. “You said you would call me. You never confirmed that we were going to hang out.”
Slapping on that famous, sexy grin, he rubbed his finger under my chin. “You’re right. My bad. Now that you bring it up, today isn’t really a good day anyway. Something came up. But I do want to see you tomorrow. How about I pick you up around nine, and we can go to the Dusty Bottom? They have a local band playing that’s pretty good.”
I grinned. “All right. It’s a date. I have work stuff I have to do tonight anyway.”
He winked. “Alright, well, I’m going to go get some food before Taven’s aunt busts my ass. She wasn’t lying when she said she would get us with the switch.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He kissed my lips sweetly, and I stared after him for a long second before taking a seat. My friends were staring at me intensely. “What?”
“What do you mean ‘what?’” whispered Amree.
Before we could finish our conversation, my attention switched to the trio walking toward us, food in hand. Halfway to our table, two men crossed their path and pushed their trays, causing food to spill everywhere. I jumped to my feet.
“Watch your back, McKnight,” taunted one of the men.
The other man glared at Zane. “Freak.”
He only chuckled, trying to brush pieces of lettuce off his shirt. “That’s funny. That’s exactly what your mom said while I was fucking her in the ass.”
The man rushed up to Zane, getting so close his face was only inches away. “What did you say, you pasty fuck?”
Taven pushed between the two. “There are about ten phones out right now recording your dumbasses. You sure you want to play like this?”
The two men looked around. Sure enough, several people had their phones out, ready to record a fight. Huffing, they stormed off to the other side of the room.
My biker boys scowled, wiping off their shirts. Keith’s was splattered with ketchup and mustard, and Zane’s was covered in lettuce and tartar sauce.
With a heavy sigh, Keith looked up at me. “We’d better get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”