Chapter Three
Sneaking across the clubhouse, Cathy tried not to make a sound as she didn’t want to wake anyone. The clubhouse was filled with passed-out bodies. It had clearly been a good party last night.
Her body ached for different reasons. She didn’t even have a headache from the few shots she’d had last night.
She got to the front door, and it creaked as she opened it. For a second, she felt like she was in some kind of horror movie, that if she were to turn around, there would be a room of zombies or vampires. No one had woken up, so she quickly pulled the door open and left the clubhouse, which took her straight into the main bar. Cathy had forgotten that the clubhouse and bar were connected through a door.
Pursing her lips, she stepped into the main bar, expecting to find more bikers and women, only to find Willow Storm with her child on her lap. The moment Cathy closed the door, Willow looked up.
“Hey, Cathy,” Willow said.
“Hi, uh, Willow,” she said. “I have no idea what else to say right now.”
“It’s fine. I’m guessing you’re the brunette Connor told me went to the clubhouse with Brick.”
“That I am,” Cathy said. “Uh, I’m kind of doing the walk of shame right now. I’ve got to get home.”
“What do you want me to tell Brick?” Willow asked.
“I have no idea. I don’t know how this works.” She pressed her lips together. “Trust me, I don’t do this, like, at all.”
Willow laughed. “I know you don’t.”
She and Willow were not the greatest of friends, but they were not enemies either. There were a few years between the two of them.
“I better go.”
“You know, Brick is a good guy,” Willow said.
Cathy stopped. “I know. He’s been really nice to me. Listened to my troubles last night, which is so strange. I never expected a guy would want to listen.”
“If … Brick wants to find you, is it okay for me to give him your address?” Willow asked.
Cathy nibbled her lip and thought about it. At first, she figured it wouldn’t even matter. She had seen enough television and movies about one-night stands to last her a lifetime. She doubted Brick would want to see her in the cold light of day.
“Sure,” she said, knowing she wasn’t going to hold her breath for him to come calling. “It’s great to see you, Willow. Congratulations on your marriage and your baby.”
“Thanks, I never thought it was going to be something I wanted, but you never know what the future holds. By the way, I always thought your sister was a bitch, and now I know for certain she is.”
Willow held up the paper, but Cathy didn’t need to see i t— the announcement of Tiffany and Eric’s upcoming wedding was inside. Her sister wanted to have the wedding on Valentine’s Day, as she thought it would be romantic, which meant it would always be about her.
Cathy laughed. “I’m sure if you ask my sister, I’m the bitch.”
Willow laughed. “Sure you are. By the way, loved your lipstick recommendation the other day. It was awesome.”
Cathy spun toward the other woman. “You watch my vlogs?”
“I don’t wear a whole lot of products, but for some reason, I always found yours entertaining, and you keep it real.”
The last twenty-four hours had been filled with surprises.
“Just one last question before you leave,” Willow said. “Are you sober enough to drive?”
“I wouldn’t get behind the wheel of my car unless I was.”
“Just a heads up, sometimes the cops like to pull over a few of the customers around this time of year. Keeping the roads safe and all.”
“Thanks,” Cathy said.
And she left, stepping into the freezing cold, wondering why she had opted to wear a dress in the middle of December. It also didn’t help that she wasn’t wearing any panties.
Climbing behind the wheel of her car, she turned over the ignition, hearing her car purr to life. It didn’t take long to get her car heated and defrosted, then she was on the road, heading into town and driving down the small, quiet suburban street that would take her back to her own place.
She lived right in the corner of one of the quietest streets. Cathy loved her home. Four bedrooms with a garage she had converted to a film studio. She never liked to put her car into a garage anyway.
Most of the street residents had put their Christmas decorations up after Thanksgiving. She had spent a good, long weekend getting her house into the spirit of Christmas. She also loved doing the same for Halloween. One of the highlights of the year for her was handing out candy to the kids. Each year, she changed her costume to keep them guessing.
One day, she hoped to have a family of her own, but until then, she was the single lady at the bottom of the street. She was sure some of the wives looked at her with pity.
Stepping into her home, she closed the door and leaned against it. Last night had been so surreal to her.
Closing her eyes, it was like she could still feel his hands on her body, touching her, exploring her. No one had ever touched her like Brick had. It was like he knew her body better than even she knew her own body.
She wanted him again, but that was not going to happen. Not unless he wanted to. Cathy was not going to be a stalker, the woman he couldn’t shake the following day.
Stepping away from the door, the best she could do was forget about last night and focus on work. Work was safe … comforting. Work didn’t reject her.
****
Brick never chased after a woman. He never had to worry about a woman sticking around. He was used to them holding onto his every word. He had to be the one to push her away in the morning. This morning, after enjoying a night of amazing sex, the woman of his dreams was nowhere to be found. At first, he doubted if he even lived it, but the scent of Cathy was still heavy in the room, and he wasn’t going to forget that anytime soon.
Then, on the way down to the main clubhouse, Rebel held his daughter while Willow was serving up breakfast. He didn’t know who to ask first, but seeing as Willow kept glancing toward him, he figured she knew something.
Cathy had snuck out. That wasn’t exactly news to him. Waking up alone with just the scent of her told him she’d snuck out. She’d also said Willow could tell him where she lived, in case he wanted to find her.
He didn’t understand why she didn’t wake him up. They could have enjoyed round four, or was it five? He lost count of the number of orgasms he had last night.
Now, as he pulled into her very nice neighborhood, he drove down to the bottom corner, and he knew it was her house. There were a few lights and some decorations, and her house was nice. It was a house designed for a family.
Parking next to what he assumed was her car, he turned off the ignition and made his way toward her front door. He was pretty sure there were several neighbors twitching their curtains right about now. He didn’t give a fuck what they thought. Let them think whatever shit they wanted to. The only person he was interested in was Cathy.
And she opened the door seconds later. “Brick,” she said.
One half of her face was covered in makeup. She looked strange, but then he’d seen a lot of even stranger shit, so it didn’t bother him.
“You snuck out,” he said.
“And you came here.” There was a smile on her lips.
“You want to tell me what is going on?” he asked, pointing at her face.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I thought you were the delivery guy. I had a notification that I’ve got a package coming.” She stepped out of the way and allowed him to enter. “It’s not weird or anything. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Brick frowned but followed her through to what he assumed would be her garage, only it was like he’d stepped inside a beauty supply store or a salon, or both. He’d been to places with cameras set up, but most of the time, porn was being filmed. Not this woman. She had a desk, a couple of ring lights, and there was an assortment of products on her.
“I was filming a video for my vlog. I do beauty.” She stepped up to the table, and he watched as she took a bottle, spritzed some on a cloth, and then wiped her face, removing the makeup.
Cathy turned toward him with a smile.
“Willow told you where I lived?” Cathy asked.
“I didn’t follow you. As soon as I realized you had left, I went looking. Why did you sneak out?” he asked.
“I, uh, I’ve never done the morning-after thing. I’m not exactly sure what the protocol is. I didn’t want to worry you and make you think I was some clingy woman.”
The irony was that Brick wanted her to cling. He wanted her to stick with him, to hang onto him. And yet, the first woman he wanted that from was happy to give him space, to not seem too desperate. Did Cathy even realize she was the perfect woman?
“Do you enjoy doing this?” he asked, taking an interest in what she did.
Cathy frowned and then nodded. “Yeah, I do. I mean, it’s a lot of fun and I do enjoy it.” She pressed her lips together. “I started doing this in high school.” She walked toward the far side of the room and pointed at a shelf full of notebooks. “I earned pocket money, and I’d buy the latest item, practice with it, and review it. It took me until I was eighteen to set up my channel and have the guts to start filming. I’m not going to lie, my first video is very cringey and I was so nervous. I also think I was out of breath, but I got through it, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I also write for a few beauty websites and magazines.” She shrugged. “This is what I do.”
“I didn’t want you to leave,” he said.
“No?”
He shook his head. “Trust me, this is new for me. I’m usually a fuck-and-leave-them kind of guy. I’ve spent a great deal of time on the road, but I don’t know, there’s something different about you.”
“You don’t know me.”
“True, but there’s nothing to stop us from getting to know each other,” he said. “What have you got planned for this Christmas?”
“In two weeks?”
“Over the next two weeks and leading into New Year?” he asked. Brick didn’t have a fucking clue what he was doing, but he knew he didn’t want to spend it away from Cathy. He liked her, even if she liked to paint half her face with makeup for a video.
“I’ve actually got no plans,” she said.
“How about you and I hang out? We enjoy each other. I show you what it’s like to be with a real man, and you show me what it’s like to be with a real woman.”
“I’m sure you’ve been with a lot of real women,” she said.
“I’ve been with groupies and women after a good time. You show me what it’s like to be with a woman who wants something more than a good time?” He walked toward her. “Do we have a deal?”