Chapter 8
brOOKE
When I walked into work this morning, I couldn’t look anyone in the eyes, especially Bear.
I am slightly embarrassed about how I acted.
My face has been red from blushing so much, thinking about all my brain is replaying is the kissing and grinding against Bear last night. I didn’t get much sleep either.
“Your face is flushed again,” Gears teases, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I put my hands up to my face, attempting to hide.
“What happened between you and Bear? I know for a fact he came back to the club without you, and with a boner,” Gears taunts.
Humiliated, I shake my head. I don’t want to have this conversation with Gears.
“If it makes you feel any better, I was the only one who saw him. Everyone else was chilling by the bar.” Gears grins.
I am mortified that he even saw Bear in that state. The state that I put Bear in. It was all my doing.
“I’ll stop asking,” he says.
Looking at Gears, I nod, appreciating that he is reading the room. I wasn’t going to answer any of the questions he asked anyway.
“I do want to say, though, that I am happy you said yes. I’ve never seen Bear interested in any girl before, but I’ve already told you that,” he says, leaning against the car I am working on.
I grab the piece of paper and pen that I keep close to me in case of emergencies.
No girls at all?
“Yeah, that’s right. Ever since he came back from the Army and joined the MC, he hasn’t looked at or touched a girl. You are the first one he has taken an interest in,” he tells me.
I stare at Gears in shock. I would think that any girl who looks at Bear would want to get into his pants. He is incredibly good-looking, and his voice is so deep but smooth. I am surprised that he hasn’t had any of the girls in town. Some of them are really pretty.
Gears walks back over to the motorcycle he is working on. I am just doing a state inspection for this car, so it shouldn’t take me long to finish it.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Pres wants to talk to you in his office,” Gears says.
I look over at Gears and point down. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong.
“Yeah, now. He said to tell you to meet him after lunch. Just say I held you up. Also, here are our phone numbers,” Gears says.
I nod and grab the rag sitting on the car. I take the piece of paper from Gears and put it into my pocket. Wiping my hands, I walk toward the President’s office. I mess around with the rag, trying to keep my cool and not show my nerves. I haven’t been to his office since I asked for a day off.
I knock on the door and hear him invite me in. After walking in, I stand in the middle of the room.
“You can sit down,” Pres says.
I point toward my oil stains on my clothes and shake my head.
“Don’t worry about it. Just sit down, please,” he says.
With a sigh, I sit on the edge of the chair. He never said I had to sit fully on the chair. I look at Pres and find amusement in his eyes.
“I just wanted to check in with you. How are the jobs going? Anyone giving you trouble?” he asks, and hands me a piece of paper and a pen.
Jobs are good, and no one is giving me problems. Thank you for paying for the work phone.
I am grateful, and don’t take it lightly. I’ve learned to work hard for things, and sometimes it’s a blessing when other people take care of it, even if you don’t want them to.
“The phone?” he asks.
Yeah, Bear and I went out yesterday to get a phone, and he said that you buy phones for your workers that aren’t in the MC.
“I, uh, don’t. He must have spent his money or something. I didn’t get a charge to the credit card.”
I stare at Pres in shock. How dare Bear lie to me about this?
Where is Bear?
“Now, I bet Bear has a great explanation for this. I’ll—”
I cut Pres off and point to the question again. I don’t want him to go talk to him. I want to talk to Bear about this myself.
“I’ll tell you if you stay calm,” he says, and I nod. “He is outside talking to some of the guys.”
I storm out of the room. As I march toward him, I pull my phone out of my pocket and furiously type.
How dare you lie to me! Pres doesn’t buy phones for his employees that aren’t in the MC.
Bear is on his bike, talking to a couple of other bikers. When he sees me approaching, a smile takes over his face, which quickly becomes confused when he realizes I’m angry. I shove my phone in his face and wait for him to read it all. Right now, I wish I could talk so I could yell at him.
“Brooke, I can explain,” he says, handing my phone back to me.
I place my hand on my hip and wait for him to start explaining. He stares at me, so I motion my hand for him to hurry up.
“How about we go somewhere more private?” he offers, getting off his bike.
All I want is an explanation of why he did that. Bear turns to the bikers he was talking to. “I’ll talk to you guys later. I need to discuss something with Brooke,” he tells them.
The men nod and start chatting to each other. Bear places his hand on my lower back. I quickly step out of his touch and swat him away. I don’t want to be touched right now. I am mad at him.
He walks us to the side of the clubhouse and looks at me. I wait for him to say something, but he just continues to stare at me.
Explain.
“I know that you are saving up for an apartment. I wanted to be nice, and so I bought the phone for you and came up with that excuse. I didn’t think you would find out, and I was going to eventually tell you,” he says.
You should have told me! I’m not a charity case!
My breathing picks up the angrier I get. I do not need anyone’s help, and I certainly do not need their pity.
“I know you aren’t, and I didn’t mean to treat you like one. I was just trying to be nice. I’m sorry, and I should have told you,” he apologizes again.
I stare at him, and he runs his hands over his face.
How much did it cost?
“Why?” he asks.
So I can pay you back!
“You aren’t paying me back. I did this to be nice, so you can save up for a place to rent. I know you don’t like living at the motel.”
How much was it?
“I’m not going to tell you.”
I slap him on the chest and show him the question again, furious. He stares at me in shock.
“Don’t ever slap me again. I was just trying to be nice to you, and you are throwing it back in my face,” he growls.
I never asked you to be nice to me!
Bear stares at me. Growing impatient, I start typing again. Bear’s hands cup my face and force me to look at him.
“Just stop. I bought it, and there is no returning it. I already told Hacker not to take it back in case you found out before I could tell you,” he says softly.
Hacker was in on this too?!
I start to pace and take in deep breaths. How many people are in on this?
Does Gears know?
“Yes. He asked me what we did yesterday, and I can’t lie to my brother,” he says.
Angry, I stare at Bear. I bet he told everyone about this besides Pres. How could he tell everyone and not me? I start to pace and take deep breaths in, trying to calm the rage burning inside.
Bear grabs my face in his hands and slams his lips to mine, catching me off guard.