Chapter Thirteen
Ice
F OR THE LAST two weeks I haven’t been able to get Keaton out of my head.
It’s a toss-up about who’s on my mind more right now—Ruby or Keaton.
Both of them are driving me crazy because it doesn’t matter what I’m doing.
My dreams have morphed into ones of Keaton and wanting to spend as much time with her as possible.
The fact that she has a child doesn’t bother me at all.
I want to get to know everything about her and it’s taken everything in me not to look her up when I’m at the clubhouse.
That would be an invasion of her privacy and if anything happens between the two of us, I don’t want to start off knowing information she doesn’t personally give me.
So, I’ve stayed away from my computer unless Judge needs me to do something for the club.
Then, I make sure Lock is with me so I don’t do anything stupid.
He doesn’t know my reasons, but he can tell something is going on with me.
I’ll tell him eventually, but it won’t be anytime soon.
I’ve also been checking in with Judge, Tristan, or Zach every day to find out what’s going on with her car.
It took them a few days before they could even get it in a bay, which they told her the day she died on the side of the road.
Then, they couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on with the car.
At first everything appeared to be working properly.
It wasn’t until yesterday that Tristan finally figured out her fuel pump wasn’t working.
It wasn’t completely broken yet, but it was damn close.
So, it was preventing the engine from getting the proper amount of fuel so it would stay running.
Then they had to wait for the part to come in.
Now, it’s arrived and Tristan has gotten it repaired.
He just called to tell me Keaton will be in at some point today to pick her car up and that she has a ride there or something.
The second I heard Keaton would be at Whittaker’s today, I became filled with a nervous energy.
That kind you get when you want to do something but aren’t sure if you should or not.
I want to go to Whittaker’s so I can see Keaton, but I don’t really have a valid reason to randomly show up there.
It’s not like I’ve never worked at Whittaker’s.
We all have over the years when they’ve been backed up and needed help.
Or when one of the guys has had to take time off for whatever reason, one of us will step up and work there on top of our other job.
After pacing my room for a while, I finally grab my keys from my pocket and head for the door.
Ruby might not want anything to do with me since she still hasn’t responded to my message, but I can see if Keaton does.
I’m not choosing one over the other since I already knew in my heart that nothing would happen between Ruby and me.
After locking my door, I make my way through the clubhouse to find Lock sitting in the common room. He looks up at me and can see the determination on my face.
“Where you headin’?” he asks, standing from his seat and following me to the door.
“Whittaker’s. Keaton is gonna be pickin’ her car up today,” I tell him without thought.
“Okay. Who’s Keaton?” he questions me as we walk to our bikes and I pause long enough to put on my bandana and helmet.
“Remember the girl I mentioned who’s car died on the side of the road a few weeks ago?
” I ask him, pausing until he nods his head in response.
“She just felt really familiar to me. Like I’d met her recently and I can’t stop thinkin’ about her.
It’s almost worse than thinkin’ about Ruby.
With Ruby, I know there’s no future for us.
I’m not sure I can say the same about Keaton, but I want to know.
She went to school with us. Her best friend was Nora. ”
Lock thinks for a second before I see it click in his mind.
“Nora Thomas? That was one of the best girls I ever met. She loved to party but was responsible about it and always gave help to anyone who needed it. I heard she was with some douche canoe and had a baby now. Not sure what happened to her,” Lock says as I nod my head and prepare to drop the bomb Keaton dropped on me.
“She was killed a few weeks ago. That douche bag shot her and they couldn’t save her. Keaton has custody of Nora’s son now.”
“Fuck! I can’t even imagine what that poor girl is goin’ through.
I remember Nora always hangin’ out with a girl before the start of high school.
Then her friend just disappeared. We all thought she moved away.
Nora wouldn’t tell us anythin’ other than that they were still close and talked all the time,” Lock informs me as I look over at him while straddling my bike and preparing to start the engine.
“Let’s go see what’s goin’ on with Keaton. You gonna talk to her?”
“Yeah. I think I wanna ask her out,” I tell him just before I start my bike and rev the engine a few times as Lock does the same thing.
We ride through town once we’re through the gate and I enjoy the sun beating down on me along with the wind whipping around me.
Today is going to be a good day. At least I hope it will as my heart starts to race the closer we get to Whittaker’s.
My breathing is picking up with each passing mile and I try to get myself under control because the last thing I need is to lose my shit while I’m on my bike.
It’s the perfect recipe for a disaster to happen.
Plus, I’m not usually nervous like this.
It feels as if I’m a damn kid trying to work up the courage to ask a girl out or do something I’ve never tried before.
I have no problem talking to women when I go out or getting them to hook up.
With Keaton, it feels as if her response will either make or break me.
I want her to say yes to a date with me and I don’t care what that looks like, but I’m scared that she’ll actually say yes and then I’ll manage to bomb the date somehow.
Again, thoughts I’ve never had before and I don’t know why I feel like this.
On the other hand, if she says no, then I’m really not out of anything because there wasn’t anything between the two of us to begin with.
That thought makes my heart break a little bit as I remember the look on her face when she sat in her car crying and looking as if she was completely broken.
I wanted to heal her and put all the pieces back together again in a way that made her smile.
Part of me has a feeling Keaton’s smile is the most beautiful sight in the world and something I want to see.
Lock and I pull into the garage’s parking lot and park where the customers do.
After shutting off our bikes, we climb off and make our way inside.
I clock Keaton’s car where it sits a few spots down from my bike.
It looks like they washed it and that’s not something typically done for customers.
They fix the vehicle and wait for the customer to pick it up.
There are no extra things done or any of that shit.
For some reason, they’ve done that for Keaton and I’m not sure why.
If one of the guys here likes her, I might lose my shit.
Walking in, I spot Judge talking with Tristan at the front counter as they both look up.
“What the fuck are you two doin’ here?” Judge asks us, not going back to his conversation with Tristan as the Prospect watches us.
“Heard Keaton was gonna be in to pick her car up today and I wanted to make sure she was okay after the last time I saw her,” I state, not telling a lie but not saying the complete truth either.
“You want to see her because you can’t stop thinkin’ about her,” Judge states with a smirk on his face.
“We all saw the way you were lookin’ at her that day.
You’re half in love with her already and just met her.
Also saw you look at Ruby the same way. So, which one is it, Ice? You can’t have them both.”
“Nothin’ will ever happen with Ruby. She’s famous as hell and livin’ her life.
I messaged her a few weeks ago and never heard back.
She’ll just be one of my celebrity crushes or somethin’ like that, I guess.
Keaton is real and here in Briar Glen,” I tell him as I hear a vehicle pull in the parking lot and turn to see a new SUV park next to Keaton’s car.
I don’t remove my eyes as she gets out of the passenger side and jumps down.
She’s so damn tiny and literally has to jump to get out of it.
“Tristan, why don’t you get back to work. Lock, you can come in the office with me and we’ll have a chat. I’m sure Ice can handle takin’ care of Keaton on his own,” Judge says as all the guys disappear and I move to stand behind the counter.
I watch Keaton walk across the parking lot and open the door to the office.
She finally looks up at me and I see a small smile grace her face that’s free of make-up before I allow my eyes to travel the length of her body.
She’s wearing a tight, short pair of those workout shorts and a tank top that hides nothing.
Including her sports bra. She’s showing off so much skin as she stops in front of the counter and I get a whiff of that same vanilla scent I smelled the last time I was with her.
The same scent I caught on Ruby when I was on her security detail.
“Hey, Ice. How are you doing?” she greets me, her voice so soft and melodic as I look at her with a smile.
“I’m doin’ good, Keaton. How are you doin’? Have things gotten any better since the last time I saw you?” I ask her, hoping she’s doing okay since she lost her best friend and has a baby to take care of now. It’s a lot for anyone to deal with at one time.