5. Elsie
ELSIE
Ican still remember the day I fell in love with Wyatt.
I’d been living at the club for a couple of months, and things were going pretty well.
I was finally starting to adjust to being at the clubhouse.
It wasn’t exactly hard. The brothers had been unbelievably sweet to me.
They were very attentive and kind, and they made sure I had everything I could possibly need and more.
For the most part, things were good, but I still had bad days.
I still missed my old life.
I still missed my family.
And on this particular day, I was missing them terribly.
I thought some fresh air might help me shake my blues, so I went outside and sat down at one of the picnic tables.
I tried to focus on the trees and the sounds of the birds singing, but my mind continued to drift to my parents.
I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother’s scent, my dad’s goofy laugh, and my brother’s sweet smile.
They were the light of my life, and the thought that they were no longer in my life brought tears to my eyes. As soon as one tear fell, the dam broke, and I started sobbing.
I had no idea how long I’d been crying when I felt someone sit down next to me. They didn’t say a word. They didn’t have to. I knew it was Wyatt. He was the only man I knew who would come there to check on me. When my tears finally ran dry, I wiped my eyes and muttered, “It’s been a rough morning.”
“Any particular reason why?”
“No.” I shrugged. “Just missing my folks.”
“I’d say that’s reason enough.” Wyatt lowered his head. “I can’t imagine what this has been like for you.”
“I can’t get that night out of my head.” I could feel my tears building as I told him, “When I walked in, I thought they’d just fallen asleep. It was awful, Wyatt. Just awful. I don’t want to remember them that way.”
“Then don’t. Focus on the good memories, and it won’t be long before they’re the only ones you will remember.”
“But the good ones are harder to remember.”
“Maybe, but they’re there. You just gotta give it time.” Wyatt leaned back as he said, “Why don’t you tell me one of your favorite memories of your mother?”
“Okay, that’s an easy one.” I smiled as I told him, “Whenever I was sick, she would spend the entire day looking after me. We would lay in bed and watch movies for hours, and when I got hungry, she’d make me some chicken noodle soup and one of her famous grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Sounds like she was a pretty awesome mom.”
“She definitely was.”
“Hate I missed out on her famous grilled cheese. They’re one of my favorites.”
“I know her secret. I’ll make you one sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
And just like that, my bad day wasn’t so bad.
The next day, I came home from class and found a small journal on my bed. I picked it up, and tears filled my eyes when I read the note that was taped on the front.
For the good memories.
It was a simple gesture, but it changed things between Wyatt and me. I no longer saw him as just another brother. He was now the man who had stolen my heart, and everyone knew it. I’d tried, but I couldn’t seem to hide how I felt about him—especially from Lacy and the girls.
They were very invested in our story, so I wasn’t exactly surprised when Makayla announced, “I still can’t believe Bones was at the club last night.”
“Yeah, I didn’t even know he went to places like that.
” We were in the laundry room, working on the club’s laundry—one of the many tasks Lacy and the others helped with, and it didn’t take us long to start talking about the wild night we’d had.
Lacy’s eyes narrowed as she asked, “Why do you think he was there... You think he followed us there?”
“Why would he do that?”
“So he could keep an eye on you?” Lacy pulled the rest of the clothes from the dryer and placed them in the hamper. “It’s not like he hasn’t done it before.”
“Yeah, but this is different. This time he punched a guy.”
“All the more reason for you to talk to him.”
“I’ve tried, but I can’t seem to catch him alone. He’s always busy with the guys.” I walked over and started helping her fold as I told her, “Not that it matters. I doubt he would talk to me about it.”
“Probably not.”
Makayla rolled her eyes. “Men can be so hard-headed sometimes.”
“Yeah, they most definitely can.”
I’d gone over the events of last night a hundred times, and I simply couldn’t understand how everything had gotten so messed up.
I was having such a great time with Lacy and the girls—even better than I thought I would.
We’d been talking about going all week, and the nightclub we went to was everything they promised it would be and more.
The energy of the crowd was positively electric, and it didn’t take long for that energy to rub off on all of us.
Reagan ordered us a round of shots, and we’d barely gotten them down before she ordered another.
We were considering having another when one of our favorite songs came on, and we all bolted for the dance floor.
We formed our own little circle and started dancing to the beat of the music.
It wasn’t long before two guys came over to join us.
They were both relatively handsome and seemed like okay guys, but I didn’t think much about it.
I wasn’t usually one to draw the attention of men like them, especially when I was with the girls.
I continued dancing, and to my surprise, one of the men stepped up behind me and started dancing. At first, I was flattered and just went with it. Then, everything went south.
I shook my head as I muttered, “He really did a number on that guy.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Well, we all know how passionate Bones can be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lacy gave Makayla a stern look, and she quickly lowered her head. “Nothing.”
“No, there’s definitely something.”
“It’s nothing. Really.”
I wanted to believe her, but I could tell by the way she and Lacy were exchanging looks that she wasn’t being completely forthright. At first, I couldn’t figure out what they were keeping from me, and then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Hold on... Did you two hook up?”
“Well...” Again, she glanced over at Lacy, then finally admitted, “Just a couple of times. We didn’t think anything of it.”
“We?” I Immediately turned to Lacy. “You hooked up with him, too?”
“It was a long time ago, Else.”
I felt both heartbroken and embarrassed. All the single guys hooked up with them, and it only made sense that Wyatt would, too. I just didn’t want to think about Wyatt being with anyone else, especially not one of my best friends. My throat tightened as I gasped, “How could you not tell me?”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal.” Worry marked her face. “You know how it is with the guys and us. We all hope they will someday fall for us and claim us as their ol’ lady, but that never happens.”
“And we all know how you feel about Bones,” Makayla added. “Telling you about it would just be making something outta nothing. And like Lacy said, it was a long time ago.”
“How long ago?”
“A couple of months after you moved in,” Lacy answered. “Just before you and I started getting close. I’m sorry. I know I should’ve mentioned it to you, but I didn’t want you to hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Lace.” I let out a breath, then said, “I just wish you would’ve told me.”
“Yeah, me too. I’m sorry I didn’t.” Lacy came over and gave me a quick hug. “Forgive me?”
“Yeah, I forgive you.”
After a brief embrace, we both turned back to folding laundry. It didn’t take long for my mind to drift to a place it had no business drifting, and before I realized what I was doing, I asked, “So, what exactly did you mean by passionate?”
“Hmmm?”
“Wyatt.”
“Oh.” Makayla wouldn’t look at me as she explained, “He was just a little intense at times.”
I didn’t have a lot of experience with sex. In fact, I didn’t have any.
I’d never been with a man. I hadn’t actually planned to remain a virgin.
I wasn’t sitting high on some moral ground.
I was simply focused on surviving, getting through school, and keeping my head above water.
Crawling in bed with a man wasn’t a priority.
Besides, the only guy I was truly interested in being with wasn’t exactly interested in being with me—at least, not the way I wanted him to be.
But I did live at the Satan’s Fury clubhouse.
I had seen and heard things that would make the devil himself blush.
On top of that, I had quite an imagination—and that imagination was running wild.
One second, I was imagining him as a straight missionary type of guy with an occasional slap of the ass or pull of the hair, and then the next, he was full-on Dom, giving seductive orders to his submissive.
Both of which were intriguing and terrifying at the same time.
I should’ve left it, but I just kept pushing. “Intense?”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”
“Yeah, she’s right. Just leave it,” Makayla piped in. “Besides, you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Um, nooo...” I rolled my eyes. “He’s not into me that way.”
“You’re crazy. The man is totally into you.” Lacy smirked at Makayla. “He proved that last night.”
“He was just being protective.”
“It was much more than that.” Makayla sounded very sure of herself as she added, “The guy’s got a soft spot for you. He just needed a little push to see it, and if you ask me, I’d say he needs another one.”
“What kind of push?”
“I don’t know.” I could see the wheels turning in her head, and when she smiled mischievously, I knew I was in trouble. “What about that guy you went out with the other night?”
“He was okay and all, but I just wasn’t interested. I kind of felt like I was having dinner with my cousin or something.”
“Well, Bones doesn’t have to know that.” Her smirk widened as she suggested, “For all he knows, you two really hit it off and are planning your next date.”