Apollo (Cerberus MC)

“Yes, over. I’m getting married on Monday.”

Her hands fall away immediately, her feet carrying her a few steps back. Her eyes are wide, and the look in them tells me she’s no longer impressed with me.

“Married? We talked about this. I told you that I didn’t expect commitment, but I wouldn’t be a side chick. Cheating on your fiancée is a seriously asshole thing to do, Apollo.”

“You’re not a side chick.” I cough. “You weren’t a side chick.”

“So this woman, your soon-to-be wife, knows about me?”

“She doesn’t,” I tell her truthfully. “This engagement and marriage are… new.”

I’m not going to go into detail with Nova about what’s going on. We were never about sharing personal information with each other. We had a set of rules, and I know how it looks—like I’ve broken her main one. She’d been in a relationship before, madly in love only to find out that her man was already married. It crushed her, and she swore to herself that she would never be that person again. We haven’t been in a monogamous relationship, but we didn’t lie to each other or others we were involved with about the other either.

“New?”

“Yes, and I’m not going to go into detail. She deserves more respect than that, but I wanted you to know.”

“Now I know,” she says, her arms crossing over her chest. “I appreciate you telling me.”

She gives me a weak smile as she reopens her front door, and I don’t know if I should feel relieved or worried that she’s being so cool about this. As I leave, I press my lips to her forehead, wish her well, and then worry all the way back to the clubhouse if Nova is going to cause problems in what I hope to build with April.

Light from the garage stops me from automatically entering the clubhouse once I get back to the property. I walk in, finding Legend and Grinch sipping beers with music playing softly.

“I remember a time when all we did was party. If we were home, there was a beer in every hand, two chicks on each lap, one for each knee. You should’ve been here, brother. It was a fine time indeed,” Grinch is saying when I enter. He notices me, holding his beer up in a salute. “And there’s the latest fool to fall. Hey, Apollo.”

I give him a wave before looking over at Legend. My friend just smiles and shakes his head, telling me Grinch has been reminiscing for some time already.

“Did she kick you out?” Grinch asks. “What could you have possibly done to get the boot already? It hasn’t even been a day and a half.”

“She didn’t kick me out. I just got back from Nova’s.”

Both men glare at me as if I’ve just committed a cardinal sin.

“Don’t look at me like that, assholes. I went to tell her we weren’t going to be messing around anymore.”

Legend raises an eyebrow, but at least he keeps his mouth shut. Grinch is a couple beers too deep to keep from running his mouth.

“I don’t think even a parting blow job is okay, Apollo. And I mean, why would you? If I had that redheaded beauty in my bed, I’d be buried balls—”

“Do you want to die?” I snap. “I’ll make that happen without blinking if you mention her in that way ever again.”

Grinch looks like he’s tasting something sour. “Really? She’s sucked us all off, and now you want to get protective?”

“He’s talking about April, you fucking idiot,” Legend says, smacking the back of his hand across Grinch’s chest.

“Ohhh. Yeah, sorry, man. But Nova. Girl has got a mouth on her. Didn’t know you two were getting serious.”

“We weren’t.”

“Serious enough to get you out of bed and across town to tell her it’s over?” Legend asks, finally chiming in. I knew it wouldn’t take him long. He’s always the first to call me on my shit. I just wish I’d noticed how wrong my actions felt before I went over there.

“Nothing happened,” I mutter. “I told her, and I left.”

“You’re going to still probably have a hard time convincing your girl of that.”

“Nothing happened. April doesn’t have to know. How is she going to find out?”

“You’re getting married on Monday,” Legend says, making Grinch scoff. “I don’t think starting off with lies is the best bet.”

“I doubt there will be a wedding on Monday,” Grinch says, and Legend points to him like he agrees.

“What are you talking about?”

“April jumped in a cab about fifteen minutes ago.”

“What?” I yell, jumping up from the chair I settled into. I look down at my watch. “I’ve been in here for ten minutes, and you’re just now telling me this?”

I don’t wait for either of them to answer before pulling out my phone and running into the clubhouse. Sure as shit, the bed is empty. The clothes I hung up earlier are missing from the closet. The toothbrush she pulled from under the sink is also gone.