Just a few weeks ago, we were naked in her bed. There wasn’t even a whisper of space between us and now the distance seems like a mile.
“You don’t have to prove anything.”
“I have to do something, sweetheart. I hate not seeing the two of you. I hate this time and space.”
She sighs, and that’s another thing I despise right now–her frustration with this whole situation. I came into her life wanting to make things easier, not cause her more stress.
“It’s what I need right now.”
“Baby.”
I step close.
She inches further back.
I drop my hands, somehow knowing that she’s not going to give in. I can’t push her further away. She’s already teetering on the edge of breaking this off completely.
I won’t let her go. Doing so is impossible, but I can give her what she needs in the moment.
“I’m here when you’re ready, Lucy.”
It’s difficult to walk away and not kiss her, not assure her with my lips on her skin that she has all of me.
I can’t even look back at her when I climb in my truck because then I wouldn’t be able to leave. I’d end up on my knees begging, and it wouldn’t end well. She’s a stubborn woman. She’s done too much on her own to need me the way I’ve grown to need her. I feel her strength, and I hate that it’s the one thing that’s keeping me at arm’s length right now. I don’t want her weaker. I’d never wish that for her but being needed wouldn’t be so bad either.
I’m bitter by the time I get back to the clubhouse.
The garage is empty when I sit down with a beer, but before long others start to filter in. Oddly, Itchy is one of them. He’s well on his way to recovery now after being shot and nearly dying. I’m happy to see him closer to his normal self, but it’s weird to watch Snatch walk in and kiss him right on the mouth.
“That’s one way to get around the ‘No Women in the Garage’ rule,” I mutter.
Snatch kicks my boot before sitting in the chair between Itchy and me.
“What’s your damn problem, anyway?”
“His girlfriend told him she needed space,” Ace pipes up.
I snarl in his direction. My best friend has no damn business spreading information about me.
“Her old man just got out of prison,” I explain.
Shadow narrows his eyes as he leans forward in his chair. “Something we need to worry about?”
“I don’t think so. They got divorced shortly after he got sent up for dealing drugs. Been inside for a decade, but she said he wasn’t the nicest fucker before he was locked up,” I explain. That’s not the full story, but it’s close enough. Lucy said he was in and out for the last ten years. She got pregnant in between those times, that’s how Harley is only six, but the finer details don’t really matter.
“From what I can see,” Ace cuts in, “she doesn’t have anything to worry about. She took their boy to visit the whole time he was in, and she says their relationship is amicable, but she was a little nervous about him getting out and seeing a biker hanging out at the house all the time.”
It looks like I talk too much when I’ve been drinking, something I’ve done too much of since she declared her need for time and space. Ace, no matter how drunk he is, remembers every damn thing.
“Let us know if he becomes a problem,” Kincaid says.
“I will,” I grumble. “I just hate being away from her.”
It’s the truth, and with most of the guys here in serious relationships, I don’t feel like a pussy for saying that out loud.
“How old is her son?” Dom asks.
“Ten, I think,” Ace answers for me, getting it all wrong. The man doesn’t know shit about kids. Harley doesn’t even look close to ten. Hell, he’s small for six. I don’t correct him. “Goes to Dolchester Elementary.”
“That’s where Jasmine goes,” Dom says. “I wonder if they know each other.”
“Couldn’t tell you that,” I say. “There are so many kids around I can’t keep up with shit.”
“More to come,” Shadow says, grinning around the mouth of his beer. “Three more months and my little boy will be here. A week or so after that, Dom’s son will be here.”
“Like I said, so many kids.” I toss my empty beer bottle into the trash and grab another.
“You don’t need to be involved in her life if you can’t handle her kid,” Dom chastises.
“I just miss them. Haven’t seen her all week, and phone sex really isn’t my thing,” I lie, making it out like we’ve had more communication than we’ve had. I don’t want to look like a complete wuss in front of them.
Itchy chuckles. “So we get to the root of the problem.”