“Dane left,” James said.
“Doesn’t make it her fault. You know that.” Damon shook his head. “You know what, I’m so sick and fucking tired of hearing about Dane this and Lucy that. Everyone blaming Teri for the shit that happened. Let me remind you the first time, Dane chased her. He didn’t tell her he was married. Remember? The second time, she was drunk, and that’s no excuse, but you give me one person in the entire history of this club who made sound decisions when he or she was drunk. No one has. Stop fucking blaming her.” He got to his feet, tired of the club, tired of the bullshit.
“Damon, where the fuck are you going?” James asked.
“To go and hang out with the only person who is not acting like a fucking hypocrite. None of us are saints. We’ve all got some level of blood on our hands, and I, for one, won’t hold it against her for the rest of her fucking life.” He stormed out of the bar, over and done with all this.
Ignoring the club brothers lingering outside, he took off, going straight to the diner. The moment it opened today, there had been a surge of customers. Teri’s food was the best in town. The diner made a great deal of money.
He spotted Teri locking up.
Normally, she came to party, but he watched as she went straight to her car.
“You know, I’m starting to think I stink bad or something,” he said, capturing her attention.
Teri offered him a smile. “You don’t stink.”
“Why don’t you come and have a drink with me?” he asked.
“Maybe some other time. I’m so exhausted.”
She pulled away all the time. How did the club not see this? He had a horrible feeling swirling in his gut that she was going to leave.
He glanced back at the clubhouse. “You know, I’m not in the mood to be at the clubhouse right about now. How about I come with you? We can hang out. Have a drink. I can massage your aching feet. It’ll be cool.”
She glanced down at the ground. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. It’s kind of hard to turn down a guy who wants to get his hands on your feet.”
“There’s Anna and Cole,” Teri said.
“I don’t mind. I’d love to meet the little guy for real. I have a feeling he’s my competition for cuteness.” He pursed his lips and batted his eyelashes.
Teri laughed. It was the first real laugh he’d seen in a long time.
“You’re crazy. You know that, right?”
“But I know it’s what you want, baby. Come on. I’m all alone here.”
“You’ve got a club full of people who want your company.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be around them that much right now. We’re not exactly seeing eye to eye.” He was not living in the past, but he certainly hadn’t forgotten where he came from. To him, it seemed some of the brothers wanted to wipe out their past.
Not him. He didn’t want to go down that path, but he certainly wouldn’t forget how close he came to spiraling.
“Don’t let me come between you and the club,” Teri said.
“You’re not. They’re the ones with the problem. Not me. How about it, you and me, having some fun?” he asked.
“Fine. Jump in, but you’re so not driving my car.”
He clapped his hands together. “I might have already had a couple of drinks.”
Teri snorted. “A couple?”
“Two, three, possibly five and a half.”
“A half?”
“James came and ruined the last half, and I wanted to come and see you.” He put his seatbelt on as Teri started up the car, pulling away from the diner and heading toward her apartment.
“You have a nice car,” he said.
Teri laughed. “Just how many drinks have you had?”
“Enough.” He wanted to kiss her.
This was the problem he had when he had a few drinks and was around Teri. He struggled to keep himself in check. He wanted her so badly. From the moment he first met Teri, he’d been somewhat obsessed with her. He hadn’t acted on it, and the truth was, in the beginning, he figured it was because she was new.
Damon didn’t exactly know when his feelings had changed, only that they had, and now, he didn’t see Teri as a quick fuck. He wanted forever.
“Has anyone told you how pretty you are?” he asked.
“I think I quite like drunk Damon.”
“Drunk Damon really likes you.”
He loved the smile on her lips and knew he would do anything he could to keep it there. They arrived at their apartment, and he stumbled out of the car, gaining control of his body as a sudden, overwhelming hunger hit him.
His stomach chose that minute to rumble.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside. Be quiet.” She pressed a finger to her lip as they entered the apartment, which was silent.