“I’mMadeofWax”—ADayToRemember
“I’ll be in soon,” I gruffly replied to my VP, Raptor, who grunted and ended the call. Dude never did have much to say over the phone.
We had a job coming up tonight, and I needed to head to the clubhouse to discuss and finalize the plan. The thought of being the last one into church sucked. We’d had a party Friday night, and as usual, it got pretty wild. The shitters were fucking nasty, and I didn’t want to get stuck cleaning them. Last one to church was on bathroom duty. It had initially started because no one liked to clean them. Venom came up with that rule, and the majority voted that it be added to our chapter by-laws.
Seemed like a good idea at the time.
It was Valentine’s Day. For the first time in my life, I’d planned ahead. The bracelet I bought Yvette sparkled as I stared at it in my hand. A quick glance at my watch told me I didn’t have much time before I needed to get my ass in gear. I was already late and should’ve been on my way in. The sound of a vehicle outside had me pushing the curtains aside to see who it was. I shoved the bracelet in my pocket.
Though I had my suspicions, which had my blood boiling, I hoped I was wrong. The flashy car definitely wasn’t her friend’s—the one who had picked her up for girls’ night from the clubhouse last night. Not a good sign. My eyes narrowed as I watched her digging in her purse, presumably for her keys. Her hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and her makeup appeared smeared from this distance. Crossing my arms, I waited for her to come inside.
Rattling on the other side of the door preceded the knob turning and the door swinging open. She came in and dropped her purse on the table as she passed through the dining area. I almost laughed out loud that she didn’t notice me standing by the window in the living room. When she came back out, she was drinking a glass of water and looking down at her phone as she smirked.
“Have fun last night?” I asked, causing her gaze to dart up, then the glass dropped to the floor, and a small shriek flew from her lips. Water splashed over the stripped hardwood and her hand splayed over her heart. Eyes wide, she gave me a fake-sounding laugh.
“Damn, baby, you scared me! You’re here late,” she said almost nervously.
“I could say the same thing,” I ground out, clenching my teeth so hard I heard them grind.
“Yeah, Gina and I left the festival early. It wasn’t as much fun without you.” She gave me what she thought was a sly smile. She and I had met at that same festival a year ago and had ended up fucking in one of the bathrooms at the end of the night. “We decided to watch movies at her place.”
“You couldn’t call? I was actually worried about you. You were out all night. Didn’t call, didn’t text, didn’t reply to my messages in the middle of the night, nor this morning. I had Facet checking hospitals for you.” I hadn’t. I’d never been good at playing games, but I wanted to catch her in every lie, so I did my best to keep my tone even and my lip from snarling.
“Yeah.” She had the nerve to look apologetic. “Since I fell asleep, I didn’t plug my phone in, and it died.”
“It’s working now,” I mildly added, motioning the device clutched tightly in her hand.
“Oh! Yeah, I plugged it in on the way home.” Big and bright, her smile brought out her dimples. She amazed me with how deceitful she could be. The lies kept rolling off her tongue like honey-coated poison.
“In Gina’s car?” I clarified, staring her dead in the eyes. The smile faltered; she knew she was caught.
“Um, yeah,” she agreed with only a hint of her false smile remaining, but still clutching onto the lies like they could keep her from drowning in the swells of her deceit.
“Hmmm,” I hummed while I stroked my beard thoughtfully.
She shoved her phone in the back pocket of her tight jeans before she approached me, hips swinging seductively. Palms to my chest, she parted her lips and wet the lower one with practiced guile. Cologne that certainly wasn’t mine wafted up to tease my nostrils, mixed with the acrid smell of cigarette smoke. She didn’t smoke, and neither did her friend. When she slid her hands up toward my neck, I gripped her slender wrists, halting their advancement.
Smeared makeup under her soft brown eyes gave her a drunken Barbie look. Slowly, I leaned in and tilted my head slightly, as if I was going to kiss her. Right before our lips brushed each other’s, I pulled back a hair.
“You really must think I’m a dumb fuck. I want you and your shit gone by the time I get back tonight. If you’re not gone when I get home, I’ll start throwing your clothes on the front lawn,” I growled. After I flung her arms off me, she stumbled but came right back.
“Phoenix!” Yvette cried in a practiced whimper as she clung to my arm, and mascara streaked down her cheeks. Not that she looked much better than when she rolled in at nine in the morning after supposedly being out with her girlfriend all night.
Funny thing about that was, she looked “just been fucked,” smelled like sex and men’s cologne—not mine—and had excuse after excuse for everything I asked her. Pretty sure she had a fucking hickey on the top swell of her tit, too, but she must not have noticed yet. It made me sick to think about how foolish I’d been.
“Well, I forgaveyouand never said anything about you fucking that stripper with one of your brothers,” she desperately threw out.
My hackles rose.
Eyes wide in disbelief, I shook her off my arm. “First of all, there was nothing to forgive because that happened before we became official. I never lied to you. Not once when we first met did I tell you I was exclusive with you. In fact, I’m pretty fucking sure I told you I wasn’t a relationship guy. I broke down to give you a shot, but I wanted to be straight up with you since you’d probably run into her at the clubhouse. That’s why I told you Ghost and I had been with Cookie, but regardless, it was just sex. Once you moved in, there was no one but you—because I wastrying. Second of all, whether you realize it or not, you pretty much just admitted that you slept with someone last night.”
“I-I-I… um,” she stuttered as she realized what she’d done. She wrung her hands as she bit her lip. Finally, she paused and gave me a woeful last glance.
“Like I said… I don’t wanna see a damn thing of yours when I get home.” Without a backward glance, I brushed past her.
On my way out, I rubbed at the ache deep in my chest. I stepped onto the front porch, where I turned slightly to pull the door shut after me. She had her mouth open to say something, but I simply waved. “Bye,” I said before slamming the door.
Though I wanted to rage and break shit, I kept a tight rein on myself like my father had taught me. No way was I burning down my fucking house. It may be a small fixer-upper, but it was mine, and I’d paid for it. I’d ripped up the nasty carpets and sanded those hardwood floors—well, I still needed to do the bedroom. I’d ripped out the shitty fake-wood paneling and hung sheetrock. Instead, I shoved the garage door up and entered the cool interior of the detached garage. I climbed on my bike. Ignoring the helmet on the workbench, I roared out. She’d bought the fucker for me, and hell if I wanted anything she’d given me.