Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Satisfied I’d done all I could for now, I powered up my gaming gear to get on Fortnite. I was hoping to catch SoulHunter15 on. Sure enough, I found him.
I found the server and game the kid was on and slipped into his game. I’d long ago used a hack to be able to watch without anyone knowing I was there. Sure enough, the kid couldn’t play for shit. At least not where he was in the game presently. This was going to take some noobie teaching and a shit ton of patience I wasn’t sure I had. Not because I didn’t like introducing noobs to the game, but I hated trying to help someone who thought they knew more than they did. It was counterproductive and a waste of time since they never took anything I said to heart.
Later. I’d deal with him later. We weren’t supposed to meet up until three thirty tomorrow. I’d figure something out by then.
* * *
The ride with Danica to the coffee shop was strained. She barely looked at me, her face tense. She was polite and thanked me when we left the clubhouse and when I dropped her off, but there was a distance between us that had never been there before. I didn’t like it.
I waited outside instead of going in. It wasn’t my usual time. I liked to wait until there were a bunch of people before going in to make my orders. The more people, the more outrageous the order. Just because I could.
Danica always got there at five in the morning. Her help got there at six unless it was Jordan, who never got there before eight. For a busy coffee shop, having only one person there to run things had to hurt business. Dani never seemed to struggle to handle the crowd, but it took all her concentration. The last thing she needed today was me to distract her.
Once the customers started rolling in, I left. I’d brought her in the Bronco, and I hated driving any kind of vehicle other than my bike. If I was going to babysit today, I was doing it with my bike on hand. Not a damned cage.
The ride to the clubhouse didn’t take long. One of the prospects, Breaker, had my bike out and ready when I rolled into the clubhouse. He’d make sure the Bronco was full of gas, then park it.
I straddled my bike, breathing out a contented sigh before starting it and taking off. I needed a ride. Since Danica was safely at work and Deacon was keeping watch at the school, I decided I’d take a couple hours to unwind. I needed a break. Just for a couple of hours.
A couple of hours turned into most of the day. By the time I got back to the coffee shop, it was after two in the afternoon. That was usually a downtime for Danica, but it looked like the place was hopping.
I slipped in, taking my usual place next to the window where I could keep an eye on my bike and Danica all at the same time. If she noticed, she didn’t acknowledge me. To be fair, there were at least five people at the counter and she was waiting on all of them at the same time. Jordan -- or anyone else -- was nowhere in sight.
“That’s one caramel macchiato for you, a chai latte with oat milk and brown sugar here, a caramel joe for you, a strawberry refresher with coconut milk, and an iced Ristretto ten shot with breve, five pumps of vanilla, seven pumps of caramel, four Splenda, poured. Not shaken.” She grinned as she served the last asshole with his cup. Bastard. I shoulda thought of that one.
Once all of them had paid, she took a breath before wiping down the already spotless bar. Surprisingly, she stepped away with a new mug of fresh coffee and headed my way. She sat the mug on the table and started to walk away, but I snagged her wrist.
“Sit.”
She blew one coffee-colored curl out of her face. “I’m not a dog, Wylde.”
I sighed. “Please, Dani.” I nodded to the chair across from me. “I’m sorry about last night.”
She shrugged. “You want what you want. I’m honestly flattered, given all the women you have after you.” The flirty smile she flashed me looked a bit strained but was no less lovely. The woman really was appealing on a whole other level.
“I’m not the type of man to want forever, honey. Doesn’t mean I don’t care about you; just means I can’t give you what you deserve.”
“It’s OK, Wylde. Really.” She stood and laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, smiling at me before she headed back to the bar.
As I watched her work, I found I wanted to be the man to give her what she deserved. I wanted to be that man. But I simply… wasn’t. I had too much going on. Too many responsibilities. Not to mention my club. To bring her into my world meant she had to be mine. Always.