Page 60 of Secrets

"Are you really okay with what happened with Daphne? I've never seen you with a girlfriend before. It had to sting."

The way Sutton asks doesn't sound malicious. In fact, she seems genuinely concerned for him. "The thing that stings is how we ended things. It was never what I suspect a relationship should be. It was mostly about sex, and I was forcing myself to do the relationship thing because I knew she wanted that. We didn't have anything in common outside of the bedroom, though. She's hot, but she also wasn't really my type. I wanted a bad girl, but she's not really that."

Sutton turns around and rests her back against the bar, her eyes scanning the crowd. "What kind of girl are you looking for?"

"Tonight? I'm just looking for anyone to go home with."

"Okay, what's your flavor of choice? We have blonde, brunette, redhead, shaved head, blue hair, pink hair, and oddly, a woman with black hair but green roots. She kind of looks like she fits your bad girl aesthetic."

"What are you going to do? Play the wingwoman?"

Nodding, she smiles. "I plan to take the bartender home with me. Besides, I'm hoping to get more dirt on what happened to the owner of this place. I guess he just disappeared one night a week ago or something, and no one's seen him since. Walked outside in the middle of the rush, and he never came back."

"Wait, the owner disappeared?"

"Yep. Weird story, too. Marnie seems a little cagey about it when I ask her, but she's always said he's a creep. The only thing that kept her safe with him was the fact Snake's a club member."

Nelson looks at the bartender, who smiles as his eyes land on Sutton. "The bartender is kind of the opposite of every man in the club."

"That's kind of the point. You gonna be a cockblock or a wingman?"

"Who am I to stop a woman from finding an orgasm? I think I want to take a blonde home," he says, turning to look at the crowd with her.

Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head. "It's always the blondes. Typical."

"My ex has dark hair, so I'm not really feeling the raven beauties tonight."

"Some of us are just normal brunettes, but I get it. Blonde it is. Now, which one do you want?"

They look through the women, counting out the ones who look to be with a man, and they create fun backstories for the rest.

"Sutton?" Nelson suddenly says when they settle on the blonde he wants to take home. She wears a skintight red dress that looks almost painted on.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She laughs. "I haven't talked to her yet. Might make her turn and run. You don’t know what I’m gonna say to her."

"No, thanks for talking to me tonight. This is the first non-club business conversation I've had in a while. Even Max has disappeared on me, and I don't have a lot of friends. In fact, I have brothers, but it's not the same."

Her jaw drops, and she places her hand on her chest. "Are you saying we're friends, Nelson Parks? Oh my God, I've made it! I've been friendzoned!"

Chuckling, he lifts an eyebrow. "If you want out of the friendzone, just let me know, baby."

"And we're back. Okay, am I talking to the blonde?"

"Yep, and I'll chat up the bartender. Let's see if we can help each other get laid tonight."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Summerville

Rocky

After spending the day at the clubhouse, Rocky doesn't want to go home to see Hannah. Not after she needed time away from him to think about things. As much as he'd like to stay at the clubhouse and avoid the conversation, he knows it won't get any easier. And as much as he hopes he's wrong about how it'll go, he knows he's not.

Hannah has been nothing short of distant and aloof since she got home, and Rocky can't take it anymore. The disconnect kills him, and he can't do it anymore. He wants to find a way to resolve this, but he needs Hannah on board, too. If not, he can't continue to live with her in the darkness she's in.

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