Page 56 of Lake
CHAPTER TWELVE
Bridget
Why the hell couldn’t I get a hold of Art?
This wasn’t like him and I tried my hardest not to think the worst. But the fact that my calls had gone unanswered all day really grated my nerves and maybe had me freaking out a tiny bit.
It didn’t help that I was stuck over six hundred miles away and had no way to get back home at the moment.
There had been a strange tension in the air ever since Lake took off earlier. I hadn’t seen him all afternoon and when I wandered around to find something to eat, the clubhouse seemed to be pretty empty. I hadn’t been here long and all, but it always seemed like there were a bunch of people just hanging out. The fact that I found a couple of guys in the lounge area and the women in the kitchen, well, that was a big clue that something was amiss. But then again, it was in the middle of the day and I imagined that most of them worked, so maybe I was letting my mind drift in a darker direction for no reason.
Maybe it was that I still struggled to see beyond the whole MC thing. By the way the dick detective talked, these guys weren’t exactly on the right side of the law. And let’s be honest, you hear motorcycle club, you see the cuts and the hard looks on the faces of the men that consider one another a brother and you can’t help but think they are a bit dangerous and bad.
I tried my best to push all of that away. I didn’t want to get involved in anything I didn’t have to and I was going to keep my nose as clean as possible until I was done here.
Still, there was something poking at the back of my brain that told me these were good people. It could have been the fact that I didn’t feel threatened by any of them. Or that they had taken me in right away, even before they had a chance to check me out. Or that they stepped in to help me before I had a chance to figure shit out myself. So, okay, they were good in my book. At least until I saw otherwise— which I prayed I never did.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped into the kitchen. Abigail was seated with Cami, Laurel, and someone I didn’t think I’d seen yet. She was blond and had a little toughness to her. Something that said she knew the life well even though she wasn’t that old. I would have guessed she was somewhere around my age.
“Coffee?” Abigail asked me in a cheerful tone, pulling my attention away from the blonde.
I cringed internally because I hadn’t talked to her since I’d made a crazy show and bolted earlier. I felt awkward because it was clear that she had stars in her eyes for Lake. And yes, I felt like shit that I’d maybe pushed my way between something that was there without even meaning to do so. I didn’t know what to think of the niceness that she was giving me right now. Only, I was good at reading people and the vibe I was getting off of her wasn’t catty or vindictive. She was a genuine person with a good heart. I’d been able to see it in such a short amount of time.
“God, yes,” I said in an overly dramatic and playful tone. “But sit, I can get it.”
I fixed my cup then took a seat with the rest of them. It was a little strained for a few minutes. I could feel their eyes on me with an antsy sort of energy rolling off of them. I figured they were waiting for me to start asking questions.
“Hi, I’m Bridget,” I said looking at the blonde.
“I’m Gwen. Knight’s old lady.” She gave me a warm smile.
“Old lady? That’s like his woman, right?” I asked just to make sure I understood.
Cami, Laurel, and Gwen all laughed while Abigail just smiled.
“I forget what it’s like to not know the ins and outs of the club,” Gwen said. “I grew up in this life so I sometimes assume everyone is on the same page. Sorry. Yes, I am Knight’s woman.”
I didn’t think I had met him yet but I kept that to myself.
“I hear you’re shacking up with Lake,” Gwen said bluntly.
My eyes went wide and not because I was one that got nervous about sex talk. It was because I didn’t want to stir up anything and Abigail was sitting right next to me.
“Sorry, we talk. Well, gossip, I guess,” Laurel said with a small laugh.
“I imagine Lake would be good in bed,” Abigail said but I didn’t detect any cattiness in her tone. “But I also imagine that Mason and Tripp know how to rock a woman’s world too. Oh, and Fitz, he might be kinda quiet but I think he just needs someone to unleash his inner beast.”
Laurel’s jaw dropped open as she turned her head to look at Abigail, whose cheeks had gone bright red.
“What,” she said sheepishly, “a girl can’t have fantasies about multiple men?”
“Oh, you’re such a dirty girl,” Laurel teased.
“Come on, this place is crawling with fine looking men. You couldn’t possibly ask a single girl to pick just one. Right?”
“Oh, you are just as bad as I am,” I said and we all broke out in a roar of laughter.
And just like that, I knew things would be alright. Not that I knew what that meant. I mean, I’d be leaving here soon and if Abigail wanted to make naked dance time with Lake, then I had no room to talk. Or maybe she was just like that with everyone and Lake wasn’t the only one she wanted to get dirty with. I had no clue because I didn’t know a damn thing about her.
