Page 98 of Has-Been
“Are you okay?”
She shrugged without unfolding herself from that vulnerable pose.
“Talk to me.” I lifted her chin with my finger, and she shuddered.
“It’s nothing. I’m just being silly.”
“About?”
She checked I’d locked the door, and breathed slowly for a moment, composing herself.
“It’s just…he gives me the creeps, that’s all.”
Sixty
Icouldn’tputmyfingeron what it was about Micro that I didn’t like, but right now I had enough to worry about, without having to be around a guy like him. There was a sliminess, but even that wasn’t it, exactly. Maybe I just really wasn’t comfy around unknown men after what had happened.
“Did he fucking come on to you at some point, babe? I’ll kill him.”
I caught Has’ arm as he headed for the door, and he stopped, even though I could feel from the tension in his muscles that he was already mentally kicking his ass.
“Please, don’t leave me alone right now.”
The tension drained out of him, along with a heavy exhale.
“Jesus, did he do something to make you feel that way?”
He led me to the sofa and sat me down. I knew they were close, so I didn’t want to cause problems between them, but I’d prefer not to have to spend too much time with him, especially alone.
“No… it’s not like he did something, Has. I just, I don’t like him, and he’s a bit slimy, that’s all.”
Has grinned widely, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“That’s just part of his charm, babe. You’ll maybe grow to like him, maybe not, but he’s good people, I promise.”
“Why is he called Micro? Is it… you know…”
He roared with laughter then, slapping one hand against his thigh.
“This is exactly why he hates his road name. Women always assume that, but… well, we don’t generally choose our road names, they’re kind of assigned by other club members.”
“So it’s not a size thing, otherwise one or more of you would have to be intimately acquainted with that part of him?”
Has shrugged, tucking his arm around me and pulling me tight against his chest.
“Nah, it relates to some incident that I didn’t witness. I was on one of my nomadic rides. Back when I joined the club, I was still craving that freedom sometimes, so I’d disappear for weeks at a time. Reacher and Stitch always gave me the space to do that, and eventually the club became more than just a place to hang out. It became my home.”
“And now it’s my home too, even though it’s what Seth didn’t want for me.”
Has grinned at me, tweaking my nose.
“I know he’s your big brother, but at some point you need to start calling him Stitch. That’s who he is now, and it’s who the club respect him for being.”
Oh. I hadn’t even thought of that, and my brother had tried to tell me so many times, but he’d always been Seth to me.
“Is it disrespectful that I’m calling him by his real name?”
Has stroked his fingers through my hair, kissing my forehead and taking too long to answer, because I was starting to worry that I’d been rude so many times.
