Page 20 of Property of Baffle
“I didn’t.”I argued.
“You did.Staying out there in the fucking cold as the night temperatures dropped, with nothing more than a thin t-shirt on, is hurting yourself.”
“I was going to grab my stuff from your motorcycle and leave.I couldn’t figure out which one was yours and didn’t want to be accused of messing with, or stealing from, someone else’s ride if I accidentally tried the wrong one.”
“That last bit was smart thinking, since you’re not wearing my property patch yet and not everyone knows we’re married.We’re going to have a longer conversation about you trying to leave me without a word, though.We might have married in Vegas, but those vows meant something to me.”
“We both know-”
“Nope,” he cut me off again.“I never would have brought you here to my clubhouse if I wasn’t serious about you and those vows we took.I would have never brought you here to introduce you to my family if I wasn’t all in, Nell.Despite the fact that some of them have obviously acted like assholes toward you, I still wanted you to meet and get to know my family.Thought it would go down differently, but that’s my fault for not nipping a previous problem in the bud sooner.”
“Speaking of that problem,” I started to say and when it looked like he would interrupt me again, I put one of my still-chilly fingers against those gorgeous lips of his.“You told me you slept with her once many years ago, Rick.A woman doesn’t behave that way in front of your entire shared family, at the wedding of your mutual life-long friend, if that’s all that was between you.”
My possibly soon-to-be ex-husband groaned and adjusted to get comfortable beside me on the bed.“We grew up together.This is a small community.Before the Kings took off in this area, we were even smaller.Our fathers - mine, Bigfoot’s, and Roxy’s - were all in a club together before they patched over to the Kings.Their old club folded and they chose to put in with another club rather than giving up what they started to build.We were all thrown together all the time.The three of us were tight but Rox was glued to my side more than she was to Bigfoot for some reason.Over the years our moms all used to make comments here and there about how it was so cute and one day Roxy and me would end up together.I’m guessing Roxy heard that narrative more than I did, since she was around the women more.Her mother damn near made it a mandate that Roxy do everything in her power to go after me.I don’t fucking know why the big push happened, other than maybe she was worried we’d let Roxy slip by the wayside at some point.That would never happen with her father as a member.I’m just speculating as to possible reasons why it went this far.”
He glanced at me to make sure I followed along.I gave a little nod and grabbed the still-warm mug of hot chocolate from him.I sipped as he spoke and slowly but surely my body started to warm up again.
“Three years ago, I asked a club girl to meet me in my room,” he winced with the admission and I chuckled.
“No need to feel cringy on my account, it’s not like we were together then,” I offered and his lips turned up at the corners.
“Yeah, see, you keep showing me why you’re perfect, sweetheart.”Rick leaned in and kissed the top of my head before he eventually picked up where he left off.“It took me almost two hours to finally get back to my room and in that time I drank a fuck of a lot of alcohol.It was dark, I didn’t bother to turn on the light.I saw long, dark, thick hair contrasted against my white pillow and figured Rosa waited for me like a good girl.”He winced again and it took effort to hold back my amusement.“Long story short, we fucked.When I woke up in the morning, it was to discover that Rosa was not the person in my bed.”
“Roxy was,” I finished for him.Rick nodded.“You thought it was Rosa the whole time?”I questioned almost disbelievingly.Not that I didn’t think he was telling the truth, but it was unfathomable that someone who was supposedly that close to him for a lifetime would be that deceptive and think it was okay.
“If I hadn’t been so drunk, I would have noticed, even in the dark.There were things that were different but I couldn’t hold onto the warning signs that flashed in my head because I was fucking sloshed.Surprised I was even able to perform that night.”
“How can you still be friends with her?That’s a huge betrayal of trust.It’s a violation.Hell, it’s-” Rick pushed his fingers up against my lips that time and shook his head as if to keep me from saying the word that was on the tip of my tongue.
“I know what it was.She was sent away.Got some therapy.I understood the pressure the women of the club put on her to dig her claws into me and make something happen between us.She was confused because of years of conditioning and being told we were a sure thing.It was fucking wrong what Roxy did, but those women fucked her up.They made her believe things that were never true and she acted accordingly, thinking that it was okay and all part of some grand plan.”
“That’s really sad,” I said.
“You’re not wrong.That’s why I gave her a second chance.When she came back about six months ago, we had a talk and she told me all about her therapy and the things she had learned about herself and the narrative she’d been fed for so long.There were promises made that it would never happen again, and that we were good and she understood we were only friends.”
“And that lasted right up until you walked into your clubhouse and announced you had a wife.”
“I’m guessing it took her by surprise,” Rick agreed, though it didn’t seem as if he believed that was the whole of it.
“I think it just ripped off the bandage that was holding all her crazy in,” I muttered.
Rick chuckled.“Yeah, that sounds about right, as fucked as it is.”My husband snuggled in and pulled me closer so that my head rested on his shoulder and my still blanket-wrapped body snuggled into his side.“Now, tell me what happened while I was dealing with Roxy and Punchy because I hate that you left here and put yourself in a bad situation as a result.I need to know why so we can make sure it never happens again.”
I told him about the things Roxy’s mom and the blonde said to me.Rick breathed deeply, like he was trying to rein in his anger.“Sounds like the blonde you’re talking about is Tilly, Bigfoot’s mom,” he explained.
I nodded.“That’s what I gathered when Brady stepped in.”
“Glad he was there for you, sweetheart.He shouldn’t have had to be, though.My club is supposed to have your back.Brady isn’t a member and he was the one who stood up for you.”Rick shook his head.“Can’t believe no one else stepped in.”
“You should give your club brothers a break.Most of them probably didn’t even know I was the woman introduced as your wife when we first got here.It was right at the start of your president’s wedding.”
“I don’t know how you can be so forgiving of them,” he groused.
“Honestly, I don’t want to think the worst of your club brothers.The women, well, you’ve already told me enough to know why they behaved the way they did.I burst their expectations when I showed up and they were acting out.I don’t have to like it to understand their point of view.”
“Well, don’t let any of them know you understand where they’re coming from because it’s all bullshit anyway.I have never given any of them a single reason to think I’d end up with Roxy.It’s fucking insane.Besides, you’ve already had a fuck of a week and now you had to deal with this shit landing in your lap on top of it.I’m fucking sorrier than you’ll ever know that this was your introduction to my club.My family.”
“We married in Vegas, Rick.I expected bumps in the road.To be honest, I expected sinkholes to swallow me up at some point.”
