Page 32 of Kissin Irish by Morgan
“I want to know.”
Taking a breath, I started, “I couldn’t see in the dark for the longest time. Not since I was a kid. I didn’t even know that wasn’t how everyone else saw the world. That it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t until my late nights during rotations during nursing school, when I couldn’t drive myself, that my fiancé Ron suggested I see an eye doctor. He didn’t know that things were getting bad during the day as well. My vision narrowed, like I had tunnel vision. I hadn’t ever been to an eye doctor before.
Pagan and I were orphans, raised by our uncle’s ex-wife. So, eye exams hadn’t exactly been the priority. When I went, and they looked at the back of my eyes and told me I had Retinitis Pigmentosa, we thought, okay, how do we fix this? Get glasses?” I started crying just remembering it. “I thought that would be the worst of it. The hassle of glasses for the rest of my days. But then the doctor explained, this disease, it’s genetic and meant I’d go blind... It was supposed to take years, but within months, I proved to be an oddity.
Ron left me for my best friend and roommate at the time. All of the sudden, I had no one. Pagan, he planned to leave the motorcycle club to care for me. Kingpin made a deal with him that I could stay here. So, I came and Riff from my high school was here. My cousin Lisa, who had been just like a sister to me growing up, had just left him for a woman. We dated. Pagan was cool with it. You happy?”
“No,” Irish answered. “I’m ragin’.”
“Mad? You’ve not told me a fucking thing about your life and my dog is dead and you demand to know about an ex. Fuck, yours probably just killed my dog.”
“Cece,” Irish started like he might apologize.
“I can’t believe you’ve fucked every whore at Royal Road, and I’m expected not to give a damn, but since Riff and I had a thing three years ago, I’m not who you thought I was? You don’t even know me? You can get the fuck out.”
Irish’s hand landed on my shoulder. “I’m not going to leave. I didn’t mean it like that. I want to get to know you, Cece. That’s what I meant.”
“Get the fuck away from me.”
Chapter 15
Irish
Cece demanded I get out. I didn’t want to leave her, but I needed a drink to clear my head. I needed to find Riff and punch his lights out. When I walked into the club, I spotted the bastard playing pool with Cue Ball, Rojo and Cactus Jack. There were worse names than mine.
I asked Sweet Tea for a Guinness first and downed it in a couple gulps as I made my way over. Grabbing Riff by the collar, I threatened him, “If I find out you messed with Cece’s dog, yer dead.”
Riff held up his hands. “Fuck, man. Hold your horses. I ain’t killed no dog. I wasn’t even here. I’ve been on that run to Jackson. Pagan had to bail my ass out of county this morning.”
I let go of him, letting him fall into his chair.
Riff straightened his cut. “Otherwise, you think I’d be up at the ass crack of dawn to shoot pool with these losers.”
Cursing in Spanish, Rojo whacked him with a pool stick.
My finger in Riff’s face, I warned him, “Stay away from her, willya.”
“Guess you finally heard about us.”
“Don’t be spreading filth about her, either. If you know what’s good for ya.”
“The shit about Brother Cue Ball? Cue Ball, you tell him.”
Cue Ball inclined his bald white head. “Pagan started that rumor so he could get Kingpin to make them rules about his sister. He’d rather her die an old maid than be anyone’s ol’ lady.”
“Is Pagan back?” I asked them.
Riff answered me. “Yeah, Jassica’s long gone though. She came back with him this morning, but once he found out his sister’s dog had been killed, she ran off again. Crazy bitch. Speaking of which.” Riff pointed behind me. “That there’s who killed her dog. I swear to God.”
Whipping my neck around, I saw Charlotte standing at the bar, her arms folded. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted me.
“Bollocks,” I said to Riff as I left him to confront her.
“I told you I didn’t want to see ya again, Charlotte.”
“You didn’t mean that? Are you finished fooling with that blind girl, yet? I’ll let you have your fun. Fulfill a fantasy if you want, but I’ll be waiting for you.”
“You are a crazy bitch, aren’t you?”
