LOGINAlfie was nervous as he rode up to Chloe’s house. She’d been the one to ask him on this date, and now it was really up to him to show her a good time. A chance to shine for her.Parking his bike, his brand-new baby, he couldn’t help but smile. Eagle had dropped him off at the clubhouse and in his own way apologized. He knew deep down his father didn’t mean him any harm. He just didn’t know how to deal with his own feelings, and when it came to Lily, it triggeredsomething within Eagle.With Chloe back, he saw a chance for them to be together without all the bullshit lies. She knew the truth, and now he could work around making her fall for him, the real him. He’d given her a piece of himself five years ago. It wasn’t all bullshit, regardless of what she thought.When he knocked on the door, Chloe opened it a second later with a smile. “Hey,” she said.“Hey.”She wore a pair of jeans and a long black crop top. “I didn’t know where we were going, and I can only remember the bar as a pla
Everyone at the table paused, and Chloe knew she had to get this to work for them.Turning her attention to the vegetable lasagna, which she’d seen written on the board entering the café, she took a bite. It was a little overcooked, but she wouldn’t complain.“I heard your breakfast date got crashed,” Lily said.“Trust Ian and Riley to invite themselves,” Alfie said. “I can’t shake them.”“They’re okay.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “They’re friends, right, and I’m guessingfriends can be crazy and drive you insane. All the good stuff people love and hate.” She had to shut up as she was just talking for the sake of it.“Will you be asking her out again?” Lily asked.“Mom!”“I’d really like to. I feel we left a lot unresolved this morning,” Alfie said.“Speaking of shit that’s unresolved, here you go, son.” Eagle threw a set of keys across the table. “The bike’s at the clubhouse.”Alfie looked at the keys in wonder and then at his dad. “Is this? This is the key to my bike?”“Yea
Chloe pushed her mother toward the elevator later that same evening.“He kissed you, and then what?” Lily asked.“His cell phone rang. The club needed him, kind of reminded me a little of Dad, and he had no choice but to leave. He walked me to my door, kissed me again, and left. I spent the afternoon passed out on the sofa, until my cell woke me up. I’ve already texted Eagle, I got his number from him in case you were wondering. Let him know I was coming to see you.”“I can’t believe he kissed you.”“It was just a kiss, Mom, nothing to think about.” She pressed the buttons to the ground floor.“Nothing to think about? A kiss can be so much more, if only you’ll allow yourself to feel it.”“Just the other day you told me I shouldn’t think of coming home. Now you want me to think of the kiss.”“I didn’t want you to come home while you still had your dreams and aspirations in the city.You will always come first for me, Chloe, you know that.”“I know you love me and care. You have not one
Mr. Miserable?”“Yep, the one and only. Believe me, I can’t handle his sour face anymore. It stings my eyes every time I look at him.” Riley covered his face and pretended to cry out in pain.Alfie slapped the backs of his friends’ heads. “They have no manners and don’t have a clue what they’re talking about half of the time.”“True. You can’t rely on anything we say,” Ian said.“I was trying to have a quiet breakfast with my woman.”“So?” Riley asked. “You can’t always get what you want.”Their waffles and pancakes arrived.Alfie slapped his friends’ hands away so they didn’t try to steal his food or Chloe’s. She had gone oddly silent, and he hated it. He’d wanted to talk to her, not have breakfast with his friends there.They distracted the moment by asking her about the city. If she was dating anyone, and she happened to mention the guy called Reginald, who sucked, big time. Of course, anyone she dated would suck.“This guy here hasn’t been on a single date since you left. Not a gi
I’ve got to get to the clubhouse,” Eagle said, later the next morning after they’d spoken to the doctor.Alfie sat all night watching Chloe and Lily reconnect. He saw how worried both womenwere, and each one was trying to be strong for the other. It was what he’d gotten used to when he was with them. Neither of them wanted to break or fall apart.Chloe let out a yawn as her stomach rumbled.“I can drop you both off in town for breakfast,” Eagle said. “The diner is no doubt open.”“And I bet heaving with people.”“Probably. It’s the way businesses stay afloat.”Alfie watched Chloe, brow raised. “I could eat breakfast,” he said.“You could always eat something. Yes, I’m starving, and I’m not even in the mood to raid my mom’s fridge.”Alfie kept watching her in the mirror. She rested against the door, and he kept expecting her to fall asleep. Nothing happened.She stared out the window, and he simply watched her.Eagle was different since Lily stopped trying to kick them out. His father
How is everything with you, Eagle?” she asked. “I’m good. The club is good. All is good.”She smiled. A man of few words.Silence once again. The joy.Nibbling her lip, she stared out into the dark, wondering what to say.“I heard you passed your culinary exam and you’re looking for a job to be a sous chef.”“I am. Who told you?” she asked. “Your mother did in passing.”She felt a spark of guilt. If it hadn’t been for her and Alfie, Eagle and Lily would have married.“Have you met someone?” she asked.“No.”Again, the guilt.“Don’t go there,” Alfie said.“I am sorry,” she said, looking toward Eagle. He glanced up in the rearview mirror.“Yeah, well, nothing ever plays out how it’s supposed to.”There was a brand-new tension in the car, and she’d been the one to cause it.Great, just great.Finally, after what felt like a millennium, they finally arrived. There was no one at the front desk when they entered, but there was a nurse filling out paperwork.Eagle took the helm, and the nurs
By the end of the day, Alfie was exhausted. Ian and Riley were the only ones waiting for him. They climbed off the bench, throwing their cigarettes to the ground as he approached.“You fucked her yet?” Ian asked.Alfie slammed his fist into Ian’s face. “Got pretty yet?”“Chloe makes you want to be
I’m sorry about the spa day,” Lily said.“Mom, this is just as awesome.” Chloe slipped her finger across the spoon. It was covered in melted chocolate. Rather than have a spa day, as they couldn’t afford it because her mother no longer wanted to rely on Kurt, her mother had taken her for new boots,
Today on her locker was “fat-arsed slut,” spelled exactly like that. Chloe tilted her head to the side. If she had magical powers, she could just swipe the nasty words away, but it looked like she was going back to the good old approach of a cloth again. People were watching and sniggering.She did
The following day Lily made her way into the clubhouse. She was going to get money for Chloe’s boots but also for the spa day. Entering the main room, she wrinkled her nose at the stench. It was disgusting, and surrounded her.Kurt had yet to find a place to stay, so this had to be where he was liv







