ChapterFour
~Christian~
We walk in and he closes the door behind him and then sinks down in the chair across from me.
"Where is your head at right now Jax?" I ask. We need all our brothers thinking straight when we are at war. One mistake could cause a brother his life or the life who rides next to him.
"I was fine until last night. Christ, talk about your past biting you in the ass. Did you see how hot she is? Fuck, I screwed up! That is who I should be going home to every night and not a different club whore. Candy couldn't even take the edge off last night."
"Is Anastasia going to be a problem for this club, Jax?"
"What? No, of course not. She is the sweetest, kindest, most lovable person on this planet. Well, except to me, that is."
"Is there any way the two of you could work this out?" I have to ask for my own selfish reasons.
I watch him slump his shoulders and lean forward with his elbows on his knees. After a few moments he finally answers.
"I don't think she'll ever forgive me for that night. And you want to know the worst part about all of this? I never even slept with Wendy that first night after Ana and I got into that fight and I got drunk. Wendy let it slip one night a few months ago and that was the final nail in the coffin for me to start the divorce. I should have done it sooner but was too much of a coward to be alone to follow through with it sooner."
Well, shit, that might make Anastasia change her mind if she knew that he didn't really cheat on her from the beginning.
"You should tell her that Jax. She has a right to know what that bitch did."
"I want to but you saw her last night, she won't even let me within ten feet of her."
"Emotions were running high last night and she had just been taken off the street by the Prospects, so I'm sure she wasn't in the right frame of mind." I try to ease into it.
"Maybe."
"Are you going to be okay seeing her around town with another guy? I can't have my VP going all cowboy on us if she moves on." Christ, why can't I just say what I need to say. That's right because I'm acting like a pussy! When did I grow a vagina?
He huffs out and leans back in the chair.
"She hasn't been mine in six years, I'm sure she has moved on by now. Plus, with her stepdad being…" He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at our MC logo behind me.
The door blows open and Bear barges in.
"Prez, we got a problem. Safehouse out by Carson Lake is up in smoke along with our coke shipment from two days ago."
"Jesus Christ! Call the brothers, let's ride in fifteen." I say standing.
Bear walks out leaving us alone once again.
"Are we good here?" Jax asks.
"Yeah. Let's go, make sure to pack some extra heat in case it's an ambush."
"Got it."
I walk over to my safe and pull out my knife and place it in my boot. Then I pull out my 9mm and put it in the back of my waistband. I already have my regular guns holstered under my cut, I only take those off when I sleep at night. I have a feeling this is Viper related and payback for burning their warehouse down in Reno.
We mount on our rides and head out to the safehouse. Bear our Road Captain is in front with me then Jax and Ace are behind us. Dash, Stone, Hunter, Opie and Luke are all in formation behind them. Once we hit 95 we gun it towards the lake. What normally takes around thirty minutes to drive only takes us fifteen. Weaving up the dirt road you can't miss the smoke from the distance.
Ace already called ahead to have someone we know put the fire out and keep it quiet. No reason to alert the police of our safehouse with over fifty pounds of drugs inside. Approaching the site the crew is already there putting the last of the fire out. The house is a total loss and nothing that was inside would be salvageable.
Jax and Ace are speaking with the cleanup crew settling up and pass some money around for their discretion.
"This reeks of Viper MC." Bear says coming up to my bike after I just finished a call with Garrison asking for our boys back by tomorrow due to this latest attack. He agreed and implied he could spare a few men once his brothers were done down there.
"I hear ya on that, brother." I say in agreeance.
~Anastasia~
Being woke up before your alarm would put anyone in a foul mood, especially when you still had ten more minutes. Ugh! This is why I never liked living under the same roof as my mother. Once she's up then the entire house needs to be up along with her. I already had this conversation with her on the phone this morning before I drifted to sleep and she just couldn't let me be.
Getting up I shower and lotion my entire body to smell of cherry blooms. Going into my closet I find a short sleeved plum dress that hits above the knees and pair it with nude heels that will break my neck if I fall, along with black earrings and a black clutch. Sexy but classy, I think. Checking the time I put on some light makeup and curl my hair to give it the beachy wave look. Slipping on some lip gloss and I'm out the door.
Pulling my Lexus up to The Slanted Porch, it looks like it used to be an actually home but was turned into a restaurant. I carefully get out of my car not to show anyone my goods and walk into the place. I'm met right away by the nice little hostess who looks to still be in high school.
"Hello, welcome to The Slanted Porch. How many are in your party?" The little hostess whose name tag says Charlie.
I look around the place hoping to see my mother but don't the place is pretty dead at the moment, being a little early for the dinner crowd.
"I'm not sure, I'm waiting for my mother, Carla Morton." I say as an explanation.
"Oh, yes! Well, your party is already here. Follow me please." Charlie says and quickly moves to the opposite side of the restaurant where there are only three tables available.
One is being occupied by a guy in his late twenties early thirties, if I had to guess. When Charlie passes up the empty table and stands next to the guy I gulp. She did not do this to me! I'm going to murder her in her sleep!
I must have spaced out because the guy, who looks as though he just walked off a runway, is now standing looking at me with a confused expression on his face.
"I'm guessing you didn't know this was a date, did you?" The guy asks holding his hand out for me to take. "I'm Ethan. Ethan Kavanagh."
Finally, getting my bearings and my good manners back I slip my hand into his and say, "Anastasia Steele."
We both sit down at the two-person table and Charlie takes our drink order.
"I'm really sorry about all this. I had no idea that Carla and my mother would blindside you. Your mother has been raving about you for years and when you finally came to visit, my mother thought that it would be an excellent idea for us to meet." Ethan says as an apology. He has a sweet smile and the wider it gets the more his dimples show.
"It's fine. I should've known she was up to something when she mentioned she would drive herself. She never drives anywhere in the evenings by herself."
"Well, it's nice to finally meet the mysterious Anastasia Steele." Ethan gives me an award-winning smile. Yep, loving the dimples.
Ethan is very handsome in a surfer, pretty boy way. Blonde hair and blue eyes, perfect teeth, and very muscular build. I could definitely see us making beautiful babies! I giggle internally. My roommate use to say that if you don't see yourself making beautiful babies with your date then excuse yourself to the bathroom and find the nearest exit.
"I hear that you just graduated from MIT. What are your plans now that you're done with school?" Ethan asks after we place our food order.
We fall into conversation easily and I have to say I'm having a great time talking with him. Ethan only has a few months left of his residency at the hospital and then he will be hired on as a full time general surgeon. He has crazy hours right now but everything should slow down in about two months. He has a sister my age who is married and a niece who is two years old. The way he speaks about little Ava is really quite adorable. I love kids and can see myself one day having a few.
When the check comes he quickly pays and that is when I see that we have just spent over two hours talking. The restaurant is filling up with the dinner crowd.
"Would you like to go for a walk to burn some of that chocolate cake off?" He asks.
"Sure, but not too far these heels are killer." I giggle and he offers his arm for me to loop it through.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're here with a doctor then." He winks and we walk out onto the sidewalk.
I have yet to get that electric shock that I received from Christian but since he made it clear that he is only about a fuck and duck, I don't see any reason why I should feel treacherous for being wined and dined by a good-looking guy who seems truly interested in me.
Walking down the main street we talk more about his family moving here right after I moved to live with dad in Seattle. He was in college getting his undergraduate at Yale and then went to Harvard Medical School. He never wanted the life of a big city doctor and wanted to make more of an impact on the smaller towns which is why he is back here.
I tell him about my love of car racing, which I've never told anyone other than my roommate before and find that it's so easy to open up to him. I tell him all about my love of cooking and trying new things, which he also enjoys, and my love of the beach. The sand in my toes and the wind blowing through my hair.
As we start back towards my car I hear the rumbles of the engines before I can see them. Coming down the main drag I notice Christian right away. And before I can stop myself I put my arm out and wave in their direction. I see a slight nod but can't tell if it was me he was acknowledging of due to the sunglasses they are all sporting. As they pass I turn my attention back to Ethan who is now staring at me.
"Do you know them?" He asks and I'm not sure about the tone in his voice. Is he annoyed, or curious or was it distaste?
"Them? Oh, well I met some of them yesterday evening when I slipped away for a run. Also, my ex from six years ago is apparently a part of it. I found that out last night as well."
The rumbles haven't died down at all and as we are about to cross the street, a line of motorcycles block our attempt. What the hell? Getting off their bikes some light up to smoke while others check their phones but it's the three massive bodies coming from the front of the line that have me concerned. They are dressed in their cuts with white shirts and jeans with their riding boots on.
"Well, this is just great." I hear Ethan say under his breath.
"What's going on here?" Christian says in a calm and smooth tone.
"Nothing that concerns you or your people." I say in a snarky way.
"That dress doesn't say nothing to me, Anastasia." Christian says to me and his eyes are cold as stone staring a hole through me as he takes off his glasses. Why does he care? He's the one who doesn't want this to happen. Ugh, men!
I notice that Jax hasn't uttered anything but is watching my every move. I really need to put us both out of our misery and talk this out so that we both can move forward but my inner bitch wants him to suffer like I did all those years ago.
Turning back to Christian I try to nail this home.
"Christian, you're acting like a jealous boyfriend right now and I know that you don't do relationships, so what are you doing right now." I move closer to Ethan and puts an arm around my waist.
"Wildcat, you're playing with fire right now and I just want you to be careful who you let close to you. This guy isn't as great as he seems. Right Ethan?"
"Look, I know that my family isn't very accepting of the marriage of Kate and Elliot but Kate and I are making amends. We have been hanging out more and she leaves Ava with me to babysit sometimes. My parents are a different story, though." Ethan tries to explain himself.
"What I think, is that your family turned up their nose to my family instead of getting to know us and threw Katherine out on her ass when she didn't conform to your parents demand and leave Elliot. I just don't want Anastasia to get sucked into that world."
Ugh! Why does he care?!
"Well, thank you for your warning or whatever it is you think you are doing here. But I'm a big girl and can handle myself just fine." It takes all my willpower not to stomp my foot. Jax and Opie both grin knowing that I'm seconds away from doing it, too. "And you two, wipe those smiles off those faces." I point to them but can't help the smile that is creeping threw my forced frown.
Opie is the first to move and he swings down and picks me right up off the ground twirling me around. I'm pretty sure everyone just saw my ass.
"Boy, have I missed you Banana!" Opie says and then kisses my forehead.
"Yeah, yeah and don't call me that. You know I hate it!" He chuckles and places me back down.
They start to walk away but before they do Christian tugs me away from Ethan and leans down to my ear.
"See you soon Wildcat and next time I would pick something other than hot pink for a thong." And then he walks away.
Jax is right behind him. It's now or never Ana.
"Jax!" I yell making him stop in his tracks. I walk over to him which I can see he's bracing himself thinking that I'm going to slap him again. "I thought that maybe we could talk and clear the air. I mean it's been six years and we're both adults now. I have a feeling that we are going to be bumping into each other a lot so I think that maybe we should talk and then hopefully move on. I'm not saying that we'll be best friends or anything but at least we can try to find a way to be civil."
I can see his face light up and he takes a step to me like he might hug me and I step back on reflex. I am nowhere near ready for his touch even if it's innocent. His face falls a bit but he recovers quickly.
"I would love that Ana. Thank you. Can you come by tomorrow at the clubhouse?" He asks.
Thinking of what I have to do which is finish the leftover jobs that are in my inbox and then Thursday I have to get ready for an underground race that I found out about last week.
"I can come by on Friday and that's the earliest I can make it. I have some stuff to do but Friday works for me if you are available."
"I'll make it work, Ana." Jax says and I know he will.
"Okay does after lunch work maybe around four?"
He nods and then walks to his bike. I stand there and watch as they mount and catch Christian giving me an appreciative nod. I smile and wink, which gets me a panty dropping smile, and then puts on his helmet and glasses. They push off the curb one at a time and fall in line down the main drag again with their brake lights getting smaller and smaller.
I feel a hand on my upper arm and turn to see Ethan waiting patiently for me.
"Thank you for putting up with…all that" I gesture toward the road they now have vacated.
"It's okay Ana if you aren't ready for a relationship right now. I understand." He looks a little sad when he says this.
"Oh, no you misunderstand me. That talk with Jax is about closure on something that happened six years ago. We aren't together in any way shape or form."
"And Christian?"
"Well, we kissed last night but he alluded that he doesn't do relationship only the fuck and duck kind, so I guess that puts us in the friends only category." I shrug because I don't know where we are. He was acting like a jealous man earlier and it confuses the hell out of me.
So until he can do relationship and offer me what I want and need then I plan on living my life to the fullest with no regrets. He isn't the only fish in the sea even if he makes my skin buzz with electricity and lights my panties on fire when he's around.
"That's excellent to hear Ana because I have had a wonderful night with you and hope that we can do it again real soon." Ethan states as we continue to walk to my car. "I would love for you to meet Kate. I know that the two of you would hit it off right away. Not to mention Ava would love to have another girl around."
"That sounds like fun." I say as we reach my car. "Thanks again for an enjoyable and relaxing blind date, Ethan." I giggle and we exchange numbers.
"Well, thanks for not being some weirdo who eats their hair." He jokes about one of his blind dates that his mother set him up with in the past.
We both have a great laugh and then Ethan makes his move by leaning in and kissing me. I feel his tongue at the seam of my mouth and open, granting him access. Making out on Main Street is bound to get back to our mothers and I hope they are happy for this little set up. He places a hand on my hip and pulls me closer. The kiss is amazing and we break a part to catch our breath. I give him one more peck on his soft lips before stepping away.
"Thank you for tonight, Ethan."
"My pleasure Anastasia."
He opens my door for me and closes it when I'm secured in. On the drive back to the house I can't help but think that the next few days are going to be so busy and draining.
Walking into the front door to the pool house I send a text to mom letting her know that was very sneaky but that I'm glad it worked out or I would be beating her door down and strangling her.
I change into some comfy pajamas and head for my study to get some work done. Opening a new email I see that they are offering me a boatload of money to hack into a system. The money is enough to cover me and my expensive hobby for the next two years. Being overly curious I click on the file and it opens, I scan the top part wondering who they are trying to hack and when I'm halfway down I see who they're needing to be hacked.
The Rough Riders MC
Well, shit! This just got a little more complicated.
A/N: Let me know what you think. The Pinterest page is updated! www dot Pinterest dot com / ladymav99896
