Betad by kitchmill. Mistakes are my own.

Preread by Hoodie.

9

Did you pack any swim trunks? -Emmett

No. He should have a pair at your place. -Bella

I can't find any. -Emmett

Have you actually looked? -Bella

I had a love-hate relationship with Emmett's scheduled weekends.

If he didn't show up I was pissed for a multitude of reasons. The major one being he disappointed his son. Again. Second, it meant I had no time for myself. As usual.

If he did show up I was happy to have the time for myself, even if that meant him texting the hell out of my phone.

You sure you don't wanna come over and join us for a late night swim? It could be fun. ;) -Emmett

Ugh.

The upside was that he wasn't here and I could choose to ignore him if I wanted to. What I couldn't ignore was how much I missed Brady. It was twice a month but I still missed my kid when he was gone. I even missed the little things that usually drove me crazy.

Like when he was a baby it was the colic. After he started crawling it was getting into anything and everything he wasn't supposed to. As a toddler he graduated to drawing on walls, streaming toilet paper all over the bathroom floor, and the potty training. Lord, the potty training. It took all I had not to lose my mind.

Yet God forbid Emmett had to deal with one overnight accident and I was likely to never hear the end of it.

I rolled my eyes so hard my head fell against the back of the couch. Why I let him continue to get under my skin was beyond me. I should have gotten used to it by now. I should have been numb to the annoyance and grief he gleefully caused me. My anger only fed him and made him stronger while hurting me. But I still blamed him for it.

I constantly had to remind myself what my mom had always told me.

We were a family that didn't believe in the H-word. Even if we thought it, we didn't use it. Period.

I tried to instill in Brady what my mom had in me. It was one of the worst possible words he could possibly use and not to do so. Ever. But whenever I thought about his father that was the first word that popped into my head.

Hate.

Sometimes. Most of the time I really hated Emmett. I hated to admit it but I did. I wholeheartedly hated the father of my child. And I hated that I hated him.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. I hated that it was.

Just hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. It would consume me if I let it. It would be so easy.

I sat there fuming for a few minutes, contemplating taking one of my nerve pills I'd been prescribed for when I couldn't settle myself down. But I wasn't there yet.

Usually I'd do a workout but I'd already showered. Not to mention the water bill had been sky high all summer from Brady and his friends playing with the hose. AKA forgetting about it and letting it run all day.

What the hell was I supposed to do the next few hours to not go crazy?

None of my usual TV shows were working to distract me. I wasn't in the mood to listen. My head was too loud. I couldn't stop thinking long enough to pay attention to anything. Which pissed me off even more.

It wasn't often that I took advantage of my freedom except for my shows. Probably felt too guilty to truly enjoy much of anything while my kid had to endure God knew what while with his dad. But it was nice to have an escape. When it worked.

I barely went out anymore. Didn't have the desire or the energy. Meeting new people sounded exhausting. I'd been burned by a man for too long, too many times. I had no real desire to date. However, I missed being touched. And kissing. God, I missed kissing.

Turning the TV off, I walked into the kitchen with no real motive other than to check all the cabinets and fridge. I wasn't even hungry. I just needed something to do. It was a dangerous activity to partake in. I didn't need to eat right now. Food wasn't the answer.

Backing out of the kitchen, I went back to the couch, grabbed my phone, and sent out a text.

S.O.S

The next thing I knew, I was opening the door for Alice's smiley face and astute fashion sense.

"Does someone need another mommy makeover?" she asked, giggling as she stepped by me into the house and jogged up the stairs to my bedroom.

I followed behind but slower, still not certain I was going to go through with this. My stomach was in knots just thinking about it.

"I brought a few options." Alice lined up the outfits side by side on my bed. "I'm so excited. I can't believe you're going through with this."

Tell me about it. I'd probably end up puking on the guy.

"Not those." I pointed.

"No leather pants. Got it. Not to worry, there's plenty more to choose from." Alice presented the rest with a wave of her arm. "Personally, I like this deep purple cocktail dress. It dips down just deep enough for a tasteful little tease and look, easy access." She demonstrated by grabbing the bottom of the dress and lifting it up.

"Classy."

It took me about a nanosecond to look over the outfit choices before deciding on the distressed skinny jeans and black tank. "And I'll wear my black sandals with it."

"The flat, black, strappy ones?"

"Yeah."

Alice's smile came off as more of a grimace. "Great choice." She all but bit her tongue off to not tell me how she really felt about my limited shoe collection. We'd already been down that road. She was well aware I wasn't opposed to leaving her on it.

While I curled the tips of my hair I had Alice hide the dark circles under my eyes and transform me from decaying zombie into golden goddess with the baby oil and bronzer.

If I decided not to go and stay in I could just admire myself in the mirror for the rest of the night. After all, it wasn't that often my reflection could be considered a friend.

"I thought this guy said he lived a ways up north but this address is local. Do you know what it is? Have you been by there?" Alice asked before I had the chance to ask her the same.

"No, I was hoping you knew. Maybe a restaurant or bar?" I wasn't too worried about my outfit choice if it were one of those things. There weren't any fancy places around here one would need to dress up for.

"Maybe he bought a place with all that aircraft moola just to be closer to you."

"That would be creepy."

"I looked it up and did you know an aircraft mechanic's average base salary is just over eighty-five grand a year? Max around a hundred and six. Our friend looked fairly seasoned. Plus he works on the club's bikes. My guess is he's banking somewhere in the upper half, if not more."

"Alice." I looked at her in disapproval.

She didn't notice for daydreaming about dollar signs. "I bet he got those sunglasses from Sunglass Hut." She nodded absently, staring at nothing in particular. "Probably paid full price."

I stared at the same nothing with her for a moment, trying to work up the energy to get up and moving. If I was doing this I needed to leave soon.

"Okay." I groaned as I stood. "Come on. Time to go."

I walked out with Alice and gave her a hug before we both got into our cars and took off in opposite directions.

The closer I got to my destination the more hesitant I became. Not only was I meeting a man I hardly knew, I was meeting him on the lower east end, the more impoverished and rough side of town.

The only reason I hadn't called it a night and headed home was because the sun was still out and I didn't trust myself not to order enough pizza to feed my whole neighborhood then eat it all myself.

By trade, I was a stress eater, depressed eater. I treated myself with food whether it was a good day, a bad day, or a Wednesday.

But not today.

All thoughts of food were pushed aside once I drove under the main overpass that divided the two sides of town.

Something in the air shifted when I turned down that dark side road, my destination just ahead on the left.

The closer I got, the more congested the road became. I was flanked by parked motorcycles until it dead-ended into a field that a handful of cars had turned into their parking lot.

I pulled in beside one of them and let the car idle, the air conditioning on full blast to keep me from sweating while I stared at the sign on the building across the street.

Lone Wolves Motorcycle Club.


Promise I'll post the next chap before Thanksgiving. And yes, Edward is in it.