Chapter 3

"What?" I asked Jax.

He pointed to the security camera back behind the bar and sure enough David Hale was getting out of his Jeep. I hopped off my bar stool and headed outside. "What do you want?" I yelled across the parking lot.

"Hi Riley how are you?" He said.

I was still pissed off from my talk with my dad so this probably wasn't a good idea but at this point I didn't care. "You still didn't answer my question. What do you want?"

"Maybe I just wanted to check on you." Hale said.

I heard Jax and Opie laughing behind me. "That's rich." I said.

"Where's Clay?" Hale asked looking at Jax.

"No Clue. I'm not his keeper."

Hale raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you drunk Riley?" Hale asked me.

"Fuck off." I said as I turned around and started walking back towards Opie and Jax. I had enough drama going on at the moment. I did not need this right now.

"Riley!" Hale called after me but I kept walking. "Stop!" Hale yelled.

I whipped around and faced him. "What!" I yelled. By this time the parking lot was filled with the entire club including Gemma.

"Heard you threatened Donna yesterday?" Hale said.

I stormed up to Hale. "One, I didn't threaten her. And two, your grasping at straws. You always think that something is going on here but you never find anything." I said with a smirk on my face. I might be the only daughter of a first nine, but I could hold my own like any of the guys.

Hale leaned closer to me. "And one of these days I will find something." Hale said.

I started to turn around and walk away again but then I quickly turned back and decked Hale. "Screw you. You're a dick. You always have been." I said.

"That's it. Your under arrest." Hale said as he turned me around and pushed me into his jeep. I could hear all of the guys yelling at him that I didn't do anything wrong and to let me go.

"What's the charge Deputy?" I asked.

"Threats to Donna and Assaulting an officer." Hale said as he put me in the back of his jeep.

I'd been sitting in the holding cell at Charming PD for god knows how long. I'd looked around and found my initials that I'd carved into the wall when I was sixteen. I was standing there staring at them when out of the corner of my eye I saw Unser standing there. I turned and faced him. "Thought you made me a promise that you weren't going to end up back in here." He said.

I let out a sigh and crossed my arms. "Yeah well, Hale pissed me off." I said, giving him a small smile.

"He tends to do that." Unser said. Unser unlocked the cell door and opened it. "Talked to Donna, she's not pressing charges and neither is Hale."

"That's good to know." I said, walking out of the cell.

"Riley, I know that Donna being back in town is hard because of the way that she left…"

"Chief, I got it. Stay away from Donna." I said. He nodded in agreement. When I walked out of the police station Jax was waiting for me. "You drew the short straw?" I asked.

"Something like that." He said handing me a helmet.

Jax drove me to my house and parked in my driveway. I climbed off his bike and handed him the helmet. "Thanks for the ride." I said.

"Your welcome." He said. He sat there and stared at me for a minute.

"What?" I asked.

"Why were you so upset this morning? Don't get me wrong, I've been waiting for the day that you decided to punch Hale but it seemed like there was more to it." Jax said.

I let out a sigh. "You wanna beer?" I asked and he nodded, climbing off his bike. "Come on in." I said walking up to my front door and unlocking it. When I walked into my house, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed two beers out of the fridge. When I turned around Jax was standing in my kitchen. I handed him a beer. I walked over and hopped up on the counter. I opened my beer and took a drink. "I've been seeing someone." I said.

"Piney didn't take it too well?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I think part of him thinks that I'm gonna end up running like mom and Donna." I said.

Jax leaned against the doorframe where he was standing and shook his head. "He oughta know that your more like Opie than you are your mom. And as far as Donna, I think you should have torn her to shreds." Jax said laughing.

I gave Jax a small smile. I could tell that something else was on his mind. "What's going on in that head of yours?" I asked him.

"Just thinking about everything." Jax said. I nodded. I knew what he meant by that. He'd been thinking about Tara.

"You miss her?" I asked him. Jax and I had always been pretty close. When Mom had left town Opie and I spent a good bit of time at his house because Gemma would help take care of us.

"Yes and No. But that wasn't really what I was thinking about." He said and I nodded. "Did you wonder why I was here this morning?"

I shook my head. "I didn't really think about it. And then you told me that you and Tara broke up." I said, drinking my beer.

Jax walked over to me and sat his beer on the counter. "The real reason that Tara left, is because she found an old picture of us." He said.

"Which one?" I asked him. When we were in high school Jax and I used to hang out a lot, especially during the times when Tara decided to get on her high horse and break up with Jax because she was pissed off.

"The one from that summer where me, you, Ope and Donna went to the cabin." Jax said.

I remembered that summer. That was the summer that I'd fallen in love with Jax. Pops had told Ope and I to go spend the summer with Mom but there was no way that was going to happen so we'd ended up at the cabin and invited Jax and Donna to join us. Ope and Donna had spent most of their time making out on the couch or wherever they could find. I still think that was when Donna got pregnant with Ellie. Anywho, Jax and I had spent our time swimming and hanging out. That summer had also led to Jax kissing me. It had been a great summer. A summer that only the two of us knew about. "Yeah, I remember that summer. It was a great summer." I said, drinking my beer. "But why would she be upset about a picture… we used to take lots of pictures together."

Jax ran his hand over his face. "Because when she saw the picture of us she started asking questions. I tried to change the subject but she wasn't having it." Jax said. I could tell that this was hard for him. Neither one of us had talked about that summer since.

I finished my beer off. "So what did you end up telling her?" I asked him as I realized that he was getting closer to me.

"The truth…" He started as he turned away and walked to the other side of my kitchen and leaned against my stove. "That… that summer changed things for me." I listened to Jax. He said that summer changed things for him but obviously not enough seeing as by the end of that summer he and Tara were back together like nothing had happened and once again I was on the back burner. "I told her that, that summer you and I spent the entire summer together with Ope and Donna at your dad's cabin. Of course she was pissed off, you know Tara… she never liked us hanging out."

I laughed. "Of course not… because Tara wanted your attention 24/7." I said, under my breath and rolling my eyes.

"She asked why that summer changed things for me. I told her, that summer changed things for me because that summer I realized that I had feelings for you." Jax said. No! This wasn't happening. He walked over to me again. "Riles, that summer changed everything for me. Hanging out with you… and then that kiss."

"Jax…before you say anything else.." I tried to say but before I could, Jax kissed me. I wasn't going to lie… it felt amazing. But I had to put a stop to this. I had to tell Jax the truth. I pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" He asked me.

I took a deep breath. This was going to be hard. This was what I'd always wanted. I wanted nothing more than for Jax and Tara to break up and for Jax to realize that he was in love with me. But the Chibby came along and changed everything for me. "Jax, there's something that you should know. It's about the guy that I'm dating." I said. Jax wasn't going to like this part. I hopped off the kitchen counter and pointed to my kitchen table, "Sit down." I said and we both sat at the table. "My brother figured it before I could tell him but my dad knows now and he's not too happy about it."

"Just tell me Riles." Jax said.

I took a deep breath. "Jax, I've been dating Chibs." I said.

I could see his face turning red. "Are you serious right now?" He asked me. All I could do was nod. "This is unbelievable. I thought that this is what you wanted?"

I stood up furious at him. "How can you say that to me? I've wanted nothing more than for you to realize your feelings for me. But let me ask you something Jax… did you think that I was just gonna sit around and wait for you forever? I moved on. You took too long to realize that Tara was a psycho bitch that was playing you." I said. I was probably being harsh but I didn't care. Jax was being a dick right now.

"Riles…"

"Just go Jax." I said. I sat back down at the kitchen table as Jax walked around me and I heard the front door open and close signaling that Jax had left.

Once he'd left, I went to take a shower and get ready for the party at the clubhouse that night. I had no idea what to expect when I walked in. I mean, Ope knew… Dad was pissed about it… and now Jax… he'd confessed his love for me but only when it was too late. Lyla was the only one that had known my secret from the very beginning and that's because she's my best friend. When I got out of the shower, I threw on a black ruffled mini-skirt and one of my SONS tank tops that Gemma had gotten me.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I parked in my usual spot next to Gemma's caddy. As I climbed out of my car and headed towards the clubhouse I saw Gemma coming towards me. "Hey Gem." I said.

She stopped in front of me. "You wanna tell me what's going on?" She asked me.

I let out a sigh. "I've been seeing someone." I said, as we walked over to the picnic tables in front of the clubhouse.

"I gathered that when Jax came back in a huff. Who's the guy?"

"Chibs." I said quietly.

Gem nodded. "How long?" she asked.

I sat down and lit a cigarette. Gem took one from my pack and lit one for herself. "2 years." I said, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Gem sat down next to me. "And your happy?" She asked. I looked at her kind of confused. It wasn't often that Gem and I had a heart to heart. But when we did she always managed to help me even when I didn't know that I needed it. "I remember everything that you went through with Hale and Kozik. Not to mention all the idiots before them." Gem said.

I nodded, taking another hit of my cigarette. "With Hale things were always so complicated because of him being a cop. With Kozik… when things were good they were good, when they were bad they were bad. I wanted more and well… he didn't so that was the end of that. And then Chibs walked into my life when I needed someone… and everything just happened so quickly and before I knew it… I was keeping our whole relationship a secret. And then as the truth starts to come out, Jax shows up at my house to tell me that he and Tara broke up. Gem… How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"Oh honey. I know how long you waited for him to realize those feelings, but you couldn't wait forever." Gem said.

"I know and I told him that… right before I told him that I was dating Chibs." I said.

"Sweetie, Jax might be pissed of right now but he will get over it." Gem said. I nodded. Gem was right… even thought Jax was pissed off right now, eventually he would calm down and understand that I couldn't wait forever and that I had to move on with my life.

"Thanks Gem." I said, flicking my cigarette.

"One last thing that I want you to remember." She said and I turned to her. "Before you go in there and make your relationship known to the club, I want you to make sure that this is what you want. Nobody would blame you for changing your mind, least of all Chibs. The only thing that man has ever wanted for you was for you to be happy." Gem said, before she got up and walked inside.

After Gem went inside, I sat there for what seemed like the longest time. I thought about everything that Gem had said. One thing that I knew for sure that she was right about was if I walked into that Clubhouse and Chibs and I announced our relationship to the entire club, then that was it. There was no going back. There would be no changing my mind at that point. Maybe Gem was right, maybe I needed to take some time and think about everything that had been going on lately… Me…Chibs…Jax. I needed to think about all of it.