Clara sat at the desk in the tiny office at TM auto bent over a stack of paperwork. She had only been at it for about thirty minutes now, but her hands were already beginning to ache.
She let out a frustrated huff realizing that the blue ink pen she'd been using had rubbed off onto her hand leaving her with a smurf-like palm.
Clara wiped her hand on her dark blue jeans knowing that it wasn't the most hygienic solution, but it was seemingly the only option she had. She didn't see a tissue anywhere in the office.
The weather today only made her job that much more dreadful. The air conditioner in the office wasn't keeping up with the heat outside. It seemed that each time the office finally became cool someone would open the door and let all the heat right in.
Clara imagined that she looked like a sweaty mess at the moment. She had made a small attempt to refresh her makeup thankful that for once in her life she'd decided to forgo lipstick and eyeliner. She'd pulled her short hair up with an ugly rubber band in hopes that it would cool her overheated neck.
She frowned down at her work so far unable to even believe that anyone could ever read her handwriting. Her penmanship was and had always been truly atrocious.
She'd always felt that her penmanship resembled a child's work; her letters were loopy and often went back and forth from being too small or just too large.
Over the years she'd developed a nasty habit of writing her letters in both cursive and print all in one sitting. She was sure that this little habit had started when she was just a child first learning how to write in cursive. It had seemed that she'd just never grown out of it.
Her mother had used to tease her telling her with that handwriting you could make a damn good doctor, given that you could never read a doctor's handwriting when you received a filled out prescription note from one.
Clara only hoped that Gemma wouldn't give her any shit about her penmanship when she returned from whatever errands she'd decided to run.
Clara was more than happy to see Gemma leave, even if it did mean being left at the office with a pile of work in front of her.
It was Friday afternoon and Clara was amazed that she had somehow survived the week without going postal and murdering everyone in her path.
Neither Gemma nor Clay had dropped the weird, annoying, and most likely false act of being generous and welcoming.
It was beginning to freak Clara out a bit. She was uncomfortable with how quickly Gemma had gone from being cold and skeptical to being little miss sunshine.
Clara found herself unable to trust Gemma. She just didn't feel comfortable around the woman.
Gemma reminded Clara of a highly poisonous snake that you'd find in the middle of the Amazon; cool and beautiful but so deadly if you made the wrong move in front of her.
Clara knew that Gemma didn't trust her one bit either.
So obviously there was no love lost there.
If she had the guts to just set the record straight about how she was really feeling about all of this she'd admit that Gemma and Clay's mistrust did piss her off.
She wasn't her father. Clara would never be anything like Samuel Oak Graham.
Clara had grown out of the stage in her life where she vied for her father's love, approval, and attention.
Now more than anything she was just livid when she thought of Oak. She was unable to even really think of him as a father.
Bobby had always been more a father to her.
When Oak had been out shooting junk into his veins Bobby had been the one to step up to the plate and care for her mother and her.
Clara was furious that Oak had cared more for drugs and women than he had for a woman who he'd supposedly loved and his child.
It wasn't Bobby's job to take care of his little sister and his niece. He should have never been shouldered with such a huge responsibility.
Tammy and Clara were never meant to be Bobby's burden. No he had never treated them as though they were a burden, but Clara had always allowed guilt and a poor self image to convince her otherwise.
It seemed that since Clara had returned to Charming her father had been more and more on her mind.
She wished more than anything that people wouldn't look at her and automatically think of Oak.
Clara knew that it was only natural for people to think of her father when they saw her. She had taken after him in many ways; She had his heart shaped face and his somewhat feminine rosy lips. She defiantly had his freckles especially when she spent far too much time out in the sun.
That was where the comparisons ended though. She just wished that people could wake up and see that.
Clara wasn't a junkie. She wasn't a liar. And she sure as hell wasn't a thief; no matter what her past with Mitch said.
Of course it wasn't just her father's legacy or Gemma's judgments that were bothering Clara.
Chibs had been acting strangely all week. In fact he'd been downright on edge.
She cringed as she heard Chibs' exasperated voice somehow loud enough for her to hear it though all the noise out in the garage. "Dammit prospect. I told ya ta keep yer hands off the fuckin transmission. Now I gotta take care a yer mess. It's leakin oil all over tha place."
Clara bit her bottom lip as she silently pondered just what had climbed up Chibs' ass and had died.
He had been frankly bitchy towards his prospect all week long. He'd been short tempered and unreasonable to poor Half Sack.
Clara almost felt bad for the young prospect. She imagined though that perhaps this was all part of the process of being a prospect. Maybe the hazing and cruel comments were just part of paying your dues to the club.
Still though she wasn't particularly fond of this side of Chibs. She kind of felt that he was being an asshole to Half Sack.
Of course Chibs did speak to Clara, but she couldn't help but to sense that there was something off about their conversations.
She had been sticking around by her front door when she arrived home in hopes that she might run into Chibs as he came home.
She felt like an idiot doing this. Clara knew that it looked so lame standing around waiting on him to show up.
Her best guess was that he had been arriving home long after she'd gone to bed, or maybe he'd just been crashing at his room in the clubhouse.
Part of her couldn't help but to wonder what kept him out so long.
Clara could admit that one particular thought had crossed her mind more than a few times. What if Chibs just preferred the croweaters who hung around the club at all hours of the days company, to her company.
She knew it was stupid to feel jealous at the idea of Chibs being with some croweater. After all he wasn't her boyfriend. She wasn't even sure if he saw her as a possibility.
It bothered her though. She hated the idea of some other woman touching Chibs in that way. It made her want to vomit.
Yes Clara was beginning to realize that she had it bad. She was completely and totally pining for Chibs Telford.
Clara felt like such a fool feeling this way about a man who probably wouldn't even notice if she fell off the face of the planet, yes she knew she was being overdramatic with that statement. But still it kind of hurt to think that Chibs would never notice her the way she wanted him to.
Maybe she'd been wrong in thinking that he could ever feel something for her. Maybe that flirty tone he'd used with her that night he'd helped her move boxes into her apartment, was just the way he spoke to every woman.
Chibs was probably accustomed to flirting with croweaters. Perhaps that was all he wanted, Clara thought bitter with this realization.
It was probably for the best, she tried to convince herself.
After all hadn't she learned that most men weren't to be trusted after the mess with Mitch Daniels. Her own father had proven that men could be downright rotten, Clara told herself.
Clara could remember a line from one of Victoria's favorite movies on the planet; Grease.
Victoria had forced Clara to watch the movie at least a dozen times. Clara could probably recite every single line from the stupid film in her sleep.
The line Clara remembered so well occurred when Frenchy was talking to Sandy about Sandy's heartache over Danny; Men are rats, listen to me, they're fleas on rats, worse than that, they're amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they're too low for even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.
Clara had to connect with this statement in a way; only in her case the only man she could depend on was her Uncle Bobby.
Of course Clara was perfectly aware that this was all just heartache of possibly being rejected by Chibs, talking.
She wondered if Mitch Daniels had really fucked her up that badly.
Mitch had destroyed her confidence enough that she had practically isolated herself over the past two years.
She went to work dancing at that nightclub knowing that the job was below her. She had made no efforts to connect with her coworkers.
Clara had in a way pushed just about everyone away in fear of being hurt all over again. She'd even shut her mother out even though she'd been living in the same apartment as her.
The only reason Clara hadn't pushed Victoria away is because her best friend wouldn't allow it.
Maybe her ex had screwed her up enough that she had the need to attach herself to the first familiar man who wasn't related to her, Clara suddenly realized.
Maybe Chibs was just familiar to her, like some sort of walking talking security blanket?
Clara couldn't help but to feel though that this attraction she felt for Chibs wasn't just a case of being a basketcase.
The crush she had on Chibs felt genuine to her.
She looked up from her paperwork letting out a sigh when she spotted Juice. She spoke nodding down to the stack of paperwork. "Just drop off whatever you have here. I'll get to it as soon as I can."
"Oh I don't have anything. I just thought you could use some company. Here I got you this." Juice blurted out deciding to give Clara his best flirty grin once again as he placed a can of diet pepsi on the desk in front of her.
Clara widened her eyes a little shocked by both Juice's gift and the fact that he was giving her that same flirty smile he'd given her the first day they'd met.
Clara reached for the can of soda grateful for a cold drink in this heat. She opened the can taking a sip as she watched Juice plop down on the sofa beside the desk.
She sat the soda back down on the desk as she spoke. "Thank you."
"No problem. So are you enjoying Charming?" Juice asked not helping but to admire her figure.
Clara had dressed casually wearing dark jeans, a green tank top that exposed only a trace of cleavage, and the same pair of black moccasins she'd worn almost every day this week.
"It's okay I guess." Clara replied as she stared back down at the paperwork on the desk.
She knew that she might be coming off as a little rude, but she was determined to make a dent in the work she'd been left with.
She didn't miss the flirty tone in Juice's voice as he spoke up. "I could show you around if you'd like."
"No offense but I'm pretty familiar with Charming. I mean I was born here. It doesn't really seem that much has changed." Clara replied as she placed her pen down choosing to twist the mood ring she wore on her right index finger.
She knew that she was falling back into old habits; trying to shut people out.
"Well we did get a couple of new stop lights." Juice replied the comment making Clara chuckle a little.
She had to admit it was nice to be spoken to at work without the sense that she was being judged.
Juice did seem nice enough.
To be honest this is why she'd sort of been keeping to herself at work. She'd been frightened that everyone here would treat her the same way Gemma had been treating her.
The last thing Clara wanted was to stir up any drama. She needed this job rather she wanted to admit it or not.
Not to mention she really didn't want her Uncle to get inadvertently involved in this work situation somehow. Clara wasn't going to go crying to Bobby that she was feeling awkward here with Gemma and Clay. That act just seemed too childish to her.
Juice gave her another grin sure that he was getting somewhere with her. She had laughed at his joke after all. It was a big step up from ignoring everyone but Chibs. "Yeah I guess this isn't as fun as Vegas. What did you do there? I mean did you work in an office there too?"
Clara felt herself begin to shut down again as she thought of her old job. Everyone always had the same reaction to the fact that she'd worked at a club dancing in a cage. They assumed that she was a stripper instead of just a plain old dancer.
She placed her palms down on the desk ignoring the risk to push her chair back and distance herself from Juice. "I worked in a club."
"Oh really? Maybe I've been. I've gone to Vegas a couple of times on runs. What's the club called?" Juice asked leaning forward. The Vegas charter had taken him out a few times when Jax and he had made runs. He wondered if maybe he'd seen Clara back then and hadn't even been aware of it.
Clara avoided Juice's eager face as she turned her eyes down to the can of Diet Pepsi. "It's a pretty new club. It's called The Mod Room."
She cleared her throat speaking again praying that Juice had never been there. "I hadn't worked there for very long before I decided to move here."
This was a lie. Clara had been working at the Mod Room for a year before she'd decided to get the hell out of Vegas.
She hoped that Juice didn't make the connection to the Mod Room and the type of job Clara could have had.
No the cage dancing had never been anything risqué. If anything it had been a little goofy. She'd usually wound up putting on white gogo boots, a bright pink or green wig, and some all too short mini dress, before she climbed down into one of the many cages that were suspended around the club on platforms and balconies. From there she'd dance for hours on end.
She could remember what her boss Ricky had always said to all the girls; Remember smile and look like you're having a hell of a time.
There was really nothing to smile about when you were stuck in a silver cage dancing your ass off to the the big Mod hits of the sixties; the Monkeys, James Brown, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and basically any bands that had been related to the british invasion of the sixties.
The idea of the place was to make one feel as though they'd stepped back into the swinging sixties; the ear of Mod: scooters, Twiggy, gogo boots, mini dresses, psychedelic music and imagery.
It had been a fun job at first. Clara had kind of enjoyed the music and the tacky decor, but within a few months she'd wanted to scream every time she looked at the white gogo boots she'd bought for the job.
She'd only made it through her nights working there because of a strict diet of red bull, cigarettes, and caffeinated bubble gum.
Juice dropped his grin quickly realizing that Clara's life in Vegas was clearly not something she wanted to talk about.
He cleared his throat deciding to try a different tactic. "So Chibs says you work out a lot."
Clara widened her eyes thrown off by this comment. She was tempted to blurt out Chibs and you have been talking about me? She kept her mouth shut though realizing that this comment would come across as making her seem like a total ass.
"I guess I do. It gives me energy." Clara replied taking another sip from her Pepsi can before she placed it down on an empty folder. The can was sweating profusely in the heat.
Apparently Charming was experiencing a strangely hot winter this year. It was a disappointment for Clara given that she had been looking forward to getting away from the heat after living in a desert town for so long.
"Cool. I love it too. I mean there's nothing better than a good workout to start the day. Are you into health food. There's this new health food place down the street from Floyd's Barber Shop. It's supposed to have really good organic options." Juice exclaimed happy to see that he was perhaps making some progress.
"I guess I do. I use to eat organic a lot...when I could still afford it." Clara replied trying to play off the last part of her statement.
Her poor finances were something she'd prefer to keep to herself.
Juice gave a her a flirty smile spotting his opportunity to make a move. "So do you think you'd be alright with grabbing some dinner there tonight? Me and you?"
Clara let out a nervous laugh shocked by this request. He was asking her out on a date?
She was torn as what to do or say.
Most girls would probably gladly go out on a date with Juice. She could do a whole lot worse in a guy.
Juice was pretty handsome even with the odd choice in a haircut and the tribal tattoos. He was muscular thanks to his dedication to weight lifting, he had dark eyes that held a certain mischievous twinkle to them, and he really had a nice smile; white straight teeth.
Yes he was a little ditzy and his tribal tats made her think of Mitch, but those were only minor disadvantages.
He wasn't much older than her. He had to be in his late twenties or his early thirties. He was very age appropriate.
Clara knew that her mother would probably approve. Victoria would probably shove her towards Juice and insist on plans for marriage.
On the other hand though, Juice just didn't do it for Clara. Yes he did seem to be a total sweetheart, but she just didn't get butterflies in her gut when she looked at him.
He didn't make her feel giddy and nervous. She didn't trip over her words when she spoke to him. She didn't feel her cheeks flush every time she imagined his lips on hers. The thought of some other girl having him didn't make her heart ache.
In other words Juice didn't make Clara feel like Chibs made her feel.
She held her breath for a moment as she contemplated the best way to let Juice down easy.
She really didn't want him to walk away thinking she was some ice queen.
"You're a really nice guy. I mean you're very sweet. It's just I don't know if I'm really ready to date anyone just yet." Clara blurted out knowing that she was giving him the same line most men hated; You're a nice guy.
Juice slumped his shoulders the smile quickly disappearing from his face. He reached back rubbing his neck as he spoke. "Oh...I see. That's okay."
Clara sighed feeling shitty for doing this. She had the feeling Juice didn't get turned down very often.
She let out a sigh as she spoke again. "I just got out of a really fucked up relationship...that's why I left Vegas. I guess I'm still pretty messed up from it. If I didn't feel like such a basketcase I would say yes in a heartbeat."
Juice dropped his hands down into his lap not missing the comment about saying yes in a heartbeat.
He spoke up knowing that he couldn't turn into a jackass just because she turned him down, though it really would be easy to do just that. "It's cool."
"Do you think we could be friends?" Clara asked knowing that she hadn't been lying about Juice being a sweet guy. She could easily see herself developing a friendship with him.
Juice gave her a half smile a tiny bit irritated that she was giving him the whole being friends line. Didn't most girls say that when they were trying to let a guy down easy.
"Yeah that'd be cool." He replied deciding that he'd rather have a friendship with her than nothing at all.
Though he'd be a liar if he tried to deny that he didn't hope that once she sorted her problems out she might consider him.
"What are you doing Sunday?" Juice asked deciding to test her on the lets be friends deal.
Clara felt her cheeks flush as she remembered just what she'd been planning on doing Sunday. "Nothing I guess."
To tell the truth she had just gotten her a Netflix account set up. She'd planned on sitting back Sunday with some frozen yogurt and bingeing on an entire season of her favorite show in the entire universe Firefly.
She had watched the first and only season at least a dozen times, but she still couldn't get enough of it.
Yes she was a giant scifi geek, she didn't need anyone to tell or remind her of it.
"Would you be up for a horror movie marathon at my place?" Juice asked deciding that a movie binge seemed to be a friendly enough activity.
Clara smiled knowing that she kind of had always been a sucker for horror films. "Just a friend thing right?"
She had to ask. After all movies at a guy's apartment did usually meant hey let's turn out the lights, turn on a horror film and make out on my sofa.
Juice let out a laugh spotting her apprehension. He hadn't planned on trying anything, well not realistically anyway. "Yeah just friends."
"Okay I'll get the drinks and the snacks." Clara replied somewhat excited to have plans for once after spending two years isolating herself.
Maybe it would be nice to have a friend here? Maybe Juice could be that friend?
Chibs was still in a sour mood as he pulled his bike into the parking lot of his apartment complex.
The only reason he'd chosen this particular complex was because the parking lot was gated. You had to have a pass code to get through the heavy iron gates.
He'd felt a need for some security when he'd begun to look for a new place to live. The neighborhood he'd lived in before this had been pretty shitty and it always made him cringe to park his bike in that parking lot.
He still did cringe leaving his bike out here in the open, but the armies of security cameras around the apartments and the parking lot made him feel a lot more at ease.
He knew that if someone fucked with his bike he could always find a way to view the video footage, and extract his vengeance.
It wasn't just Half Sacks screwups that had affected his mood. It was several things.
First and foremost there was Juice's interest in Clara Munson.
He tried to tell himself that Juice was a good match for Clara. He was age appropriate for her. He was a stand up guy. Chibs trusted him. Juice was one of Chibs' closest friends.
Chibs hated the idea of Juice and Clara together though. No matter how much he liked his brother, he hated the idea of Clara being Juice's.
It made him nauseous to think of it. What would he do if Clara became Juice's old lady?
Would he be able to stand seeing the woman he was so infatuated with on Juice's arm?
How would he stand it every time Clara kissed Juice? How would he stand it knowing that Clara was snuggled up in Juice's arms every night? How would he handle seeing Juice make Clara laugh? What would he do at Friday night parties when he watched Clara disappear with Juice off towards the dorms?
What was he supposed to do; just watch Clara be whisked off her feet by Juice?
Jealousy was a strange thing. It could make a man or a woman go insane. Chibs was beginning to understand why.
It seemed that his thoughts haunted him when he allowed his mind to wander too far. He kept picturing Clara and Juice naked tangled together in passion. He thought of Juice's hands running along Clara's smooth body, Clara arching and moaning at the mans touch.
Chibs was driving himself mad with envy. It was as though the green-eyed monster was piggy back riding on his shoulders.
He hated that he hadn't had the balls to say something to Juice when the man had mentioned an interest in Clara.
What could he possibly say though? No Juicy Boy don't do it. Why, Well I think I'm enamored with Clara. I want her for myself.
He knew that conversation would blow up in his face faster than the atom bomb.
It seemed that he was just going to have to live with it. He'd have to buckle up and pine for Clara from afar whilst she was romanced by Juice.
The other thing that was making him so miserable was the fact that his Kerrianne's thirteenth birthday was Sunday.
His sweet wee love would be turning thirteen. It would be her twelfth birthday without her da.
Every year at this time Chibs felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. It felt like someone had sunk their sharp claws into his beating heart. It felt like they were twisting up his poor heart making it some filthy broken thing before shoving it back in him.
He had been spending his every single night this week avoiding reality with a bottle of the what seemed to be the only friend in the world he could count on: Jameson Whiskey
The night before had been the worse yet. He felt pathetic when he thought of what he'd done:
Chibs was drunk. Actually he was way past drunk now, He was a damn sloppy mess.
He managed to stumble up from his seat in the clubhouse dragging a giggling blonde croweater behind him. He was sure she'd said her name was Mara or maybe it was Mary, he couldn't remember it for the life of him.
The two barely managed to make it into his dorm room before the croweater dropped to her knees making quick work of unfastening his belt and unceremoniously yanking his jeans and his black boxers down to his knees.
She stroked him for a moment causing him to let out a heavy groan. His groan only grew louder as she wrapped her lips around him and began to suck his hard member at an experts pace.
Chibs had no idea what came over him as he closed his eyes his head falling back in pleasure. His mind went to a curvy brunette with what he was beginning to believe were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen.
Chibs imagined that in the croweaters place was Clara. He imagined Clara down on her knees her soft hands tracing his stomach, his hips, and his backside as she pleasured him.
He imagined that she wouldn't mind the weight he'd gained in the past few years. He imagined that she'd find him sexy even with a few extra pounds. He liked to think that she would tell him just how sexy she found him as she traced his skin with her fingertips and her lips.
He imagined her lips would feel just as perfect on his body as they'd felt on his cheek.
As the croweater took him deeper and harder he pictured Clara moaning around his member her dark eyes filled with lust as she stared up at him.
He pictured her nails painted the same bright red they'd been that first day she'd come to the garage, digging into his skin as she pulled away teasing his tip with her tongue spreading the precum leaking from him. Her nails against his skin and her tongue would be the perfect mixture of pleasure and pain.
His hands gripped on to the back of the croweater's head holding her in place as he rocked his hips at a frenzied pace. He pictured instead of blonde extensions his fingers were twisted around dark soft locks of hair.
He imagined Clara's body just as he'd pictured it any time he allowed his mind to wonder to a more perverted place; so soft and milky and just plain incredible
He imagined how heavenly her skin would feel against him. It would feel like the most expensive silk on the planet.
He let out a heavy groan as he hit the back of the croweaters throat causing her to gag. He pictured Clara taking all he had to give her so willing to please her man.
He came hard and fast as he pictured Clara's hand running along her body. He pictured her fingers disappearing under the waistband of her panties teasing herself as she sucked him swallowing his release.
He spoke a deep moan escaping the back of his throat."Clara fuck lass."
As Chibs came down from his high his pleasure was so quickly replaced with shame.
He stared down at the croweater as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She spoke up giggling completely oblivious to the truth behind his cry of pleasure. "It's Mona silly."
Chibs let out a huff the shame he felt turning to anger. He stepped away pulling his jeans back up as he spoke. "Get outta my sight ya gash."
The croweater stood up her eyes growing wide. She stormed from his room obviously not pleased that he'd called her by the wrong name and then kicked her out of his room.
Chibs dropped on his back letting out a heavy sigh. He quickly realized that he was flat out fucked.
He wanted Clara and only Clara.
What was wrong with him?
He felt like shit. The woman he was crazy about was probably being courted by one of his best friends and his little girl was celebrating another birthday without him an ocean away.
Tonight he'd chosen to spend away from the clubhouse in fear of having another shame filled sexual encounter with a croweater.
He had stocked up on a twelve pack of beer and planned to spend the night in his apartment locked away from the world.
He wanted to spend his weekend intoxicated with what little photos he had of his Kerrianne.
Chibs knew he'd do the same thing he'd done just about every birthday for the past eleven years.
He'd break down and buy a cupcake; chocolate with blue frosting of course Kerrianne's favorite flavor and the color he'd decorated her nursery with. He'd shove a birthday candle in the cupcake and light it up before blowing it out. The cupcake wouldn't be eaten. He'd shove it off somewhere until it dried up.
He knew that this was a somewhat unhealthy tradition. It served as nothing more than a way to torture himself farther.
Chibs almost made it to the front door of his apartment when he heard a familiar voice followed by the sound of water splashing. "Chibs!"
He turned to face the pool his stomach churning as he spotted just the woman who'd invaded his brain.
Clara smiled as she reached up waving to Chibs. "What are you doing? Come here."
He was tempted to blurt out some lame excuse about how tired he was, but his feet moved quicker than his mouth.
He found himself following her orders as he went through the gate to the pool and patio area.
He stared down at Clara as she waded in the clear blue water. She spoke a friendly smile on her face. "I thought that maybe you dropped off the face of the planet."
"What?" He blurted out not exactly getting her little joke given that his eyes quickly locked down on what he could see of her body through the pool water.
She laughed tilting her head to the side as she spoke. "I don't see you except for when we're at work."
That's because I've been hiding out at the clubhouse and lusting after you like a sap, he thought to himself feeling like a fool.
He ran a hand through his messy hair as he spoke. "Aye...I've been busy with the club."
He spoke again quick to change the subject. "Are ya enjoyin the pool?"
"Yes. It's so amazing and so cold. It's perfect. I couldn't resist it for another second." Clara exclaimed not hiding just how good the water felt after a hot day.
She spoke again nodding off towards the apartments. "Mrs. Rodriguez wants me to teach her sons to swim this summer. She's going to pay me for every lesson. I haven't taught any swim classes since I was a teenager. It'll be a lot of fun though. I mean I love kids and I love swimming."
"Mrs. Rodriguez?" Chibs asked unfamiliar with the name as he sat down on one of the plastic patio loungers setting his plastic bag of beers beside him.
She let out another small laugh as she spoke. "Yeah she lives next door to you. I met her when I was carrying my groceries in. She's got a six year old and a three year old both boys. Gilbert and Anthony."
Chibs nodded his head knowing that he hadn't paid any attention to his neighbors. How was it that Clara had lived here less than a week and she already knew more about the apartment than he did?
Chibs was unable to tear his eyes away from Clara as she swam over to the pool ladder and climbed out of the pool.
Her wet body was a sight he knew would play over and over again in his dirtiest dreams.
The bikini she wore showcased her body perfectly; her full hips and her breasts. It was a black high-waisted pin up style bikini with little red cherries all over it.
His eyes didn't leave her body until she wrapped a fluffy purple towel around herself.
She felt her cheeks flush noticing his admiration of her body. He was just being a man she told herself. It didn't mean a thing.
She sat down on the patio lounge beside him. She cleared her throat changing the subject as she spoke. "The pool is perfect. I haven't gone for a swim in years. There's this Bar in Vegas that I've always wanted to work at. It's called Mermaid Cove. They had these women who'd put on mermaid tails and swim in the pool in the bar. The bar part was underground and there were windows in the pool. You could see everything there. It was like watching actual mermaids. It's really kitsch...I mean the entire place looks like the fairy tale the Little Mermaid exploded in it. They play this kind of ethereal music and serve seafood. They have like clam shaped plates and these amazing tropical cocktails. I love it there."
"Why didn't ya work there?" Chibs asked thankful that she hadn't mentioned the fact he was practically drooling over the sight of her in a bikini.
It was nice to hear her talk about something that she was apparently so passionate about. He enjoyed seeing the way her brown eyes practically lit up as she talked about this bar.
She gave him a soft grin as she answered him. "It was really hard to get a job there. I was perfect for it. I'm a strong swimmer. They never seemed interested in hiring me though. It's a popular place, lots of girls want to work there. There's a ton of competition when it comes to landing a job interview. And plus you had to purchase your own mermaid tail. Those things are expensive...like 500 bucks. It's insane they make them out of latex or some other plastic. People handcraft the tails and paint them themselves. I had my eye on this sort of pearly looking one. It was kind of a blend of a purple and a pink. I could of never afforded it though. "
He chuckled amused by her comment. "So where did ya work?"
Clara was shocked as she spoke up answering him with total honesty. "I worked at a sixties themed club. It was called the Mod Room. I danced in a cage...kind of gogo danced. I was more a piece of living decor than anything. I kind of hated it. So not as cool as the mermaid job. I would have rather been a professional mermaid."
He grinned as he spoke his voice taking a flirty tone. "If it's any consolation ya woulda been the prettiest mermaid in the bar."
She laughed her cheeks flushing at the comment. She reached up tucking her wet hair behind her ears trying to hide just how much his comment had affected her.
Chibs reached down in to his plastic sack pulling out two beers. He handed her a beer surprised to discover that he felt less desperate to get to his apartment and hide now that he was here with Clara.
She opened her beer taking a drink as she spoke returning his flirty tone. "Why aren't you at the clubhouse? Don't you boys have wild parties on Fridays? You know croweaters and booze for everyone?"
Chibs felt his cheeks flush remembering that embarrassing encounter with the croweater again. "I wasn't in tha mood fer debauchery I guess."
He was taken off gaurd as Clara spoke a concerned tone to her voice. "Are you okay? You've seemed...just really sad lately."
He was shocked that she had noticed that his mood had been so sour all week. He knew that he'd been riding the prospect pretty hard, but he hadn't been aware that it had been so obvious.
"It's a hard time a tha year fer me. My Kerrianne's birthday is Sunday." Chibs admitted only telling her half the truth about the reasoning behind his attitude lately.
He couldn't find it in himself to mention his jealousy about Juice's attraction to Clara. What would she think about it? What if she didn't feel the same?
"Your daughter? How old is she?" Clara asked curious about this side of Chibs.
She'd never asked him about it in fear that it would offend him or depress him.
"Aye. She's thirteen. I aint seen er since she was jus a baby." Chibs admitted taking a big swig from his drink.
"She lives in Ireland doesn't she? Why aren't you allowed to see her...I mean I've heard a lot of different stories from people but..I mean...You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Clara stated the words stumbling out of her mouth.
She knew it was a personal question. It was probably a painful subject for Chibs. She really didn't want to upset him with stupid questions about his scars that he probably got all the time from people.
She felt guilty as she spotted a pained expression develop along his face. He stared down at his beer as he spoke deciding that he could trust her with the truth. He only hoped she didn't look at him differently because of it. "I...There was this man, Jimmy O'Phelan. He knew my wife Fiona pretty well. He was jealous a me."
Chibs reached up placing a hand on his cheek over one of his scars for a moment as he spoke again. "He slashed my face...took my wife and my girl. Told me ta leave Ireland."
"Your wife didn't fight him?" Clara asked not helping but to be a little angry at this realization. Why didn't Fiona fight tooth and nail to remain by Chibs' side, especially after what Jimmy had done to him.
Chibs shrugged taking another swig of his beer. "No...Jimmy's a...he's high up in the Real IRA. He's a violent man."
He cleared his throat as he spoke again. "I joined up with tha sons after I got outta the hospital...never looked back. I get photos of Kerrianne in tha mail. Fiona sends em ta a friend of the charter in Belfast who sends em ta me. It's been almost a decade since I've seen Kerrianne in person."
Clara nodded her head not helping but to be angry for Chibs. It wasn't fair to him being kept from his daughter. It was clear that he loved the girl so much. If he didn't love his daughter he wouldn't be in such anguish at the realization of missing yet another birthday.
She was angry that this had happened to him. She knew that this situation was so clearly dangerous though. Chibs clearly had no control over the entire situation.
She knew Chibs wasn't the type of man to just abandon his family without a fight.
He was shocked as Clara placed a hand over his giving it a gentle squeeze as she spoke. "That should have...that's terrible Filip. I'm so sorry that ever happened to someone like you."
"Like me?" He repeated unsure of what she meant by that.
She shrugged her shoulders not removing her hand from his. "You're sweet and kind and amazing. You have so many reasons to be cruel and hateful and just give up on life, but you didn't. You love your daughter so much. I can tell by the look in your eyes when you say her name."
She cleared her throat an idea suddenly entering her mind. "I know something that might help. I don't want you to spend Sunday all alone. Come with me to Juice's house. We're having a movie marathon. It'll take your mind off of everything."
"I don't know lass...Juice won't mind?" Chibs asked not sure he could handle watching Juice and Clara together...if they were together by now that was.
"Of course he won't mind. Please Filip. It'll be fun I promise. I wouldn't take you somewhere if I thought it'd be horrible." She pleaded not removing her hand from his.
She gave him the same expression she would give to her mother or Bobby when she was a little girl and really really wanted something. It was a puppy dog look; wide eyes and all.
She knew it was immature to beg him, but she couldn't stand the idea of him being all alone on such a difficult day.
A movie night would keep his mind occupied. Juice and she could be the friends Chibs' needed to help him through this.
He had to admit he enjoyed her touch. Her skin was pleasant against his even if it was wet from the pool and her fingers were pruney.
"Aye I'll go." He gave in knowing that he was probably going to regret it. There was something about her pleading with him though that he couldn't ignore.
Christ she wasn't even his old lady and she already had him whipped, he thought to himself.
She grinned satisfied with this answer. She stood up pressing a soft kiss to his cheek over one of his scars. "Awesome. It's going to be so fun I promise. We'll gorge on junk food and bad scary movies. I know junk food is horrible, but I can't resist it when there's a movie involved."
He cleared his throat resisting the urge to yank her down and lock his lips with hers.
She patted his hand as she pulled away. "I'll see you then. I better get in the shower before this chlorine dries my skin out."
Chibs nodded his head watching her walk away from him. He spoke up meaning to ask her about Juice and she. Were they together or weren't they. "Clara?"
She turned to face him raising a manicured eyebrow. "Yeah? Don't tell me you're trying to wimp out of Sunday. I won't have it."
He lost his nerve as he stared into her eyes. He didn't want to know before Sunday. It would kill him if she was Juice's old lady. "Nah I'll see ya Sunday night. Good Night."
"Good night Filip. Sleep well." She replied a soft smile on her face.
He let out a huff as he watched her walk away disappearing into her apartment.
He was tempted to dive headfirst into the pool. He could imagine himself sinking to the very deepest bottom never to come back up again.
Chibs was screwed.
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Chapter Title song: Friday I'm in Love by the Cure