Frustrated, I growled under my breath.
I was dancing around this situation like a fool, and Storm was no help because he’d let me continue in this vein for a century.
The man seriously needed to work on his self-esteem.
Did I want to be the one who helped him with that?
I groaned and butted my head against the steering wheel because the answer, stupid as it made me, pathetic and anti-feminist and weak, so, so, so weak, was yes.
Indefatigably, yes.
Twenty-Two
Storm
PAST
Girls, Girls, Girls - Motley Crue
The bonfire raged at my side, music blared heavy and loud, Whitesnake at war with Motley Crue, while I laid there, staring up at the sky.
The fireworks in the distance weren’t exactly real, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t seeing them anyway. They shot up, every now and then, reminding me of how long ago it’d been since I’d shot up, the firework display getting quieter and quieter with every hour that passed.
"Dad’s gonna fucking kill you if he spots you out here like this."
I ignored Rex, humming along to ‘Girls, Girls, Girls,’ as I zoned the fuck out.
I’d had the day from hell. I deserved to zip in and out of focus.
A steel-capped toe booted me in the side, not hard enough to wind me but to make me peer up at him.
"Wassup?" I grumbled, hitting out at the offending leg. "Why’d you do that?"
"Because you need to get moving before Bear sees you."
My hand flopped onto the ground. "She left me."
"Again?" was Rex’s wry retort as he squatted down beside me. "What did you do this time?"
"She wanted a picket fence." I squinted at him. "I can’t get her a picket fence because of her fucking father—"
Rex smirked at me. "I don’t think that’s what she was asking for, Storm."
"She said, ‘I want a picket fence.’ How am I supposed to misinterpret that?" I slurred.
"Misinterpret, huh? Let me see. I think she was saying she wanted a more traditional place to bring up her kid. Which house did you show her?"
"The condo on Maryland Avenue."
"Well, you couldn’t have been much further from a house, could you?" Rex commented with a laugh, rocking back onto his ass so he was sitting beside me before he rolled back as well and laid at my side. "You two are like oil and vinegar. How the fuck did you even get her knocked up?"
"She’s perfect."
"No one’s perfect."
"She is." I sighed. "She’s so fucking clean."
"What skank bitches you been with who don’t shower?"
I grouched, "Not clean like that."
"Okay, clean like what?" When I fell silent, he murmured, "From this way of life?"
"I guess."
"Or do you mean your mom or sister?" He elbowed me in the side when I didn’t answer. "You visited Scarlet in jail the other day, right? How’s she doing?"
"I think she’s evil."
Rex snorted. "No ‘think’ about it. That bitch sucks off Satan for fun."
A cackle escaped me. "Explains why she has bad teeth."
Rex laughed. "I have no idea what one has to do with the other—"
"Satan’s cum has to be acidicik."
"Think you mean acidic, bro." He grunted. "Swear that sister of yours could get arrested in a convent. What did she have to say when she found out you were gonna be a dad?"
"Whatcha think?"
"She gave you shit for it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did you take that out on Keira?"
"Why would I?"
"I dunno. Trying to figure out why your sorry ass is here at tonight’s party when you’d much rather be with your woman. Where is she?"
"In a motel."
"What?" Rex spluttered.
"She went to her parents, but her mom wouldn’t let her through the door. Doesn’t help that her friends don’t want anything to do with her now too. Goddamn churchgoers. Never met a bunch of fuckers less Christian than Christians." Disconcerted, I whispered, "I really fucked up her life." The thought was more sobering than I’d have liked.
"Why did you wife her? Why not make her an Old Lady?"
"I want her legally safe."
"Legally safe? That’s a weird way of phrasing it."
"Not for someone like her. She lost her family even though I wifed her. What would they have done if I’d just made her an Old Lady?"
"True. Do you think she could handle the club?"
"No. Wish she could, but the other night, I came home with busted knuckles after I beat the shit out of Junker for stealing the petty cash, and she started crying."
"I saw Junker. He was a mess. Think it was more than busted knuckles."
"What was I supposed to do? Drive around looking like death warmed over? My place was two streets away. I had to clean up." I heaved a sigh. "She don’t like being alone at night."
"Then why are you here and not with her?"
"Because she left me. Ain’t you been listening?"
"I know she’s left you six times since you two married," Rex said drolly. "I don’t get you guys. You should have left her alone. She’s a good girl."
"She is," I agreed, my voice dreamy.
"And I ain’t talking about whether she swallows or not."
I scowled. "Don’t be talking about my wife like that."
Rex snorted. "Reel it back in, bud. I don’t think you could get a hard on right now never mind stand up to beat the shit out of me."
"Damn. I hate it when you’re right."
"So you must hate me all the time then," Rex joked, making me cackle.
"Fucking love you, bro."
"Fucking love you too." He groused, "I hate it when you get high. You get all emotional."
"Don’t."
"Do too." He huffed. "You got high after you visited Scarlet in jail. What did she tell you?"
"That I was scum. That I was gonna be a shit dad. That I was gonna be a shittier husband. That I should just drive my bike off of Summit Ridge."
"Jesus, she said that?"
"Got high. Slept here. Went home the next morning, Keira started talking about picket fences. So I went to look at condos—"
"What’s the logic there? She asked for a fence, so you went high rise?"
"Ain’t you listening? Her dad’s making it impossible for me to get a house. Plus, she doesn’t like being alone at night. Me and Nyx work for Grizzly, Rex. We work at night."
"So?"
"Being in a condo, she wouldn’t be alone at night."
"Storm, how are you the smartest man I know and you’re the biggest idiot where this bitch of yours is concerned?"
"Hey!" I surged into a sitting position just so I could slam my hand into his shoulder. "Don’t fucking call her a bitch."