Water droplets dripped off her chin, and when I moved to wipe them away, she leaned into me. “I missed you.” She grabbed on to my arm, her hand skating down until her fingers entwined with mine.
“Better?” I asked, flashing her a tight smile.
“Yes.”
“Wanna go lie down for a bit?”
“Will you stay with me?” The hopeful look in her eyes sealed the deal. There was no way I could leave her alone after all this.
“Of course.” I helped her from her seat, holding on to her waist and assisting her back to the room, all while ignoring the grumbling erupting behind us. She wobbled a few times and even tripped over a raised section of the carpet in the hallway, but otherwise, we made it back without incident.
Once inside, I locked the door. I didn’t need anyone getting any bright ideas and storming in here. And while I appreciated they were all looking out for Maddie’s best interests, I didn’t like that they looked at me like I was the devil for something that was supposed to have been kept private between me and her.
“I can’t get these off.” She collapsed on the bed, fiddling with the button to her jeans, but to no avail.
“I’ll help you.” After popping the button and pulling on the zipper, I shimmied them down her legs, discarding them in the corner of the room, the patience to fold them nonexistent.
“Are you mad at me?” Her voice was soft, unsure.
“Why would I be mad at you?” I lifted the bottom of her shirt. “Raise your hands.” After the fabric cleared her head, I tossed it next to her jeans.
“Because I told them we made love.” She reached behind her and unclasped her bra. My dick jumped at seeing her topless, but I ignored him, focusing on her and nothing else. Or at least, trying to. The only piece of clothing she had on now was her panties. Thankfully, she didn’t remove them before lying flat on her back, her arms stretched out at her sides.
“I’m not mad, babe. Now, why don’t you get some rest.” Because she barely weighed anything at all, I was able to tuck her underneath the covers without effort.
“Lie with me.” She reached for me, but her arm fell and hit the bed seconds later. Then she was out cold. I promised to stay with her, but I needed to talk to someone before the situation between us got any more complicated or stressful. Maddie had shown me her heart, and I needed to reciprocate.
Gently closing the door behind me, I headed back toward the bar area, looking for one man in particular. I prayed he was still here, although the chances he’d gone home were pretty high.
As luck would have it, he was still on the premises, walking toward his bike.
“Prez!” I shouted, jogging toward him while I tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to ask him.
“What’s up?” He grabbed his helmet off his seat and swung his leg over his Harley.
“Got a sec?”
“Yeah.” He checked his phone quick before looking back to me. “Before I forget, did you talk to Rico yet?”
“No.”
“Call and tell him you’re not fighting for a couple weeks. That should give us enough time to devise whatever plan we need.”
“Okay.” I shuffled my feet, lost inside my own thoughts while trying to figure out how to start what it was I wanted to talk to him about.
“I ain’t got all day, Linc.” His impatience had me tripping over my words when I finally opened my mouth.
“Sorry. Um… so I got this thing with Maddie. Uh… and I feel something, but I’m not sure what to say. I didn’t tell her what she wanted before, and I don’t… I don’t know what to do.” I barely made any sense to myself, so I could only imagine what he thought of my barrage of words.
“What the hell are you goin’ on about?”
“Me and Maddie.”
“Isn’t there someone else you can talk to about this?”
“Not really. You’re the only one who's been through something like this. You know… with Sully.” His intense gaze studied me, and for a moment, I didn’t know if he was gonna ignore me and take off, or punch me, his expression one I couldn’t read well.
“What exactly happened?” He held his hand up before I started to speak. “And make sense this time.”
What I was about to reveal could make him angry or disappointed in me, but I had to tell the truth in order to get his true take on things.
“We had sex. She told me she loved me afterward, and I told her I didn’t feel the same way. I tried to explain it to her that what she feels for me probably isn’t love but more like appreciation or something like that. I’m paraphrasing.”
“Okay.” He raised his brows, waiting for me to continue.
“Some of the other guys think I took advantage of her, but I swear to you I didn’t. She was the one who kept telling me she wanted to, ya know.” I shrugged, feeling guiltier with every word I spoke. Marek remained quiet, probably waiting for me to get to the point. So, I hurried things along by asking, “Did Sully tell you she loved you soon after she met you? How long did it take for you to realize you loved her?”
Silence ensued, and the longer he stared at me, the more I thought it was a mistake for me to single him out and ask him such intimate questions.
But then he sighed and flashed me the tiniest smirk.
“It wasn’t that long after she came here that I told Sully I loved her. I was the first to say it, and she freaked out. Said no one ever told her that before. She thought I was lying.”
“Oh.”
“There’s a possibility that what Maddie feels for you is something other than love. You’re the guy who saved her from them. It could be deep-seated gratitude. It could be some form of hero shit. I don’t know. Or it could be actual love. How do you feel about her?”
“I don’t think I love her. It’s too soon.”
“Listen, if I know anything, it’s that time isn’t a factor. Don’t worry about how long you’ve known her. You were trying to protect her before you even met her.” He pulled his helmet on and clicked the strap under his chin. “Do you think about her all the time? Do you worry about her? Do you miss her when you’re not with her? Does your chest hurt when she looks at you? Does the world make sense when you’re near her, when you touch her?”
“Yeah.”
“You love her.”
“I do?” I took a moment and ran through his questions one more time in my head. “I do,” I said definitively. “But I hurt her.”
“Join the fuckin’ club. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve put my foot in my mouth with Sully over the years? Too many to count. But, God love her, she continues to put up with my ass.” Marek laughed, the sound working to soothe some of my worry.
He kicked over the engine and threw on his shades. “Tell her the truth. I’m not a sentimental or emotional man, Linc, but when it comes to the women in our lives, you have to lay it out on the line and hope for the best. Don’t waste time. Don’t fuck around. Life is way too short for any of that.” I took a step back from his bike. “Got it?”
“Got it. Thanks, Prez.”
He nodded before taking off toward the end of the clubhouse lot, leaving me standing there, contemplating exactly what I’d say to Maddie as soon as she was sober enough to remember.