the thunder and lightning really
kicks in… Acting like that at my place doesn’t make me feel like
such a loser, but here with you…”
“ I don’t care,” she said,
caressing my hands which still held her face. “I want to be with
you, Nick. I have a lot of ideas about what can happen between us.
Big things like being together forever. You always run though. You
pull away and put up these walls. I don’t care though. Not about
you being scared or needing to sit in a corner. I want to love you.
I think I really can and that means I need to accept everything
about you. Not just Dragon or nice guy Nick. I accept that you come
with baggage from your fucked up childhood. You accept my baggage
and I didn’t even have a bad childhood. I had everything and I
still get weird. Let me accept even the stuff you don’t like about
yourself.”
“ I’m a grown man,” I said,
frustrated to show her weakness. “I know the damn thunderstorm
isn’t going to hurt me”
“ That’s not true. They kill
people every year.”
“ Bailey…”
“ Am I just a hot girl you
want to bang or do you think we could be more?”
“ You know you’re more to
me.”
“ Then let me see the real
you. If I am going to be an asshole about your hang-ups, why not
get the whole thing out of the way and not waste time? I know I
won’t and I want you to know too.”
Kissing her softly, I relaxed in her
familiar taste and embrace. I wanted to stay with her. Where else
would feel as good as with my girl? I just didn’t want to look like
a pussy in front of woman who grew up surrounded by badasses.
“ When I was a kid,” I said
quietly, “the storms were so loud and the whole trailer would shake
like it was going to be torn apart. I’d see other people getting
ready for the storms. They’d keep their kids close, but I was alone
most of the time. I would hide in the closet and wait for the storm
to end. Even now, I feel like I’m back there.”
“ It’s PTSD,” she said,
tugging me away from the door and to the living room. “You’re
reliving a trauma. My shrink told me about it when I asked her
about Tawny’s issues. Like how she and Farah can get really weird
when a lot of bikers are around. They know Cooper and Judd would
never let anything happen to them, but they still get jittery. They
aren’t fully in the present, Dr. Dee said. That’s your problem too.
You hear the thunder and you’re back in the trailer as a scared
little boy. No rational thinking is gonna convince you
otherwise.”
“ I’m sorry.”
Bailey gave me a soft smile. “For having
shitty parents? That’s not your fault anymore than I deserve good
ones. It was the luck of the draw. You did get lucky by meeting me
because I’m super smart and sensitive and all.”
“ You are sensitive,” I
said, running my fingers along the seam of her pale blue
tee.
When Bailey squirmed under my touch, I loved
the look in her eyes. Something between lust and love.
Reaching for her, I stopped when thunder
shook the apartment. My skin broke out in heat and I ran my hands
through my hair instead of touching her.
“ This is a good corner,”
she said softly, moving to the counter overhang. “The wall isn’t an
outside one and doesn’t shake as much as the others. It’s a good
corner to sit in.”
“ Bailey,” I muttered,
wishing to leave so she wouldn’t see me afraid like a
child.
“ Sit down here and I’ll put
on a movie. I’ll sit on the couch and we’ll be together. That’s
better than you driving home in the storm and being
alone.”
Giving up, I dropped on my ass with a thump
while Bailey knelt in front of me. “Take off your shoes so I know
you won’t leave. I feel needy, but don’t hold that against me,
okay? You still like me even though I’m messed up and stuff,
right?”
I smiled. “You’re not what I thought,” I
said and she instantly assumed the worst. “You’re better in every
way.”
“ That’s true,” Bailey
kicks in… Acting like that at my place doesn’t make me feel like
such a loser, but here with you…”
“ I don’t care,” she said,
caressing my hands which still held her face. “I want to be with
you, Nick. I have a lot of ideas about what can happen between us.
Big things like being together forever. You always run though. You
pull away and put up these walls. I don’t care though. Not about
you being scared or needing to sit in a corner. I want to love you.
I think I really can and that means I need to accept everything
about you. Not just Dragon or nice guy Nick. I accept that you come
with baggage from your fucked up childhood. You accept my baggage
and I didn’t even have a bad childhood. I had everything and I
still get weird. Let me accept even the stuff you don’t like about
yourself.”
“ I’m a grown man,” I said,
frustrated to show her weakness. “I know the damn thunderstorm
isn’t going to hurt me”
“ That’s not true. They kill
people every year.”
“ Bailey…”
“ Am I just a hot girl you
want to bang or do you think we could be more?”
“ You know you’re more to
me.”
“ Then let me see the real
you. If I am going to be an asshole about your hang-ups, why not
get the whole thing out of the way and not waste time? I know I
won’t and I want you to know too.”
Kissing her softly, I relaxed in her
familiar taste and embrace. I wanted to stay with her. Where else
would feel as good as with my girl? I just didn’t want to look like
a pussy in front of woman who grew up surrounded by badasses.
“ When I was a kid,” I said
quietly, “the storms were so loud and the whole trailer would shake
like it was going to be torn apart. I’d see other people getting
ready for the storms. They’d keep their kids close, but I was alone
most of the time. I would hide in the closet and wait for the storm
to end. Even now, I feel like I’m back there.”
“ It’s PTSD,” she said,
tugging me away from the door and to the living room. “You’re
reliving a trauma. My shrink told me about it when I asked her
about Tawny’s issues. Like how she and Farah can get really weird
when a lot of bikers are around. They know Cooper and Judd would
never let anything happen to them, but they still get jittery. They
aren’t fully in the present, Dr. Dee said. That’s your problem too.
You hear the thunder and you’re back in the trailer as a scared
little boy. No rational thinking is gonna convince you
otherwise.”
“ I’m sorry.”
Bailey gave me a soft smile. “For having
shitty parents? That’s not your fault anymore than I deserve good
ones. It was the luck of the draw. You did get lucky by meeting me
because I’m super smart and sensitive and all.”
“ You are sensitive,” I
said, running my fingers along the seam of her pale blue
tee.
When Bailey squirmed under my touch, I loved
the look in her eyes. Something between lust and love.
Reaching for her, I stopped when thunder
shook the apartment. My skin broke out in heat and I ran my hands
through my hair instead of touching her.
“ This is a good corner,”
she said softly, moving to the counter overhang. “The wall isn’t an
outside one and doesn’t shake as much as the others. It’s a good
corner to sit in.”
“ Bailey,” I muttered,
wishing to leave so she wouldn’t see me afraid like a
child.
“ Sit down here and I’ll put
on a movie. I’ll sit on the couch and we’ll be together. That’s
better than you driving home in the storm and being
alone.”
Giving up, I dropped on my ass with a thump
while Bailey knelt in front of me. “Take off your shoes so I know
you won’t leave. I feel needy, but don’t hold that against me,
okay? You still like me even though I’m messed up and stuff,
right?”
I smiled. “You’re not what I thought,” I
said and she instantly assumed the worst. “You’re better in every
way.”
“ That’s true,” Bailey
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