Damaged and the Dragon (4 page)

Always wearing a frown when unengaged in
conversation, Bailey looked pissed until she saw me. Then, she
looked nervous. I gave her a grin as I approached and her fear
lessened.

“
Hey,” I said when she only
stared.

“
Are we still going out
after class?”

Gesturing for her to follow me towards
class, I nodded. “Why wouldn’t we?”

“
I don’t know. People bail
sometimes.”

“
I’m not
people.”

“
No, you’re not,” she said,
smiling slightly.

Once we got inside the cooler classroom, I
dropped my books on a desk and Bailey followed my lead. We stood
there, studying each other.

Even after a year of orbiting her star, I
knew very little about Bailey.

I knew she was insecure from her designation
as a hang and bang chick. Guys never took her seriously. I always
found this fact strange considering how many jerks were knocked on
their asses by Bailey or her brothers.

Needing reassurance, Bailey wanted to know
where we stood. When I caressed the stray blonde hairs next to her
face, Bailey was against me instantly. Her arms wrapped around my
waist, needing even more reassurance.

Bailey felt warm snuggled in my arms as I
ran my hand down the back of her soft hair. She felt right in a way
few things ever felt right for me. More than anything, she felt
like mine.

Everyone around us faded away until I could
only see Bailey. The old memories threatened to rise up inside me.
The smell of my old trailer next to the sweet scent of Bailey made
me want to stop touching her. I refused to pollute her with my
filthy past.

Bailey wasn’t letting go though. When a few
girls entered, her embrace tightened and I smiled. At least, I
thought I smiled until Bailey looked up at me and frowned.

“
What’s wrong?” she asked,
holding me in her vise-like grip.

I didn’t answer because there was no way to
make her understand. Her family was built on a criminal enterprise,
but they were the classic nuclear unit. A mom and dad with four
blond kids who spent summers traveling around the country in a RV.
Overhearing Tucker talk about his childhood once, I imagined having
such an easy life. The image always felt wrong when I was included.
As if I polluted it with my presence.

“
People bail,” Bailey
muttered and I thought she might cry.

Wrapping her silky blonde hair behind her
ears, I whispered, “I’m not people.”

“
I want to sit next to you
in every class.”

Finally, I smiled for real. “Staking your
claim, huh?”

“
Fuck yeah,” she said
without a smile. Glancing around the room, she sized up the
competition. “I’ve killed for less.”

Laughing, I knew Bailey was full of shit.
When I scooted my chair closer, her brilliant blue eyes lit up. Her
reaction to such a small gesture gave away how I had Bailey Fucking
Johansson hooked.

My classes ended before Nick’s, so I drove
home and showered. With more time to spare, I thought about Nick
and Farah. They both wanted to be teachers. Poor kids from shitty
families, they had a lot in common. Nick wanted Farah first, but
now he was left with me.

I planned to visit Winnie, yet found myself
in front of Cooper’s slice of suburbia. Walking to the door, I
figured Nick would like a house like this one. His dreams were so
much like Farah’s that I wondered if they still included her as his
perfect woman.

Tawny answered the door wearing a tank top
and jeans. Even in the late summer heat, she refused to wear shorts
because of her chicken legs. I’d seen them and she was just being
paranoid. She claimed I was the same way about my old boobs.

“
I need to talk to Farah,”
I said and Tawny waved me in. “How’s your man?”

“
The hunky bastard wore me
out this morning.”

“
Thanks for
sharing.”

“
I just wanted to explain
why I’m tired and limping.”

Grinning at her, I walked to the kitchen
where Farah made herself a sandwich. Her dark hair was up in a
messy ponytail and a long tee covered her bump.

“
Hey, Bailey. You look
pretty. Are you going on a date?”

“
Yeah, with
Nick.”

“
Nick is sweet,” Farah
said, giving me a smile.

“
You want him,” I hissed.
“You whore.”

My sister-in-law just rolled her eyes and
walked to the recliner. “I think you and Nick will be cute
together.”

“
Oh, now that you’ve
discarded him.”

“
I thought you said I
wanted him?”

Tawny joined me. “Chill, Bay. Why are you so
tense?”

When Tawny tugged me to the couch, I let her
soothe me, even though I was more depressed than angry.

“
Would you want to be
Cooper’s second choice?” I asked Farah then turned to Tawny. “Or
Judd’s?”

The sisters glanced at each other and their
smug expressions faded.

“
Yeah, second choice
sucks,” I said when they remained silent. “Nick wanted Fat Lips
over here, but lost her to Cooper the Pooper. Now, he’s stuck with
me. A love story for the ages.”

“
I don’t think Nick was
even into me,” Farah offered after a moment of silence. “Like he
was nice, but he never acted like he wanted to date me. I think I
was more into him than he was into me.”

“
What now?” Cooper the
Pooper asked, entering the room and ruining our girl moment. “Who
were you into?”

Farah just rubbed her bump and smiled at me.
Cooper’s gaze lowered to where his baby roasted in his woman’s
oven. Feeling sufficiently triumphant, he smiled.

“
What are we talking
about?”

“
I thought you were
studying?” I muttered.

“
I needed a break. The law
is stupid. Anarchy is the way to go.”

Cooper joined Farah on the recliner even
though she had to sit on his lap to make them both fit. I hated
them for being happy. Okay, hated might have been a strong word,
but I was seething with jealousy at them enjoying what I didn’t
have.

“
I was telling Bailey that
Nick wasn’t really into me.”

“
Bullshit. He tried to kick
my ass, so he could have you,” Cooper said, being the voice of
asshole like usual.

“
I think he just didn’t
want to back down to you,” Tawny suggested. “I’ve seen him fight a
few times and he won’t back down. Even when he’s about to get
crushed, he keeps going. Typical man who would rather die than walk
away.”

“
Typical man?” Cooper
asked. “Problems with Judd?”

“
No,” Tawny said, smirking.
“My man isn’t typical.”

“
Whatever,” I grunted,
interrupting all the bragging. “What about me ending up as Nick’s
second choice?”

Farah leaned her head against Cooper’s
shoulder then smiled at me. “I don’t know about Nick’s love life,
but I know he never asked me out. Never tried to kiss me or
anything like that. He was just friendly. I hardly believe you’re
his second choice.”

“
I guess.”

“
Why Nick?” Cooper asked
while his fingers made little circles on Farah’s bump.

“
He’s fucking hot and smart
and perfect. Fuck you for not noticing those things.”

Cooper laughed. “You need to get laid, B.
You’ve been so pissy since you went abstinence.”

“
I want Nick. No one else
will do.”

Tawny and Farah smiled at me like they
understood, but Cooper was too horny for his woman’s bump to care
about my needs. After a minute, he looked at me and frowned in that
jerk big brother way.

“
If he hurts you, I’ll kill
him,” Cooper sneered. “You tell him that.”

“
No.”

“
Tell him.”

Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my
new boobs. “He isn’t scared of you. No one is. We just pretend to
make you feel good about yourself.”

Cooper gave me a great smile and I couldn’t
help returning it. “I don’t know anything about Nick, but he can’t
be any worse than Deputy Dipshit.”

“
That’s for sure,” Tawny
said and we all nodded.

Farah stopped flirting with her man long
enough to pay attention to me.

“
Don’t let what you think
Nick feels get in the way of having fun tonight. I assumed a lot
about Cooper and I nearly lost him. Don’t assume anything about
Nick.”

“
Okay,” I said, smiling.
“Sorry I called you a whore.”

“
That’s okay. I’ve learned
not to take anything you say personally.”

“
Good strategy.”

Tawny smiled. “Bailey, I want you to go on
your date with no expectations. Just have fun. When you try to
force things, you can be a little…”

When Tawny didn’t finish, I muttered, “Did
you just call me a bitch?”

Cooper laughed first then the sisters joined
him. I rolled my eyes, but Tawny had a point. I needed to relax on
the date and enjoy Nick’s company.

Driving to the restaurant, I had the whole
thing planned out. I would play it cool and stop worrying. No more
wondering about Farah and whether I was Nick’s second choice. Yeah,
the whole thing was worked out.

Until I saw him looking so fucking hot in a
blue tee and painted on jeans. Yeah, until then.

I arrived at the restaurant before Bailey
and decided to wait outside. Leaning against the Harley, I crossed
my arms and ignored the girls smiling at me. They giggled even
after I showed no interest in them. One of the many qualities I
loved about Bailey was her inability to giggle.

Another amazing thing about Bailey was how
she made a pink tee and jeans look glorious. She stood next to her
SUV, looking uncertain as I approached.

“
Hey,” I said, leaning down
to kiss her. “What’s wrong?”

Bailey didn’t answer until our lips parted.
The kiss was short and soft despite how perfect she looked in that
tee.

“
Am I your second choice?”
she asked, eyes haunted. “Are you only going out with me because
Farah isn’t available?”

Cupping her cheek, I hated the concern in
her eyes. If she knew how I saw her, Bailey would never need to ask
such questions. She’d likely think I was an obsessed loser too.

“
I wanted you first, but
you didn’t want me. Remember the trailer trash thing?”

“
I don’t remember saying
that.”

“
Well, you did and I
thought I had no shot with you. Then, I saw Farah and she seemed
more…getable. I’m not saying she isn’t great, but she’s not you.
None of the girls are you. They were all second choices and I
decided second wasn’t enough. Does that make sense?”

“
Farah has those big
lips.”

“
You have those pretty blue
eyes and that big smile. This soft hair,” I said, running my
fingers through it. “I knew your hair would be soft and I often
thought about touching it when we sat in class.”

“
You were so hot for me,”
she whispered, grinning. “No one else would do.”

“
No one.”

We both smiled then she sighed. “I like you
so much. Like crazy too much. I don’t want to pretend
otherwise.”

“
Then don’t. No offense,
but you worry too much about what other people are thinking.
Besides, you usually guess wrong anyway. Just relax.”

“
If you run away from me,
I’ll hunt you down. I’m not kidding,” she said and I had to laugh.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you planning to run?”

“
Run where?”

“
Away from me.”

“
I’ve been waiting for you
for a year.”

“
Yeah, but that was a
fantasy version of me. The real me isn’t as great.”

“
Bailey, shut the fuck up,”
I said, taking her hand and tugging her towards the restaurant.
“Let’s have dinner.”

“
Don’t tell me to shut
up.”

“
Or what?”

Bailey sighed so loudly that I stopped and
pulled her to me.

“
You are beyond beautiful,”
I whispered, kissing her softly.

Bailey’s arms wrapped around me and her
tongue searched for mine. My entire body came alive as the kiss
deepened. How had I gone through the last year with this woman so
close, yet out of reach? I felt suffocated by need, unable to think
of anything beyond Bailey.

The sound of Harleys racing past finally
pried us apart. Bailey looked at the road then back at me and
smiled.

“
Nick,” she
whispered.

“
Bailey.”

Sharing her smile, I took Bailey’s hand and
we walked into the restaurant. After a short wait, we were seated
in a booth and ordered our drinks.

“
Do you always drink
Sprite?” I asked.

“
Yeah, why?”

“
I want to buy some for
when you visit my place.”

Bailey grinned like I had told her she won
the lottery. If she kept smiling at me that way, I didn’t think my
ego could fit into the restaurant much longer.

“
Do you always drink beer?”
she asked. “Any specific kinds?”

“
No and no. I just felt
like a beer would help me relax after that kiss.”