Scarred: A New Adult Romance (The Anderson Brothers Series Book 1) (12 page)

“Okay.
Be back in a sec.”

I
watch him make his way to the bar, and I turn back to Denise, who’s fixed on
the rest of her friends. My mind is crawling with so many questions. I don’t
even know where to begin.

“So
how’s it going with you and William?” Alexis asks.

I
keep quiet and listen.

Denise
looks nervously at her girlfriends. There doesn’t seem to be a spark of
happiness in her eyes. “We’re all right.” She hesitates, glances to me, then
looks to her friends again. “Can we not talk about that here?”

I
arch an eyebrow slightly. Is something going on with them? There’s so much I
want to ask her, but it’s probably none of my business.

“Sorry.
I was just curious, you know?” Alexis says. “After he surprised you the other
night. It’s been what? Five years?”

Denise
shakes her head firmly. “Please.”

I
lick my lips. Something’s definitely going on. And I’m standing so close to
her, I’m about to go crazy that I can’t touch her. I look over my shoulder and
notice William returning with drinks. Sighing, I turn back to the girls. “I
think I’m gonna head out.”

Trinity
gasps. “What? Already?” She grabs my arm, pulls me into her. “We didn’t even
dance.”

I
stumble forward and look back at Denise guiltily. William arrives with her Long
Island iced tea.

I
gently pull my arm away from Trinity. “No, sorry. I can’t. I’ve, uh, got a big
electromagnetics test to study for next week.” I add with a smile, “But I’m
sure Kevin—er, Kevitron—would love to meet you all.”

Trinity’s
eyes light up. She glances toward the stage, then back to me. “Can I see your
phone for a minute, Dominick?”

I
blink at the question. “Uh, sure.” I dig the phone out of my back pocket and
fumble it in my sweaty hands.

She
plucks it from me, swipes the screen, types something, and then hands it back.
“Call me, okay?”

My
eyes wide, I take the phone and stare at the screen. Her name and number is
saved in my contacts.

Bianca
and Cherie tease and make catcalls at her.

“Aw,
c’mon, guys.” Looking embarrassed, Trinity turns away from me and nurses her
drink.

I
shouldn’t have gotten her number like that, especially with Denise standing
right there as it happened. Stuffing the phone back into my pocket, I look
sideways at Denise, who doesn’t seem at all offended. In fact, I don’t think
she even cares.

I’ll
be a dick if don’t call Trinity.

I
can at least give Trinity a chance, right? Denise keeps good company. They all
seem like good girls who like to have fun.

“Hey.”
William slaps me on the back of the shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. “See
you at work tomorrow.”

I
freeze.
He touched me. That bastard
touched me.
It takes everything I have not to grab that hand and break it
in several places. Shrugging him off, I spin around and give him one of my
poker-face looks. “Yup.”

Denise
blinks. “What? You two work together?” She looks to William for confirmation.

William
grins at her. “Yeah, just started at Frank’s Garage today, baby.”

Her
mouth opens like she’s about to say something more, but then closes, and she
nods thoughtfully.

I
wish she’d smile again. Something is on her mind. Something not good. But I
can’t let anyone know this shit’s getting to me. I finally break away from the
group and, after casting a quick wave to Kevin, head home, deciding to make it
a point to call him sometime tomorrow. My mind continuously wanders to Denise
and that look I saw on her face.

I
know that look all too well.

It’s
the look of regret.

Chapter 12

Tuesday’s digital systems class lets out promptly at
9:10, and I have thirty-five minutes to spare before circuits lab starts. I
hustle to the sociology building where Denise will be going to her nine-thirty
class. I can’t get my mind off how troubled she looked last night.

Perched
on a handrail of the wheelchair ramp next to the stairs leading into the
building, I watch students go by, paying no attention to their conversations.
Then Denise approaches. Her beautiful dancer legs are covered with flared
jeans, but she walks just as gracefully. She wears a yellow sweater over a
white, scoop-neck shirt, and the light winks off the silver
fleur de lis
necklace lying at her
throat.

I
catch myself before falling backward off the handrail. Thankfully, no one
notices my near-spill. “Denise!” I call as she begins walking up the steps.
“Over here.”

She
stops and looks in my direction. A hesitant smile tugs at her lips. She fidgets
with the strap of her messenger bag and approaches me.

“Hey,”
she says. The corner of an issue of
Street
Throttle Racer
magazine peeks out from under her bag’s front flap.

“Did
you see some of the decked-out sport bikes featured in this month’s
Street Throttle Racer
?” I ask, pointing.

Blushing,
she hastily tucks the magazine deeper into her bag. “Not yet. I just picked it
up.”

“You’ll
be amazed.” My face gets hot.
Okay,
focus, Dom. You know why you’re here.
Taking a deep breath to calm my
nerves, I slide off the handrail and stand before her. “So, I thought we could
talk for a bit.”

Her
smile slowly falls.

“You
looked a little distant last night,” I say, watching her face. “Is everything
okay?”

She
nods. “Everything’s fine, Dominick.” She avoids my eyes and fidgets with the
strap of her bag again.

Bullshit.
Why do I have this sudden
feeling of déjà vu? “All right. Well, I was wondering if you were still up for
doing something with me tomorrow.”

“I’m
sorry, I can’t. William is … ” She pauses, like she’s backtracking on something
she was about to say.

“Yes?”

She
bites her bottom lip. “I … I’m busy tomorrow, sorry.”

I
frown. “Okay, maybe next time, then.”

She
turns. “I have to get to class now. See ya, Dominick.”

I
sigh as I watch her leave. I know she’s intentionally avoiding me, but her
hesitation has me more concerned. At this rate, I’m not going to get much out
of her, but I know someone who might.

I
retrieve my phone and scroll through my contacts to Trinity’s name. I stare at
the name with sadness and regret, but a little bit of hope.

No. I can’t use her to get
to Denise.

I
head across campus toward the engineering building, keeping my eyes focused on
the phone screen.
If I’m gonna do this,
it’s gotta be all or nothing.

Denise is never going to
talk to me. This is a lost cause.
With that, I manage to convince myself enough to guide
my thumb to the “dial” button.

Trinity
answers on the second ring.

“Hey,
Trinity. It’s Dominick.”

“Dominick!
You called!” She sounds so grateful and happy. She’s probably been burned by
guys in the past who never called her.

“Yeah,”
I say, a little half-heartedly. “You wanna come over and watch movies with me tonight?”

* * *

Work goes by quickly for a change. I’m even able to ignore
William’s shit. Having something to look forward to, like tonight’s M/C club
meeting, takes the sting out of William’s little jabs. Charles, who’s hosting
this time, lives on the far western side of Montlake, near the Bay. Getting
there from work around this time is usually fast and easy. It’s also a
beautiful ride.

The
driveway is already filled with parked sport bikes and cruisers when I get
there, so I squeeze into a small space along the curb. The front door opens as
I head up the long, shady cobblestone walkway, and Charles appears in the
doorway, wearing a black T-shirt with the club’s logo and name—Phantom
Saints—printed over his heart.

“’Ey,
Genius!” Charles greets me with a crooked grin.

“’Sup,
Ghost,” I say, as we do our special handshake and he steps aside.

Inside,
I’m greeted by the smell of beer, sweat, and cigarettes. The drab white walls
of the living room are covered with flags, pennants, tapestries, posters, and
plaques, mostly awards won from past motorcycle shows and community events.
Most of this stuff belongs to all of us, but Charles is the only one with a
house big enough to hold it all.

The
overhead fan’s light illuminates the large room in a hazy, yellow glow. The
rest of my club brothers lounge around on chairs and couches, and some are
sprawled out on the floor, drinking, smoking, and shooting the shit. Charles’s
girlfriend, Xiang, had gone out with her friends like she always does whenever
Charles hosts, so we have the house to ourselves. All eyes turn to me as I find
my usual seat on one of the couch’s armrests.

“’Sup,
Genius?” Randy, the club’s sergeant-at-arms, says with a small salute.

I
salute back. “Tracer.”

Alonzo
tosses me a beer. As I pop open the can and take a swig, I scan the rest of my
brothers. All of us are college students except for our president, Troy, a.k.a.
“Lone Wolf,” Alonzo, Charles, and Randy. These guys are like a second family to
me. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for each other.

I
spot a picture of Charles and Xiang sitting on the kitchen counter. She’s a
beautiful thirty-five-year-old Chinese woman who looks like she’s twenty. Next
to the picture sits a cute little heart-printed tote bag and a stray bottle of
pear body spray. A female has certainly made her mark here.

I
stare at the bottle.
Pears …

My
mind isn’t all there even after Troy calls the meeting to order. While he goes
down the list of news, upcoming rides, and events, my thoughts are on Denise.

Why the hell did I invite
over the best friend of a girl I like?

“Genius!”

I
blink back to reality. The meeting is over, and everyone’s just hanging out,
talking. Is it almost eight already? I look over to Shane.

“You’re
coming to the Xi Rho Nu party next Friday, right?” he asks.

“Party?”
I blink. “Oh, damn. I forgot.”

“How
the hell can you forget about
that
?
It’s Andrew’s twenty-first birthday! You know how we do things.”

I’d
only met Andrew once through Shane. He’s a pretty cool guy—outspoken and loves
to have a good time, much like Shane.

Matt,
who’s reclined next to me on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee
table, tilts his head back and exhales a long stream of white cigarette smoke.
He scratches the blonde stubble on his chin. “I thought you said you have to
have a date for that party?”

“You
do,” Shane says, nodding, then he cuts his eyes to me. “Wait, don’t tell me
you’re
still
single, Genius!”

I
feel all eyes bearing down on me. “Naw, man. I’m just … it’s complicated right
now.”

Jason,
sitting on the floor across from me, lets loose with a loud belch. “I call
bullshit.” He crushes the empty beer can in his fist.

Troy
laughs. “Gettin’ a bit rusty, Genius?”

I
scowl. “Naw! I’m just taking it easy right now.” I glance back at Shane. “I’ll
let you know, all right?”

Shane
crosses his arms, giving me a skeptical look.

“Of
course he’s going. He’d be a pussy otherwise,” Lonz says.

Randy,
Shane, and Darryl break out in laughter.

I
fail in fighting back a smile, so I flip them all off. “Yeah, fuck all you
guys.”

Randy
shakes his head as he lights up a cigarette. “I don’t know how the hell you’re
going to survive your last two years of college, not enjoying some of those
beautiful twentysomething honeys.”

I
grimace. “They wouldn’t give you the time of day, old man.”

Everyone
laughs, including Randy.

“Yeah?
I don’t see you doing any better. How long has it been? A year? Five years?
High school?”

The
guys whoop, and I fall silent, unable to think up a good comeback.

“So,”
Shane says, “I’ll be manning the door at the party. You better come, or I’ll
embarrass your punk ass all over campus.” He smirks.

Giving
Shane the stinkeye, I chug the rest of my beer and wipe my mouth with the back
of my hand.

Marco’s
phone suddenly goes off, and he pops up from one of the couches. “Shit! Gotta
go, guys.”

Charles
whistles. “Booty call!”

We
all laugh, and Marco’s face reddens. He flips us all off as he makes his way to
the front door. Thank God the attention’s no longer on me.

The
sound of Marco’s sport bike rumbles outside and then fades away.

Gregg
takes a pack of cigarettes from inside his vest and slaps it in his palm a few
times. “Time for me to split, too.” He pulls one out with his teeth and heads
to the door.

“Right
behind you,” I say, sliding off the armrest. “See you punks later.”

Outside,
I spot Gregg mounted on his bike, having his smoke. He tips his head in my
direction.

As
I reach for my jacket, Lonz comes out the door and approaches me. Rolling my
eyes, I heave a heavy sigh.
I’m not in
the mood for a damn lecture.

Lonz
eyes me sternly and folds his arms across his chest.

“C’mon,
man, I gotta—”

“You
weren’t all there at the meeting,” Lonz says. “We talked about this at
Loriano’s didn’t we? I thought you were gonna have that shit under control?”

God, I hope Trinity’s not
waiting on me
. “I do have it under control, Lonz. I found someone else, and I got a
date with her tonight.”

He
arches an eyebrow. “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

I
grit my teeth. Damn these old guys and their innate ability to spot bullshit.
“I just met her, all right? I don’t know how it’s gonna go down. Why are you so
concerned about it anyway?”