Time Will Tell (Maybe #3)(8)

She obviously has something to do with Zach, so I’m not going to go there. I’m not going to stay here for long, so it isn’t like I have anything to offer her other than a casual f*ck or two.

“How old are you?” I ask her.

“Twenty-two,” she replies out of that sensual mouth of hers.

Twenty-two, she’s the same age as Zach and me. Yet she seems younger somehow.

Innocent.

“Have you lived in Channon your whole life?” I find myself asking.

She nods, looking down at her hands again. “Born and bred.”

“Are you happy here?”

She glances up and smiles. “I am. I love it here, although I would like to travel at some point.”

“You haven’t been anywhere?” I ask, my eyes widening.

She grins. “I’ve been around Australia, yes, and I’ve been to Bali. That’s it.”

I chew on a piece of ice from my whiskey as she continues, “I’m still young. I have time.”

She finishes the last of the water and places the bottle on the bar.

“Do you want me to get you another bottle?” I ask her.

“No,” she says. “But thank you, Xander. You’re very sweet, you know that?”

I shrug like it’s no big deal, but really, I like hearing it.

I was so f*cked.

“I don’t know about that,” I mumble.

She puts her hand on my shoulder. “I hope we can hang out a bit before you go. I could show you around town if Zach is busy.”

I wonder if she knows Zach is a biker. She has to know. She’s lived in this town her whole life, so she obviously knows who the Wind Dragons MC is.

“I’d like that,” I tell her.

If Zach doesn’t have a problem with it, of course.

I see Grim, Zach’s dad, walking up to us.

“Xander,” he says, slapping me on the back. “Good to see you, son.”

“Good to be here, Grim,” I say, staring into the eyes of one of my dad’s very best friends. Grim is a good man and a tough leader of the Wind Dragons MC. He’s one person you don’t want to cross, but at the same time if he likes you, he is fiercely loyal and a good friend to have in your corner. He looks down at Trillian and smiles. “Look at you, darlin’, you look pretty. Anyone I need to beat the shit out of for not keeping their hands to themselves?”

Trillian laughs and I hang on to the sound. “No, I’m good, but thanks, Grim.”

Grim smiles back and nods. “Where’s that son of mine?”

“Out on the dance floor,” I tell him.

Grim sighs. “When does that boy ever have his dick in his pants?”

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard Trillian mumble, “Whenever he’s at my house.”

I am f*cking confused. Is Trillian with him or not?

Grim glances at me, then at Trillian, then back at me.

“Trill’s a good girl,” he suddenly says, eyes narrowing.

I nod. “I know.”

Message received.

“Good,” he replies. “I’ll see you around, Xander. Bye, Trill, darling. Get home safe, you hear me?”

“I will. Bye, Grim,” Trillian says, her eyes going back to the dance floor.

I turn away from her, my eyes scanning the crowd. Zach is dancing with some other girl now, but Trillian doesn’t seem to mind. Maybe they have an open relationship. Zach hasn’t mentioned anyone named Trillian before. Maybe it’s a new thing.

Either way, I’m not getting a taste of her. It isn’t happening, so I need to stop thinking about it. I didn’t come here for this, to start something with someone. I came here to try to sort myself out, to work on a few things. To learn how to deal with being here without my dad. The last thing I need is to be hung up on a girl that I can’t have and don’t deserve.

Zach returns with a girl walking behind him. “Xander, this is…”

He looks down at the girl.

“Paulina,” she says.

“Paulina, right, I knew that,” he says, looking amused. “Paulina, why don’t you show my buddy Xander here a good time?”

She’s pretty enough with a nice figure and blonde hair. Her red lips are from a tube, not natural colour like Trillian has. She sits on my lap and rubs herself against me. I glance at Trillian to see her stand up, say something to Zach, and then head for the dance floor. Zach follows her, but not before sending a smirk my way.

I ignore the pang of regret that I feel as she walks away from me.

I don’t get to have everything I want, and I know that.

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” she purrs in my ear. “Do you want to leave?”

Do I want to leave?

I glance over and watch Zach pull Trillian in for a dance.

Yeah, I want to leave.

With Trillian.

But that isn’t happening.

Paula—is that her name?—licks the shell of my ear and I think, why not?

I have nothing to lose and a night of pleasure is just what I need.

It’s been a while—about two months. That might not be long for some, but it is for me.

“Come home with me,” she purrs once more. “Trust me, you won’t regret it. No won’t be in my vocabulary tonight.”