SIX (17 page)

“What are you doing with Haley?”

His eyebrows lift nearly to his hairline.

“Has she honestly not mentioned me to you?”

“No.” Did he think I had been joking earlier?

He holds his hands up in mock surrender and that stupid smile returns.

“We just connected on a level most don’t understand.”

I look over his shoulder to see if Haley’s still preoccupied and make my way around the bar to come up behind Max.

Placing one hand around his mouth and grabbing his junk in a vice grip with the other, I whisper in his ear, “If you’re taking advantage of her, I’m going to make you a fucking eunuch and the only thing your dick will ever touch again will be your lips as I force feed it to you.”

Releasing him, I make my way back over to the girls as he gasps to catch his breath.

I lift my arms to hug Haley from behind, but halt when her body stiffens and she whips her head around to see who’s invading her space.

“Come see the shop. I can finally give you that tattoo you used to go on about when you were a brat,” I tell her, walking toward the shop.

Giggling, she slaps at me and a small hole heals in my chest.

“You called me a brat for about a year all because I wanted a tattoo,” she pouts.

“It wasn’t because you wanted one, it was because you didn’t want to wait and used to nag my ear off constantly.”

“You used to like it when I nagged.”

“No, I used to like it when you pleaded.” I wink and she giggles again.

“Max, we’re going to check out the shop, are you coming?”

“Probably never again, actually,” he quips, still cradling his nuts.

“Six, I haven’t been in there to clean up,” Parker warns.

“I didn’t want Emma to follow me and see.”

I nod my head in understanding.

“Haley, let me take you for some food, then I’ll do your ink when we get back.”

“What mess is in there?” she asks, intrigued.

“Ewww, did you have a sex session in there? That’s not hygienic. “

“No, Lucky, one of my artists, was in there working on some remodeling. Come on.”

Taking a seat in a little café that makes the best pancakes in the world, it dawns on me that I left Misty to come to breakfast.

I’ve been gone a while and told her I’d be back within an hour.

I pat down my pockets and cuss when I realize my cell is with Misty at the house.

“Did you forget your wallet, because my funds are low,” Haley whispers so the waitress can’t hear us.

“I can’t do a dine and dash, Tay. I’m not as spritely as I once was.” She’s dead fucking serious and it just reminds me how different my life is now from what it once was.

“I can pay,” Max growls under his breath, his cheeks glowing red with embarrassment.

He’s never dined and dashed, apparently.

“I have my wallet. I was looking for my phone.”

“Oh.” She pulls a face, showing off her teeth.

“So, can I order what I want?”

“Order everything—you should taste a bit of everything. I love this place.”

“Guess everything tastes good when you’ve been eating prison food for so long,” Max chirps.

Not knowing whether he’s trying to be a smartass or not, I don’t reply straight away.

My eyes hold Haley’s and she gives me an awkward half smile.

The scar on her lips pulls at her skin, causing it to crease and age her.

“He knows you did time,” she attempts to clarify, and fails miserably.

“Does he know what I went in for?”

“For me.” Reaching over, she takes my hand and squeezes it before releasing. Staring across the table at her, my heart pounds in my chest.

I don’t know her reason for coming to see me, or how much she’s told this Max, but thinking about his motive for being here, with her, sends my thoughts into chaos. Being happy to see her didn’t cloak the feeling of discomfort when she showed up with some guy she’s never mentioned before—and why now?

She’s never wanted to see me before, yet she turns up like relatives vacationing.

“I respect what you did for her,” Max says, interrupting my thoughts.

The waitress squirms next to me, still waiting on our order.

“I didn’t do anything for her. You don’t know a damn thing,” I snap, my temper growing like a fog, blanking out all other emotions.

“Taylor, don’t. Let’s just order, please?” Haley pleads.

“Sure.”

Placing our order, Max moves on to the weather for safe conversation, but my mind has wandered back to Misty.

Last night was something new for me and seeing Haley for the first time in all these years only solidifies those emotions.

We were completely different people and even back then when we were together, it was more of a brotherly bond I felt for her—I was just too fucked up and confused about my feelings to recognize it.

Our food arrives and Haley pushes it around on the plate with her fork.

“You should eat something. It’s good.”

I don’t want to tell her she’s too thin because women should never be told shit about their weight, but she looks unhealthy and it worries me.

What were these nurses and councelors even doing for her? And this Max guy, doesn’t he see how dangerously low her weight is?

“Max, tell me about yourself.”

Looking up from his plate, he picks up his glass of coke and swigs a mouthful before answering.

“What is it you want to know?” He smirks and I want to chuck the coke in his face and scrub that smile from his lips.

He’s too chirpy; it’s almost smug.

“Why were you in the institution with Haley?”

“I’m an addict.”

“It’s not a rehab.” Does he think I’m stupid?

“I get depressed and pop more pills than I should.” He nods his head, all casual as fuck.

“And you think that’s something to bond over? Sounds like a friendship made for disaster.”

“Tay, stop. I know you worry, but I’m a grown woman,” Haley states and pushes her plate away.

“Can we do my tattoo now?”

Grabbing a piece of the bacon from her plate, I narrow my eyes at her in jest. “Brat.”

It’s like I’m flying and I don’t want to return to earth anytime soon.

My whole body still hums from his touch and I’m about to burst.

I’ve never felt this way before and it’s choking me up.

I’ve never smiled with tears in my eyes before.

That I’m this overwhelmed is ridiculous.

I push my face into the pillow to hide my embarrassment from myself before jumping up from the bed.

I relish the soreness in my limbs.

I seriously need to start working out if I’m going to be put in all different positions when he takes my body.

My teeth bite into my bottom lip as I relive our moments together last night.

I didn’t think it was possible for a woman to actually comes during sex.

We all chase our orgasms and the majority of us never catch them, but God, Six knows how to get you there.

He knew my body like it was a piece of artwork he created.

Everywhere he touched me, I ignited. Squeezing my thighs together to squash the slow ache building there, I drop the sheet and make my way to the shower.

I’d fallen back to sleep once Six left to get food and the mirror reflects a sex-mussed mess, causing a giddy smile to spread across my face.

Turning the spray to hot, I reluctantly step under the water and wash away the sticky sex sweat from my body.

The warm patter massages over my tired muscles.

My hands comb through the matted tresses of my hair and the ache there allows me to relive the moments when Six grasped handfuls and tugged during our sex-fest.

Leaving the shower, I dress in yesterday’s clothes and make a pot of coffee.

My stomach gurgles and clenches.

It’s way past lunchtime and Six has yet to return.

I look at my cell to see if he replied to my text from earlier asking if he’s still coming back here, but there’s nothing.

Sipping my coffee, I blush as I sit at the table he had me naked on last night. Parker showing up here last night flashes in my mind.

Six never did tell me what she came for.

You didn’t ask
, my inner voice berates me.

A small pit opens in my stomach.

I wonder if Lucky’s okay, or the bar.

Damn, why didn’t I just go with him this morning?

Placing my cup down and grabbing my cell back up, I shoot a text to Parker.

Me
:
Is Six at the shop or bar?

I anxiously tap my nails against the wood of the table, waiting for a reply.

A couple minutes pass before my phone lights up.

Parker
:
He was, but some people showed up and he took them to eat.

Relief soothes over the pit in my gut and then a flush of anger warms my skin. What about me eating? Well, I’m not sitting around waiting for him.

Standing, I slip my cell into my pocket, grab my cup, and dump it in the sink.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; he had been trying to put me off anything ever happening with us because he’s not the type to get you breakfast the next day.

Parker is sitting in the rec room bickering about something with Lucky when I get to the bar.

As soon as I enter the room, they fall silent and Lucky jumps up from the couch, wagging his eyebrows at me.

“Late start? Too exhausted from a busy night?”

Parker stands up next to him and grins at me.

Perfect
.

I don’t reply. I just roll my eyes at the pair.

“He’s in the shop. He got back about twenty minutes ago,” Parker informs me.

“I wouldn’t go back there, though. He just threw me out,” Lucky adds.

“Why?”

“His friends are back there with him.”

I’ve never seen him with anyone other than Lucky and Jude.

My face must show my confusion because Parker comes over to rub a hand down my arm, which only makes the nerves tingle up my spine.

“It’s a girl from his past,” she says, her voice soft, like she’s trying to be gentle with me.

It wouldn’t have mattered how she said it, the twist in my gut would have happened either way.