“No, it was not on the cheek, and it wasn’t quick,” I admit, finally laying my fork down, giving up on eating lunch. “It was the kind of kiss that usually leads to much more.”
“So why didn’t it? Was he too sick to get it up?” She props her chin in her palm. “You know, Hunt had the same problem at first, but it was nothing a little enthusiastic oral couldn’t fix…”
“Casey!” I chastise her as I glance around to make sure no one overheard. I would prefer that our coworkers not find out that she came to my house to help with our biker patients the night of the shooting, and then helped Hunt with more than his injury in my bathroom.
“What? I could’ve said blowjob instead of oral.” She laughs at the shocked look on my face. “You take sex way too seriously, Joanna. Trust me, it was fun, and I have no regrets at all. Hunt even invited me to come visit him in Wilmington…”
“He did?” I say in surprise.
Casey rolls her eyes at me. “I know that doesn’t mean much given the source. He’s an outlaw biker who nearly had his head blown off in a shootout with some rivals. Still, at least he offered to see me again.”
“Yes, at least he offered,” I agree. “One of the other guys interrupted me and Fiasco saying something odd about how Nash would be pissed at him. Then, Fiasco just walked out without saying another word to me!”
“If you want to see Fiasco, you know where to find him,” Casey points out. “Everyone knows about the Dirty Aces pool hall.”
“I can’t just show up there.”
“Why not?”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to pursue him. That’s too…desperate.” Casey shrugs and looks around the cafeteria, avoiding my eyes. “What?” I ask her.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But you were thinking it. Just tell me.”
“Fine! I was considering going to see Hunt, even if it makes me look desperate.”
“Really?”
“There are some benefits to having no-strings attached, crazy hot sex with an attractive man.”
“And what would that be?”
“The crazy hot sex part,” she says with a grin. “Women have needs too. My ex-husband spent the last few years telling me that I wasn’t pretty or sexy and that no other men would want me. It’s nice to finally have a little male attention, someone who thinks I’m everything he said I wasn’t.”
“Then maybe you should go…”
“Will you come with me?” she asks.
“No,” I say without even needing to think about it. “Sorry, but I don’t think I could do that. Hunt invited you, not me.”
“You know Fiasco probably won’t be in Wilmington. I’m sure you could find another pretty biker boy to tend to in your bed.”
“I wish I was confident enough for a one-night stand, but I’m not that kind of girl and you know it.”
“If you say so,” Casey replies. “That will leave more bikers for me.”
“More bikers? I would think that you would have your hands full with Hunt,” I tell her with a grin.
Flashing a smile that would rival the Cheshire cat, she says, “Oh, Joanna. You have no idea what a handful or mouthful Hunt is!”
I hold my hands up in front of me in protest while laughing. “Nor do I ever need to know either.”
She laughs and then gets up. “I’m going to find something to eat. Will you at least consider coming with me on Friday?”
For half a second, I consider getting dressed up and going with Casey to a biker bar full of rowdy men, but I just don’t see that happening. I’m too shy and self-conscious. Besides, there’s only one biker I want to see, and Casey’s right, Fiasco probably won’t be there.
Chapter Eight
Fiasco
“You’re looking pale, man. Maybe it’s time to take a break,” Devlin says when his shadow moves over me on the part of the roof where I’m working.
“Can’t,” I tell him, reaching for another nail. “Need the money.”
“You also need to not pass out and break your fucking neck when you fall off the roof, Fiasco!”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine! You just got shot less than two weeks ago!”
I stop hammering to look up at his face, not because he told me to take a break but because I honestly don’t know if I can raise my arm again at the moment to hit another nail. “That’s right, I haven’t earned a paycheck in almost two weeks! I have to keep going whether or not my body wants me to.”
“At least go get some water,” Devlin suggests. “Please? I’ll take over here until you get back. You know, with your luck, you’ll end up in the hospital with broken bones if you fall off here, and that’ll be more weeks you’ll miss.”
“Fine,” I mutter when he kneels down and takes over the hammering.
I crawl over to the ladder on my hands and knees because I honestly don’t know if my legs will hold my weight. And jeez, I’m dizzy as fuck as I climb down. I swipe my water bottle from the cooler, a big yellow monster, and sit down on the ground with my back against a tree to drink it down.
Never in my life have I felt this weak. It makes me feel like a fucking pussy. The goddamn bullet wounds are still draining me while they heal, or at least that’s what Joanna told me would happen. I believe her too since she’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. She also told me I shouldn’t go back to work for at least four to six weeks, but that’s not exactly an option.
Damn, I miss waking up in her bed that smells like lavender, seeing her beautiful face and having her take care of me all day and night. Nobody has ever done that for me before. When I was a kid, if I got sick, I had to stay home by myself while my
