Finally, someone came from the back room. My eyes went wide as saucers when I saw who it was.
I blinked several times, wondering if I was seeing sh.it. This had to be a dream. Fu.cking had to be. My family talking about her constantly is making me hallucinate now.
Her head was down as she walked around the desk, holding several towels in her arms. Her dark brown curls were bouncing around her with every step she took. There was a smile on her face. I was at a complete loss for words.
Is this really happening??
And when she looked up, finally seeing who I was, that smile fell. It was slow, not her usual quick switch up. Then came the scowl. The one I knew too well.
“Oh my fu.cking god! You prick!” Deidra yelled, literally yelled at me. “What the hell are you doing here?? You really are a damn jinx! My personal curse!”
My lips parted, but nothing came out. All I kept thinking about what the promise I made to my fu.ck, if this mother this morning. Back to our conversation about the universe and signs. Aber me wasn’t a massive sign, then I don’t know what is.
“Did you follow me here? Are you going to say anything? Why are you looking at me like that?” she rushed out, huffing as she frowned harder.
Again, nothing came out. Deidra went from scowling at me, to looking at me like she couldn’t figure me out. There was a smidgen of worry in her eyes too. Like she thought I was losing it or something. And fu.ck, I think I might be..
“What the hell is wrong with you?” She asked, looking me up and down.
“Hey Deid-” A woman came in from another door, already talking but quickly stopped when she felt the tension in the room. I couldn’t tell you what she looked like or if she was staring at us like we were crazy, because I couldn’t take my eyes off of Deidra. “Uhm, is everything okay?” The woman asked.
“Just peachy,” Deidra replied as she shoved the towels she was still holding at me. “Take your towels, you fu.cking tool. And you better leave Emma an outstanding review for her hospitality.” She demanded with narrowed eyes.
And like a complete fu.cking mor.on, I took the towels, spun around, and fu.cking bolted like my a.ss was on fire. I didn’t even shut the door behind me, just went. I was running away from Deidra
Hartman. Fu.ck, fu.ck, fu.ck, fu.ck!
Deidra’s P.O.V.
I had spent the entire day relaxing. I took a long bath, made a nice lunch, and pretty much read for the rest of the day. Around 5 p.m. there was a knock on my cabin door. I got up to answer it, finding Dale on the other side.
“Hey Dale,” I greeted him.
“Hey Deidra,” he replied with a friendly smile. “Em wanted me to come let you know that she’s got a few more things to wrap up in the office before coming over.”
I furrowed my brow at the tone of his voice. There was a slight irritation to it, which didn’t fit the man I was getting to know. It didn’t sound like he was irritated with Emma either.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said with a single nod. “There was a jacka.ss that checked out today. They left the cabin a mess after cussing Emma out. It put her behind and… Well, between you and me, I always get a bit protective of my wife. Don’t like it when people make her feel bad. That jacka.ss was lucky I wasn’t there.”
Now I was mad along with him.
“Think she could use a hand finishing up?” I asked him.
A huge smile broke out on his face.
“Want me to give ya ride to the office?” he replied.
I ran back to get changed really fast. I just threw on a pair of jeans and kept my off-shoulder, red sweater on. Dale dropped me at the office before heading on his way to do whatever. I walked in to see a very frazzled Emma behind the desk. She saw it was me, and her shoulders slumped as she released a breath.
“That jacka.ss has you this worked up?” I asked as I smiled at her.
“Dale told you,” she muttered. “I just… internalize everything,” she said with a forced laugh.
“Okay, well, I’m here to help,” I told her. “Put me to work.”
“I don’t have anything left,” she replied. “Just waiting for someone to get here for extra towels, and then I’m done for the day.”
“Okay, so, where are the extras?” I asked. “You can go take a breather while I get them. I’m sure I can handle giving towels to someone so you can have a few minutes to unwind.”
Emma gave me a huge smile.
“Thank you,” she said. “The towels are in the back room there. I’ll just be in here. Just ten minutes.
Then I’ll be back.”
“Take your time, girl,” I said, reassuringly.
I waited for Emma to disappear behind the door before pulling off my coat and going to the back room. The place was an organized mess. It wasn’t hard to find the towels either. I was just starting to grab them when I heard someone call out from up front. It was a deep voice that sent a chill down my spine. There’s only ever been one voice able to do that, but there’s no way he’s here. That would be a fu.cking nightmare.
Shaking all thoughts of blue-green-eyed bikers, I came back out into the office. I shouldn’t have kept my head down. Shouldn’t have stared at my feet while I walked. Then I wouldn’t have been so fu.cking blindsided when I looked up into the very eyes I was trying not to think about. The smile slid from my face and for a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
But of course I’m not. Because this is Jinx we’re talking about. My own personal fucking curse!
“Oh my fu.cking god! You prick! What the hell are you doing here?? You really are a damn jinx! My personal curse!”
I admit that I was yelling, and I’d never really yelled at Jinx like this. Not in my adult life anyway. I might have been bit.chy, snarky, and there was the time I stormed into the clubhouse screaming at the top of my lungs. But that was all very different from right now. Plus, I never called him names for no reason either. The man didn’t do anything wrong, I was just… shocked.
And based off the look on Jinx’s face, he was just as shocked to see me as I was him. However, he looked… weird. Different. Like he was seeing a ghost. Or maybe he was about to throw up? It was a look of pure shock, but I didn’t really understand it.
Sure, this was fu.cking weird, and what are the odds, am I right? But he’s like a statue. Watching him gape like a fish would have been funny if I weren’t so furious right now. I’m not even sure why I’m mad. Jinx clearly didn’t plan this, and it’s not like he did anything to me. Not yet anyway.
Just when I started to get worried that Jinx was… I don’t know, broken, I guess, Emma came back in. She could clearly feel the tension in the room. Her eyes flickered between me and Jinx. I looked at her before glaring back at Jinx. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off me. It was… unnerving.
Why is he looking at me like that?
“Uhm, is everything okay?” Emma asked.
“Just peachy. Take your towels,” I said, shoving them at Jinx, adding a comment about how he better leave Emma a good review.
I expected him to give me some kind of snarky comment back. Or say something. Anything. But he didn’t. He just… took the towels, turned around, and practically ran out the door, leaving it wide open. For a moment, all I could do was stare at the open door as the cold air rushed in, blasting me.
“Uuuuuuuuhhhhhmmmmmm,” Emma drawled out as she came to close the door. She rested her back against the door and raised a brow at me. “What the heck did I just witness? Did you just…. Did you just make a biker run away?” Her words were genuinely serious, but there was still amusement in her voice.
“I… I didn’t make me run away,” I said, frowning at the door. “I… I don’t even know what happened.”
“Things seemed… very intense,” she commented. “Was this love at first sight?”
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
“No, I mean, we… know each other,” I mumbled as my thoughts finally started to settle.
“Okay, hold up, this calls for wine,” Emma said. “Let me lock up, and we’ll walk to your cabin, get comfy, and sh.it-talk for the rest of the night.”
And that’s exactly what we did. I felt like I was in a daze the whole time too. My mind was reeling with questions now.
What is he doing here? Is Waylen with him? Is Glory with them? Are they on some kind of family trip? Trying to patch things up or something?
Why do I hate the thought of that?
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