“You just double dipped!” I growl, snatching the tub back.
“You did it,” he says, grinning wolfishly.
“Yeah but it’s mine.”
“Babe, we’ve fucked,” he says, leaning back in the chair.
“I remember, I was there,” I reply, wondering where the hell he’s going with this.
“So that’s more intimate than double dipping some ice cream, don’t you think?”
I put my spoon down. “Yeah, you fuck everyone though.”
He studies me. “Says who?”
“Says me.”
“Babe,” he says, shaking his head.
“What?”
His lip twitches. I think he likes my attitude. “I haven’t fucked in a while, so don’t remind me.”
I stand up and put both tubs in the freezer. “I think your a while and my a while are a little different.”
He doesn’t say anything to that, so I turn around and pin him with a speculative look. “You’re the last person I slept with,” I say, waiting for him to talk.
He doesn’t.
“And you?” I ask, my voice deceptively innocent.
He pauses. “You really want to do this?”
I cringe. “That bad, huh?”
“I haven’t slept with anyone since I found out you were carrying my baby,” he says finally, his eyes never leaving me.
I bite my bottom lip. “That was the other day.”
He nods slowly. “It was. I’m not going to lie.”
“Okay,” I say slowly, looking away from his steady gaze.
“I’m taking you out tonight, so be dressed by six,” he says, standing up to leave the room.
“Where are you going now?” I ask him, hating the neediness in my tone.
“Out,” he says. “Look, I get that you’re having my kid, but I don’t explain myself to any woman, alright?”
Is that what I was expecting him to do? I look at him, standing there. Dressed in tight jeans, a black V-neck and his cut, he looks intimidating. Unattainable. Breathtaking. I suddenly feel angry. This isn’t me. Sitting here, being so out of control. I let my parents have control of me my entire life, now that I’m free of their hold, I don’t need another. Even if it comes in the form of a sexy as sin, badass biker.
“Why don’t I just leave then and get out of your way?” I snap, walking out of the door before he can. I ignore his presence behind me as I grab my bag and my uni folder and walk to my car.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he growls, taking me by the arm.
“I’m going to study at the library,” I tell him. “I don’t like explaining myself to you either. Who are you to me? Some asshole who had me once and got me pregnant. You don’t own me Dex.”
I pull out of his hold and storm to my car. I hear him calling for Vinnie, probably to babysit me.
Poor Vinnie.
I drive off, out the fence—which was luckily open— and away from the confines of a man I want but can never have.
Chapter Eleven
I walk out of the library and come face to face with Vinnie. I grimace, the poor guy must have been waiting out front for the last few hours.
“Sorry Vin,” I say when I see him looking bored out of his mind, standing next to his bike.
He doesn’t even try to smile at me. Instead he sucks on a lollipop and says, “Where to next?”
“Want to ride with me? We can get your bike on the way back.”
He shakes his head.
“Let’s go get some gelato,” I decide. Vinnie looks less than thrilled at my decision but doesn’t complain. He must really want to get patched in.
When we arrive at my favourite gelato place, my phone beeps with a message.
Dex: Ice cream again? Really?
I huff. This is his way of letting me know he knows exactly where I am and what I’m doing. Controlling asshole.
Me: Hoping to get Vinnie to lick it off me.
Immature, I know. But I’m moody and hormonal.
Hormonal—now there’s a good excuse if I’d ever heard one.
I grin at the thought as Vinnie sits on the stool opposite me enjoying his chocolate ice cream.
“It’s good, isn’t it,” I say with a wink.
He rolls his eyes. “Fine, it’s good.”
“Want to go and see a movie next?” I ask him, enjoying the freedom and the company.
He stops mid-lick, moving his mouth away from the ice cream. “You don’t wanna go back yet?”
“Do I have to?” I whine.
“Yes, you do,” he says, chuckling at me. “It’s not so bad there, is it?”
I shrug. “It’s not bad there, no. But I feel like I have nothing to do but sit there, like an incubator, while everyone goes on living their lives.”
He laughs, loudly. “An incubator?”
“Come on Vin. I can’t even go get ice cream without it turning into a spectacle.”
That comment stops the humor on his face. “He just wants you safe.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t own me, and he can’t control me like that,” I say quietly, looking away.
A warm hand cups my jaw, lifting my head up. “You’re a strong girl, you know that?”
My cheeks heat. “I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to prove that yet.”
“You will,” he says, standing up. “Now let’s go. Last thing I need is Sin getting pissed off at me.”
I wince when I think of the message I sent Dex without considering the impact of my actions. I hope he doesn’t take it out on Vinnie.
“Race you there?” I call out, grinning.
He looks down at my tummy. “Maybe in a few months.”
I giggle. “Deal.”
*****
Dex isn’t home when I get there. I grab all my snacks and head straight for my room, not planning on sharing any of my goods. When I walk past the living room I see Arrow sitting there with a woman on his lap. A woman who isn’t Mary. He looks up when he sees me, my hands full of chocolates, lollies, and baked goods and grins.
“Need some help with those little girl?” he calls out to me, a dry chuckle escaping his cheating lips.
I step into the room. “I think I have it under control, thanks. Where’s Mary?”
His eyes narrow. “Do I need to call Sin?”
His face turns mean, and I get kind of scared. I step away as the woman on his lap throws me a haughty look.
“So… when’s the last time you had an STD check?” I ask her in a mock casual tone.
Arrow growls and I wince, taking another step backwards. “Well, I’ll just be going now…”
“Looks like it’s you that needs to use protection,” she sneers, staring at my stomach. At least she knows I’m pregnant, not just fat. “Do you even know who the father is?”
Annoyed, I look to Arrow. As if knowing what I’m thinking, he shakes his head.
“Arrow is the father,” I say, pretending to start crying. Then I run to my room, unable to stop laughing.
I’m halfway through a packet of Oreos when Dex walks in, looking extremely unhappy.
“Babe,” he says on a sigh, rubbing a hand down his face.
“What?”
“You couldn’t make things easy on me, could you?” he says dryly, lying down on the bed next to me.
“I like Mary,” I say.
“What does this have to do with Mary?” he asks, sitting up. Oh shit, I guess Arrow didn’t snitch on me.
“I saw Arrow with someone who isn’t Mary,” I say in a quiet voice. Dex goes stiff next to me, then pulls me closer to him.
“That’s not our business, yeah?”
“If someone knew things about me, things that would hurt me, but looked in my face every day and pretended to be my friend, I’d be hurt. And pissed off. And feel betrayed,” I tell him.
Silence.
“It’s not you hurting Mary. It’s their business, and you shouldn’t judge them. Has anyone here ever judged you?” he says.
I think on it. “I guess not.”
“We have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy here babe,” he says, leaning back once more. “And that goes for you too. Just mind your own business and everything will be fine.”