Page 66 of Dirty Hot Valentine
“Yes, Dusty.” Her heels clicked away quickly.
“Tell her what I said!”
“Yes, Dusty!” She ran faster and closed the door behind her.
A long, frustrated breath seeped out of my mouth. “Like she could get it up.” Nobody knew or would believe that after Cammie, my cock got a one-track mind. A gorgeous brunette who could bring me to my knees and break me with both pain and pleasure.
And no bitch was going to take her place.
Aside from the regular business calls from suppliers, bars and other chapters, the rest of the weekend passed with the same shit. Party. Loads of booze, drugs and pussy. Night Skulls’ babes, not just Mama’s bitches, making passes at me—the newly-single president—aiming for higher privileges and status in the gang. Mama trying to convince me Rosewood was where I belonged and Cammie could never be one of us.
I wanted to smash each and every face I saw in this place and then burn the whole thing to the ground.
To keep my angry episodes at bay, I spent a lot of time alone in the woods. Mostly, I’d, compulsively, call Cammie without leaving a message—I’d never chased a girl before, but she wasn’t any girl. Then I’d drink and think about us. The good times and the bad ones.
Sometimes I wondered if our time together was limited right from the start. Like no matter what I did, sooner or later she was going to leave. Like I was never going to be good enough, and she was better off without me.
Then I shook it off, knowing that was Mama’s voice in my head. The effect of this place on me. If those couple of days—staying here knowing I didn’t have Cammie to go back to—made me realize anything, it was that I hated it here.
I was the one who could never fit here, Mama, not Cammie.
When I took my position at the top of the Skulls, I knew I’d leave one day. It was my time here that was limited, not my time with the one person with whom I really felt like myself.
But all this time I wasn’t worthy of her.
To get Cameron back, I had to prove myself to her, show her I wasn’t full of shit when I said I’d change. I had to start over and build a new life on my own. It was the only way to redeem myself and regain her trust.
For that I would leave the Night Skulls once and for all and never look back. Show her, whether she took me back or not, I had changed for good.
For myself.
For her.
For us.
I called Rush, determined to follow with my original plan, letting him subtly run things for a while to see if he was the right man for it before I officially handed the whole business over to him. After all, he was the best candidate in the gang for this position.
He didn’t answer, though.
That was weird.
Yes, he was busy following my orders. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t see or hear of him all weekend.
Something wasn’t right.
14. Cameron
I summoned every ounce of courage left in me, backed up with Ashley’s pep talk, and left the apartment to go to class.
The morning sun settled too bright on my puffy eyes as I put on my helmet, Hangovers and mornings didn’t get along. Crying all night didn’t help either.
Ash put on the extra helmet while I jammed dark shades on my face and straddled the bike. I could only wear one glove today. The glove on the right hand didn’t fit after last night’s little accident. The handlebar didn’t feel rough on the gauze anyway.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to stop the racing thoughts in my mind, and most importantly, not to think about Dusty. But with riding the bike he gave me—riding or seeing any bike for that matter—it was impossible.
My best friend held on to my shoulders, and as if she felt my tension, she said, “Don’t think too much. Just drive.”
I nodded, filling my lungs with air, and started the ignition.
