Chapter The Talk
POV: Navy
By the time we get to my room he is no longer struggling, I open the door and push him inside.
"You and me... Let's talk" I growl and he turns around fiercely and presses a finger against my chest.
"You ruined it" he says loudly and I frown.
''No, don't look surprised now! You know exactly what you did'' he says as he continues to poke my chest with that finger. I grab his hand so he stops poking and he gives it a sharp squeeze.
"No, but why don't you tell me first what you're talking about?" I say and I'm surprised by my dominant voice, and apparently so is Chris, because he casts his gaze at the ground.
''I saw you with that bartender...'' he mumbles softly with his eyes still focused on the floor and I close my eyes...
Fuck... So he came back.
I take him to my bed and gently push him to sit down, his eyes widen as I crouch down in front of him and look straight at him.
"If you saw that... Then you may have also seen that I was caught off guard and pushed him away?" I say and he shakes his head, currently he looks more like a grumbling teenager than the adult man he is.
"Why didn't you come to me when you saw that?" I ask irritated and he rolls his eyes.
"I was angry, so I went home as quickly as possible" he whispers and I sigh and sit next to him on the bed.
''I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't want, that man now knows his place now and I've let it move on. But fuck man... There's something between us... And it makes me just as nervous as you do, but this distance between us is horrible to me. So if that's what you want, I'll push my feelings for you aside and maybe we can try to be just friends again." I say and his eyes snap to mine in surprise, he shakes his head, pushes himself towards me and puts his mouth on mine. We fall back on the bed and lie against each other on our sides, he stops the kiss and looks at me intensely.
"I want to be friends with you..." he starts and I feel my heart sink, I was afraid of this.
"No, listen" he whispers after which he quickly presses a kiss on my mouth.
''This is new to me... I always thought I was straight. And here you come with your revelation and suddenly my whole world is turned upside down, and the idea of having something more than just friendship with you doesn't sound that bad'' his eyes have a naughty look and I can't help but grin .
''But... I need some time to rediscover myself. So all I'm asking for right now... is that you give me some time to sort everything out, and that we take it easy before we throw ourselves into a relationship where one person may not yet be ready for'' he says and I am overwhelmed by the maturity with which he speaks and pull him against me for a hug, we lie quietly against each other for a while and I am grateful for this moment.
''That's good, I'm glad you're so open. And of course I accept what you say, I know better than anyone how confusing this all can be'' I mumble into his neck and I feel him nod, we lie like that for a while until the call is made that it's time for food. As if on cue, Chris's stomach starts growling and we both burst out laughing.
A little later we come downstairs and take a seat in a booth with our breakfast and Ink and Jackson join us at the table. Hammer, Morgan and another woman walk over and Hammer starts introducing Ink. He calls her Ashley and I suspect she is Chef's replacement.
West raises his hand to greet her, but Hammer skips us and introduces my big brother. West and I slap our hands on our chests in pain and I see Ashley giggling. Behind Ashley, Morgan is laughing, shaking her head and giving us a wink. Jackson stands up being his stoic self and just gives a nod and mumbles something I can't hear, I roll my eyes at my brother but can't suppress a grin either.
“These men here are Navy and West, Navy is Steel's little brother, and West....Is West” Hammer says as he points to us and I give her a smile while Chris waves next to me.
“Welcome! And don't mind my big brother, he's grumpy by default” I say a bit in defense and to reassure her a bit.
She doesn't take it personally and says everyone has their own thing. Hammer ends the introduction and the ladies disappear into the kitchen together to discuss the menu.
''It's a strange idea that Chef is suddenly no longer there. I still think it's all a strange story'' Chris mumbles next to me and Ink and I nod in agreement.
"That's right, and sometimes I feel like Hammer knows more... I must trust him that he knows what he's doing" Ink says with a shrug, after which he excuses himself and walks away.
"Come on... There are some baby's waiting for us" I say with a wink and Chris laughs at my reverence to the bikes and follows me in the direction of the garage.
It's very busy and not everything goes smoothly, Jackson thinks we might have to work a little longer tonight because we're a bit behind schedule, but first we go back to the club for some dinner.
Chris and I plop down and I rest my head against the backrest, I was in too much of a cramped position when I was working on an exhaust so my whole neck is stiff.
"I'm getting old" I growl and I hear Chris chuckle next to me.
"Oh yessss" Chris says softly and I look up to see what he is talking about. Ashley walks up to us with two beers and my mouth is watering, a cold beer was just what I needed.
“Aaahh just what the doctor ordered!” I say with an exaggerated sigh as I take the beer and take a big sip and Ashley laughs.
“I wonder where your doctor did his training,” she says jokingly and I shrug my shoulders.
“Our doctor only wants what's best for us” I say with a wink and I see surprise in her eyes.
“Do you have your own doctor?” she asks in surprise and Chris and I nod.
“Certainly, sometimes we have injuries and they will start asking questions in hospitals... Questions that we can't always answer” I say conspiratorially and a bit dramatically, because it never actually happens that there is something wrong with us.
Jackson said that in the past, when illegal things still happened, it sometimes happened that someone came back with a gunshot wound, but not anymore in recent years. West taps on the couch next to him as an invitation for Ashley to sit and listen, she looks around and sees that everyone is equipped with something.
West explains that we are no longer illegal, but that there are still arguments between different clubs. I'm surprised he's so open about the information he gives, but then again, she's a member of the club now so it probably can't hurt. She thanks us for the information as she is still very new to everything and I decide that I like her, she is a sweet woman who clearly likes to take care of people.
When Jackson walks into the room I see her staring a little too long and she seems completely in a daze, my brother doesn't realize she's watching him as he walks to his room. Ashley catches my eye and I can't suppress a grin and a wink... You have my blessing Ashley.
I finish my beer and want to put it back at the bar when Ashley storms out of the kitchen and heads towards the toilets. Not much later, Jackson also walks out, looking after her but taking no action, a deep frown is on his forehead and I shake my head, chuckling.
“Dude... did you scare her off with your grumpy face?” I say laughing and he looks at me as if he wants to kill me. He mutters a 'Fuck you' and I laugh harder.
“Try to laugh more, that works” I say as I slap him on the back and then quickly walk away before I get hit in the head.
Morgan and Ashley start setting up the buffet and the aromas coming from the pans smell heavenly. I take a seat next to Chris again and he leans towards me and puts a hand on my thigh.
"Ashley seems pretty pissed off" he whispers in my ear and I nod with a grin. I place my hand on his that is still on my leg and squeeze it, he squeezes and rubs my leg back and forth. He comes a little too close to my crotch and I growl in warning, he gives me a wink and subtly removes his hand.
"I thought we were going to take it easy" I mutter softly and Chris looks at me challengingly.
"A little teasing can't hurt, right?" he says semi-innocently and I roll my eyes.
"It's easy for you to say, I'm getting blue balls" I mumble and the asshole has the nerve to chuckle, but he doesn't have time to answer because Jackson comes over and takes a seat at our table.
“Have you said sorry to your girl yet?” I ask him, also to distract myself from Chris's flirtatious behavior. When he hears the words 'your girl' he jumps up and joins the conversation.
“She's not my girl you nosy asshole” Jackson grumbles to me, clearly in a bad mood today.
“Navy... Did he just say more than 2 words?” West says to me in surprise and I chuckle, sometimes it's great to tease my big brother.
“Apparently my brother's extensive vocabulary is getting him into trouble with the women, this afternoon he insulted the new cook” I say teasingly and Jackson almost seems to jump out of his skin with frustration. He abruptly gets up and walks towards the bar, clearly not wanting to be near us.
We enjoy a delicious meal and I'm happy that Morgan has found such a good cook in Ashley, everyone was feeling really good after the meal. Ashley looks a little too often in the direction of Jackson who is filling his plate with food for the second time.
“Staring eyes are in love” I say while singing when I come near her and she looks at me with big eyes.
“Do you mean me? or you?” she asks and I look at her with a frown, what is she talking about?
"Me? No... ahh... I was talking about the heart eyes you sent to my brother” I say, stammering a bit and mentally kicking myself.
She says she is not interested in my brother but I know better, for me she doesn't have to deny it.
“Why did your ears turn red when I asked if you were talking about you or me?” she suddenly asks and I'm momentarily stunned, why is she asking so much about my love life... Am I that obvious?
“Oooh look! Dessert!" I say out loud and I give her a wink and walk away, I had to save myself from this situation. I walk back to the table and see West looking at me with a frown, he seems to be thinking deeply about something.
"Shall we go to the garage?" I ask and he nods silently, he quickly types something on his mobile and then gets up.
"Are you okay?" I ask and he nods with a small smile.
I don't believe him completly, but I ignore it... If he wants to share it, he will come to me.