10. Maddox

Chapter 10

Maddox

E mma in a bikini is not something that I was prepared for. As soon as I get back to their house I walk to the backyard and find her sprawled out on a lawn chair, talking to her mother.

It's mid afternoon now. Bull is cleaning up around the grill, Carson, and I'm assuming Emma's roommate, Candace, are lounging at the other end of the pool. I give a nod to Bull when he sees me but I head straight for Emma. I no sooner sit down and Kate smiles at me. "I'm going to run inside and do a few things. Holler if you all need anything."

She walks towards the house and beckons for Bull to follow her. When they disappear into the house, I scoot to the edge of the chair next to Emma. She doesn't even acknowledge me.

I lean over and rub my finger across her wrist. "How long you going to avoid me?" I ask. She puts her glasses on the top of her head and looks at me, rolling her pretty blue eyes as she does. "You've avoided me for three-and-a-half years."

"I didn't want to," I tell her.

She closes her eyes and leans back. "You don't look like someone that doesn’t do something the want to do."

At least she hasn't moved her hand. I trail my finger down her wrist into the palm of her hand before I wrap our fingers together. "You were 18, Emma. You were about to leave for college. I didn't want to fuck that up for you."

She shrugs like she can care less.

I let go of her and sit back in my seat. "What's your plans after graduation?"

She doesn't answer me. "Emma, talk to me."

Finally, she shrugs. "I'll move back here until I get a job."

"Where are you going to apply at?"

She names off a few local schools around here. "What grade do you want to teach?" "Kindergarten," she answers immediately with a smile on her face.

"So then you want to stay around here or you want to move somewhere else?"

She answers me as if she's bored. "I want to be close to Mom and Bull."

"How many..." I start but she interrupts me. "What's up with all of these questions?"

I turn to my side so I'm facing her. "I want to know all I can about you.”

She pulls her hand back and sits up. Her legs hang over the edge of the chair almost hitting mine. I don’t think she realized we would be this close because she scoots back and sits up straight to refrain from sitting as close. “My turn.”

I nod and my palms itch because I want to put them on her legs. She’s breathtakingly beautiful. She’s curvy and her cleavage is on display in the low cut bikini. “Ask me anything.”

“Why did you join the Highlands MC? I’ve heard the stories about Saint, Gage, Pops... all of them. But no one every mentioned or talked about how you come to join.”

I cross my arms over my chest. I definitely wasn’t expecting that question and I don’t think I’ve ever talked about my story before but if she wants to hear it, it’s probably best coming from me. “My dad was in the mc... years ago. He was a real asshole.”

She snorts. “Uh, all of you guys are. No offense.”

I shake my head and rub my hand across the stubbles of my chin. “None taken, but no, not like him. He used to pass the time by getting drunk and beating the shit out of me and my mom.”

She gasps but I continue. “Anyway, when some of the guys found out, they kicked him out. You know the Heartlands are not by the book about everything, but they definitely don’t tolerate hurting women or kids.”

She seems lost in thought. “So, where’s your mom at?”

I clear my throat because of everything that’s happened in my life, the shit with my mom is probably the hardest to handle. “Well, uh, the mc offered her a place to live. They said they’d take care of her and I. She told them no thanks.”

Her eyes widen in disgust. “She left you?”

I laugh. “Well, she didn’t want to. By then, I was making money for her boosting cars, working and giving her my paycheck. No, she wanted me to go with her.”

She leans forward now and I put my hands on the outside of her legs. She looks at my hands and back at me. “What happened then? You’re here... You’re a member of the mc.”

I nod. “Yea, Saint told her I was staying. It was a huge mess, but my mom and dad knew they couldn’t go against the whole club so they left. And before she drove off, my mom told me that I was a waste of a person. She told me that no one would ever love me...”

Emma looks back at me in utter shame. “What? That’s not true, Mad. You know it’s not true, right?”

I shrug indifferent. I like the fact that she used the name she used to call me all the time. She always said it fit because I walked around looking mad all the time. I never told her this, but I walked around that way because I was frustrated. I wanted her and couldn’t have her. When I don’t answer her, she puts one of her hands on my forearm. “Maddox, listen to me, she was wrong.”

She shakes her head, not even comprehending how a mother could say that to her child. I know she’s stunned. “It’s okay, Emma. I’ve been dealing with my demons a long time. It’s messed with my head a lot. Things that have happened in my life, things I’ve wanted... I didn’t think I deserved them. But I’m trying to fix that now.”

She squeezes my arm. “Good, Mad. That’s good. Regardless of everything I know you’re a good man and you deserve whatever it is you want out of life.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she’s the one I want. I want her with my ring on her finger and fuck, the idea of her round with my baby makes my fuckin heart skip a beat. But I can’t say any of those things. Not yet. So instead, I start simple. “Go out with me tonight." She shakes her head and looks across the pool at Carson and her roommate. "I can't. I have two visitors.”

"They can come too," I tell her.

She's quiet for just a minute and then I hear the interest in her voice. "What? You mean like a double date?"

"Yeah, a double date. We can all go together, Emma, but you'll be going as my date," I tell her.

At this point I'm not going to leave anything to chance. There's not going to be any question on how I feel about her.