CHAPTER THIRTEEN Mad Bell

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Mad Bell

Maisy jumped back in the line as the prospect grabbed the bowls and started filling them again.

With her back to me, I could study her without giving her a reason to give me shit. Talking to people came naturally to her. Her smile was genuine. It was friendly and inviting. It pulled people in even when they seemed unsure of a tent full of bikers wearing leather cuts. It set them at ease enough to share their opinion. Which, surprisingly, had been mostly positive feedback.

People liked my chili. I'd heard it enough throughout the day, people telling Maisy to let the chef know they were singing praises or some shit. I didn't know how to respond to the nice words, so every time I felt her eyes on me, I made sure to keep my back to her and the crowd. It was fucked up, I knew it, but I wasn't used to dealing with people. Was even less used to dealing with praise. I never wanted to be anything. Never wanted to take my cooking to the next level or find some way to make it fancy. I wasn't fancy, and I was fine with that. I didn't want to be serving two hundred dollar steaks that were the size of a quarter and topped with some kind of special grass that cost more than my weekly salary. No, that wasn't me and it never would be. At the base of it all, I just wanted to cook. If my food made people happy, then it was a surprise bonus that… well, made my heart feel full.

As if she could feel my eyes on her now, she turned around. I was quick to look anywhere but at her. There was no doubt that I came off suspicious as fuck.

Oh, well. I needed to get to doin' anyway. Shouldn't have been wasting my time watching Maisy.

"What is this?" I asked mostly to myself as I noticed the abandoned bowl Dipshit Dishwasher Prospect had brought back. I eyed it for a long minute.

What was so special about this chili that Maisy had to leave to get some? Why the fuck did she eat this chili but refused to touch mine? Okay, maybe I wasn't being fair, but she'd never once grabbed a bowl of my chili— not today or at the bar.

"Maisy has a friend here with a food truck. It's her chili," the prospect answered in a low tone as if he was sharing a secret with me.

I didn't give a fuck if he was saving it, I wanted to have a taste. I had to see what was so great about this fuckin' chili.

"I—" the prospect started but I glared at him as I shoved a spoonful into my mouth. "Yep, I didn't want to finish that at all."

I knew sarcasm when it was thrown at me, but his attitude was the least of my worries right now.

"The fuck is this? It's…"

Robust, for one. It had depth and texture.

"Really good," the prospect finished for me. "Also vegan. And mine." He snatched the bowl from me and finished the last two heaping spoonfuls, all while glaring at me like a pissed-off teenager. I couldn't help but snort. Boy had some balls on him sometimes, but he always swung them at appropriate moments.

Yeah, he was starting to grow on me. A lot. Which was fuckin' annoying.

Things started to click in my mind.

"Is that the reason she didn't eat the burger I made her?" I hadn't meant to ask the question out loud, but now it was out there and I couldn't take it back.

"I can't say for sure, but I would guess so. You never stopped to ask her about it?"

"No," I shot back quickly. Why would I? It annoyed me to no end that she'd given up that burger to him…

And now I saw it, how my ego had gotten in the way and I hadn't been able to see around the hurt.

"Fuck," I grunted softly. "I'm an idiot."

"I'm not saying it," the prospect said, and when I looked over at him, he was wearing a goofy grin that had me barking out a laugh.

I let it go and got back to work. It was busy. Even when they announced the end of the event, we had people coming up trying to get one last bowl.

It made me feel damn good about myself and my club, so I didn't mind one bit. I kept scooping it out and filling up bowls until it was gone, and then I watched as Maisy and the brothers handed out the last few. I even caught how Twigs kept one for himself and showed no shame in eating in front of everyone. I laughed and Prez shook his head as Twigs licked the bowl clean.

Clean-up was a whirlwind, and when the brothers told me we were going out to celebrate, I didn't turn them down.

"You should come," Twigs said to Maisy as he hung off the open door of the SUV where Maisy was taking up the passenger side, waiting for the prospect to drive her back to the bar, or so I assumed because that was where she left her car.

I opened my mouth to tell her that yeah, she should come, but then her gaze collided with mine over his shoulder and I lost my breath.

"Thanks," she said, a strained smile tainted the light in her eyes. "I appreciate the invite but I'm wiped out. I'm going to go home and crash."

I didn't miss the way she avoided my gaze after that.

I felt like I'd somehow fucked up but I didn't have a damn clue how. Something inside me told me all I had to do was open my mouth. She'd been a huge part in making this day happen and she deserved to be there to celebrate and unwind after.

Twigs shut the door, closing her inside of the SUV. Then they were driving off, leaving me standing there like a chump.

"I know this local rock cover band playing at a bar on the beach. You in? Or you want something more low-key?" Twigs asked.

Fuck it. I deserved to have a night out. One beer wouldn't kill my anti-social heart.

I nearly snorted at the thought.

"Yeah, I'm in. I haven't been to the beach bars yet," I replied.

"What?! You've been here forever. How is that possible?"

"He doesn't get out much," Boom said as he came up and joined the conversation. "Don't be an ass."

Twigs shrugged it off, while Bandit simply shook his head. We all knew Twigs well enough by now, which meant we didn't take offense to anything he said. It was him, and I didn't think he meant to be truly insulting. He just tended to talk before he thought.

"Glad you were here," I told Tailor as he walked up to join the us. "More glad that we didn't need you."

He smiled at my teasing tone. It was true though. We'd gotten through the day without any injuries, not even a small burn or knick to a finger. It was a miracle.

With no other reason to hang around, the rest of us mounted our bikes and took off out of the park.

This day would go down in history. A good day. A day I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and proved to myself that I could do it.

After showers and a good meal— lasagna, thanks to the Old Ladies— a bunch of us headed down to the beach.

The air was sticky, the humidity thick. The bar wasn't much. You could see the whole thing standing outside since it was mostly open windows. A small bar on one side and an even smaller stage set up in the opposite corner. We packed that place. I felt a little bad, and wondered if we were pushing some of the regulars out, but looking around, it was easy to see that most of my brothers were quick to make friends. They were mingling and buying drinks for people I was sure they didn't know. The bar had a happy atmosphere, and the band wasn't bad either.

My thoughts drifted to Maisy a few times, and I tried to push her back out. I didn't need to be thinking about her and trying to sort through confusing feelings when my brothers brought me out here to have a good time.

That said, I knew the moment I was alone, I wouldn't be able to avoid it any longer.

Something had flipped. It was like I was starting to see a different side of Masiy. Or rather, see all her actions in a new light. Like, maybe I'd been wrong this whole time.

Like, maybe… she wasn't just getting under my skin to irritate me to the point of madness.