MC: LaPonte (5 page)

"Brother." I turn back to him.
"Think before you fuck it up. She's waited for years. Now she waits
for you to finish fuckin anything that walks through the club door.
It's not a secret around here. You're not interested, let her go.
She wants a life, kids, a man to stand by her every day not two a
month. She's looking for a family she's never had. Pretty girl like
Kate has her pick. Waited for you until today. Not sure she
deserves the anger rolling off you." He says low, fuck he's right.
I'm not so sure he wouldn't kill me in my sleep if I hurt Kate.
Fuckin selfish bastard is exactly what I've turned into. I fuckin
hate those guys.

I wipe my hands down my face.
"Fuck."

"Talked to your sister every
day for three years. Asked her out every week for six months. Knew
she was worth it. First date we had, I never left. Moved my shit in
the next day, had the alarm put in, staked my claim. Wasn't takin
the chance of someone takin my Jess. Six years later, I still work
at keepin my Jess. To claim someone, you gotta put the work in, if
you’re lucky, she'll claim you back." He gives me a
look.

"When the hell did you become
fuckin Oprah?" Jesus the guy doesn't normally hand out advice but
he's a smart mother.

He looks at me, "Don't know
about Oprah. Know if a woman fights, it's good. When she stops,
it’s bad. Need to give Kate a reason to fight. Unless she's not
worth it. Hear the guys talk, the whores are young and better than
the last ones. You lookin to live out your dreams in pussy, let her
go so she can live hers." He stands. "Brought Kate home before I
drove here, she's safe for tonight. Get your head together, decide
what the fuck you want. Plenty of Brothers waiting for a date with
her. Told me she’s accepting them from now on. She's at the Bakery
tomorrow with Jess."

I nod, "Thanks Steve." He just
walks away.

I sit back down and get a shot
of jack from the Prospect. Fuckin cop takin out my Kate. Steve's
right. She's not even mine. I've been stringing her along forever.
Fucked her twice a month thinking it's enough to keep her happy.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Selfish bastard. She's beautiful,
dark hair down her back, almond shaped blue eyes, tits with those
big fuckin nipples, and curves in all the right places. Fuck. Just
thinking about her gets my dick standing at attention. She knows
I've been fuckin the whores. Fuck! How the hell did I think she
wouldn't know? Jesus, I've been such a fuckin dick. I wipe my hand
down my face. She's accepting dates from now on. Fuck!

Duncan sits beside me.
"Brother, you don't want to fuck with VP. Word has it he took more
than half the gang by himself in less than two hours. He's the guy
that gets sent where people go missing without a trace or are found
dead in their bed behind security. He's just not someone you fuck
with, even if you're family."

"What are you talking about?
I'm not fuckin with him." What the hell is this now?

He looks at me, "He just left
here pissed. Where the fuck is your head Brother? He's been
watching you for a while now. Fuck, everyone has. When VP is pissed
he's dangerous. Every fuckin Brother here knows you don't hit his
switch. You need to get your fuckin head out of pussy and back in
reality Brother before your family tie doesn't hold your weight."
Now he's pissed, he stalks off.

What the fuck? I'm here every
fuckin day and I don't see what the fuck is going on? Shit. Missing
people, more than 17 in two hours? Holy shit! I'm definitely not
trying to piss him off. Brothers watching me, what the
fuck.

"Danny you want to finish what
you started?" Luke yells from the couch. JJ's still sitting on his
lap. She doesn't look thrilled, I shake my head no. "Caroline is
free for a while. We could make it interesting. I like watching
them eat each other." I shake my head no and head back to my room.
I need to get the fuck out of here. I haven't been home since my
last date with Kate. It's the only nights I spend at my
house.

Fuck. I'm fucked up; I just
turned down a three way and/or two whores eating each other out to
go sit home alone. For some reason my dick shrivels and doesn't
even twitch at the thought. I was just fuckin hard thinking about
Kate. I guess it's time. I need to clear my fuckin head.

Chapter Five

I drag myself out of bed
and shower. I know what I want to buy so I hurry to the Bakery
hoping to get Jess and Tracy out and shopping by noon.

Walking through the door
Peg gives me a smile. I walk around the display and make myself a
coffee. While I'm there I make the order Peg is taking. I drink
while she takes the next order. I'm happy to help her clear out the
line drinking my coffee in between orders. She hugs me and promises
to bring a refill to the back for me. I push through the doors and
notice Danny by Jess. I smile and then stop.

"You've been fucking
whores at the same time you’re sleeping with her?" I take a step to
the side and lean against the wall. Tears are falling down my face.
Jess doesn't let up. "What the hell is wrong with you? She's been
in love with you forever. She deserves more than social diseases
from her man, even if you are just part time. Damn Danny, she
deserves some respect. What were you thinking?"

"I don't know, last night
I went home for the first time in fuckin forever. What do I need to
do to fix this Jess? I don't want to lose her." He looks
stricken.

I put my hand over my
mouth to hold in a sob. They both turn. Jess comes over to me and
holds me. Peg walks through the door turns around and walks back
out.

Danny walks toward us.
"Fuck! Kate I'm sorry. Tell me what to do. How do I make it right?"
He moves to put his hand on me and I back away horrified. I love
him and want to hurt him all at the same time. I don't even know
why it hurts so much, it's not like I didn't know.

"Give her some time.
She'll call if she wants to see you." Jess yells at him. Jess never
yells.

He drops his hand. "I'll
be at my house. I'm going to make it up to you Kate. I'm sorry I
hurt you." His shoulders slump as he turns and walks out. I hear
Peg talking to him in a harsh tone and move away from the door. I
don't even want to know what more is being said.

"I'm sorry Kate. I
shouldn't have..." I wave my hand to cut her off.

I grab some paper towels
and clean my face. I need to get myself under control. Jess watches
me cautiously. I sit at the work table and deep breathe. Holy crap!
He doesn't want to lose me. He wants to fix it. I didn't tell Jess
everything I heard. It hurt but I kind of understood. He never
cheated on his ex. She was nuts and they didn't have sex for more
than a year at times. Jeesh, he's a guy. Jess is still watching me.
I'm thinking of what I would tell clients that come in for
services. I need to make him prove that he knows I'm worth more
than what he's been giving me. I know he treated his ex like a
princess until the end. I want that guy. The one who respected his
wife just because she was his wife. Every relationship I've had
I've judged by how he treated De. Fuck. I made a decision to date
other men and find the one that gives me that spark. I finally look
at Jess.

"I need to feel like I
matter. I'm worth more than a fuck twice a month. I need to be
number one in a man's life, not second, third or fourth. Is there
something I'm doing that tells guys to treat me like
crap?"

"Yes. You let Danny sleep
with you and didn't demand anything in return. You let him think
you weren't important enough to see you more than twice a month.
He's my brother and I love him but he's fucked up and you accepted
it. You're worth everything. You changed my life. You fought for me
when I didn't have the strength and confidence to fight for myself.
I think it's time I paid you back. My brothers a dick, he needs to
beg, he needs to grovel. He needs to see you will not be taken for
granted anymore. Damn Kate you deserve more than my piece of shit
brother." She says gently. It hits me that I laid down and let him
do whatever he wanted because I loved him, just hoping someday he
would love me back. When the hell did I decide I wasn't worth
anything?

I see her tears but I
snort a laugh at her, "you love Danny. I should go. I don't want to
drag you into the middle of this." I stand and throw away the
snotty paper towels.

"For the first time since
I met him, I'm ashamed of him. You're not going anywhere without
me. Best-friend-sister. You're stuck with me. Let me get some
coverage and we'll get out of here." She goes out the door and
talks to Peg.

Thirty minutes later Jess
is driving us out of the neighborhood and into the city. "Where are
we going?" Not that I care.

"For coffee where there is
no video feed." She looks at me with a smile. "I can see you'll
take him back. Peg told him Jared's been waiting for you to be done
with him. He didn't take it well. We'll make sure he never treats
you like an option again." She smiles. I feel a twinge of
guilt.

"I have a date with Jared
next weekend. I'm not into games Jess. You know me better than
that." I look out the window.

"I'm not suggesting you
should start now. Rob called me last night. He didn't know what to
do about the cop because you were so happy. He wanted to get you
away from the guy but said he doesn't see you relaxed and happy too
often." She doesn't say anymore.

Shit. I was happy; I was
still smiling when I called her. Rob has seen me with Danny, when
did that not make me smile? I look at her. "I could do
coffee."

She cracks up. "You got it
girlfriend. Tracy's meeting us there."

Danny

Too wired to go home I
check the job site. My foreman, Chris, has everything running ahead
of schedule. I got nothing to do but try and figure out what the
fuck I'm going to do about Kate. I never thought about losing her.
Fuck I'm such a dick. She's such a good woman, the total opposite
of my ex. Jess says she loves me. I wouldn't feel like such a shit
if I didn't have some feelings for her. I always saw us ending up
together, I don't know how long I thought she'd wait for me, I had
her begging for more time and I blew her off. Fuck. Now she's out
with other guys, Steve said happy and laughing. I can't remember
the last time we sat and laughed. I drive to the garage. I need to
talk to Petey. I don't think I can sit by and watch her laughing
with a brother, fuckin Jared. He's a good guy but not with my
fuckin Kate.

Kate

We're in Victoria's, Jess
and Tracy are crazy. They have a whole new wardrobe piled in the
suv already. "I have plenty of panties Jess."

"I bet you do. Since today
starts the new you, the old has to go." She smiles adding panties
and bras to the pile. Tracy is looking for my size in corsets.
Shit. I might as well find some pajamas. They're determined to come
to my house and clear out the old.

On our way home Jess and
Tracy are laughing trying to lift my spirits. I'm thinking about
what Rob said. Am I just hanging onto the idea of Danny? I need to
get my head straight before I jump back in with him.

It's going to be a long
night. Steve and Ben have the boys and are happy to lend me their
old ladies. Tracy has margarita mix, Jess starts mixing while me
and Tracy get the bags in. Feeling a little tipsy we clear out my
old clothes putting the new clothes in their place. Jess leaves me
very little of my old stuff, since she's the only one not drinking,
I don't even question it. Thank God we only got a couple pairs of
shoes.

Steve sends a Prospect
with food from the diner. I love the way he treats her, making sure
she eats so his baby girl will grow in her. The Prospect takes the
bags of my old clothes out when he leaves. I have no idea what Jess
told him to do with them. Tracy gets the food on the table while me
and Jess finish hanging the last of the skirts and dresses. "Jess
how much did all this cost?" My closet is almost full
again.

She shrugs, "doesn't
matter. It's not about the cost. It's about the new you, pretty,
confident and underneath it all, sexy as hell." She gives me a
devilish smile.

I laugh, she's right, I
always feel good when I'm wearing sexy under my clothes. "Remember
the first time we shopped at Victoria's? We had enough to by a
couple pairs of panties and thought we were something
else."

"Steve told me he was
surprised I don't own cotton panties. I used to budget for
Victoria's right along with food. Now I don't wear anything
else."

"I'm going to do that from
now on. I don't have anything not sexy anymore." I smile because it
feels good.

Sitting down I tell them
what I've been thinking. "I can't get what Rob said out of my head.
I think I need to figure out if I'm in love with Danny or just the
idea of him. I made the decision to start dating. I need to see if
I get that spark from someone that wants to be with me and not just
because I was on a date with someone else. I want to be happy
again."

"It's about time!" Tracy
makes me laugh with her fist pump.

Jess smiles, "I'm so proud
of you. I think you're right. Rob said he doesn't see you enjoying
yourself very often. You deserve to be happy every day."