Renegade Reject (16 page)

A look of pure confusion crosses her face.  “What?”

“You heard me. Why the hell would you do something so idiotic?”

“Garrett, I have no damn idea what you’re talking about.”

“Rum said you stuck an orange up your snatch, because of me,” I say, beginning to doubt what I was told.  This is Daisy, my Little Flower.  She’s one of the smartest women I know, also one of the shyest.  How the fuck she gets on the stage and takes her clothes off, I’ll never know.  Even so, I can’t see her doing this shit. 

“Who the hell told Rum that?”

I shrug.  “I don’t know.”

She looks up at me; anger and disappointment distorting her gorgeous features.  “Why would you believe I’d do something so stupid?”

I don’t get a chance to respond before she pulls out her phone and puts it to her ear.  There’s a moment of hesitation before she starts to talk.  “You can’t get him on your own, so you have to go around making stupid shit up about me?”

Another hesitation, and then she starts to scream.  “No, you’re wrong.  He’s not yours.  Haven’t you figured out by now that he doesn’t belong to anyone?”

I know she’s talking about me, and I know who she’s talking to.  I should’ve realized Leah started this shit, but the truth is I wanted an excuse to see Daisy.  Looks like I jumped on the wrong one. 

She’s quiet for a second, then starts talking in a voice filled with hate.  “You can screw him all you want, but if you ever open your mouth about me again, I will kick your stupid ass.  I may be small, but I grew up with Lula as a mom.  I learned a few tricks.  I will take your ass out, Leah. That’s a promise”

I have never heard Daisy speak like that, and I can’t keep the smile off my face.  Finally, she’s learning to take up for herself.  It’s about fuckin’ time.

She pulls the phone from her ear and ends the call.  When she looks up at me, I can still see the anger in her eyes.  “I would never do something as stupid as that.  The fact that you would even believe that shit for two seconds shows just how little you know me.  What the hell was all that time we spent together about?  Were you just playing a game with me?”

I shake my head and start to respond, but she cuts me off.  “Don’t even answer that.  You already proved it was a game.  You thought you could just string poor little Daisy along, tell me you love me then walk away, but that wasn’t enough.  You had to screw me and call me a whore, just had to seal the deal. Shit, Garrett, what else do you want from me?”

Fuck!  Her anger is directed at me now.  I know I deserve it, but that’s not how I wanted this conversation to go.  I didn’t really know what was going to happen, but her screaming at me was not it.  “Daisy, you don’t understand.  I would do anything to change what happened.”

She looks me straight in the eyes, her disgust at the situation clear to see.  “Just get out.  Just get the hell out.”

I start to say more, but she walks to the door and swings it open.  “This is not the clubhouse or The Kitty Kat. This is my home, and I want you to leave right now.”

I run my hands through my hair, fighting the urge to grab her.  “Daisy, please just listen to me.”

“Get the hell out!” she shouts, tears starting to make their way down her cheeks. 

I hate to see her cry, hate knowing that I have been the cause of so many of her tears.  Making my way out the door, I whisper, “Love you, Little Flower.”

I hear the door slam behind me before I even make it to the driveway.  I’ve about made it to my bike when I hear footsteps running toward me.  Turning around, expecting to see Daisy, I see fuckin’ Lula heading my way instead.  She stops as soon as she reaches my side, placing a hand on her hip.

“You’re supposed to stay away from Daisy.  If I catch you here again, I’ll tell my dad,” she threatens.

“I had to talk to her.”

“If I see you anywhere near her again, you’re gonna lose your cut.”

I have to fist my hands to keep from wrapping them around her throat. “You know, bitch, I could just kill your ass, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about you saying shit.”

The skank has the audacity to laugh.  “You could, but then you know for sure you’d lose your cut.  I’m a member’s daughter.  I’m untouchable.”

“Fuck you,” I mumble as I swing my leg over my bike. 

“That’s sounds like a good idea to me.  If you fuck me, I’ll make sure that Dad thinks it was all just a mistake.  I’ll tell him that I misunderstood, that you would never hurt Daisy.  I’ll make him believe you would be good for Daisy. I’ll even talk her into taking your brand.”

I shudder with revulsion. No fuckin’ way would I ever have my dick anywhere near this bitch. “Not gonna happen.”

“If you want Daisy so bad, you’ll do whatever I say.”

I have to shake my head at her stupidity.  “Do you really think Daisy would want me after I had my cock in you?”

She shrugs.  “She’s used to my hand me downs.”

I stare at her for a second, giving her a chance to see my hatred for her, before I start my bike and ride away. 

DAISY

Preach’s whispered words were barely audible, but I heard them all the same.  I don’t know why he would say he loves me when all he’s done is treat me like crap.  Knowing that he believed Leah’s shit kills me.  Even though it has been three years since we were together, he should know better. 

As soon as he started talking, I knew it had to have been Leah who said that shit.  I should have seen it coming.  She has been trying to cause trouble for me ever since Ice went and bitched her out.  I’ve put up with it so far, but I’m done.  I hate to be a rat, but if she doesn’t stop her shit, I’m gonna have to go to Ice.  I’ve got enough going on with my life right now, and I can’t deal with her crap too. 

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway draws me away from my thoughts.  When I hear the sounds of
Bad Girlfriend
by Theory Of A Dead Man blaring from the car stereo, I don’t even have to look out the window to know it’s Ice.  When Preach told me what was said, I knew it was only a matter of time before Ice would come over to bitch me out for Leah’s bullshit. 

I don’t even give Ice a chance to knock before I door open.  “I knew you’d show up sooner or later.”

She barely controls her smile before responding,  “Well, someone had to come over here and straighten you out.”

I narrow my eyes before stepping back and motioning for her to come inside.  “Don’t tell me you believed Kandy’s bullshit too?”

Yeah, Leah told me that Kandy is the one that called the clubhouse.  I don’t really care who made the call. I know Leah is the one that that started the crap.

“What do you mean her bullshit?” she asks, taking a seat on my couch. 

“Preach came over here earlier, giving me seven kinds of hell,” I say, blowing out a frustrated breath and sitting down beside her.  “Can you believe he honestly thinks that I shoved an orange up my hoo-hah just to get his attention?”

“You didn’t?”

Does everyone think I’m really that stupid? I can feel my cheeks heat up as I start to shake my head.  “No way!  I’m not an idiot, no matter what everyone else thinks.”

“Well, then what the hell happened?  I know Skittles took you to the hospital.”

“Yes, because I had an allergic reaction to the new body glitter you bought last week.”

“Where the hell did the orange story come from?”

I jerk my purse from the coffee table and pull out a jar full of orange glitter gel.  “The glitter is orange.”

“You stuck the glitter up your pussy?” she asks, confusion lacing through her voice.

“No!” I shout, angry that Ice would think I was that ignorant.  “I would never do something as stupid as that.  I just rubbed the glitter around my G-string.  I thought it would look cool on the stage.”

“Then why the hell did Skittles have to take you the hospital?”

I know there is only one way to prove what I say is true, so I stand up and jerk down my shorts.  There is a deep red rash running from mid-thigh to my lower stomach.  It itches like crazy and hurts like hell. “The doctor said there’s something in the new glitter that I’m allergic to.”

“So why the hell was I told that you stuck an orange up your snatch?”

I pull my shorts up and plop back down on the couch.  “Leah,” I say with a hiss. “She walked in when I was showing the rash to some of the other girls.  Next thing I know, she’s telling everyone that stupid story.  You know how the girls are, anything for a laugh, especially that bitch.”

“She’s jealous of you.”

“There’s not one damn thing about me that anyone would be jealous of,” I reply, cringing when I hear the poor-pitiful-me tone in my voice. That’s not me. I’ve never felt sorry for myself before. This shit’s gotta stop.  I’ve survived living with Lula for all these years. I’ll survive Leah’s bullshit too. 

She shakes her head, looking me up and down.  “You’re a beautiful girl, Daisy.”

I may be beautiful, but there’s something about me that makes everyone turn away.  My dad is never sober enough to notice me, and Mom has never hid her hatred.  Then there’s Preach, the first person other than my grandparents and Uncle Holt to ever claim to love me.  His love sure didn’t last very long. 

I shrug and do my best to change the subject.  “Enough about me, let’s talk about you.  What’s this I hear about you and Kidd?  Did he really make you his old lady?”

Word at The Kitty Kat is that Kidd claimed her, and he didn’t give her the choice of whether she wanted to be claimed or not.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but she’s sober, and that’s an improvement.  For the last two weeks, she’d been in a downward spiral.  I’m not sure what happened, but I know something bad went down at the club. 

She shrugs back.  “You know how the boys work.  When they want something, they take it.  For some reason, Kidd wants me now.  I’m sure he’ll get tired of me before too long.”

“I don’t know, Ice.  I don’t think Kidd will ever get tired of you.  He loves you too much.” She’s wrong.  I’ve never seen a man more in love than Kidd. Sometimes, I watch him watching her and wish that Preach would look at me like that just once. 

“He doesn’t love me. He just likes playing games with me.”

I shake my head at her words.  “I don’t know Kidd all that well.  You know Mom kept me away from the guys in the club when I was growing up, but I know he loves you something fierce.  Shit, girl, everyone knows he loves you.  He’s never tried to hide it.”

“What are you talking about?  If he loves me, then why was he with a different girl every night?  Why did he treat me like shit when he got his chance with me?”

I hate hearing the pain in her voice. It mirrors my own.  She’s been through so much and deserves to find a bit of happiness.  At least, she’s not pregnant and alone.  For a moment, I consider telling her about the baby, but I quickly realize that now is not the time.  She needs a friend, not a friend with a boatload of problems.  “I can’t answer that for you.  No one but Kidd can.  I will say that I think you should give the two of you a second chance.  Not for Kidd, but for yourself.”

“For myself?  Why the hell would I do that?”

How the hell can I give her advice when I can’t even get my own life straight?  “Because you love him.  If you don’t give it a chance, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering what if...”

“I’m not talking about this shit anymore.”

I roll my eyes at her bluntness.  “Fine, then what do you want to do?”

A smile spreads across her face as she says, “Let’s go get drunk.”

A half hour later, we’re sitting at the clubhouse bar.  She’s downing shots of tequila, while I sip on my soda.  Thankfully, she hasn’t commented on my sober status.  That’s a conversation I don’t want to have right now. 

The room goes quiet when the door to the common room opens.  I turn just in time to see Timber walk inside.  I can feel my heart rate speed up as I take him in.  His golden brown hair is nearly to his shoulders, and my fingers long to touch the silky waves.  He’s still sporting his trademark mustache.  It frames his mouth, ending right at his jaw line, just a shade darker than his hair.  When he lifts his shades, his bright green eyes cut in my direction.  The whole package nearly takes my breath away.

A huge smile spreads across my face as Ice shouts out, “Finally home, huh?”

His head jerks toward her, and he smiles.  He doesn’t respond, but instead rushes toward Ice and pulls her into his body.  As soon as he has her in her arms, he devours her lips. 

“It’s good to be home, pretty girl.”

“Be a damn shame for you to die as soon as you get here, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen if you don’t take your hands off my old lady,” Kidd says, walking toward them. 

Oh shit!  This is not good.

“He didn’t know that you claimed me, so you better not lay a damn hand on him, Kidd.  I mean it!” Ice says as she pulls away from Timber. 

Within seconds, Kidd has her tossed over his shoulder and is walking toward his room.  I watch them, a smile playing on my lips, so engrossed in their display that I don’t notice Timber coming toward me until he has his mouth near my ear.  “Missed you, Little Flower.”

The next second, I’m in his arms, and he’s kissing me.  I know he just kissed Ice, and I should probably be offended that I’m his second choice, but I’m not. Instead, I return the kiss with everything I have, hoping to feel even a little of what I felt when Preach’s lips were on mine.  It’s not the same, not even close, but it’s still amazing.  It comes to an end all too soon when I am jerked out of his arms. 

“Keep your fuckin’ hands off her,” Preach shouts as he pushes me behind him. 

A slow smile spreads across Timber’s face as he looks between Preach and me.  “Damn, all the good ones are claimed.”

His words cause me to flinch.  I step away from Preach and move toward Timber.  “I’m not claimed, especially not by him.”

Timber looks confused as Preach growls out, “Daisy, stay the fuck away from him.”

I ignore him and walk toward Timber.  “I know you just got home, and you are probably more than ready to party, but could you take me home?”

I see a flash of pity in his eyes, the same pity I saw in Ice’s earlier.  Finally, he grabs my hand.  “Yeah, Little Flower.  I’ll take you home.”