Page 41 of Fifty
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“Come on in, brother,” Kane’s voice welcomes me when I crack the door open after a quick knock. I step inside and kick my boots against the mat, closing the door behind me.
“Sorry to drop in on you at this hour, but I appreciate it,” I offer as he holds out a glass filled with smooth amber liquid for me to take.
“Not a problem. We were up anyway. And I knew you wouldn’t be texting Ay at one o’clock in the morning unless it was important. Come in and take a load off,” Kane offers, leading the way into the living room.
I drop into a large chair as Kane relaxes into the oversized leather sofa. His eyes focus in one me as he lifts his glass and takes a small sip, prompting me to do the same.
“So, what the fuck is going on?” he questions and I push out a deep breath, unsure where to start.
“That bad, huh?” he chuckles softly in response, but his eyes move to the side as he senses Ayla moving into the room.
“Damn, sweetheart. My t-shirt looks really fuckin’ good on you,” Kane slobbers as she sits down beside him, turning a soft shade of pink.
“Hey, darlin’. Sorry for crashing in here at this hour,” I apologize again.
“No need to apologize. You know our door is always open,” she smiles making me feel instantly at ease.
“The fuck it is,” Kane laughs deeply and despite the night I’ve had, I can’t help but crack a smile too.
“So, I’m guessing something happened with Jade?” Ayla questions and it hits me. If Cora knew, maybe she’s already filled Ayla in on Jade’s secret.
“Yup,” I mutter before tipping my glass back and swallowing half the contents. The familiar burn of the smooth whiskey spreads through my chest. Hopefully it will help take the edge off before I dive back into this shit.
“I found out that Jade’s been working at the Foxx DDen,” I finally breathe out, feeling my fingers tighten around the glass in my hand. Silence meets my ears as I lift my gaze back to my two best friends.
“Wait,” Kane finally starts. “Are you talking about the strip joint?” his eyes widen like they might pop right from his fucking skull.
“Calm down there,” Ayla pats his leg before focusing on me. “But I thought she was waitressing at Gloria’s?” she asks.
“She is. And I knew she had a second job a couple nights a week, I just never bothered to ask her where and she never really offered,” I grumble as my mind starts working through it. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, Shark knew. He’s at that place almost every fucking night and he never once said shit to me,” I share, briefly feeling a resurgence of anger towards my brother.
“Oh, fuck…” Kane breathes.
“Yeah, we already had words,” I confess.
“What’d you do?” Kane lifts up.
“I knew he was there, so I showed up and handled fuckin’ business,” I grin back, knowing he’ll understand exactly what that means. “But then she got called and I’m pretty sure she got fired, and then she wouldn’t even talk to me. I think I fucked up,” I say remembering the look on her face.
“I hate to even ask this, but do you really want to talk to her? I mean, that’s a pretty big secret to keep, especially if you two were really trying to start something,” Kane offers, sounding much more insightful than I’ve ever heard from him. I can only figure it’s Ayla’s influence rubbing off on him.
“Honestly, brother, I’m not sure what I want right now,” I shake my head.
“Well, if you really do care about her, maybe it’s good that you both have a minute to cool off before either of you says or does something that could completely ruin what you’ve started. Give it a day or two and ask her to explain why she thought she had to keep it a secret. But, on the other hand, if knowing that she worked there is going to eat away at you, then you could choose to just let go right now. It’s really up to you,” Ayla’s soft words wash over me.
“Shit,” I wince. “I really thought she was different, and now finding out this… I’m not sure I ever really knew her,” I breathe, feeling the pain deep in my chest as the words leave my lips.
“Sounds like maybe you already have your answer,” Kane offers, but he’s wrong. I still need to talk to her; I need to hear her tell me why.
“No,” I finally say out loud. “Why does she get to call all the shots? I want a fucking explanation. She was taking her clothes off for other dudes to watch. I deserve more than the brush off I got tonight,” I spit out, feeling a new wave of anger take hold.
“You’re right,” Ayla offers, touching my knee softly. “It’s really not fair of her to leave you hanging, but maybe she had a reason. Maybe she got burned before and she was just scared,” she tries to be the voice of reason as my rage simmers.
“Fuck…” I growl.
Even after talking it through, it hasn’t gotten any clearer. On one hand, I just want to walk away without another word. I could go back to the clubhouse and have another chick keeping me company in a matter of minutes. But on the other hand, I need to know why she kept it from me. And I know, as easy as it would be to grab another girl and have a little fun, it wouldn’t be Jade, and she’s the one I want. I lift my glass, pouring the rest of the smooth liquid down my throat.