Jerry's Passion: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 6) (7 page)

“You look like you need some company,” Wendy said, wrapping her arm around his neck as she gave him a small nip.

“I’m good, Wendy,” he deadpanned, wishing she were Kylie.

“You’ve been avoiding all of us. What’s up? You not feeling well?”

“Something like that.” He gently unwrapped her arms from his neck. “Go have a good time. I’m not up for anything tonight.” A dull vibration pulsed against his leg. Pulling out his phone, his blood pumping when he saw Kylie’s name flash across its screen, he turned his back to the crowd and faced the bar.

Kylie:
Hey.

Jerry:
Hey.

Kylie:
Whatcha doing?

He motioned for another shot. Blade placed it in front of him.
I’m thinking about you like always. I want to be with you, feel your naked skin against mine, taste your sweet lips again.
He threw back his Jack, the whiskey smooth and scorching.

Jerry:
Doing shots at the club. What bout u?

Kylie:
U’re at the club? Who’s with u?

He smiled. She wanted to know if he was with a club girl.
Oh, yeah.

Jerry:
Most of the guys & women r here.

Even though it was true, technically, he knew she’d think he meant he was with one of the whores. Making her sweat gave him a perverse pleasure. He knew he was acting like a bastard because he couldn’t have her; he wanted to punish her for her dad’s edict.

Kylie:
Oh. Rosie or Wendy?

Jerry:
All the whores r here.

Kylie:
U’re outdoing urself. I gotta go.

He’d gone too far. He didn’t want to lose the connection to her.

Jerry:
Don’t go. Like talking to u.

Kylie:
Ricky just came in. We’re going to a concert. Bye. Have fun with ur women.

Then she was gone. He’d fucking blown it. She’d reached out to him, and he made her feel like shit. And why the fuck was Ricky in her room? Jerry didn’t like
that
one bit. That kid was trying to get in her pants. He’d seen it that night, and he’d be damned if he’d let Ricky anywhere near Kylie’s pussy. Narrowing his eyes, Jerry decided he needed another road trip, and Crested Peak was the perfect destination.

He had to rid his mind of Kylie, and the only way he knew how to do that was to drink himself to oblivion.

He motioned for another shot.

K
ylie flung her
phone across the room, not giving a shit if it broke. Grinding her teeth, she stomped over to her closet and shoved her clothes aside, searching for her jean jacket while she cursed Jerry under her breath. The asshole could fuck whoever he wanted.
Dad’s right—he’s such a man-whore.
He didn’t even say anything nice to her, like he missed her or he’d been thinking about her. All he did was tell her he was with a bunch of women.
What a bastard!
She’d bet he was annoyed when he saw it was her texting him. He still thought of her as that twelve-year-old girl who had a crush on him.

She tossed her jacket on the bed and slammed the closet door shut. Pacing back and forth, Kylie berated herself for texting Jerry. She’d been missing him so much, and all she wanted was a tiny connection to him, so she’d weakened and contacted him. And he’d acted like she was a nobody! Red streaks crept across her cheeks when she replayed their “conversation.” Her stomach dropped when she pictured Jerry with Rosie’s lips around his dick and Wendy’s boobs pressed against him. He probably couldn’t wait to get rid of Kylie. That was probably why he told her about the women—he was
busy
when she’d texted. Her ears and face felt impossibly hot.

She wasn’t stupid—weak, perhaps, but not dense. She learned her lesson: never contact Jerry again. No matter how vulnerable she felt, she’d rather die alone than ever call or text him again. She pounded her fist on her desk.
Never again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.
Kylie opened the door and Ricky, in blue jeans and a Megadeth T-shirt, smiled at her, raking his gaze over her form. “Hiya.”

Still fuming over Jerry, she grunted her hello and with a quick wave of her hand, gestured him to come in. With a quizzical look, he came in and leaned against her desk. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Why?” she snapped.

He shrugged. “You just look really pissed. Did I do something to make you mad?”

Ricky’s earnest face melted her frosty anger. It wasn’t fair to be mad at him because of the way Jerry treated her. If she were smart, she’d forget about him altogether and concentrate on Ricky, who actually liked her and treated her well. But she was pulled to Jerry—the bad boy. And why not? All her life, she’d been surrounded by them. They were exciting, sexy, and dangerous, and she’d grown up in the biker life, even though her dad shielded her from a lot of the violence and darkness that was a part of his world.

“Well, did I?” His question brought her back to the present.

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I’m just having a bad moment, but it’s over. I’m ready to rock. This concert’s going to be so much fun.” As Kylie feigned an enthusiasm she didn’t feel, Ricky’s wide smile replaced his furrowed brow. “Are your friends meeting us?” She picked up her jean jacket on the bed and slid it over her black crop top.

“In the parking lot next to my car. I’m driving.”

Bending over to pick up her phone, she inspected it to see if it had broken during her fit of anger. No, it was still intact. “I’ll text Taylor, Mary, and Ari to meet us. It’s parking lot A, right?”

He nodded. “Right next to the laundry room.”

As they ambled to the car, Ricky took her hand in his. She wanted to pull away, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, especially since she’d been bitchy to him when he’d come to pick her up. They walked hand in hand, and as they approached their group of friends in the lot, Kylie’s skin prickled. She had the strangest sensation that someone was watching
her
. Looking around, nothing seemed amiss, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.

“Are we ready to rock?” Taylor said as she lifted her arms in the air and shook her hips. They all laughed. Then the six of them climbed into Ricky’s SUV, and they were off.

The Black Sheep was in the middle of the block on Prospect Ave. in downtown Crested Peak. Its capacity was six hundred people, and when popular bands played at the venue, it was usually sold out. That evening was no exception. Black Stone Cherry was a popular band and had never performed in Crested Peak before, so when the group got there, a long line had already formed. Since it was standing room only, they’d arrived early, hoping to be among the first in so they could secure a good spot on the floor.

Black Stone Cherry was one of Kylie’s favorite bands; she loved their hard-edged, southern metal songs. She’d waited a long time to see them, having missed them two years before when they’d performed in Denver. She should’ve been excited to the max, but thoughts of Jerry with Rosie, Wendy, Lola, Kristy, and the other club women dampened her exhilaration. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t shut out the images, and it pissed her off because she was sure he wasn’t thinking about her at all.
What a fucking jerk.

“This is going to be awesome,” Ricky said as he tugged her close to him. “Are you feeling it?”

Even though she was overwhelmed by a hollowness in her chest, Kylie smiled. Ricky had purchased the tickets as a surprise for her. Taylor had told him how much she’d loved the band, and it was sweet that he’d done that. She didn’t want to ruin his night, so she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I can’t believe you made all this possible for me. You’re a good person.”

He skimmed his lips over her cheek. “I’d do anything for you. I’m happy we’re here together.”

Turning her face away, she gave him a quick hug, wishing she were as into him as he was into her. Before she could muse further, the doors opened and the group of them moved forward, following the crowd.

The venue was packed, and Kylie and her friends found their spot right in front of the stage. Telling the guys to guard their territory, the girls went up to the bar to order sodas. “This is a great show so far,” Taylor yelled over the music. “The local acts are kicking ass.”

“They are. It’s a great lineup,” she agreed as she grabbed several cocktail napkins. Kylie hated holding a plastic cup that dripped water as the ice melted down. It was one of her pet peeves. “You want a Diet Pepsi? They don’t have Coke products here.”

Ari and Mary nodded, and Kylie placed their order. As she waited for their drinks, she watched the local band rocking out, the lights flashing on the stage. From the corner of her eyes, a flash sparked in the darkness. Turning in the direction of the gleam, she spotted him, the strobe lights bouncing off his gold frames. A cruel smile stretched across his mouth, and her stomach turned to ice.

Grabbing Taylor’s arm, she spun her friend toward her. “He’s here. The guy with the purple Corvette is here.” She competed with the thunderous bass and hard rock vocals bouncing off the venue’s walls.

Taylor shook her head as she pointed to her ears. Kylie jerked her thumb in his direction, yelling, “There he is!” Taylor’s eyes shifted from Kylie to the spot where she pointed, then she shrugged again. Wild-eyed, Kylie looked over, but he was gone. She desperately searched the crowd, on alert for a glimmer of anything. But nothing. It was as though he was never there, and maybe he wasn’t. Maybe she’d imagined the whole thing.

By the time Black Stone Cherry took the stage, Kylie was a bundle of nerves, seeing sparking flashes everywhere, but none of them were from gold-framed sunglasses. When the concert ended, all she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and shut out the images of scantily-clad women all over Jerry and mirrored sunglasses. Of course, the group wanted to munch on pizza and talk about the concert, so she went along, laughing, talking, and eating even though her nerves were in overdrive.

When they arrived at the campus, Ricky walked her, Taylor, Mary, and Ari to their buildings. When they reached her room, Taylor opened the door and went inside, lightly closing it behind her. Kylie and Ricky stood in the brightly lit hallway, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. “I had a great time tonight. I hope you did.” Ricky shifted from one foot to another.

“Oh, yeah. It was awesome. Thanks again for taking me. The band was totally cool.” Silence spread over them, and she brought her hand up and nibbled on her thumb. He clasped her hand and pulled it away from her mouth then leaned in, his hand tilting her head back. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him away, her heart lurching when he winced then sagged against the wall, his shoulders hunched. “I’m sorry.” Her voice hitched.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like me?”

Sighing, she leaned against the door. “It’s me. I adore you as a friend, and I’m not ready to shift our friendship to something more. I hope you understand.”

A bitter smile swept across his lips. “I do. I guess I was hoping you’d feel what I feel.”

“I know you’re frustrated with me, but I don’t want to lead you on. I think you’re fun, witty, totally smart, and very handsome, but I enjoy our friendship immensely. I hope it isn’t in jeopardy.”

He shook his head.

“Please, don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not. I’m just disappointed. I really like you a lot, Kylie.”

Her heart pulled. What the fuck was she doing? Pushing away a normal guy for the chance that the asshole in Pinewood Springs
might
like her someday?
How fucking stupid and pathetic.

“I gotta go.” He kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked down the hall. She waited until he turned the corner before she went into her room.

“So, did you guys make out?” Taylor stretched out on her bed, her elbow propping her up, searching Kylie’s face.

“No. I gave him the ‘I just want to be friends’ speech.” She groaned and flopped on to her bed. “Why can’t I be normal? Ricky’s a great guy.”

“But you like the bad boy who’s treating you like shit. I’m sure you’ll cover that section in your psychology class.”

Kylie laughed dryly.

“It’s usually that way—the ones we want we can’t have, and the ones we
can
have we don’t want. I give you kudos for not settling. You know who you want, so go after him.”

“No way. I texted him today, and that was a fucking disaster. I just need to put some space between us. I’m probably the only one who’s happy finals are coming up. I can lose myself in my studies.”

“It was a great concert, though, right?”

“It was. I just wish I wasn’t feeling so weird tonight. That fucking jerk was there. You know, the one with the purple Corvette. I tried to tell you when we were getting the drinks, but you couldn’t hear me over the music. I only saw him once.”

“Are you sure it was him? I mean, you told me you don’t really know what he looks like.”

“It was his sunglasses—they’re very distinct.”

“So, what
did
he look like?”

“I still couldn’t see him real clearly. It was so dark. I only saw his teeth twisted in a mean smile. Under the lights, they glowed an eerie blue.” She shuddered. “I’m sick of his shit.”

“Tell your dad. He’ll take care of the asshole in no time.”

“You’re right. He’d also make sure his prized Corvette is reduced to a nice cube.” The two women laughed. “I should tell my dad, but I know he’ll overreact and not let me come back next year. He’ll definitely put me in lockdown. I’ve told you what a hard time I had convincing him to let me come here in the first place. If it hadn’t been for Cara, I’d be at a community college in Pinewood Springs. No, I think this jerk’s game is in scaring me. Next time I see him, I’ll be on the offensive. He’s probably just a bully.”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t do anything foolish. Do you think it has anything to do with your dad and his club?”

“No. If it did, I’d already be toast. Bikers don’t fool around and play games like this asshole is doing. He’s probably doing it to me and a few other women.”