I shook my head again. “You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions and taking too much for granted, Brain. We aren’t an item, and you aren’t moving to another city with me.”
He gave me a cocky grin. “Free country. I can move pretty much wherever I want.”
“Good to know. I’ll make sure I end up in a city where RTMC rivals are in control. It would be a shame for someone to tip them off a nomad, or an ex-Rolling Thunder member was living in their city.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t take well to threats, Ice, but I’ll handle whatever you throw at me.”
“Even if I fuck every one of ‘em?”
His eyes went dark, my stomach jumped into my chest, and I took a few steps back, forcing myself not to run in terror. “This meeting’s over. I’m not hungry.”
“I’m sorry, Ice. Sorry. You aren’t mine and… damn, I’m fucking this up.” He put his hands in his pockets, lifted his shoulders towards his ears. “How about Chinese? It’s just across the street, and it’s pretty good.” He let his shoulders down, but still looked tense, his hands still in his pockets as if he were trying not to look threatening.
“Don’t call me Ice.”
“What should I call you?” His voice soft, his eyes wary, but probing.
I’d always felt as if he knew more about what I was thinking and feeling than he should, and today was no different.
“I’m not ready to be Harmony yet.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what to tell you to call me. I’d settled on Destiny before I met you, but then I had to give up all of the ID’s I’d been using, to get you off my tail, and…” Shit, I wasn’t going to get fucking emotional in front of Brain. Once again, when confronted with sadness, I drew upon my inner anger. I remembered Brain with the needle, giving me a shot, knocking me out so he could take me to the cabin… and then Duke giving me a shot. Remembered waking up in the cell, naked, with Gonzo watching me. And remembered having to shit in the floor.
Brain turned and walked ten feet to the steps surrounding the fountain, and sat on the second one. I could see despair in his eyes, and for the first time, I believed he had true feelings for me.
I’m not sure exactly what I’d thought before… stupid stalkerish behavior, or the fact I’d walked away and told him no when he wasn’t likely used to women refusing him, or maybe guilt induced feelings because he hadn’t been able to look after me when he’d captured me.
I hadn’t expected to see real feelings, though. I walked closer but still stopped about six feet away. He’d have to stand up and step towards me to touch me.
With him sitting, we were closer to eye level, and this was easier, not having to look so far up to have a conversation.
“I don’t know what to do with you,” I told him.
“Start by having lunch with me?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Fine. Chinese is okay. Get your ass up and c’mon.”
He walked beside me, and I saw his arm move towards me twice, as if to touch me, or make sure I was safe as I walked across the street, but he dropped it and didn’t.
We were seated almost immediately, even though there was a lobby full of people waiting. They put us at a cozy little table for two, with a half-divider so we had some privacy from the rest of the room.
“Did they put us here so we don’t scare the other patrons, or did you pay them for privacy?” With Brain in his RTMC vest, and me in my shit-kicker boots and fatigues, people had given us plenty of room on the sidewalk.
He ignored my question and said, “Thanks for agreeing to lunch. Have you been to the Georgia Aquarium? I’d love to take you, whether you’ve already been or not.”
I wasn’t about to agree to more than lunch. “I thought you and Duke were best friends. You aren’t talking to him at all?”
He shook his head. “Haven’t seen him in months. Haven’t talked to anyone from the Chattanooga chapter.” He seemed to remember something, and added, “Well, except for Duke’s wife. She emails me, checks in on me to be sure I’m okay. I don’t have a beef with her, and she’s nice.” He shook his head. “Not the kind of woman you’d expect Duke to end up with, but they work together. Anyway, she doesn’t talk about Duke or the club too much, mostly tells me what’s going on in her life apart from Duke — work and family stuff. I don’t tell her anything I don’t want Duke knowing, but it’s nice to keep in touch with her.”
“You like her. I mean, as a person. You like and respect her.”