Tate recognized her as one of the dental nurses. She was one that the other nurses mocked and called fatty.
“What do you want?” Tate asked.
“Erm, I noticed we lived in the same building, and I was wondering if you wanted some company on the way home?” The cherry blonde smiled, and her face was red, from embarrassment or from the running, Tate did not know.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Yeah, you’re Tate Johnson.”
“I’m not part of The Skulls. If you’re hoping for a way in then go and find someone else. You can f**k your way into the club.”
Cherry held her hands up. “No, I don’t care about the club. I noticed you’re not friends with anyone, and I wanted to offer you friendship.”
Staring at her, Tate frowned. “What’s your name?”
“Kelsey Ryan.”
“Hi, Kelsey, come on then. Let’s go home.”
The other woman chuckled and started walking beside her. Tate was not used to women befriending her. Most of the women she’d come to know were always trying to work their way into the club and near the men. Thinking about it, so were the guys, but for another reason. They wanted to be members.
“Why don’t you want to be part of The Skulls?” Tate asked, firing the question at the other woman.
“Seriously?” Kelsey asked.
“Every other woman would be trying to find a way to get close to the club. Why are you not asking questions?”
Kelsey tucked some of her cherry blonde hair behind her ear. “Erm, I’m not interested in the lifestyle or anything. I know what they do and everything. Besides, I’m not exactly biker woman material.”
“The guys will f**k any willing female,” Tate said, hating how mean she was being. After years of being used by people she thought were friends when they’d only ever wanted to know her to get to the club, she’d learned to become hard when making friends. There were only two people she’d never been hard on, Eva and Angel. The two women were completely different, and Tate treated them like that.
“I don’t want to be part of any lifestyle. You’re being unfair, and all I want to be is your friend.” Kelsey looked behind her. “Look, I don’t make a lot of friends, and I know they’re not interested in being your friend. I know this must be hard and I accept that, but insulting me is not fair.”
Feeling bad at the look of hurt coming from Kelsey, Tate smiled. “Okay, fine, we’ll be friends.” Hating the way she’d been, she turned to the woman and held her hand out in front of her. “Look, I’m really sorry. I’ve had a rough couple of weeks. Erm, I’m not used to people wanting to make friends with me.” Murphy appearing on the scene was driving her crazy. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t let herself feel anything.
Hiding behind her bitchy exterior was not helping. When she was alone, she allowed herself to hurt. In her apartment, away from Eva and everyone else, no one saw her pain. Murphy had hurt her in ways she couldn’t describe, and even after all this time, she’d not been able to forget. Now with Murphy back, she couldn’t handle seeing him every day. She was always reminded of their past together.
She stepped closer to Kelsey and started walking. With her away from the club, she really could use a friend. The sound of a motorbike roaring in the distance made Tate panic. She picked up her speed with her new friend trying to get to her apartment building. The only person who came to visit her was Murphy. It was like he was taunting her at every turn.
It was too late as the bike pulled in front of them on the path where they were walking. Without thinking Tate reached out and took Kelsey’s hand, looking for support in whatever form she could find it. There was no running from Murphy with him stood right in front of her.
Recognizing the cut of the leather jacket, Tate waited for him to turn his focus on her.
The bike was turned off, and he climbed off. She watched him remove his helmet and turn those dark intense eyes toward her. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she stared at Murphy, waiting. She tightened her hold on Kelsey.
“What the f**k are you doing?” he asked, looking at her and then at Kelsey.
“I’m walking home, which you’re interrupting.” Looking up at the sky, which had darkened in the last few minutes, Tate let out a curse. “If you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to be cold, cranky, and you’re going to be the cause.” Inwardly she cringed at her actions. There were times she really hated being a bitch whereas other times she found it easier.
“I’ll take my chances.” His gaze turned to Kelsey. “Who’s the cherry?” he asked.
Fisting her free hand, Tate glared at him. “My new girlfriend. I’ve decided men don’t have what it takes.”
“I’ve always loved a threesome.”
His words hurt more than she wanted them to. Stepping closer, Tate raised her palm and slapped him around the face. Murphy didn’t show any signs of caring. There was not so much as a flicker of emotion to cross his face. He stood there and did nothing.
“I think you’ve had enough fun. Stay away from me.”
She led Kelsey around the bike and toward her home. In that moment she was bombarded by many more happy memories of them together, which only made her hurt more.
“Are you okay?” Kelsey whispered to her.
“No, I’m not okay.”
“Your father misses you,” Murphy said, shouting the words out to her.
“He’s got the club. Tiny doesn’t need me at all.” Her words were mean, but she didn’t care. Tate just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She kept walking, and fortunately, Murphy didn’t follow her. The sound of the bike starting up made her jump. Still, she kept walking with Kelsey beside her.
They made it to their apartment building, which was a few streets from the dental practice. Tate liked being able to walk to work and not having to rely on the club or a prospect. She was tired of always relying on someone else.
Kelsey opened the door for her.
“Thank you,” Tate said. Her hands were shaking, but she kept moving forward, realizing the other woman hadn’t followed her. Stopping she turned to Kelsey. “Are you coming up?”
“Erm, I’m on the ground floor. I don’t like heights at all.”
“Oh, well, you can come up for some coffee and food if you’d like?” Tate asked, suddenly not wanting to be alone.