After talking to Omar, I worked with two patients, and then it was lunchtime. I took mine later in the day after most of the others were done. It was a relief to sit and not have so many people staring and whispering. I wasn’t used to that, and it irritated me. All I wanted was to do my job to the best of my ability. My ass barely sat in the chair, and I opened my lunch, which was some of the cold leftover pizza and breadsticks, when Scott came barreling into the breakroom. Christ, if he started his crap again, I’d be in jail. I was over these people.
He hurried over to my table and dropped into a chair next to me. I took a bite of my pizza and stared at him. “Is it true what I heard? That you and Joni got into a fight, and she almost hit you?”
“Whether it did or not isn’t something I plan to discuss with you. I’m over being caught in the middle of her obsession with you.”
“Meadow, I’m sorry she keeps doing these things to you. There’s nothing between her and me, and there never will be. Can you at least tell me if the rumor she’s sending you to Knoxville for several months is true?”
“She ordered me to go, and I refused. I’m not going, no matter what she says. As for you and her, that’s none of my business.”
“Yes, it is. You know how I feel about you. I think we should date. If she finally sees we’re together, she’ll realize there’s no hope for her and me. All this tension can die down. I’ll talk to Higgins and see if he’ll talk sense into her about Knoxville.”
“First of all, I’ll talk to Higgins once he’s back in the office. Second, I’m not dating you, Scott. I have no romantic feelings for you. And I sure won’t do it just to stop her. This tension will be resolved one way or the other.”
“What does that mean? Are you still thinking of leaving?”
“Not thinking, going. As soon as I have a job, I’m gone. Let someone else put up with her. I’m done.” Shoving the remainder of my uneaten lunch back into my bag, I stood up. I’d lost my appetite. I had two more patients and was done for the day. I couldn’t wait to get to the compound to see Iceman.
“Why don’t I come over tonight, and we’ll talk? Leaving is a drastic step. We can figure out a game plan,” he insisted as he stood.
“No thanks. Besides, I won’t be home tonight.”
A scowl appeared on his face. “Don’t tell me you’re seeing that Iceman again. And at that compound. We need to discuss that situation as well. Call and reschedule him. He came to your house last night, Meadow. He’s dangerous and knows where you live.”
“And we’re done. I refuse to discuss Iceman. I’m not rescheduling. Excuse me,” I told him as I walked past. He tried to reach out to snag my arm, but I put enough distance between us that he couldn’t. I left him standing there, scowling.
I kept hoping that Higgins would make it back before I left for the day, but he either didn’t or chose not to come to speak to me. If it was the latter, he’d made my decision even easier. When I left for the day, people were still staring and whispering. Thank God I hadn’t seen Joni’s face, and Scott must’ve caught a clue.
I texted my sisters to let them know when I’d be there. I planned to change my clothes before going to see Iceman. It wasn’t as if I had to worry about getting dirty. They were eagerly awaiting me when I walked in. They impatiently waited for me to change, and then we were on our way. Their silly chatter and excitement at seeing the compound lifted my spirits.
When the gate opened, this time, it was Walker manning the gate. He waved and then froze when he saw I wasn’t alone. His mouth dropped open. I wanted to laugh. When we came to a stop at the front of the clubhouse, Aspen and Sage were buzzing about what they saw and him. I turned around to warn them.
“You need to behave. Yes, there are some really good-looking guys here, but most of the single ones are too old for you, and the rest, well, I don’t know that they’re looking for girlfriends, if you know what I mean. They’ll have a good time with you, but that’s probably it.”
“But Iceman isn’t like that, right?” Sage asked worriedly.
“No, he’s not. He seems to be ready to settle down and be with one person. He says he wants that person to be me. I’ve never been attracted or interested in someone the way I am him. I’m taking a chance that it’ll work out and he won’t break my heart. We can only risk one of us being heartbroken at a time.”
“We’ll behave and won’t lose our hearts to some slick biker. That’s our big sister’s job,” Aspen teased.
They were laughing when a shadow fell over the car, then another. My door was opened, and so was one of theirs. They were in the backseat. As expected, there stood Iceman. He took me in his arms and kissed me when I got out. I heard my sisters say hello, and then I heard Renegade greet them back. I relaxed into the kiss and let him do it as long as he wanted. What made us stop was his best friends and my sisters telling us we were making them sick, followed by their pretend retching sounds. I giggled when I opened my eyes to see Iceman and I both gave them our middle fingers.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for corrupting your innocent younger sisters that way,” Sage piped up.
“Shut up, brat. You were corrupted far worse than that a long time ago, and it wasn’t by me. I think maybe they should go home,” I told Iceman. This earned me loud protests and their pleading until I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Okay, enough. I think it’s time to show you the grounds at least partially before it’s too dark, and then we’ll go inside. Are you ready?” Iceman asked.
They yelled yes. He tucked his arm around me. It seemed by the looks of it that Loki and Renegade were joining us, which I didn’t mind. They could help keep my sisters focused. We started with the outside of the clubhouse, then went to the pool area and outdoor playground next, which I’d seen, so I kinda floated in and out as they talked.