Page 20

Miles

HE WAS jittery with nerves. The good kind.

At least that’s what he kept telling himself as he was nearing York and the Disciples’ clubhouse.

He’d borrowed Pop’s car, and while he hadn’t lied about where he was going or why, he still hadn’t told the whole truth.

He hadn’t told anyone that he was in love with Kaz Tailler.

Every time he talked to Kaz the past week, every time he thought about him, he realized more and more exactly how in love with Kaz he was.

He never thought he’d have any kind of love for Kaz, but for it to be this kind?

The all-consuming kind? The kind where he couldn’t get enough of Kaz?

Where he wanted to scream it from the rooftops so everyone would know?

How could it only have been a few weeks?

He was in love . With Kaz. And he couldn’t wait to tell him.

He turned down the road to the Disciples’ clubhouse and had to breathe deeply when his pulse skyrocketed at the sight of the concrete building and the rows of motorcycles parked out front. Yep, the nerves were still very much there.

He parked and headed for the front door, nearly jumping when it swung open. Ares appeared, and the second he spotted Miles, he smiled warmly at him.

“Ares,” he said, stepping closer to shake his hand.

“It’s good to see you, Miles. I’m glad you’re here, even if you’re a bit early.”

Heat rose to his cheeks, and he stammered out, “Oh. Sorry. Did I get the time wrong?”

He knew he hadn’t. He was just early. On purpose. He hadn’t been able to wait any longer. He needed to see Kaz. There was something very important he’d been dying to tell him.

“It’s fine,” Ares said, grasping Miles’s shoulders and squeezing gently. “He’s inside.”

Miles nodded and headed through the door and down the hallway. There was some low music playing, and he heard the clinks of glasses, which he assumed was someone cleaning up behind the bar.

Everything looked much the same as he stepped into the main room of the clubhouse though there was a, ‘Happy Birthday,’ banner hanging above the bar and a few balloons strewn across the room.

He spotted Diesel behind the bar along with Chris who grinned and shot Miles a wink. Heat found his cheeks again as he realized that Diesel had likely told Chris about what he’d walked in on weeks ago. Not that it truly mattered. They weren’t hiding anymore.

There were a few other people around, but it wasn’t until laughter caught his ear that he found Kaz by the patio doors.

He had his arm slung around some girl’s shoulders, laughing at something with her.

She turned and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and his hands went to her waist, tugging her closer as she talked.

His heart was pounding in his chest, and his throat was drying out as he walked closer.

“Miley,” Kaz yelled, a happy smile on his face as he tugged the girl toward Miles.

He felt his brows snap together and couldn’t help but scowl at Kaz. He’d thought they were past the stupid nicknames. He’d thought they were way past pretending even among other people. Obviously, he’d been wrong.

The girl cleared her throat and gave Kaz an expectant look.

Kaz chuckled and tugged her against his side before he said, “This is my girl, Jane. Jane, this is Miles.”

“Hi,” Miles said, even though he would have preferred throwing up.

Kaz’s girl? What the actual fuck?

When the hell had that happened?

“Miles?” Jane mused, confusion covering her pretty face. She threw a curious glance Kaz’s way. “Miles that broke your nose? That Miles? I thought you―”

She cut herself off before she could finish that sentence, but he got the gist of what she’d been about to say: I thought you hated him. Kaz clearly hadn’t told her about the past few weeks. And why would he if they were… bile rose in his throat.

He excused himself to go to the bathroom and headed upstairs, needing to get away. Needing to be alone. To think. To try and understand even if he knew it was futile because how could he ever understand how his Kaz and this Kaz had ever been the same person?

He took the stairs two steps at a time, his heart beating painfully in his chest. He walked down the hallway on the second floor, hating that his first instinct was to head toward Kaz’s room.

Footsteps behind him had him whirling around to find that Kaz had followed him. He opened his mouth, but Kaz grabbed him by the hand and tugged. He was dragged into a room, and the second the door closed behind them, he was pushed against it, Kaz’s lips on his.

For a moment, he forgot it all. Kaz’s mouth was hot, and that wicked tongue had his toes curling in his boots.

Kaz felt so fucking good. He always had.

He always―reality came crashing in with the force of a tsunami, sweeping away the haze of lust trying to settle in, and he put a hand on Kaz’s chest to push him back roughly.

“What the fuck?” he snapped.

Kaz seemed confused, his brows scrunched as he looked at Miles.

“What?” he asked as he stepped back toward Miles.

Miles held his hand up, though he was pretty sure it was the deadly look in his eyes that made Kaz stop moving closer.

“Are you serious?” he hissed. “You want to use me to cheat on your girlfriend? The girlfriend you didn’t even have the balls to tell me about? ”

Kaz opened and closed his mouth, shaking his head slightly.

“Fuck you for thinking I’d ever be a part of that.”

“Miles. That’s not what I’m—”

“I deserve better than that. So does Jane.”

Kaz blinked at him, the expression on his face unreadable. He didn’t know what was going through Kaz’s mind, and at that moment, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“No games, huh?”

How many lies had Kaz told him? His heart stopped beating for a heartbreaking moment. Had he ever told him the truth? The betrayal burned so fucking bright inside him, he feared it would leave behind only ashes of his heart.

Kaz’s expression shuddered, and he gave Miles a sarcastic smile as he crossed his arms, leaning a shoulder against the wall.

“We never said we were exclusive,” Kaz said, sounding placating as all hell.

“Oh, fuck you!”

He slammed his hands against Kaz’s chest, knocking him into the wall, and he knew if he stayed, one or both of them would end up bleeding.

He absolutely fucking hated that Kaz was right.

They hadn’t agreed to be exclusive. They hadn’t even talked about it.

Not that it mattered. Kaz had a girlfriend.

He’d had a girlfriend the whole fucking time and he’d let himself believe Kaz had changed, that Kaz wasn’t that volatile asshole he’d thought he was.

How wrong he had been. Kaz was still an asshole.

Now he was just an asshole who’d taken hold of his heart and crushed it.

He’d given Kaz everything only to find out it meant nothing. He meant nothing to Kaz.

He wrenched the door open and took off down the hallway, the pain in his chest only growing the further he walked away from Kaz. He tried to ignore it, but he knew it wasn’t likely to go away anytime soon, if ever.