Page 34 of Stag

Huh? He cut the engine, and those sweet vibrations ceased in an instant, then he helped us both off the motorbike, before resting it on its stand.

We removed our helmets, and he looped both over his hand by the straps.

“It’s a nice tent,” he said slowly, letting me follow his lips with my eyes, even though the more I looked at them, the more I wanted to do it with my lips instead. His lips were lush, soft, very prone to smiling. I probably watched them more avidly than I needed to, and I think he felt a little awkward, wetting his lips and waiting for me to speak.

When I didn’t, he spoke again.

“It’s got a real bed, but not other furniture to sit on. I can probably borrow some chairs from the Pres, but they’ll be crappy.” He rubbed the back of his neck and paused again. I had to take pity on the poor man. He was really trying, and I was too busy getting mesmerised by his lips.

“It’ll be fine. We can sit on your bed to eat, right?”

He nodded, relief flooding his features as the tension drifted away.

“Let’s check the menu. What do you want?” We stepped inside the Indian takeaway and the smells that had been tantalising me outside filled my senses on entry to the warm, stuffy shop.

It took about ten minutes for us to choose and leave with our food, which Stag insisted on holding while he took us to the clubhouse. Thankfully that wasn’t too far away, but it was nothing like I’d expected. I thought it’d be some big, busy industrial looking place, but it wasn’t. It was in the country, and was closed off with normal farm style gates, and inside was a building that was clearly still under construction, albeit with the walls and roof built, and the windows and doors in place. It had that look of a place waiting for finishing touches. Beside it were several of the typical building site huts, and then a bunch of curious looking tents. It was almost like looking at a circus or carnival. This was where he lived?

A guy at the gate allowed us in, with a little salute to Stag, and a very curious stare in my direction as we passed him. Was it that he thought he might know me, or was it rare for Stag to bring girls back here? It was a surprise to realise how much I hoped I was the first.

Oh, and the tent was as curious on the inside as outside. It was large enough to fit a camping bed, some storage furniture, and a wash area. No toilet of course, but I’d seen those little portable ones outside. The thought of using them was a little unnerving, but if Stag was so nice, the rest must be too, right?

Chapter Fourteen

Iwondered what she was seeing when she looked around the site. Sure, it was still a messy construction site, but the main building was almost done. They were working on wiring and shit inside, before the plastering and flooring and then we could start to decorate. I was looking forward to that part, rather than the heavy lifting phase. I’m not lazy, but I’d done so much heavy work on the road crew, that I was looking forward to just the normal kind of exhausted, instead of what I had been.

“This is nice,” she said in that curiously throaty voice that made me want to do things to her that were probably not even in her head right now. I didn’t know what was in there, but it couldn’t be thinking of me that way. No women ever did. My mouth always fucked things up way before this happened.

“It’s just until that building is ready to move into, then I’ll be living there.”

We sat on the annoyingly small bed, because why the fuck didn’t I get one of the tents with a double one, and started eating. We’d opted for the same thing, chicken tikka masala, so there was no need to swap and share, just sit and eat. We couldn’t talk while we were facing the same direction, which was literally just the collapsible dresser that held the entirety of my wardrobe. My smart work clothes were in hangers on one of the struts, but there were just a few changes there. That’s how I roll. I live simple. It’d be so easy to wipe me from existence in less than an hour. That was a chilling fucking thought. Those mob assholes were really fucking with my head.

Still, if not for them, I’d be working tonight, and right now Claudia would be probably in some bar, being hit on by some asshole not worthy of her. Wow. Like me. I needed to remember that.

Once we’d finished eating, I dumped the bags outside my tent and yelled to the prospect to clean up, then grabbed two cold beers from my mini fridge, holding them up for Claudia to see. She nodded, and caught my hand as I popped the lid and offered hers.

“Thank you. Not only for saving me from her, but for letting me derail whatever plans you had.”

Oh shit. I told her I was working, and I forgot that.

I sat down beside her, turning with one knee tucked under me, which she mirrored, so thank fuck we could talk now, even if that’s usually where everything goes wrong.

“I was meant to be somewhere, but it got cancelled. I was just at a loose end, since I’d already missed out on seeing you.”

“But you were outside my place.”

Fuck me. How to explain that? Did I want to lie to her? Did I want to be that fucking guy? But would the truth have her running from me?

“Jesus,” I muttered, scratching my jaw as I wondered what the fuck to say.

“It’s okay that you were there,” she said, resting a hand on my knee. Holy fuck, she’s willingly touching me, and that’s with her knowing I was randomly outside her place.

“Fuck. I don’t want to lie to you. Do you promise to listen before you freak out? Fuck. Listen. I’m asking a deaf person to fucking listen. I’m such a prick. Everyone tells me that, and I’m proving it already.”

She patted my knee. “It’s okay. I like you, Stag. You’d have to be pretty fucked up for that to change.”

Ha. We’ll see.

“Hold that thought, love. I was meant to be on a crew all night doing manual labour, because I was doing community service. You know, like a criminal.”