Cole: Finn can bring you when you get off work.
Me: Okay
I try to sound casual in my text, but I am instantly giddy. It feels so nice to be wanted, especially by Cole Wilson. He’s sweet and fucks like the devil. I quickly finish smoking and head back inside. Right away Finn spots me. He is just as tall as Cole. I swear to God, a requirement to be in that motorcycle club must be that you have to be sexy. Every last one of the men in the house last week was delicious looking. Finn is no exception to that. The way he smiles at me when he sees me gives me a rush of butterflies.
“Hey,” Finn says sweetly. “Cole said to bring you to the house.”
“Yeah, he just texted me,” I say.
“Go clock out and we can get going,” he says.
“Okay,” I say happily. I walk up front and clock out. Finn cashed my tips out a while ago, so I go outside to meet him. I get my bag from my car and lock it up. When I turn back, he opens the car door for me. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he smiles and shuts the door.
For the entire ride, we are silent. We haven’t really talked about anything outside of work-related things, so I don't know what to say.
“Did he tell you why he’s having you come over?” he asks as he pulls into the driveway and parks.
“No. He just said he wanted to see me,” I answer. Finn chuckles and gets out before I have a chance to interrogate him. I get out before he can reach my door.
Instead of walking toward the house, I stop in the driveway. Something feels off and I can’t place what it is. I run through a mental checklist to make sure I haven’t done anything to piss Cole off. Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that I ditched him last week. He wouldn’t be mad enough to hurt me, right? Why did I just blindly get into the car with someone and put myself in a position where I literally have no way to escape outside of running? The sex was good, but it wasn’t good enough to get murdered over. I don’t actually know if he’s mad. I could be throwing myself into a panic attack for no reason, then I look like a lunatic. I do think that I shouldn’t step into that house until I am sure though. My gut is telling me something is off, but I can’t tell if it’s a warning for me to run away again or not.
“Riley,” Finn says softly. When he touches my arm, I jump away from him. Instead of letting me back myself down the driveway, he carefully grabs my waist and moves me so I am leaning against the car. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” I say with a shaky voice.
“What’s wrong, Riley?” he asks again.
“I just... I freaked myself out. I just need a second,” I say honestly.
“I’ll sit with her,” Cole says as he walks over to us.
“I’ll meet y’all inside,” he says before walking away.
“You look terrified, Riley. What’s wrong?” Cole asks, lifting my chin. When he sees I have tears in my eyes he wraps me in a hug.
“This is just new to me, and I just basically isolated myself. I’ve always been a careful person, but I had a weird feeling when I got out and I just spiraled from there,” I say honestly.
“Were you afraid I was mad at you?” he asks, and I nod.
“Riley, baby. If I am mad at you or upset in any way, I will come to you. I won’t send Finn to get you and I would never intentionally isolate you,” he says. “Also, because you and I both know where this is coming from, I would never hurt you. We don’t touch innocent people, and you are about as innocent as they come.”
“I feel offended by that,” I say and Cole chuckles.
“I won’t even intentionally corrupt you, but I won’t stop you from being involved. So long as you are with me, you have assumed permission to have a say.”
“So long as I am with you?” I repeat. “Are you claiming me now?”
“I am unless you don't want me to claim you,” he says.
“W-What does that mean exactly?” I ask.
“Let’s go inside and we can talk, okay?” he asks, and I nod hesitantly. “We can hang out here for a while if you want, but this is a conversation best had inside.”
“Why?” I ask. “Why not here?”
“Because it involves more than just me, Riley,” he says.