Page 46 of Animal's Reformation
Chapter Twelve
Olivia read overher profile onDiscreet Passion, made sure the blurred image of her face was concealed enough so she wasn’t recognizable to someone who’d know her, and pushed thePUBLISHbutton. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she stared at the screen. Within a few seconds of her profile going live, several men had sent her messages and many “winks”—a way of flirting in cyberspace. The whole thing kind of creeped her out, but her psychology professor, Dr. Davison, loved the premise of her research paper and was looking forward to seeing what her data turned up.
Olivia knew she’d lucked out in having Dr. Davison as her advisor, and even though the classes were online, she’d meet with him several times over the past few months. The professor was good-looking, had two cute kids, and was totally devoted to his wife.
Some women get all the luck with men …unlike her, who kept attracting abusive, egotistical jerks, or bikers. Animal came to mind, right in front of Iceman. She shivered at the thought of the big, brooding biker in her dad’s MC. For reasons she still didn’t understand, her dad had gotten it into his drug-induced mind that Iceman would be the perfect man for her. He even went as far as to arrange a marriage with the biker. Yeah … It was like her dad and Iceman were frozen in a medieval time warp. Leo and Iceman had been tight, so her brother was no help in dissuading the dude that she was most definitely not old lady material.
Leo … I miss you so much.Learning that her neighbor was a member of an MC stirred up all sorts of things from her past. Even though most of the memories of her dad’s MC were bad, the times she spent with Leo at the clubhouse, riding on his bike, going to motorcycle rallies, and even having a blast at a few of their wild parties were all good times, and she missed them. Even though she had some close friends in Pinewood Springs, a good job, and a new house, she still felt like a fish out of water sometimes. She missed San Diego, the beach, her friends, and the familiarity that comes from being a native of a city. And she especially missed Leo.
Her cellphone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts, and she grabbed it off the desk.
“Hello?”
“Didn’t you know it was me?” Kennedy asked.
“I didn’t look at the caller ID.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“I just finished putting up my profile,” Olivia answered.
“Awesome! Has anyone poked you yet?”
“Yeah, it’s unbelievable. I was going to look them over, but I’m not feeling it right now. I think I’ll get back to it tomorrow. What’re you up to?”
“Going to a party in a bit.”
“That sounds like fun. Who’s throwing it? Anyone I know?”
Kennedy laughed. “Not really. I’d ask you to come along only I don’t think it’s up your alley.”
“Try me. I’m sitting here with nothing to do, and it’s a Saturday night. Pathetic, huh?”
“I thought you and Harper do stuff on Saturdays,” Kennedy said.
“We usually do, but she’s got a date with that guy we met at Blue’s Belly a couple of weeks ago.”
“Really? That’s good. What was his name?”
“Darcy. She’s gone out with him a couple of times. So far she says he seems decent. Are you still seeing Austin?” Olivia asked.
“No way. He was fun for a few times, but neither of us wants anything serious, and he wasn’tthatgood to have a friends-with-benefits type of situation.”
“Well, at least you know what you want. So why won’t I like this party you’re going to?”
“It’s a biker party at the Insurgents’ clubhouse. Remember I told you I go there sometimes? Well, seeing Smokey at the bar that night we were all there made me want to go back for a wild time. It’s not your style.”
Olivia walked over to the window and peeked out through the sheet at her neighbor’s house. The lights in the family room and kitchen were on as well as in one of the bedrooms upstairs—Lucy’s, she supposed.Animal won’t be at the party.A tendril of disappointment curled through her, making her antsy.
During the past two weeks, she’d worked hard on avoiding Animal, even ducking into classrooms when she’d see him come into the school to drop off Lucy. Olivia had felt like a damn criminal who was evading arrest, but she couldn’t risk being in contact with him. Each time she had, he’d pulled her into his web, and it was getting harder and harder to break away from it. The kiss they’d share touched something inside Olivia that scared the living crap out of her.So, why do I wish Animal would be at this party?Her body was the ultimate betrayer, that’s why.
“Hello?”
Olivia cleared her throat. “I’m here,” she said.
“I thought maybe the call went into a dark cyber-hole.” Kennedy chuckled. “From your silence, I think you may be considering going to the party.”
“Maybe. Is it just the local club or will other chapters be there?”
