Worlds Collide

Shoot me... NOW!

Karli's POV:

Truthfully, the last place I wanted to be today was at the garage, working in the office. But what else was I supposed to do? Odds of mom actually showing up today were slim to none, the guys in the garage would just fuck up the paperwork and sitting at home alone would just leave me to my thought about last night. Not that they had been far from mind anyway but at least filing paperwork and answering calls kept my mind occupied for the most part.

I'd just finished filing all the paid work orders from last week when Juice walked into the office. "Hey Lil' Bit. Need a work order on a bike. Oil Change, inspection, and tune up." He said, making me look up from the file cabinet that I was standing in front of. When I did though, the last person I expected to see what he man that I had spent last night with. And from the look on his face, he hadn't expected to see me either.

"Wha—What are you doing here?" I stammered.

"Needed to clear my head and figured I'd get my bike serviced while I was out." Brantley said.

"Wait... yall know each other?" Said Juice, looking between the two of us. I loved Juice to death but he wasn't always the smartest person on the lot. I saw the moment that recognition hit. "Wait! You're Brantley Gilbert. Like THE Brantley Gilbert."

"That's me." Replied Brantley, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Holy fucking shit dude! I cant believe it. We've had some pretty famous people stop into the shop but never none as bad ass as you." Said Juice. I couldn't help but smile. Here I was, the woman that knew the sexy man standing before me in an intimate way, who wouldn't mind having another roll in the sack with him and yet Juice, a guy that was supposed to be one of those types that personified the bad boy image, was totally fan-girling over a man that until today I didn't know Juice was a fan of.

"How did you two meet?" said Juice, looking between Brantley and I once more.

"I played in Modesto last night. Karli and her friends were in my VIP session. She challenged me on her knowledge of MC's and even said that she knew more than me, even though I'm a patched member of my own MC and she ain't. Said Brantley, giving me a small smirk. My knowledge of MC's was no where near the topic of discussion last night outside of that VIP session.

"That's right. You ride with that MC out of Athens, Georgia that does all that stuff for Vets." Said Juice, once again surprising me with his knowledge of Brantley. "Yall had a huge ride a few years ago from Georgia to Arlington. From the posts I saw on Instagram, there looked to be about a thousand bikes."

"Twelve Hundred actually." Said Brantley.

"Dude that's fucking amazing." Said Juice. "But anyway, as much as I'd like to stand her flapping my gums, I better get back to work. The bikes service is on me." He added, looking at me. I looked from him to Brantley and nodded, knowing full well that Brantley wasn't about to let Juice pay for the services on his bike. I didn't know Brantley that well but I feel like I know him well enough to not use his celebrity star power to get things for free.

"Seems like a good guy." Said Brantley nodding his head in the direction Juice had just out of the office in as he sat down onto the couch in the corner of the office.

With Juice gone and only Brantley and I in the office, I didn't know what to say. I felt nervous. I felt antsy. I felt horny. I felt lightheaded. All of that making the little voice in my head ask the question that I didn't know if I wanted the answer to or not... What does his being here really mean?

"Juice is a good guy. Just not the smartest if you catch my drift." I said, walking over to the coffee pot. With the way I was feeling, the last thing I needed was more caffeine but I also needed something in my hands to help fight the urge to reach out and touch the man that was sitting on the couch, his legs wide, giving me a clear view of the bulge in his jeans.

"Missed you this morning." Said Brantley, sitting up on the couch, keeping his voice low.

"Figured it was best to get out of there and avoid any awkwardness." I said, unable to look him in the eye.

"Who says it would have been awkward? We both wanted what happened last night. We both knew what it was going into it." Said Brantley.

"So that means..." I said, letting my sentence dangle.

I'd be lying if I said that his words didn't sting just a little. I wasn't under the impression that last night would have turned into anything. I wasn't under the impression that one hook up and a handful of shared orgasms would make him want to declare his undying love for me. But there had been a little piece of me that had hoped that me might want to get together one last time before heading out on the road. Or that we would at least exchange numbers and sext from time to time. Not that I had any experience in doing that but with him, I would be willing to try.

"Karli, I like you. I think you know that. But with my schedule, living on the opposite side of the country, and not really having the time to get to know one another, I'm not sure that this can go anywhere." Said Brantley. Upon his words, I felt myself deflating. Brantley must have noticed because one minute he was on the couch and the next he was standing in front of me, his hands resting on my hips. Just like last night, my skin burned where he touched me.

"Karli, look at me darling." He said. Slowly, I lifted my head to look into his gorgeous green eyes. "I wont lie and say that I don't feel this pull to you. I don't know what it is. But yesterday, before the show, PJ and I were riding around and I heard you laugh. That laugh calmed something inside of me that has been raging for months now. I sent him to look for you, to make sure that you were in VIP and he couldn't find you. As luck would have it, you were in VIP after all. I don't remember the joke I'd told but I remember your laugh ringing out over all the others in the room. Then I kissed you right before the show. It hadn't been my choice but it was what my body wanted to do. I know it sounds crazy but that kiss excited and calmed me all at once. Then, there was the rest of the night and well, I don't want you to think that I'm just shooting you a line of bullshit, but something about last night just felt different. Then, out of all the bike shops in the area, I showed up here of all places; mainly because I was holding out hope that someone here would know where I could find you."

"Brantley—"

"Karli, I'm a firm believer in signs. Following what I thought was signs from God is what made me the man that I am today. So if the man upstairs wants you and I to become friends, then who am I to argue with him?" said Brantley.

"But you just said that you didn't see this thing going anywhere."

"I did. And I meant it. But not in the 'nothings ever gonna come out of this' sense. I meant it more so along the lines that nothing will come out of it right now. I don't have to tell you that I just went though a pretty shitty breakup. I don't know that I'm ready to jump into anything serious just yet."

Before I could respond, the clearing of a throat had me pulling out of Brantley's arms, putting some distance between us. My eyes landed on a set of blue ones that reminded me of my own, eyes that the man glaring at me and I shared with out father. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" said Jax, his eyes looking between Brantley and I. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jax, big brother and protector to Karli. And you are..."

"Brantley."

"Ahhh. Well, I think you and I need to have a little conversation. What do you say?" said Jax.

"I think we do." Said Brantley.

I watched as the two of them walked out of theoffice and over towards the little play areas that Jax had set up for Abel andThomas. It was a good sign that Jax was carrying him over to the play area andnot the club house. But it still didn't ease the 'shoot-me-now' feeling that Ihad seeing the two of them together.