Dakota POV
“Hey babe how's it goin?" Keila comes up to me and leans on the table I'm trying to clean.
"Alright…" I chuckle suspiciously.
"How's Kase and her project?"
"Good actually, building is basically up so it's gonna be time for the interior any day now, and Kasey's giving me the main lead on the painting and decorating, and then Erin's boyfriend is the actual interior designer so that's cool."
"Good! So you'd say you're in a good mood right now?"
Here it comes. "Uh, I guess."
"Perfect. Go help table 4.” Keila says with a wink.
“What?” I stop wiping my table. “Can’t you do it? I was put on cleaning.” I laugh.
“I know.” She walks away.
She’s probably going to see Thorn. “I still need to know what happened in Chicago !” I call behind her.
She turns around to blow a kiss and flip me off and I laugh. Fine. Table 4
I turn the corner and stop in my tracks when I see who’s sitting there. I understand now. At the table is a massive, extremely attractive biker and his little daughter who laughs at something he says, and grabs a marker from the container between them. His tattoos I’ve spent a whole night tracing, make sense to me now. I had a feeling that the outlined flower garden wasn’t just a drawing, but one done by his daughter for this very purpose.
The little girl is wearing a purple dress, her light brown hair pulled up into lopsided pigtails. She giggles again and scribbles the bright pink marker over his bicep. He rumbles a laugh and stares at her adoringly.
“Well, I never thought I’d see the day this tough, strong biker man would let a child draw on him.” I chuckle, clearly startling them both.
“Dakota! Hi...uh this is my little June bug. June, say hi to daddy’s friend Dakota.”
Friend. Yep.
“Hi to daddy’s friend Dakota.” She echos, and then starts giggling.
He smiles down at her and a part of my heart melts a little at the two of them. “So. What can I get you guys to drink?” I try to tamp down the fluttering in my ovaries that the scene in front of me is causing.
“I’ll get a sweet tea.” He says, running his eyes down my body for a second. I clear my throat. “And for yourself, June bug?” I tease.
“No, no silly. Only my daddy calls me June bug.” She announces.
He nods. “That’s right.” And kisses her on the head. “Only daddy.”
Okay, clean up at table 4, my heart is a puddle on the floor.
He looks back up at me. “She’ll have orange juice.”
“Great. Ok. I’ll be right back.” I clear my throat again, trying to get the images of him out of my head.
We’re just friends now. Come on Dakota, control your thoughts.
“Keila. I can’t even with you.” I roll my eyes as I find her behind the bar, wiping an already clean spot as she clearly was watching the whole thing play out.
“What? You’re going to deny paying customers?”
“He denied me just fine the other day.” I shoot back.
“Oooh wooh.” She chuckles. “I thought the sassing was Kasei's area of expertise.”
“I thought the matchmaking was hers as well.” I raise my eyebrows at her.
“Touche.” Keila laughs. “Okay, Kots. I see you coming in with the fire comebacks.” She whips her rag in my direction. “But you need to talk to him. The whole ride home you were all annoyed and: he cornered me in the hallway but won't talk to me." She mimics my voice.
I laugh. “I should have listened when you said to not date any of the club men.”
“Okay, maybe but now it's too late. Blades is a good guy and y’all have the best meet-cute.”
I roll my eyes. “I had strong hatred for him when I met him. I almost immediately punched him.”
“Yeah, but that’s all in the past now. You in the same truck as me and Ty was honestly a major cockblock.” She points out.
“I drove you home. And my presence didn't stop you guys from doing stuff anyway?” I shake my head at her.
“Oh, true. Actually it was nice to have you as our personal chauffeur. But your music is awful.” Keils adds.
“Girl. I gotta go get them their drinks. Find something to do other than watch me drown over there while trying not to get mad at him.” I roll my eyes and grab the drinks.
She sighs dramatically. "Fine. I think you should talk but whatever. Bye bitch."
“Okay, hey guys. Have you had time to decide what you'd like to eat?"
Blade gives me a smoldering look as he runs his eyes all down my body. "An idea, yes."
I feel hot. I don't like him at all. "June? What would you like?" Let's pretend we don't know what's in his head.
"Mac n cheese!" She giggles.
"Bug, you had Mac n Cheese for dinner last night?" Blade chuckles. "Don't you want something different? Dino nuggets or pizza?"
"Mac n Cheese." She repeats stubbornly.
I smother a smile. "Alright. Mac n cheese it is."
"It's my favorite food." June informs me.
"Mine too." Blade agrees. "But I don't want you to get tired of it." He tightens one of the pigtails on her head and she crinkles her nose.
"I'll have the usual." He turns back to me.
"You got it." I grab his menu. "I'll be back asap." By the time I come back, though, they're gone.
I drop off their food, and head back in the direction of the kitchen. I see Blade leaning against the wall of the bathroom hallways.
Okay, Kota. Pull on your big girl thong and just go confront him. I give myself a pep talk as I walk over to him and clear my throat.
He looks up with a lazy smile like he has no care in the world and I resist the urge to deviate his septum like the very first time.
"Blade, we need to talk."
"Uh oh. There's the phrase that nobody wants a woman to say." He chuckles lowly
Prick. "You're hilarious." I tell him without emotion.
"Do you really want to do this here? Now? As June is using the bathroom and could come out any minute?"
"Yes. It's about Chicago."
He curses. "What about it?"
"Blade, don't do that. I'm not one of those girls that needs to DTR all the time, but you can't ignore me for hours then corner me just to turn me on and leave?"
He smirks. "When you got back to your room and had to fix it, who did you think of?"
I lean back against the wall. "That's awfully presumptuous of you." Not exactly incorrect, though. "Either you have me or you don't. There's no in between here. We’ve been, I don't know. Something…for a couple weeks, never quite knowing what and the entire ride up I think we’re good, we talk for hours as if we are something.” I huff.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah but we get there and suddenly I mean nothing to you?" I cross my arms.
“I never said you mean nothing to me.”
“You told me I should go fuck someone else.” I shake my head, looking away.
He chuckles and lifts my chin up to look him in the face. "I like that I make you this flustered."
"You’re so annoying.”
He steps closer. Okay why am I always letting this man cage me against the wall? "Hmm."
“So what’s the deal here? If I'm a single woman I can do what I want, or who I want."
He licks his lips and leans in close. Too close. "You can, but if you fuck someone else I'll kill him."
I push a hand against his chest to get some space, slipping out from in front of him. “You don't have that right." I feel my frustration grow as he evades this conversation.
"You're not going to fuck someone else. You and I both know you don't want to."
"Okay, but if you're not doing anything with…this anymore, then tell me so I can?" I roll my eyes at the man who casually leans against the wall beside me.
"I didn't say that. And you won't do that."
"You aren't saying anything!" I know my annoyance is obvious but I could care less. "Whatever, you really don't know as much as you think you do."
“Dakota." His already low voice drops another octave as he's almost growling at me.
Just then, Keila walks by. I'll show him.
"Hey girl." I chirp.
She looks confused but stops. "Hi?"
"I hope I wasn't too loud last night and you were able to sleep." She frowns for a second but grins as Blade snaps around to look at her.
"You were quite noisy but I could tell you were having a good time so it's ok." She chuckles.
Blade turns back to me. "That's not a wise thing to tell me after what I just said. Give me his name and I'll teach the fucker a lesson."
"You could, but who says it was a him?" I wink as he lets out an audible gasp. "Foods on your table. Give me a holler if you need anything else." I turn to go and he grabs my wrist. "You could…" I chuckle, knowing where his mind is. "But the hand dryer means your daughter is finished."
He lets go and curses again as I giggle to myself and saunter away.
Keila catches up with me as I'm walking directly into the break room.
"Holy shit." I gasp as the door closes behind us.
"Yeah that was...a bold move."
I breathe out. "Did I seem confident?" I turn to Keila's wide eyed expression.
"Like, yes but damn."
"I hate that he makes me so nervous. I just don't know what to do around him, I'm not myself." I sigh.
"Well you sure seemed like yourself just now. Good bluff." She laughs
"Thanks for going along with it. Why the hell does he act all possessive about something he refuses to define?" I roll my eyes. "I've said it a million times. I don't care for labels but then don't act like I'm in the wrong, like we're together?"
"You have a point, but girl you're flying mighty close to the sun."
I shrug, my confidence coming back to me. "Let him try to burn me."
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Idk why I love them so much I just do
Dakota is just 🤌🏻
She's an icon
she's a legend
and she is the moment
😏
Ok enjoy
Cassi