average human’s Reviews > What Is Love > Status Update

Every time he inhaled, his chest expanded and pressed against my back.
I was having déjà vu. Except I hadn’t had a dirty dream prior, he wasn’t grinding himself against my ass, and his hand wasn’t up my shirt. Nope. His hand was currently inside my thong, cupping me.
It was unfair that this was my second time being groped in my sleep and he hadn’t even seemed remorseful last time. A bad idea popped into my head. One I was absolutely going to run with. Later I’d blame it on my barely awake brain.
I reached behind me, between us, and slid my hand into his boxer briefs. The moment my fingers wrapped around his hard and surprisingly large cock, I knew he was awake.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he said in that deep voice men get when they just woke up.
“Getting payback,” I said.
His fingers moved as if trying to understand where they were. In the process, he grazed my clit and easily slipped along my folds.
I gasped and unintentionally tightened my grip on his cock.
He inhaled sharply. “You’re wet.” Just with those two words, I could tell he was angry.
So what? I could get just as angry.
“And you’re hard. Your point?” I snapped at him.
As if to spite me, he purposely moved his fingers to stroke my clit. I groaned and stroked him back, squeezing as I moved up and down his cock.
His hips jutted, seemingly involuntarily. “Knock it off,” he growled as he continued to rub that little bundle of nerves between my legs.
I whined as my own hips betrayed me and rocked against his hand, seeking more. “You first,” I had to force out with a breathless voice.
With a grunt, because I hadn’t let up on pumping my hand around him, he slid his fingers through my seam until he found my opening. I didn’t have time to process what he was about to do before he pushed two fingers into my pussy. The abrupt feeling of being stretched made me moan loudly.
“Fuck, you’re so tight.” Again, he spoke as if that offended him. Yet he didn’t stop thrusting his fingers inside me, making me moan each time. “Stop moaning.” The growl in his voice vibrated against my ear.
What he was asking was impossible. Especially since the heel of his palm ground against my clit whenever he fucked me with his fingers.
“I—I can’t,” I whined. I was going to come. It was just out of reach. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
His hips thrust in sync with my hand around him. “Don’t fucking beg!”
“Stop fucking talking!” I growled back. I was almost there. Almost. Right. Fucking. There. “You’re such a fucking asshole.” Every word came out as a whine.
He lips grazed my ear. “This asshole is about to make you come.”
That did me in. I fucking exploded and so did he. His thrusts into my fist turned into spurts the moment I cried out. He grunted and his cum jetted onto my fingers as he continued to fuck my hand until every last drop had been expelled.
My body shook and my pussy pulsed around his fingers. All I could do was breathe as I came back to my body.
“I don’t know about you, Roe, but I thought it was hot,” a voice said.
I felt Reid tense up as much as I did. I was pretty sure we glanced toward the foot of the bed at the same time. Both Roe and Wyatt were standing there staring down at us.
Reid pulled his fingers from me, making my breath hitch. He sat up with my hand still in his boxers. “How long have you been standing there?”
Wyatt hummed as he thought about it. “The whole time.”
Roe didn’t say anything. He just stared at me.
“And you didn’t say anything because?” Reid asked.
Wyatt glanced at Roe. “We were about to wake you both up, but she grabbed your dick, and I had to see how that would play out. It was kind of weird, not gonna lie. Clearly, you both want to fuck each other, but neither of you want to admit it.”
“You can shut up now,” Reid grumbled.
Slowly, I pulled my cum-covered hand out of his boxers and got up to head to the bathroom. They all went quiet and I knew they were watching me until I closed the door. I went to the pedestal sink and washed my hands. Had we been in the moment still, I would have licked my fingers clean before asking him to fuck me.
I closed my eyes as I sighed. What was I doing with them? What were they doing with me? I didn’t understand anything. I felt like I was addicted to Roe. I’d been feeling a pull to him for a long time. So everything felt stronger with him. But there was also a pull to Wyatt and Reid.
I shook my head to cast away my thoughts. None of it mattered. Our time was limited. I couldn’t belong to any of them and none of them could be mine.
After washing my hands, I cleaned up my face the best I could. Last night’s makeup had smeared like crazy.
When I was done in the bathroom, I padded out, finding them all hanging out in the kitchen. Reid had a coffee mug in his hand and Roe sat on a stool at the island, fiddling with his lip piercing with his fingers. Wyatt was sitting next to him eating a sandwich. He was the only one who looked my way when I approached.
Wyatt got up from his stool. “Sit down. We brought breakfast.”
I did as he said and sat next to Roe, who appeared lost in his thoughts. I glanced at Reid. He was giving a mean look to the floor.
“Should I leave?” I asked.
“No,” Roe and Reid said at the same time, sounding equally distracted.
“I feel like I should apologize again,” I said.
“I’m not surprised it happened,” Roe said with a sigh. “I assumed it’d be Wyatt first, if I’m being honest. But now that it has, I’m trying to figure out how it’s all going to work.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” Reid said. “Because it won’t happen again.”
Wyatt scoffed at that as he set something wrapped in front of me. “You’re a terrible liar. Even to yourself.”
By the shape alone, it looked similar to the sandwich Wyatt had been eating. I unwrapped it and saw that it was. Between two slices of brioche were bacon, ham, cheese, eggs, and some sort of sauce. I took a bite; pleasantly surprised, I made a yum sound.
“I love it when you eat,” Wyatt said.
“I rarely get to do it,” I responded before taking another, bigger bite.
They all went quiet for a minute until Wyatt spoke again.
“Because you’re not allowed.” Wyatt didn’t phrase it like a question. He knew because I had already let it slip when he had asked me what my favorite food was.
I set my sandwich down. “It’s always been expected of me to look a certain way. My mother thinks I’m still not thin enough and a lot of the time, as a punishment, I’m not allowed to eat.”
“That’s why you never eat lunch,” Roe said.
I nodded. “I’m not allowed to. Lately, because my mother thinks I still need to lose five pounds, Prue, one of our housekeepers, makes me a boiled chicken breast for dinner. Until I lose it, that’s what I’ll eat.” I set the sandwich down, feeling guilty. I hadn’t weighed myself in a while. I’d used to do it every morning. What if Clay was right and I had gained weight?
I felt like I had dug myself into a deep hole. Now I couldn’t climb out. All I could do was wait for Mother to come along and bury me in it.
Reid mumbled something angrily that I didn’t catch as he turned to look out the window above the kitchen sink. “The club is hosting a barbecue today. I think we should go.”
Both looking surprised, Roe and Wyatt stared at Reid’s back as if he’d lost his mind.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Wyatt asked.
“You stopped going to club events a long time ago, Reid,” Roe said.
Reid turned around and stared only at me. “Go with me to the barbecue.”
Wyatt and Roe looked at each other as if the other might know what was going on.
“It’s tomorrow,” I said to Reid. “Will you tell me why you don’t like me?”
“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know at the club’s barbecue,” he replied.
I could tell something more was going on. From what I knew, out of the three of them, Reid hated the club the most. “Okay. I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll have Mac bring you something to wear,” he said just before walking off to the bathroom.
“Are we letting them go alone?” Wyatt asked Roe.
Roe sighed. “No.”

After a shower, I smelled like Reid. I didn’t have any of my products, so I’d had to make do with his. At Reid’s request, Mac borrowed her mom’s car to come over and help me get ready. After asking how I was, she seemed like her old self again. Had I known about her past, I wouldn’t have called her for help before.
I listened quietly as she gabbed away about this guy she had been talking to and how they had a date later this evening while she helped me with my hair and makeup.
She had asked Reid if he was okay multiple times because of how out of character he was acting. It had seemed to stun her even more than Wyatt and Roe when he’d told her that he was going to the club’s barbecue.
She had lent me high-waisted jean shorts and a black tank crop top that just barely covered the bruise courtesy of Clay. Instead of my black boots, she lent me brown ankle boots that were a smidge big, but would work.
When it was time to go, Mac went home. Because I didn’t want to walk and it was a good distance down the road, all four of us piled into Wyatt’s car and drove there.
“Why do you have a crowbar back here?” Reid asked. He and Roe were riding in the backseat.
Wyatt held his hand out to take it. Reid handed over the heavy-looking metal bar and Wyatt set it on the floor by my feet. “I accidentally took it from work, and I put it back there to remind me to return it tomorrow during my shift.”
“What’d you need a crowbar for?” Roe asked.
“We were working on a car door and I had to use it to pry off the interior paneling,” Wyatt explained.
Wyatt pulled into the compound. A huge line of motorcycles was parked in front of a large black-painted building that had a huge Haven’s Rebels logo on the front. I spotted Bram’s bike right away. Wyatt parked in an area designated for cars, which was nearly full. There were Haven’s Rebels everywhere. Some were by their motorcycles, some were hanging by the cars. As we got out, we followed a Rebel and what appeared to be his wife and two little kids past the large black building to a grassy field with a bunch of picnic tables set up. Next to it were quite a few grills and Rebels manning them. Banquet tables filled with food were lined up near the grills. There were so many people sitting at the tables and lining up to get food and children playing off in the distance on a playground, I felt a bit awed and nervous.
People yelled out or stopped us to say hello to the guys. All were kind greetings and quite a few people were surprised but happy to see them. Reid had been taking the lead until he stopped off to the side. He was scanning the crowd, looking tense.
“All right, Reid, tell us why we’re here,” Wyatt said.
Before he could answer, a woman approached us. A woman I’d seen before with Bram. “Reid, honey, what are you doing here?” As she got closer, I could see she had the same whiskey-colored eyes as Reid. Her wild and beautiful brown hair, the same shade as Reid’s, was pulled up in a messy bun. “Is everything all right?” she asked him. Then her eyes landed on me. They widened slightly. “Oh my.” She continued to stare as if she couldn’t look away. “You’re even more beautiful in person.”
“Thank you,” I said, sounding confused.
She stepped closer. “You have his eyes.”
Reid put his hand on his mother’s shoulder. “Mom.”
Her head whipped in his direction. “What?”
Reid gave her a look and shook his head.
She gasped. “Reid Maxwell Cruz, what have you done?”
“She needs to know,” was his response.
His eyes.
I didn’t have Mother’s gray eyes or Father’s light blues. I had greenish hazel. Eyes that could have only come from one person.
“Bram is going to be pissed.” What Reid’s mother said pulled me out of my thoughts.
Bram.
I’d seen his eyes many times. I’d recognized them, but hadn’t known why.
I turned to Wyatt. “Is Bram short for something?”
He had been watching the exchange between Reid and his mom, looking confused. The confusion didn’t go away even when he stared at me. “Yeah. It’s short for Abraham.”
“As in Abraham Kane?” I asked with my heart in my throat.
“Yes.” Reid was the one who answered me.
I turned to him, fighting to remain calm. “That’s what you knew about me?”
Reid stared at me with a tense jaw and nodded.
“Oh, shit,” Wyatt blurted as if just figuring it out. He was the only one I had told that Noah Kendry wasn’t my biological father.
“Is that why you don’t like me?” My voice cracked and my eyes began to burn.
“Yes and no,” he answered.
I had to turn away before I screamed at him.
“Will someone explain what the fuck is going on?” Roe snapped.
“Bram is Charlotte’s biological father,” Reid said, shocking the hell out of Roe.
“You knew that this whole time.” Wyatt sounded pissed. “Why would you keep that from us?”
“Shit, Bram is heading over,” Reid’s mom said, sounding panicked.
We all turned to see him walking our way. His eyes—the eyes I’d inherited—scanned over us until they landed on me. As we stared at each other, a tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. He stopped walking as the realization washed over him. He knew I had found out the truth.
I walked away from our group. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to see any more evidence of what could have been.
“Charlotte,” he called out to me as I passed him.
I ignored him and kept walking.
It isn’t fair.
It’s so fucking unfair.
The closer to the car I got, the angrier I got. I didn’t want to believe I could have had a better life. That wasn’t what was meant for me. It couldn’t have been better. I was in hell. I was being punished. He was not good. Abraham Kane was not a good man.
And I would prove it.
When I got to Wyatt’s car, I opened his door and leaned in to grab the crowbar on the floor.
When I got out of the car with it, Roe, Wyatt, and Reid were running over. They saw me carrying it as I headed toward the beautiful lineup of motorcycles.
“Lottie, what are you doing?” Roe asked, sounding worried.
I didn’t respond as I made my way to Bram’s bike. The only one that was chrome and dark metallic orange.
“Holy shit,” I heard Wyatt say as he and Reid froze in shock at what I was about to do.
Roe was still coming toward me. “Lottie!” he yelled as I lifted the crowbar in the air.
As I brought it down, Bram’s thunderous voice yelled out for me. But it didn’t stop me. I knocked off one of the mirrors with that first swing. It wasn’t enough and I kept swinging.
I didn’t feel like I was in my body. I didn’t hear metal bang against metal. Or feel the impact of each blow. I felt like I was floating above myself, watching me smashing and hitting his motorcycle over and over.
I kept swinging until my wrist was grabbed so hard, I let out a yelp.
Here it is. The proof I needed that he wasn’t as good as I’d thought.
I was yanked to face him and when I did, I realized it wasn’t Bram. It was the Rebel who’d hit on me at Noble’s Pub, the one who Bram had saved me from.
“Donnie, no!” Bram yelled, his voice closer than before, but he wouldn’t make it in time.
Donnie yanked the crowbar out of my hand and tossed it to the ground. “Stupid bitch,” he said right before I saw his fist.
Pain exploded from my jaw up behind my eye and into my ear. Blood coated my tongue. My vision spotted. I didn’t know I was falling until I hit the ground.
“Hey!” I heard Bram yell just before I heard a grunt, then another.
“Lottie!” I heard Roe say before arms lifted me to sit up. “Let me see,” he said as he cupped my face, but I didn’t turn my head toward him. No. I wanted to see what was happening to Donnie.
He was on the ground and Bram was punching him again and again.
“What the fuck, man?!” Donnie cried out, making Bram pause and step back. “She was fucking up your bike! Why are you not beating the shit out of her?!”
“Because she’s my kid!” Bram roared down at him. “You just punched my daughter, you piece of shit.”
Bram kicked him in the face. Donnie’s head whipped to the side and blood went flying out of his mouth. Some Rebels, including Noble, came over to pull Bram away.
“We should go,” I heard Wyatt say behind Roe.
“Lottie, please,” Roe pleaded, and I finally looked at him. He grimaced at whatever damage he saw. Then he quickly got his arms under me and scooped me up.
I held the side of my face as I rested my head on his shoulder. Roe carried me with Wyatt walking ahead of us. We were going to pass a stunned Reid, but as we approached, he snapped out of it and walked ahead with Wyatt toward the car.
“Was that how you expected shit to go down?” Wyatt snapped at him.
“No,” Reid said with a quiet but angry voice.
“Maybe if you had told us what you knew, we could have told you how fucking dumb your plan was,” Roe snarled, sounding more pissed off than I had ever heard him. “Then Lottie wouldn’t have to carry around another fucking bruise!”
Reid stopped walking, Roe’s words clearly affecting him. Roe didn’t slow down as we passed him.
“Monroe Walker!” Bram yelled, making the whole compound go silent.
Wyatt, who was almost to the car, stopped and glanced back. Roe slowed to a stop, his jaw clenched. Slowly, he turned.
Bram was standing ahead of the crowd that had formed around him and Donnie. He was fuming. He reminded me of an angry Viking ready to shed blood.
“Bring her back to me right now,” Bram ordered.
From the tension in Roe’s body, I knew he didn’t want to do that. He was going to run with me if he had to.
Noble came out of the crowd. “Bring her back, son.”
Reid came up to stand next to us. “He’s the only one who can help her, Roe.”
“He’s not the only one,” Roe said angrily.
“Are you really going to gamble your future to prove that?” Reid asked. “Her family will destroy every opportunity you’ve worked so hard for and the next thing you know, you’ll be wearing a cut just like your old man. And you know Wyatt and I won’t let you take that road alone.”
Wyatt came to stand on Roe’s other side. “Reid’s right. We promised to stick together.”
“Just take me to Bram, Roe,” I said in a defeated voice.
Roe exhaled heavily through his nose before he started walking back. When Roe got within ten feet of Bram, Bram closed the distance. His hand reached for me. I winced and squeezed Roe’s shoulder. His arms around me tightened as if to assure me that he’d keep me safe.
“I just want to see,” Bram said, and he gently lifted my hand off of my face. He didn’t react to what he saw. Instead, his eyes flicked to Roe. “Bring her inside.”
Bram walked ahead. Roe followed, still carrying me, and Wyatt and Reid trailed behind us. Bram led us into the black building. Inside was a giant room that had a lot of empty space apart from one side, which had a fully equipped bar and a couple of pool tables. The walls were covered in motorcycle signs, art, and tires. There were even a few motorcycles hanging on wires from the tall ceiling. We followed Bram across the giant room down a hall with many doors. Bram went in one of the first doors, which led into a kitchen with a four-seater table in the corner.
“Set her on the table,” Bram ordered as he walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a first-aid kit. Then he headed over to the large two-door refrigerator. He opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of something.
Roe did as Bram asked and sat me down on the edge of the table. Reluctantly, he stepped back to stand with Wyatt and Reid near the door as Bram came to me. He set the first-aid kit and what looked to be frozen peas on the table next to me. Then he went to pull my hand from my face again.

I let him. “I don’t know why you’re fussing.”
Bram opened the first-aid kit. “Your lip is split and bleeding, and your jaw is starting to swell.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Bram tore open some gauze. “Been punched before, have you?” he said with such doubt.
“Once or twice,” I said as I gave the guys a look to keep quiet.
Reid shook his head in disbelief before stalking out of the room. Wyatt glanced at Roe and Roe nodded for Wyatt to go after Reid. Wyatt sighed before leaving. Roe folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall as he watched Bram wipe blood off my chin.
“What is your mother going to think when she sees you?” Bram asked.
I started laughing at that. I couldn’t help it.
Bram straightened and frowned down at me. “I don’t see how that’s funny.”
“Maybe you should tell him, Lottie,” Roe said as gently as he could.
I immediately stopped laughing and glared at Roe.
Bram looked from him to me. “Tell me what?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I grabbed the frozen peas to put on my throbbing jaw.
“No, I can tell something is going on,” Bram said. “What is it?”
“Why didn’t you want me?” I asked.
Bram went over to the trash and threw the bloody gauze away. “It’s not that I didn’t want you.” He put his hands on his hips. “I wanted you to have a better life than I did. Shit with the club was also bad when your mother got pregnant with you.”
“So you let her lie to another man about me being his.” It wasn’t a question. I already knew the answer.
“When did you find out the truth?” he asked.
“My father wrote me a letter to receive when I turned eighteen. He told me I wasn’t his and gave me your name,” I said.
Bram nodded. “He was a good man. He loved you a lot.”
That pissed me off because it just felt like words.
“I wouldn’t know. He died when I was six.” I felt like I was going to cry. “You both left me alone with her.” My voice broke and I had to battle against everything raging inside me to hold my composure. He didn’t deserve my tears. I didn’t want his pity.
Bram frowned. “Your mother?”
I slid off the table and walked over to Roe. I would need to end things with him and his friends for good. I wouldn’t let them ruin their dreams for me. “Send me the bill for your bike. I’ll pay to have it fixed.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bram said. “I get why you did it. You’re angry with me.”
I froze. “I don’t destroy things when I’m angry.”
“Then why’d you do it?” Bram asked.
“To see if you’d hit me,” I said, and walked out.