peer at me. “But you’ve been distracted most of the past week. Or just gazing longingly into middle distance.”
“I have not,” I said, though honestly, I probably had been.
“So is that a yes?” Tru sighed happily. “Good for you. He’s cute. You deserve it. It’s about time you got over Eddy.”
“We didn’t sleep together,” I said. “And we’re not going to. Are you crazy? Doing that while I’m actively trying to repair the relationship between our clubs?”
“What? You can’t multitask?”
“You’re a menace.” I sipped the tepid coffee—any coffee was better than none—and leaned against the back of the couch next to Tru. “You know it’s a bad idea.”
Tru propped his chin on his folded forearms. “Probably is. But you’re always making good choices and shit. You should do something you want to do. For once in your life.”
“I do things I want to do,” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“I mean, something selfish,” Tru said. “Something that’s not for the club or Stella’s. Something just for you.”
I sighed and scrubbed my hand over my head. “As nice as that would be, I can’t risk fucking things up with Hell’s Ankhor. Especially not while our numbers are so low. We really, really need to stay in their good graces.”
“I don’t mean, like, jump him, or pressure him or anything,” Tru said. “Have you even talked to him about this?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I said we should be friends.”
“Oh, so you just told him what the deal was and he had no choice but to agree with you or feel stupid,” Tru said. “You didn’t really talk to him.”
I grimaced. That was sort of correct.
“Just ask him what he wants,” Tru said. “I’m sure you’re overthinking things—you’re really good at that. And… Heath doesn’t seem anything like Eddy, honestly, if that’s what you’re worried about. Eddy’s problem isn’t that he was young—it’s that he was an asshole.”
I blinked in surprise. “What? You never said that when we were dating.”
Tru shrugged. “Well, I tried to like him when you two were together. But he always seemed sort of… disinterested in anyone who wasn’t you, you know? Like he never really tried to get to know any of the other Liberty Crew guys. And when he was hanging around, he always seemed like he wanted to be somewhere else.”
Tru had a point, honestly. Eddy never made much of an effort with my club—or with me, really. Sex was always his priority. It was like once I’d introduced him to submissive dynamics, that was all he cared about. Chasing that high. He wasn’t so interested in bringing it into the rest of our relationship, though, just the bedroom. It was like a game for him, always trying to test and push to new limits, without any of the respect and emotional intimacy that should have been the foundation. When I thought back on it, why had I been so shocked when I’d caught him in bed with a different Dom?
“Heath seems like he’s actually a good guy,” Tru said. “He’s sweet. Nice. And he’s a club guy, too, so you already know he shares your values, that he’s compatible in at least that much of your lifestyle. So what, he’s young? Just because Eddy was flaky and a dickhead doesn’t mean every guy you meet will be.”
I sighed. It seemed like common sense when Tru said it, but I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the risk. If Tru was wrong, and Heath did end up burning me like Eddy did, I wasn’t sure if I could handle it—I already felt things around him I’d definitely never felt with Eddy.
Plus, Dad was counting on me to make these reparations with Hell’s Ankhor work. I couldn’t let him down—couldn’t let the crew down, and I honestly didn’t want to cause a rift with the Hell’s Ankhor guys unless I was pretty damn sure things would work out with Heath and me. And right now, things were just too shaky.
Tru was peering at me expectantly, so I flicked him on the forehead in order to avoid a heartfelt conversation. He gasped with offended shock and rubbed at the reddening mark. “Dare! That’s what I get for giving you yet another round of excellent advice?”
“No, that’s what you get for being nosy. Are you working today?”
“No, it’s my day off,” Tru said. “Star’s on rounds. Her first solo. She’s kicking ass.”
“Great,” I said with a nod. “Then you can come with me to Stella’s and