An hour ago Happy gave Madison a call and told her to come to his house. As promised he had talked to the landlord from the apartment complex across the street and, luckily, the guy said it wouldn't be a problem to check out the apartment since he would be there the whole day anyway doing some renovations.

Happy was already waiting outside when Madison's car pulled up the street and parked in front of his house. After getting out, she grabbed her bag and sunglasses, which she placed on her head and approached him with a smile⸺ a smile he wished he could see more often. He grunted at his own thoughts and shook them off.

“Hey! Thank you so, so much for getting me a viewing. I really don't want to get on everyone's nerves any longer.” She gave him a quick hug like it was the most normal thing in the world, which it kind of was. Only he was different when it came to such things.

Nevertheless, he closed an arm around her that he had wrapped around her waist and inhaled the fruity scent of her perfume that she always wore.

"No problem," he grunted, shoving his hands back in his pockets after sticking a new toothpick between his lips. “And I don't think Jax would have a problem with you staying with him longer.”

Happy even believed the opposite was the case. Jax really grew into his big brother role and his mood had been a lot better the last few days and his anger at Gemma had faded, too. At least that's how it seemed, but nobody was really sure.

“Probably not and I really like being with Jax and Tara, especially spending time with my nephews. But I'm sure they want some family time again”, she explained with a shrug and looked up at him almost shyly. “Besides, I think it would be really cool to live right next to you.”

“You know I'm hardly home, right?”, he asked with a slight grin. If she got the apartment, he would have a reason to spend more time in his own house again.

“Maybe that would change once I live next door”, the brunette countered, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as well. “I would love to see you more often.”

Happy raised an eyebrow, surprised that she was actually trying to flirt with him. At least he thought that's what she did. If she weren't Gemma's kid and Jax's sister he'd just give into his desire, but he had to be a little more careful since she was Samcro Royalty.

“Is that so?”,  he asked, taking a step closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers while his toothpick rolled from side to side. “Maybe I'll be home more if you get the apartment, little girl.”

Him standing so close to her with that intense gaze of his made her hold her breath for a moment. The rasp in his voice made her knees go weak and just like the first day she met him, she still found the heavily tattooed biker quite attractive, probably even more now that she knew him a little better.

“Sounds like a good plan”, she hummed with a smirk, returning his intense gaze. “Then I should try my best to get the apartment, huh?”

“You better do”, he winked, grinning before he looked away and greeted the landlord with a nod, who was walking towards them.

Madison cleared her throat softly, turned around and smiled politely at the unknown man.

“You're probably the one who's interested in the apartment?”, he asked in a friendly tone and shook her hand after Madison nodded again. “Happy already mentioned that you are looking for something. No one else has reached out so if you like it we could talk about a lease right away.”

“Oh, really?”, she looked at the man in astonishment and finally felt a glimmer of hope.  All she wanted was to get her life together, and that included her own apartment.

“Yeah, why should I wait when I can have a tenant right away?” The older man just shrugged and smiled briefly before waving the two of them along and leading them to the apartment complex.

The apartment was on the top floor and there was even an elevator which would make moving a lot easier. The building was old but clean and newly renovated, as was the apartment itself, as the brunette could tell after a quick tour.

It consisted of a large living room, an amazingly spacious kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms. It was actually way too big for her alone. But this way guests could stay over without having to sleep on the couch. It couldn't hurt to have extra space.

However, what she liked most about the apartment were the large windows that gave the rooms a lot of light and the large balcony that offered a great view. You could see over most of the roofs of the houses, palm trees adorned the back garden and the sides of the road. Charming looked a lot like Albuquerque, which made her feel at home⸺ although she didn't truly feel at home in Albuquerque until she moved out of her parents' home and had her own place.

“What do you think?” Happy's raspy voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she stood on the balcony, her hands resting on the railing.

“I like it. It's not too quiet here, which is good. There are many neighbors and yet the streets aren't overcrowded. And the apartment is really nice”, she nodded convincingly. “Do you know anything about the rent? How high is it?”

“The rent is nine hundred dollars a month. At least that's what he told me yesterday”, Happy let her know, watching her from the corner of his eye. “Can you afford that?”

Part of him hoped so. He'd found the thought of having her right across from him satisfying. That way he would be close by if she needed anything. Also, it was safer for a beautiful young woman like her to have someone nearby who could be there immediately if there was a problem.

The area wasn't the prettiest not the safest, but compared to other areas in Cali it was definitely quieter and not quite as dangerous⸺ otherwise he would never have suggested the apartment to her in the first place.

“Nine hundred?” She sighed and ran a hand through her straight hair. “That's not much for such a pretty apartment in Cali, I definitely won't find a cheaper one. I think with the job in the office and the babysitting I can manage it.”

She would have to save on other corners for that, but it was worth it if she could have such an apartment with such a beautiful view. Besides, she didn't need much to live anyway and her old furniture was still stored at Jesse's house, so all she needed was a new bed for the guest bedroom.

“I'm sure Gemma would support you if you needed any help in the beginning”, Happy told her knowing that Gemma would do anything for her kids.

“Probably, but I don't want that. I can do this on my own”, she smiled weakly. The next moment her face scrunched up in pain and put a hand on her chest, whereupon Happy was alarmed immediately.

“What's wrong?”, he demanded, turning her a little more toward him, serious concern spreading across his face, which was a rare sight.

“Nothing bad, I just forgot to take my pills this morning”, the brunette explained with a faint smile, trying to ignore the pain in her left breast. “And if I forget them something like this happens. It's my own fault.”

“Then what happens?” His concern only increased as she spoke in riddles. He knew about the heart defect, the family flaw, and that it could cause problems, but he had no idea what it was that could happen except for a heart attack. “Want me to call a doctor? Or Tara?”

“No, it's okay, really”, she assured him in a soft voice and tried to relax her muscles as good as possible. “Not much can happen if I forget them once. No heart attack or anything like that. But the pain isn't really fun either.”

“What if you take the pill now?” He looked at her intently and lifted her chin forcing her to look at him. He wanted to make sure that she was actually okay because a part of him was freaking out even if he seemed to have everything under control.

“I can only take these in the mornings..so I'll have to wait until tomorrow”, she murmured, her voice low and gentle when he lifted her head. Her mouth suddenly went dry as she looked up at him and saw his concerned look. Was he really worried about her? While she didn't want to worry him, she found it still cute.

“Nothing can happen, I promise. And Tara can check if everything's alright later when I'm back at their house”, she added with an accommodating smile.

“I'll come with you, you're not driving alone”, he decided without leaving that up for discussion.

“If you feel better then you can do that”, she answered and reached out to his chest, causing his muscles to tense a little. Almost cautiously she put her hand on his chest as the two just looked at each other for a short moment.

There was definitely something in the air, which Happy didn't like at all. He wasn't  familiar with the feelings she triggered in him. Until now, lust was the only feeling he had ever felt towards a woman and he wanted it to stay that way.

He could already tell that Maddie was too good for him, so innocent compared to him. Fucking up her life and making it harder for her wasn't on the top of his future plans list.

“You feel better, little girl?”, he asked to take the tension out of the moment, yet he couldn't help but brush some strands of her brown hair out of her pretty face.

The brunette nodded slightly, sinking  her teeth into her bottom lip at his touch. “Yeah, it's getting better. Like I said, that happens sometimes.”

He slowly let go of her chin, which he still held between his fingers, which made Madison overthink the situation. On the other hand, it might be better if she didn't get too close to him. Just about everything in her life was complicated, why would she want to burden anyone with that? She had a heart defect and a secret she couldn't tell anyone. And secrets in a relationship were never good.

“Tell the landlord you're interested, then I'll get you home”, he determined after reluctantly breaking eye contact and gently pushing her through the balcony door back inside where the landlord was already patiently waiting.

It probably wouldn't end well if he let her get too close. From a few conversations that the two had already had, he knew that she wanted a partner and a family at some point and he didn't want to give her any unnecessary hopes. He just wasn't that kind of guy. Also, Jax would rip his head off if he hurt Madison⸺ and Gemma would probably do the same.