Leanne went for the over-thirty-five guys in our club. She obviously had a Daddy thing. I wasn’t a kink-shamer, but in my head I’d been thinking yuck.
“Sadly though, he took himself off the market,” Leanne added.
Yep. Truth. Dad was now official with an old flame that got reignited. Laura, a local waitress that had dated my dad just before my parents got married was The Shit. I didn’t know a lot about their story, but I did know it was over when it was getting good. Sad, because they were getting serious when Shelly showed up preggers with Deacon from a one-nighter with my dad at a rally. Laura stepped aside, heartbroken, and Dad and Mom got married after my brother was born, looking like my father’s infant double. It was my understanding that Laura’d had a rough go of it for a few years and it was absolutely amazing to watch my father try to make those rough years up to her. He told me she was The One. The one that got away and I knew, by the look in his eyes, that he was absolutely over the moon about having her back.
“I love her,” Dad said looking me right in the eye when I’d gotten a bit bitchy about him spending so much time at her apartment. “Carried that torch for twenty-eight years, punkin. She’s the one. She’s the one I think about when I lie awake at night wishin’ I’d never set eyes on your mother. You know I love you and your brothers more than my right arm, but you gotta know that I never was in love with your mother. Woman drove me up the fuckin wall. I tried; God knows I did. She fucked with my head most of the time, used you kids as pawns, tried to lead me around by the dick, and I tolerated her most of the time.”
I’d been shocked at that declaration and went to Deacon about it. My brother Deacon had been there the day Dad set eyes on Laura after not seeing her for twenty odd years and the way my brother told it, our dad was not about to let her get away again.
My father was a smart man, but I’d always thought he was stupid about my mother. This was the first time he admitted to me that he didn’t love her. I let Laura in with me right away. And immediately I saw why Dad carried that torch. She was great.
I lingered in the kitchen, chewing my thumbnail and watching Christian, Spency, and the others through the window, seeing them shooting the shit, laughing.
I was all about broody-hot Christian Forker (in my mind, anyway), but seeing him laughing, carefree-looking? It was like having your favorite dessert and then someone handing you a big box of kittens and a ball of yarn.
I wiped down the front of the dishwashers and scraped off a few freshly dropped-off plates and continued to keep busy by power-rinsing the next load of drinking glasses when I saw that the order for Spency’s table was ready.
I dried my hands, grabbed it, then headed out to put it down between my brother and the object of my desires.
“Grub for you, boys,” I greeted and smiled at Spencer, then made eye contact to greet all of the other guys before my eyes settled on Christian’s.
He didn’t react. His formerly smiling face was now like stone. Carved stone that was perfect. His eyes were baby blue. His facial hair looked silky soft. I wanted to touch it and find out. His hand was wrapped around the neck of his beer bottle and his fingers looked strong, capable. I felt tingles as I observed arm vein porn up close.
“Jojo,” my brother said my name like I was his savior and reached for the food like he was half-starved.
“Spency. What’s up?”
“Nothin’ much. You?” He shoved a mound of loaded nachos into his mouth and groaned in ecstasy.
Christian put his beer to his lips. I felt invisible. He wasn’t giving off any negative vibes toward me. He wasn’t giving me anything. Not a fucking thing.
“Can we get some extra sour cream and salsa?” Christian abruptly deigned to speak to me, though did it like I was just any old waitress and didn’t make eye contact. “Since fuck-nuts over here,” he gestured to Nolan, “doesn’t have sharing etiquette.”
“Huh?” Nolan asked with his mouth full.
“You a double fuckin’ dipper?” Jesse accused. “Don’t do that shit, man. That’s nasty, you uncultured swine.”
I laughed and met Christian’s eyes with mine. “I’ll take care of you.” I moistened my lips with my tongue and winked.
And… nothing. He sipped his beer and reached for a chicken wing.
“Etiquette,” Nolan groaned with an eyeroll. “Listen to Mr. Big Words.”
I chuckled and zipped to the kitchen and assembled some dipping bowls. A minute later I delivered everyone their own salsa and sour cream.
“See. Each of you get your own. You can quadruple dip if you wanna.”
I gave Christian his dipping bowls last, getting as close to him as I could get without completely invading his space.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but could’ve swore his eyes were on my Harley Davidson top clad boobs for a millisecond. Yes. It was something.
I went back to the kitchen and helped out some more. Half an hour later, the kitchen was closing, and we needed a bunch of tables bussed, so I ran out to help.
And that was when I felt bile bubble at the back of my throat.
He was at the pool table, chalking up his cue. And a redheaded biker bunny moved in, pressing her tits up against him. He was looking down at her with a cock-eyed grin. And then he squeezed her ass, pulling her closer. The look on his face, the heated look he gave her? It did not feel good in my tummy.
My blood ran cold at the same time as my face went hot and then I fumbled and dropped a tray of dirty dishes all over the fucking floor. Fuck.
Leanne and Sharon rushed over to help me clean up. I glanced in his direction, seeing he was playing pool and she was leaned against the pool table. Her eyes were on me and my mess, as would anyone else in the joint, but to Christian Forker, I was still invisible.
***
At two o’clock in the morning, in my room above the bar, I heard female noises through the wall that separated me from Fork. That’s right. Right then, he wasn’t Christian to me, he was Fork.
Giggling. A deep male voice. More giggling. A few bumps and bangs. Something banged into the wall that separated us. And then, a deep male moan.
It burned. It burned so much I had tears in my eyes. I wanted to pound on the wall. I wanted to pound on the redhead.
I turned my back to that wall and squeezed my eyes shut tight. Behind my eyelids I saw visions of Luke, of his long, dark hair dangling over me as we made out on the floor in front of the fire at the cabin. I saw dark and wet tire tracks on a road and heard sounds of breaking glass during a thunderstorm. I heard an ambulance. I shoved it all away. Or, I tried. But then I heard another feminine giggle and there was another bang against my wall.
Finally, unable to take it, I threw on my robe and stormed to the kitchen for a drink of water. Music played in the club lounge. I heard voices and the sound of people playing foosball. I drank my water and stormed past all the bedrooms to the bathroom. When I was out, back in the hallway, she was stumbling toward me, half disheveled, lipstick smeared, and racoon eyes from all her black eye makeup.
I tried to kill her with my eyes. Kill her dead. She looked away. She knew who I was. I wasn’t anyone’s old lady. Bunnies knew they had to defer to the wives and girlfriends of club members. I wasn’t an old lady, I was more. Yeah, it sounded arrogant of me, but I was the motherfucking Prez’s daughter. And I’d just made my disapproval of her very much known.