“I’m writing a book about a teenager trying to survive the foster care system.”
“Is it nonfiction?” I ask her, reaching out to cover her hand with mine as it lies flat on her chair’s armrest.
She shakes her head. “It’s fiction, but there’s a sprinkling of my real life in there. Things I haven’t discussed with anyone, but it’s been almost therapeutic getting it all down on paper.”
“Can I read it?” I ask, squeezing her fingers.
“Not yet. It’s not ready.”
“But when it’s ready…”
“Maybe.” She smiles. “My agent may say it’s trash, and no one may want to buy it. It may never see the light of day.”
“That’s harsh. I can’t imagine putting myself out there and getting rejected after all that hard work.”
Arlo gives me a sad smile. “It’s part of the business. You have to be willing to be turned down a lot, or else you’ll never make it in this industry.”
“Carmello’s never dealt with much rejection in his life,” Tamara teases.
“And what rejection have you dealt with, Tam? You were the female version of me.”
She laughs. “I was, wasn’t I?”
I nod. “You weren’t an angel, waiting around for your dream man to fall into your lap. How did you meet Mammoth anyway?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t think I ever heard this story,” Arlo says, and I know Tamara can’t skate over the details since Arlo’s asking instead of me.
“I was at the compound where he lived,” Tamara says.
Mammoth grunts. “That asshole.”
“Which asshole?” Arlo asks, looking back and forth between Mammoth and Tamara.
“I showed up at the biker compound looking for someone else, but he was a total dick and pretended to not want me around.”
“He was a fool, but thank God, or else maybe you’d be with him and not me.”
Tamara scrunches her nose. “I wouldn’t have waited around for him while he was inside.”
“Inside?” Arlo asks, her eyebrows drawn down.
“He went to prison for a while.”
Arlo’s eyes widen as soon as those words are out of Tamara’s mouth. “Holy shit,” she whispers.
Tamara nods. “Anyway, I showed up, he ignored me, told me to turn my ass around and leave, but Morris, who’s a dreamy guy in that scary kind of way, took me in and put Mammoth on me.”
“No one hit on her, but I was told to babysit her for the night to make sure nothing happened to her. Because there were a lot of horny bastards around, and when her fine piece of ass walked in the door looking all cute, they all noticed. I was supposed to take her home the next day.”
“You thought I looked cute?” Tamara asks him.
“Babe, told you that a million times. I knew I was going to get in your pants if you’d let me. No way I was walking away from you without getting a taste.”
“Dude, that’s my cousin,” Nick tells Mammoth.
“She’s my wife,” he shoots back.
“There’s always too much information sharing with this family,” I add.
Arlo smiles, moving her elbow to the table and her chin to her palm. “Tell me more.”
“Anyway, we kissed a little the first night.”
“Wait, I thought you were going home the next day?” Arlo asks, confused.
“The compound went on lockdown.” Tamara shrugs like it’s no big deal, but it was a very big deal. “And we used our time wisely, keeping ourselves busy in other ways.”
Mammoth gives his wife a wink, smiling at her like she’s the most beautiful thing in the world. My cousin is beautiful, but she’s feisty as fuck. She truly was the female version of me…wild and free.
“You have such an interesting story,” Arlo tells Tamara. “You’ve never told me everything, but I knew you met at the compound.”
“There’s so much more I can tell you,” Tamara offers and leans forward. “But we’ll wait for the next book club.”
“Wait.” I lift a hand, scooting forward in my seat, keeping my hand on Arlo’s. “Are you all doing book club now? I thought Lily was the only reader.”
Gigi laughs. “Babe, we mostly drink and gossip, but we do read some spicy books too.”
“How spicy?” I ask.
“Freakishly hot. You’d turn fifty shades of red if you read some of the shit they read,” Jett tells me.
Lily’s head snaps to the side to face her husband. “You read the books?” Her mouth hangs open as she stares at him.
He nods. “Sometimes I pick them up and read a few pages. It’s enough to get an idea.”
“You can’t tell much from a few pages.”
Jett tilts his head, giving her a look. “I can tell a fuck of a lot from a few pages, baby. The shit you ladies read makes all of us look like choirboys.”
Lily giggles. “It’s fiction, sweetie. If you start acting like the men in the books, I’ll—”
“What’ll you do?” he challenges her, holding her gaze.
Arlo giggles softly. “You two are so cute together. You all are. I’m so happy Carmello took pity on me and invited me over today,” she says, smiling at me, making my chest ache in a funny way.
“You’re welcome back anytime, Arlo,” Lily tells her. “It’s not a one-time deal. Once you’re in, you’re in. Even after Carmello, you’re welcome for dinner.”
“After me?” I growl. “Who says there’s an after me?”
Every single person turns their eyes toward me, looking at me like I’ve gone off the deep end.
“Well, a month sneaks up on you quick,” Lily adds, fishing for details, probably knowing them all already.
“Don’t play games,” I tell Lily. “You know, don’t you?”
“Know what?” Gigi asks her, elbowing Lily in the ribs.
“Mello made it official with Arlo last night after he left the bar.”
Gigi’s mouth falls open, and there’s an audible gasp from the others at the table.
“The player is off the market?” Tamara asks me. “I mean, I assumed, but I didn’t know you made it official, official.”
Arlo squeezes my fingers this time. “We’re exclusive, but we’re going to take things slow,” she tells them.
“Remember what I told you,” Mammoth says, pointing a finger at me.
I give him the middle finger.
“Then you have to come over tonight to celebrate,” Lily says to Arlo, setting it up so there is no way Arlo can turn her down.
I know it and so does Arlo, but being sweet, she doesn’t call Lily out on her bullshit. “We’ll be there,” she answers for the two of us, something no one has ever done before.
And I’m oddly okay with it. Suddenly, I’m no longer a me, but a we.
17
“Do you want to come in?” Arlo asks when I walk her to her front door, always trying to be a gentleman with her.
I’d never been into chivalry. I was taught by my parents to have manners, but ninety-nine percent of the chicks I’d been with didn’t give two fucks about any of that as long as they got off.