I shake my head and head to the main room. “Fucking woman.”
“Having relationship problems?” Saint snickers.
I flip him off. Flopping onto the couch, I take a long drag off my pen. Hollywood sits on the couch across from me.
“What’s got you so down in the dumps,” he asks.
“I’m not down. I have a ton of shit on my mind,” I tell him.
“Yeah, okay. Keep tellin’ yourself that,” he says. “Let me guess— you also don’t have any feelings for Marley?”
I scowl at him. “The only type of feelings I have for her are irritation and frustration.”
“Sexual frustration,” Saint adds.
“Fuck you,” I say to Saint. Hollywood laughs.
“I’ll pass. I’m not a cut bunny.” Saint grins.
“You act like there’s no sexual tension between you and a certain female associated with the club,” Hollywood says to him.
Saint snaps his eyes to Hollywood. “And who might that be?”
Hollywood laughs. “Really? You and Rivet dance around each other worse than anyone.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Saint states.
“Deny it till you’re blue in the face, but we all see it,” I tell him.
“Yeah, well, what about you and Tink?” Saint gives a sly smile. I glance at Hollywood, but his face gives nothing away.
“What about us? We’re friends, sure, but that’s all we’ll ever be,” Hollywood says.
A small gasp comes from behind me. I turn around in time to see Tink retreating down the hallway. When I turn back to Hollywood, his face is pale but still shows no emotion.
“You sure about that,” Saint asks and walks away before anyone replies.
“What was all that about?”
Hollywood shakes his head. “Nothing.”
He obviously doesn’t want to talk about whatever is going on. I don’t blame him because I don’t want to talk to anyone about the Marley situation either. Tink’s reaction to what Hollywood said spoke volumes, though. Hollywood pulls out a joint and lights it up. He takes a couple puffs before passing it to me.
We spend the rest of the night chillin’ and bullshittin’, while other brothers are hanging out playing pool. We’ve had more nights like this than party nights lately, and it’s been refreshing. Part of me hopes we keep it up. It makes the parties that much better.
13
Marley
I spend the rest of the week doing my best to avoid Rascal. I was pretty hateful toward him when he got back from Colorado, but I didn’t want him pretending to care when I know he doesn’t. Nikolay, the Sovietnik of the Orlov Bratva, knew my mother. He believes he’s my father and I’ve spent all week thinking about it. I didn’t give him the chance to explain his relationship with my mother or why he wasn’t around if he is my father. It was too much to handle.
It’s Saturday, and I’m sitting in the main room, reading my book when Minx and Sienna walk in.
“Marley! We need to go to the mall to pick up some of our things for next weekend. You wanna come,” Minx asks me.
“Sure! It’ll do me some good to get out of the clubhouse.” I smile at her.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Rascal pops in out of nowhere.
“The hell I’m not!”
“You’re not going anywhere without me, and I’m not fucking going shopping,” he says to me.
“Ugh! You’re so infuriating,” I shout at him.
“And you’re a pain in my ass,” he growls out.
“Alright, both of you knock it off,” Minx says to us. “Rascal, you’re going to let her go because Raze and Shade are coming, too. You don’t even have to come if you don’t want to.”
Rascal sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine, we’ll go, but I’m riding my fucking bike.”
I smirk and high five Minx.
“But,” Rascal says. “if there’s anything that poses a threat to your safety, we leave.”
“Deal,” I agree.
Thirty minutes later, we’re walking around the mall. Sienna, Minx, and I are walking a couple feet in front of the guys so we can talk without their interruptions. Our first stop is to pick up all the dresses. There are eight in total, all different colors. The dresses are the only thing we’re picking up for everyone. Accessories and shoes, they have to get on their own.
Once we pick up the dresses, they’re bagged four to a bag. Thankfully the bags are grey, and the guys can’t see what the dresses look like. If they saw them, it would ruin the surprise.
“So when do we get to see these dresses,” Shade asks.
“Not until next weekend,” Sienna tells him.
“Why does it matter?” Rascal cocks an eyebrow.
“Because if y’all see them now, then they won’t have the wow effect we’re hoping for,” Minx says. “So shut up and deal with it.”
Rascal glances at Raze. “Do you hear the way your Ol’ Lady talks to me?”
Raze shrugs. “She does what she wants.”
Shock crosses Rascal’s face, and I laugh, earning myself a glare from him. We continue shopping, finding our way to a shoe store that has several rows of different types of shoes. Sienna drags me into the store, and I pull Minx in with us.
“I’ll wait out here,” Rascal says from behind us. There are mumbles from the other two as well. Glancing over my shoulder, three of them sit on a bench outside the store, watching our every move.
“Look at these!” Minx points to a pair of ankle strap heels. “It looks like they come in all the colors the dresses are in.”
“Send a picture to the others,” I suggest. “See what they think.”
“Hell, I don’t care what they think. I’m trying them on,” Sienna says. She finds her size and slips them on.
“Oh yeah, those are gorgeous,” I tell her.
“They’re pretty comfy, too,” she gushes. “I’m going to buy them.”
“I’m going to buy a pair, too,” Minx says.
“Me, too,” I add. Minx and I find the colors and sizes we need, and the three of us head to the cashier. We check out and start for the exit.
“Do y’all want to look for accessories here,” Minx asks.
“I think I’m going to order some online,” I tell them.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Sienna says.
We walk out of the store toward the guys. A guy walks by, behind them, with a familiar tattoo. I stop dead in my tracks, a tightness in my chest completely taking over. I drop my bag as I find it more difficult to breathe. Rascal shows up in front of me, his lips moving, but I don’t hear what he’s saying.
“Marley, Marley. Focus on my voice,” Rascal says. He grabs my hand, placing it on his chest, directly over his heart, and covers my hand with his. “Breathe, Princess. Take a deep breath in . . . and let it out.”
I focus on his words, doing as he says. After ten minutes or so, I finally start to calm down.
“How are you feeling,” Rascal asks.