I laugh. “I love you. You can try to avoid him if you want, but I think he’ll make it hard.”
“I’m here for you, not him,” she says.
I reach out and grab her hand. “It’s okay if you want to have some fun, too.”
“This is all the fun I need.”
We lay back to enjoy the silence, and support. I think that’s the beauty of a good friend. You don’t have to say anything because they hear your heart.
Shadow
“You ready for this, brother?” Skull asks from our position posted by the bar.
The church meetings are over and now the party starts. We’re all gathered in the large bar at the new compound waiting for the old ladies on the admission list to come in with the biker babes the King chasers brought in for fun.
“Hell yeah, man. Past ready. I been craving this moment for as long as I can remember. This shit kept me sane in jail,” I say.
“Damn, dude. Seeing you like this makes me think this is possible.” Skull looks stunned.
“What? Having an Old Lady?”
“Having something more than a bed warming partner.”
“You getting serious with, Ruthie?”
“I don’t know, man. She’s a fun girl. But I don’t think I can give her what she’s looking for. The settle down and do kids things.” Skull shrugs.
“Better figure it out soon, before you both get in too deep. Enough people see her with you and she’ll get branded as yours regardless.”
“Yeah, I know. I plan on making or breaking it this weekend,” Skull says. For once, my grinning friend looks serious. Whatever she did to him, he must’ve liked it enough to give her serious consideration. It’s practically a miracle for a playboy like him.
“Do what makes you happy, brother. Life’s too short for anything else. Trust me.”
“I hear you,” Skull says.
Psycho walks over.
“I’m going to mingle,” Skull mutters, walking off.
“Hey, Psych.” I salute him with my beer.
“How you doing, son?”
“Good.”
“No jitters?”
“No, I want this.”
“Hmm. You know when it comes to my daughter that shit’s family and not club business, right?”
“Yeah, I get that.” I raise an eyebrow. “You got a problem with me all of a sudden?”
“I got a problem letting go of my little girl. It’s different having a girl than it is with a boy.”
“I bet. She’s solid though, Psych. I don’t need to tell you bullshit about treating her right. If I didn’t, she wouldn’t have agreed to it. You see I had to work for this shit.”
Psych laughs. “Yeah, that’s why I knew you were the one for her.”