Baylee giggles. “I’m just glad to see last night didn’t turn out as awful as it could have for all of us girls. That was so cruel. I’m saddened that stuff can happen.”
“Shitty world sometimes,” I muse. “But we find the good parts and cherish them. I found my good part and she’s in my arms now.”
Baylee snuggles against me. It’s nice being out here with a friend and his girl. It’s a bit saccharine, but saccharine can be pretty damn good sometimes. Plus, if Edge is here, I don’t have to worry about him getting pissed that I’m not at the garage yet.
“I talked to Scar,” Edge says as he finishes his coffee. “You two are welcome to hang around here as long as you want. You’re our guests. Debbie will help you get some clothes even, you don’t have to wear our t-shirts, as sexy as you look in them.”
I look Baylee up and down, slowly letting my gaze roll over her legs. “Very sexy indeed.”
“Blaze and I gotta head into the shop and fiddle with our wrenches for a few hours. As much as I think you two might like to see that, I bet you both need some time to unwind.”
“A long bath sounds nice,” Tara sighed. “I still feel dirty, and not the good kind of dirty either.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Baylee agrees. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back, Blaze.”
The unspoken message dancing behind her eyes is, ‘I’ll be ready for you.’ Damn, I want to unzip my pants and fuck her right here, audience be damned. Instead, I call on my iron will and pull myself up to stand.
I’m out of coffee and it’s getting late. “We better get moving. You girls take care of yourselves, and let us know if we gotta break anybody else’s ass for showing you two disrespect.”
More laughter.
Edge and I head back into the club and toward the kitchen drop off our mugs. Once we’re out of earshot of our ladies, I slap him on the back with a smile. “Amazing girls we got, don’t we?”
“Hell yeah, brother. Hell yeah.”
12
BAYLEE
For the first time in a long time, I’m living without an impending sense of dread. The fear that everything is going to go wrong, because I’m going to say something that’ll make my drunken father flip out, or something that’d make Uncle Jericho needle me and destroy what little self-esteem I managed to build.
I don’t feel that here. There’s security here. Which makes me laugh. It’s a biker bar with a biker clubhouse attached. It’s full of the roughest people in the country, the type who tumble off a motorcycle going a hundred miles an hour, shrug, get back up and ride the same motorcycle again. The type of people who get into fist fights for fun.
The type of people who would raid a trafficking ring to save a bunch of girls being forced to sell their virginity.
I enjoy my bath. A guy like Blaze doesn’t have the fanciest soap on hand, but Debbie, the ‘old lady’ of one of the elder members of the club, was there to provide me with something nicer, and some clean clothes. Such a sweet woman, you’d never expect that she is married to someone who’s been in this club for forty years.
I can only stay in the tub so long before I prune up. I get out, and get dressed. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt to call my own. They don’t fit perfectly, but I can’t complain when they were found for me on such short notice. I go to the bar, and Tara’s there enjoying some tacos. I chuckle at the absurdity of a place like this having a taco night.
“Hey, Baylee. You should get some of these, they’re really good.”
“I think I will, I’m pretty hungry.” I wave to the cook, who nods. I realize then I have no money on me. “Uh... on second thought...”
He shakes his head. “Don’t you even worry about paying, you two are guests of the club.”
Tara smiles. “I could get used to this. A hot guy AND free tacos?”
“I’m glad to see you’ve gotten over what’s happened.”
“I’m not, I’m just really happy right now, trying to focus on the moment,” she replies. “Still pissed that I was foolish enough to end up there.”
“Your father set you up to sell your virginity too?”
Her jaw drops at that revelation, then she shakes her head. “Nah. There was a job offer to be a model. In this town. I should have known better, but I fucked up and wound up with a bag over my head the minute I mentioned I’ve never had a serious boyfriend.”
I shudder. “Men.”
“These men are pretty swell. Just the rest of the gender batting about.400 for me right now.”