19. Renovations
Renovations
Ow .
I would highly recommend waiting more than a couple of hours to ride a motorcycle after having sex. My vagina is struggling, and I don't even want to talk about my wobbly legs. I deserve this, though. I deserve the reminder that I caved into Jesse's wily advances.
But do I regret it? Do I wish I had enough discipline to keep it in my pants? If I said yes, that would be the biggest lie I've told all trip. I regret nothing, and that's the most worrisome part of this whole disaster.
I thought that finally doing the deed would cut through some of the built-up sexual tension between Jesse and me. Boy, I thought wrong. It's somehow become worse. It's like I got a taste of forbidden fruit, and now it's all I crave. It's all I think about. Ridiculous. Truly.
Every time I look at Jesse, all I see was a giant dick. Like, literally. A penis. A human dildo that I can't wait to put inside of me again. Who am I?! What have I become?! This is so problematic, it's not even funny .
"Here—" I huff, shoving my helmet into Jesse's chest as we dismount his bike. "Remember what we talked about, okay?"
"Relax." Jesse sighs, popping his collar as we scan the parking lot of The Flying Hog. I overheard Jesse on the phone with his dad. It'll take at least a couple of days to patch up the place. He nods at all The Sons members entering and exiting the bar with toolboxes. "No one's gonna know."
"They better not," I whisper harshly as Marlow bolts through the swinging doors, dressed in coveralls. She snaps her neck in our direction, and sprints toward us. Showtime . I swallow, pinching Jesse's thigh. "Act cool, got it?"
" You act cool," he grunts back, pinching my side.
"Ow!" I wince, elbowing him in the kidney. "That hurt!"
"Good," he mumbles with a smug smile. "That was the point."
I change my mind. He's a dick. Both definitions.
"Savvy!" Marlow tackles me with a tight hug, whipping me side-to-side. "Beau told me what happened last night." She grips my shoulders, pulling away as her concerned gaze sweeps my face. "Are you okay?" She glances up at Jesse. "She's okay, right?"
"Unfortunately, she seems to be just fine," Jesse says, giving me a combative side-eye. He places his knuckle on the top of my head and gives me a dang noogie. "Isn't that right, princess?"
"Stop it!" I slap his hand away, glowering at him. "Don't you have some holes to patch up or something? "
"Sure do." Jesse grins. "Good thing I know my way around a hole, huh?"
"Jesse!" I groan, shoving him as dread washes over. "I told you to?—"
"Oh my fucking God!" Marlow exclaims, her keen gaze darting between Jesse and me. "Well, I'll be damned." She crosses her arms, tapping her foot on the ground. "You guys finally did it, didn't you?"
"I'll see you girls around," Jesse sings, joining the boys inside the bar.
"Well, well, well," Marlow says, wiggling her brows. "Pot finally boiled over, I see."
"I don't want to talk about it," I say, facepalming. "No one was supposed to know. Ugh!" My eyes spring open. "Do you think Jesse's going to tell everyone now?"
"Nah." Marlow waves me off. "Jesse's a lot of things, but the man doesn't kiss and tell. When he and Andy were seeing each other, he never shared details. At least not with Beau, that is. I think you're safe."
"Andy, right." I sigh, forgetting they were also once intimate. "I love that for me." With a frustrated grunt, I pinch my nose. "She's gonna shank me if she finds out, isn't she?"
"Don't worry, babe." Marlow pats my shoulder playfully. "I'll protect you." She motions around my body. "This will be a shank-free zone. I got you."
"Thanks," I mutter as Pippa scrambles toward us. "Don't tell Pip, okay?"
"Sav!" Pippa pulls me into her suffocating arms. "Everyone's talking about what happened last night.
Are you okay?! That must have been so scary!
Let me take a look at you." I chuckle as she forces me to twirl around.
"Still adorable; that's a good sign." Her voice dips to a more serious tone.
"You doing okay, hun? I'm sure being shot at has shaken you up a bit, right? "
"Honestly, I'm fine," I say. "I was a bit rattled last night, but more so 'cause I was being shot at by a kid.”
"Yeah." Pippa sighs. "It's disgusting what those Vipers do.
" She clicks her tongue. "Wish we could help 'em all.
" Her phone alarm sounds. "Okay, well, listen, I gotta go pick up the kids from preschool now, but why don't you and Marlow come over tomorrow or something, and we can finalize a few things for the toy drive?
Jo's got everything planned so far, but we need a couple more ideas.
" She smiles at Marlow and me. "Could be fun? I'll make nachos and margs."
"I'm down," Marlow says, nodding at the bar. "A couple of the bullets hit the electrical panels and plumbing, so we won't be working for a while." She gives me a sly smile. "You won't be busy, will you, Savvy?"
"I'll be free," I say. Gosh, she's such a little antagonist sometimes. "Just text us later."
"Will do," Pippa says, trotting off to her mom-mobile as she waves to an Escalade parking beside her car.
Miguel gets out of the car, waving back at Pippa as he walks toward the bar. His nose scrunches up as he scans all the men with tool belts and ropes of electrical wiring. He briefly glances in my direction, offering a small smile. I return it, deflecting my gaze back to Marlow.
"You wanna help Beau and me?" Marlow asks, chuckling. "Well, at least I think it's helping. Your brother might disagree but like, why are there so many types of screwdrivers anyway. Me, I prefer a good Allen key, you know, the ones you get with Ikea..."
Marlow continues talking, but I tune her out as Billy and Jesse exit the clubhouse and meet Miguel in the center of the parking lot.
"William," Miguel hums. "Glad to see you're alive and well. What's going on here?"
"William?" Billy asks. "You trying to make an enemy out of me, Mendoza?"
Miguel expels an unamused laugh. "That depends. Do you have it?"
"We told you we'd have it." In the corner of my eye, I see Billy hand Miguel a duffle bag. "It's all there. Month's worth."
"Feels a little light," Miguel says. "Do I need to count?"
"Careful, Mendoza," Billy grunts. "Getting awfully close to offending me again."
"It was a joke," Miguel says. "Is your father always this serious?"
"We always take our business seriously," Jesse replies in a stern tone. "If we didn't, we'd be in jail."
"Right." Miguel snorts. "Well, I was going to grab some lunch at your bar today, but I take it you're closed?"
"For a few days," Jesse says. "Doing some much-needed renos."
"Renos?" Miguel asks, wary. Why is Jesse lying? "I see. Well, that's unfortunate. I guess I'll have to come back another time. "
"Guess so," Jesse says. "We all good here?"
Miguel pats the duffle bag. "For now. I'll see you around, Paxtons."
"...And then it almost fell right on top of me, so I guess I was supposed to use all those screws," Marlow continues talking my ear off as Miguel approaches us. She snaps her head in his direction. "Oh, hi, Miguel. What brings you here today? Bar's closed 'cause?—"
"A couple of pipes burst," I interject, cutting Marlow off. I don't know what she was going to say, but Miguel doesn't need two different stories. "So Jesse decided to upgrade a few things."
"So I've been told," Miguel says, studying me suspiciously. "For as long as I've known the Paxtons, they've never really been ones for upgrades." He looks over at Marlow. "Or changes."
"Guess there's a first for everything," I say, forcing a smile. "Plus, I'd prefer to serve drinks wearing heels versus gumboots." I lower my voice to a whisper, "They're not really my style."
"I'm sure they'd suit you just fine," Miguel says. He glances at Marlow. "Would you mind giving Savannah and me a moment? I'd like to discuss something with her."
"Wish I could, but duty calls." Marlow doesn't miss a beat with her protective instincts as she pulls a screwdriver from her pocket and latches onto my hand. "We got stuff to...upgrade. Maybe next time."
"No worries." Miguel's upper lip twitches for a second before he peers down at me. "Perhaps you'll give me a moment of your valuable time at the fundraiser next week?" I blink. "Toys for Tots? I'm still invited, aren't I? "
"Of course." I swallow. "As long as you bring a toy, you're more than welcome."
"In that case, I'll bring ten," he says, checking his watch. "Until next time, then."
"Bye," Marlow and I mutter in unison as he struts back toward his SUV.
"That guy's weird as fuck," Marlow says, dragging me into the bar. "Plus, he totally has a crush on you which is kinda gross cause he's like thirty-five. Like, find someone your own age, bro."
"Yeah," I hum, chewing on my bottom lip. "I can't seem to get a good read on him."
"Whatever," Marlow says as we stop just outside the bar. "Creeps be creeping." She fiddles with her thumbs for a second, hesitating before opening the doors. "Okay, so before we go in there, just remember what you said...they're just kids, right? And they don't know any better, okay?"
I frown. "What are you talking about?
Marlow slowly opens the doors to the bar and overlapping chatter fills my ears. Two young voices, in particular, stand out.
"That's not the right size, dumbass,” Carlos snaps. "Use this one."
"You're the dumbass!" Zack barks back.
"Hey! None of that! We work together , understood?
" Jo's reprimanding voice silences the bickering as Marlow and I step inside the bar.
"That's better." My gaze snaps to the boys huddled in front of a high-top table, a toolbox on the ground beside them.
"Oh, Savannah..." Unsure of how to react, I stare at Jo as she waves me over. "Come here, please."
"Go," Marlow whispers, giving me a little shove. "You'll be fine."
"Jo?" I ask, keeping my attention on the two boys who refuse to look at me. "What's...what's going on here?"
"Boys, stand up," Jo orders. They both don't move, pretending to search through the toolbox. "I said stand up."
Sheepishly, Zack and Carlos rise to their feet, continuing to stare at their shoes.
"Is there something you'd like to say to Savannah?" Jo clears her throat. "Carlos?"
"I'm uh—" He fiddles with the zipper on his hoodie.
"I'm sorry for umm...shooting at you last night, okay?
I...I—" He swallows, slowly lifting his head up, his glossy eyes meeting mine for the first time.
He sniffles, wiping his nose. "I wasn't even umm.
..aiming at you. I just"—more sniffling—"I just wanted to scare you. "
I glance at Jo, and something tells me that these boys already got a stern lecture on the dangers of firearms. I put in my two cents anyway.
"I'm surprised you didn't hurt yourself,” I say, giving Carlos a keen once over. “You're a bit too small to handle a nine-millimeter."
"He did," Zack chimes in, gaining confidence to talk to me. "His shoulder's all?—"
"Shut up," Carlos grunts, elbowing Zack. "Don't tell her that!” With a sheepish wince, he peers up at me. “Do you...you forgive me?”
I tilt my head. "You gonna shoot at me again? "
"No ma'am," Carlos says, glancing up at Jo, who gives him an encouraging smile.
"Then yes, I forgive you," I say, my heart still aching from the memory. "Do you forgive me ?"
Carlos frowns. "For what?"
"Aiming a gun at you," I say in a solemn tone. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do, was it?"
"Well, we were trying to—" He swallows, cringing. "But yeah, um...I forgive you too."
"Good.” I smile down at Carlos then nod at Jo, needing an explanation. "Jo? A word?"
"You boys keep working," Jo says, placing her hand on my back as she leads me away from Zack and Carlos. "Now, I understand if this is upsetting for you, Savannah, but we wouldn't just send those boys back to Nevada.”
I blink. "Upset? I'm not upset; I'm just...confused. Who are they? Are they with the Vipers?"
"Yeah." Jo sighs, watching Jesse and Ryder bring the young boys a couple of water bottles.
"Jimmy and Tiny caught up with them last night.
Wasn't hard. Those boys are only fifteen years old; isn't that fucked?
" She glances at me. "Vipers found 'em sleeping under a bridge a few months ago.
Both of 'em ran away from their foster homes.
Apparently, a cold bridge was a better home than the one they were living in. Can you imagine that?"
"That's so sad," I mutter with a heavy heart. "What're you gonna do with them? Send them back eventually?”
"Nah," Jo says. "When we bring strays in, we tend to keep 'em." She gives a little smile. "Like your brother."
"Right," I hum. "Well, where are they gonna live? With you? "
"Me? No, I don't have the patience to raise another teenager, let alone two." Jo snorts. "They're gonna stay with Andy. We'll be helping her out, but she'll be in charge of them."
"Andy? Seriously?" I ask, frowning. "She doesn't really give off motherly vibes."
"No, but she knows what they're going through," Jo explains.
"That girl's had a rough life. She'll be able to relate to them.
I think it'll be good for her too. Keep her out of trouble.
" Jo clicks her tongue as Jesse rounds the corner.
"Okay, well, I'll be fixing some lunch in the kitchen if you need me.
" She pats Jesse’s chest as he stops in front of us. "Everything's good with Miguel?"
"Yup," Jesse mutters. "All good."
"Good," Jo says before walking away.
"You doing okay?" Jesse asks, placing a subtle hand on the small of my back as we watch the two boys fight over a screwdriver. "I had a feeling Jo would keep 'em."
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, relaxing into his touch. "But will they be fine? This ain't normal life for a kid."
"Those boys were fucked from the get-go," Jesse says. "Might not be normal, but at least they'll be safe. Plus"—he gives me a weak grin—"I turned out alright, didn't I?" I roll my eyes and Jesse expels a soft laugh. "Ouch, princess. You wound me."
"You'll survive," I say as Beau and Marlow wave me over to an electrical panel. "I'll see you later."
"Don't shock yourself," Jesse whispers, arching into me as he pinches my ass. "Daddy needs you alive and well."
My jaw drops. "Jesse! "
He blows me a kiss, then draws a heart in the air. My cheeks burn. Ballsy little beast, ain’t he? I flip him the bird, grinning like a fool.
What an idiot.
I hope nobody saw that.