Chapter 10 #2
He cleared his throat, looked me up and down, then walked away. I slumped against the doorframe. Being that close to him was not good for my health. My heart was racing a mile a minute. I clutched at the front of my t-shirt and took a deep breath.
“What was that guy’s name again?”
I grabbed Connor’s sneaker from the floor and threw it at Warren as he hurried down the hallway. At least he was laughing. But he was dead if he insinuated anything like that again.
The next day, after a quick catch up with Declan before he headed to work, I sat chatting with Lily and Isla. I was settling into the old lady’s house and getting to know everyone. They were giving me the low down on the club whores and surprisingly, it was Lily who had taken them in hand.
They weren’t allowed to stray from the designated areas Lily set for them. Their limits were the clubhouse, using the pool only at certain times and the rooms they’d been allocated in the annex, where before they used to wander all over. Like lizards.
I found it amusing Lily could overlook the criminal activity that went on within the MC, but she eyed the club whores like they were the devil’s own children.
She had run an errand in town and brought us all back cappuccinos from a local coffee shop.
I’d eyed up the pool because it was hot, and Lily took it upon herself to ban the whores from the pool for the rest of the day so the old ladies could use it.
I’d loaned a two piece from one of the other girls.
Lana was eight months pregnant and planning her wedding as soon as the baby was born.
She’d sighed when she saw me in the bikini, bemoaning her ‘huge’ belly, though she barely looked pregnant from behind.
I swam in the pool with Naomi and Isla while the other ladies drank and sunbathed. Itchy, a prospect came out to grill some burgers for us when it started getting later and a few more of the brothers had come out to join us, including most of the ladies’ husbands.
Some of the kids had returned from school and joined us out in the pool too. Casper was handing out drinks from a cooler and everyone was having a good time. There was music, dancing, and laughter, but it wasn’t a wild party atmosphere.
It was a pre-cursor to the party that would be happening tomorrow, when the girls could mingle again.
They were watching through the windows of the annex building, desperate to come out, but Lily told them smugly it was family only.
Anyone who wanted time with one of them had to leave the party and strangely enough, nobody did.
Even King had come out for a burger and beer and was sitting at a shaded table with some of his officers.
Hudson was with a few of the other guys near the grill.
It was odd to see him laughing and enjoying himself.
Whatever the lead was they went after yesterday, had them all happy. No one would tell me what, obviously.
I looked at Hudson more than a few times as day turned to night, trying to catch if he was doing the same, like those women implied. He’d always been sexy, but the years had been good to him.
It was scary how well he wore his t-shirt and basketball shorts. I enjoyed looking at him, but it also made me sad to think about what could have been if everything hadn’t gone to shit.
Connor had been with me since the men joined the party.
We’d talked some yesterday about his relationship with my brother while we walked around the lake in the compound.
Connor told me their ‘thing’ had been going on for about eight years, but they’d seriously accepted they were exclusively committed to each other about four years ago.
Connor had a house away from the club, which was where they hung out.
“And it’s not all fucking, all the time,” he had told me, with the most serious look on his face.
Seeing my brother screwing the man he loved one time was enough for me, thank you very much, and I’d told Connor I didn’t need any details about their sex life.
He’d laughed then as he told me they talk, watch TV, do the things that normal people do.
It made me sad to hear him think of them as only being normal when they were hidden away from the club.
Right now he was cracking jokes, keeping everyone laughing as two other guys lit a small bonfire to keep us warm.
After a while, Warren gravitated over to us, where we sat on our own picnic bench.
I’d borrowed a top from Connor as a bikini cover up and he’d snagged a blanket from somewhere for my legs.
Warren handed me a beer and Connor a soda.
He frowned at it, but he took it without argument.
Warren was on my side, but I noticed he had pressed his ankle into Connor’s under the table.
I had a soft smile on my face, knowing my brother had someone who cared for him the way Connor did.
They were good at hiding it behind their friendship.
“You’re being obvious.”
I jumped at the voice by my ear. Hudson moved to sit down next to Connor and drank half of his beer, keeping an eye on me. Warren acknowledged his arrival with a nod, but continued his conversation with Connor about a show they were watching on Hulu.
I lowered my gaze to my beer and cringed. He was right. I was staring at them and needed to be more careful. They had kept this secret for years. I couldn’t ruin it for them.
After a while, Hudson called for more beers and a prospect came running over, handing them out. Connor and Warren were still wrapped up in their discussion, which had now moved on to football.
“So, that bar we found you at? You run it?”
I looked up in surprise. I wasn’t expecting Hudson to ask me anything, given he’d sat at the table for fifteen minutes without a word, as I had one ear on the boys while watching my dad.
“Yeah, I’m the manager.”
“Seemed like a good place. Good band.”
“They are, yeah. Declan manages them.”
“Declan,” he said it as if he tasted something foul on his tongue. “That’s the guy, your…”
“Boyfriend?” I asked sweetly.
He rolled his eyes. “I’m fucking trying, okay?”
I bit my lip and looked at him in surprise. I wasn’t expecting that, not even after Warren told him to cool it with me yesterday. I ran a hand through my hair, it had dried in crazy waves down my back.
“Yeah, he’s…we’re dating. I help him out booking the bands he manages.”
Hudson nodded, looking over my head for a second. “You’ve done well. It looked like things worked out for you.”
“They have. Thank you,” I murmured peeling at the label on my bottle.
“God it’s like Chinese water torture,” Connor piped up, leaning towards us. “Next you’ll be asking about the weather.”
Hudson shoved him so hard he almost fell off the bench.
“Bro, your flirting skills need work.”
“I am not flirting,” Hudson gritted out through his teeth, watching Connor claw his way back up onto the bench. “So shut the fuck up unless you want a fist to the face.”
“Hit him and I’ll mess you up,” Warren drawled, a finger and thumb around the neck of his bottle as he lazily sipped from it.
“You were like this when we were kids,” Connor carried on as if no one threatened to throw punches. “Back and forth for years. It’s like some weird Hudson, Waverley mating ritual.”
“For fucks sake,” Hudson tipped his head up and looked at the sky.
Even in the dim light, I could see the redness around his neck. He always flushed there when he got embarrassed. That couldn’t be right though, why the hell would he be embarrassed?
“You’re quiet over there,” Connor focused his attention on me.
“I’m just enjoying the show.”
“Oh I can get down with that. Hud take off your top. Show her those muscles you’ve built up over the last few years, that ought to get her hot for you.”
“Con,” Warren shook his head and Connor looked over, realizing he was pushing it.
“Okay, we can all stay dressed but at least we should start being honest, you know, given our situation is common knowledge,” he said that last part quietly at least. “We all know you are meant to be together. You’re here, she’s here, what the fuck is the problem?”
“Leave it,” Hudson said, drinking more of his beer but his face showed how hard he was holding himself back.
“What? I’m speaking the truth. I don’t want her to leave, and you are gonna fuck it all up again and she’ll go, and we won’t see her for another fucking five years. I missed her.”
“Connor,” I said, placating. I’d noticed a few people looking over. “I won’t disappear. I promise.”
I was stunned at his outburst, but I didn’t know how deep the trauma to his brain had gone, I’d seen flashes of it, but I could see the darkness taking over his eyes the more worked up he got.
“You will because this asshole right here is going to push you away. You think I didn’t hear what you did the night she arrived?” he snapped his angry look back to Hudson. “Smokey told me all about that shit. You’re doing it all over again. Exactly what you did to her the night she left.”
“Connor, shut your fucking mouth!” Hudson growled causing Warren to get to his feet and lean across the table to put a hand onto Hudson’s shoulder.
“Don’t,” Warren said in a low voice. “If you can’t handle what he is saying then walk the fuck away. Do not push this.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Hudson looked at me as he trailed off.
I’d remained silent because I was no longer a part of this dynamic and I didn’t want to say anything that would set either Connor or Hudson off more. I’d never be able to calm Hudson, he wouldn’t let me, so I figured the best way to defuse this was to distract Connor.
I got up and went around to him. Hudson and Warren watched me with wary eyes.
“Hey, Con,” I touched his arm. He was glaring at Hudson like he wanted to kill him. At my touch he jumped and turned his head. “Wanna dance?”
“Huh?”
“Come dance with me.”