Chapter 31
Lacy
What a strange night. I had so much fun getting to know Jimmy, then I got a car, and went to the clubhouse. Walking inside was overwhelming. It felt so good to be there. Nothing ever felt quite so much like going home. But the voice in the back of my head was still unsure, and I was trying not to ignore that anymore. But the pull to stay was intense.
We didn’t talk much after we left his bathroom. We poured our emotions into each other with our bodies, instead. He had a hard time letting me go, but he mentioned before I left that they had some stuff happening and he may not be around all the time. He assured me he’d touch base with me as much as he could.
There had been a lot of tension since Daisy and I arrived, even after they handled Tony. Something was still up in the air. I suspected it had to do with Raven, but I only had bits and pieces. The guys had a code and that included keeping the women in the dark. Mama Hen explained it was better that way. What we didn’t know couldn’t be used against us. I wasn’t supposed to know about Tony, but Falcon got loose-lipped with Daisy after it all happened. And, naturally, she told me.
I hadn’t slept well at all, unsure if he ended up going out once I left, or what the next few days would look like. He never really told me about runs before. He’d mention when he had to go back to Jersey, but for the local stuff, he usually just took off. I wasn’t sure if he told me because it was more serious than normal, or because he was trying to be more open with me. Either way, I was a ball of nerves.
Rolling over to grab my phone off the nightstand, I checked and saw I had messages. So much changed in such a short time. It felt like I’d been at Jeannie’s for ages now, but it had only been a week. In the blink of an eye I had a phone, a car, a backup place to stay until I sorted things out with Eagle, a job, and even friends who missed me. And I went from feeling alone to feeling cherished and desired.
Eddie, as I had him saved, texted me good morning, so I replied back. He asked if I was working today and mentioned he’d be unavailable later. I had work, then after that, who knew? I had a car. And just because he wasn’t at the clubhouse didn’t mean I couldn’t go, right? Daisy was there and Mama Hen would probably be there by then, too. Her shifts seemed to be when she wanted to work. But if your family owns your club, you probably could work when you wanted.
Plus, there were plenty of DE cuts wandering around. Mama Hen probably handled the business stuff and left the rest to the guys. What a sweet gig.
There was another text and I sat up, grinning. My old friend finally replied to me. Shiv had been my nanny when I was younger, but she wasn’t much older than me even though she seemed to be back then. Her family lived next door and I think Mom was opposed to a real nanny that was over eighteen, since her prick of a husband seemed to have a wandering eye.
I had fired off texts to a few numbers, unsure if I was getting the digits correct. It had been so long since I spoke to her, and the phone that had her number saved was long gone when I got mixed up with Tony.
Shiv : Holy fuckballs, is that you?
Me : Is this really you? I wasn’t sure I remembered the number!
I barely hit send when my phone rang. It was the number she texted me from. “Shiv? Oh my God! I found you!”
“You mean I found you! Holy hell, I’ve been trying to find you for over a year!” she practically squealed into the phone. “Are you okay? I know you got bad off there for a while, but you at least checked in occasionally. What the fuck has been going on?”
I tried to give her the abridged version of the last year and a half.
She gasped into the phone. “Lacy! Shit! So, you’re in Georgia now? So crazy.”
“It is. But I like it here. It’s different and nobody knows me. Well, except a few people I’ve been staying with. What are you up to? I miss you,” I said as I fell to the pillow. Speaking to her took me back to the fun sleepovers we had when our parents were out all night at galas.
“Well, I finally finished school. Which sucks because now they’re trying to marry me off. I stayed a student as long as I could. But I’ve tapped out on letters behind my name.”
Shiv’s family was from Trinidad and Hindu. They were trying to encourage her to marry out of high school, but also showed support once she said she wished to first go to college so she could fully focus on family once she was done. She clearly dragged it out quite some time because she was thirty now.
“Hey, I texted you days ago. Why did you just reply if you’ve been looking for me?” I asked.
“I was at a conference and the signal was garbage. I saw it yesterday, but honestly, I stared at it for a while not sure if it was really you or someone maybe looking for you?” she asked more of a question than a statement.
“I get that. But I’m glad you answered. Not to sound clich é , but maybe when things calm down here, we can visit. But I don’t want to go back home. Maybe halfway?”
“Well, you may not believe this but I’m leaving Florida today. I could change my flight to visit. Unless that’s obnoxious. Never mind! I shouldn’t assume I can just fly in anytime!”
“Stop!” I bolted back up on the bed. “Please come! I can pick you up from the airport. How soon can you find the times? I work later, but I can leave early if I need to!”
“Slow down. If I switch, it’ll probably be later before I can get in. Airports are a pain.”
I hadn’t flown since I was a teen, but airports were busy and miserable. I’d never been to the Atlanta airport, but everyone knew it was one of the largest ones anywhere. “Find out what time you can get in and tell me where to pick you up. Do I need to come inside?”
“Hell no. I’ll tell you the gate and meet you out there. Just circle so you don’t have to pay to park. Holy shit, I can’t believe I’m going to see you today!”
Squirming and trying to quietly squeal so I didn’t disturb Jeannie, we ended the call and I hopped up to shower and get ready for the day. By the time I was out of the shower, Shiv had messaged me back and she’d be in by seven-thirty.
I looked up the route from work to the airport and it was much closer than Jeannie’s house. Perfect. Still, I’d ask Mama Hen about cutting out a few minutes early for traffic, but it shouldn’t be too terrible.
As I was filling my coffee mug, Jeannie shuffled down the hall and came in. “Hey girl. You’re up early,” she said.
“I didn’t lounge as much. Too excited.” I handed her a mug with some coffee. “I talked to a friend from ages ago this morning. Can she hang here a few days? I promise she’s not a freeloader, but I sort of asked her to visit on a whim.”
Jeannie stirred her creamer. “I don’t care. I don’t have the other room made up, but she’s welcome to crash wherever she can find a spot.”
“Oh, she can sleep with me. She used to be my nanny so we’ve shared a bed lots of times.”
Jeannie’s brows shot up.
“Oh, not that way. But we’d pass out together reading or watching movies. You’ll like her. But she’s not…umm–”
“A dancer? It’s okay, Lacy. There’s actually not many of us in the grand scheme of things. I don’t assume everyone pays their bills the way we do.”
Nodding and taking a sip of coffee I said, “She’s cool. Oh! I have news!”
Jeannie put her mug down and looked like I was about to share the secret of youth.
“Well, I don’t know how cool it is, but I have a car!”
Jeannie grabbed my free hand and squeezed. “That was fast, girl. You must be killing it on day shift! That’s awesome.”
“Oh. Well, I’m doing alright there, but Eagle gave it to me. Well, his dad sort of did? But either way, I have a car! He signed the title over to me and everything!”
“Shit! Even better! Jimmy is pretty cool. Wouldn’t mind taking that for a spin if you feel me,” she said as she waggled her brows.
“We had dinner with him last night. He’s a good-looking man, and he’s so sweet. He even put Eagle in his place. It was fun.” I didn’t want to tell her about the crazy moment that I thought they wanted to try a three-way. That would probably only make her more giddy. “You should shoot your shot.”
“Ha! I may be too much for him. I’ve met him and I’m sure he has reasons for not patching in, so I don’t know if we’d mesh well.” Jeannie’s excitement melted into an endearing smile. “Listen, you stay as long as you need, but I won’t be mad if you go back. A little sad and lonely maybe,” she said with a chuckle, “but I’ll see you at the clubhouse, I guess.”
“I’m not leaving yet,” I said with a shrug.
She smirked. “I know that look. That swoony, heart-squeezy, panty-melty, googly eyes. You’ll be gone by the end of the weekend.”
“Truth? I wanna go. Right now. I appreciate you so much, Jeannie, but being there just feels right.”
“I feel another ‘but’ coming,” she said before taking another sip of coffee.
Shaking my head, I said, “I can’t put my finger on it. But something feels…off. And I worry if I go back now, things will go right back the way they were.”
Jeannie put her mug down and pulled mine from my hand and set it next to hers. Grabbing me by the shoulders, she looked me in the eye. “That won’t happen. You know how I know?” My head shook but she continued. “Because you found your voice, realized your worth, and know you have options. You’re unstoppable now and I feel sorry for any man who tries to defy you.”
Pulling her in, I let out a ragged breath. Tears filled my eyes, but instead of sadness, I felt relief. Jeannie’s words were what had been buried deep inside and I was scared to acknowledge. But she was right. I stood up for myself and I’d do it again if necessary. And while I knew it would crush me if things didn’t work out with him, I would be fine eventually. I was stronger than I wanted to admit. But something told me Eddie wouldn’t hurt me again–not if he had anything to do with it. Their lifestyle meant that forever may be cut short, but I’d rather have a little amazing with him than a lifetime without him.
“Goddammit, Jeannie,” I said with a sniffle. “You should have a daytime talk show.”
“ No thank you ,” she said. “I prefer working under a pseudonym and milking men for all they have.” We both had a good belly laugh. I enjoyed dancing for the dressing up, but having so much control was fun, too. “Seriously, though. I don’t need any women looking up to me. What few nuggets of wisdom I spit out are balanced by all the bad decisions I’ve made and all the strange dick I’ve had.” She gave me a wink then went to sit in the living room.
I headed back to my room and looked around. If Shiv wasn’t coming, I’d pack it all up and head to the clubhouse after work. But I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about the bikers. We grew up in an affluent area and she was a highly educated woman. I knew she graduated medical school from the last time I spoke to her, but it seems she went back to college. She mentioned lots of initials after her name, and that could be anything, but it meant she was someone. She’d done something amazing with her life and may not be comfortable with a bunch of outlaw men and scantily dressed ladies.
She knew I was a dancer after the periodic times I caught up with her after I left home. But she didn’t know about Tony, and I’d have to fill her in later on Eagle and my current living situation. One thing about Shiv was she never was pretentious. Everyone else around us was. That’s probably why even though at the time she seemed so much older and wiser than I was, we bonded so easily when she was my nanny. As an adult, the six years’ difference wasn’t much at all.
Deciding I’d leave it up to her where we slept, I grabbed my clothes and things from the bathroom. Honestly, I still didn’t have much to my name, so it wasn’t a lot to carry around, even if we ended up coming back here later. Maybe she wasn’t even planning to stay. I could be overthinking this. She could have just changed her flight to have a connection through Atlanta long enough to say hello and then leave. We didn’t really get into details. If that was the case, I’d go to the clubhouse afterwards.
Being back in his room and surrounded by everyone just felt right. Jeannie’s home was lovely, but she and I were like two ships in the night anyway, since our schedules were different. At the clubhouse, I was never alone. And I missed that almost as much as I missed Eagle.
Just in case I didn’t make it back here, I tidied my room and did a quick cleanup in the bathroom. I wanted to leave it as I found it. After I finished up, I put my coffee mug away and cleaned up the kitchen before I finally left for work, giddy at all the possible events ahead.