Chapter Seven
Oliver
I shut off the bike and looked up at the familiar brick building.
The Social Club looked exactly the way it always did. Big front windows. Black awning. Fallen Lords sign hanging above the entrance. A line of bikes already filled the curb, making it obvious we weren’t the first ones there.
Behind me, I heard Lark climb off my bike.
She slipped the borrowed helmet off, tucked it against her hip, and shaded her eyes with one hand as she looked up at the building.
“This...” She glanced over at me. “This was not at all where I thought we were going.”
I unhooked my own helmet and hung it on the handlebar. “No?”
She slowly turned back toward the Social Club.
“I mean...” She pointed toward the front doors. “Did you see how well I cleaned the Dairy Bar yesterday and think I could come clean the Social Club?”
I couldn’t help the corner of my mouth from lifting. I shook my head. “Nah.”
“No?”
“We’re here because Alice and the girls are going stir crazy.”
That got her full attention. She blinked. “They are?”
I nodded once.
“I would’ve figured they’d be used to being locked down at the clubhouse.”
A quiet laugh escaped me.
She looked over immediately. “What?”
“You don’t really know Alice...” I motioned for her to follow me toward the front sidewalk. “...or the girls.”
Lark hurried to catch up beside me. “I’m sensing there’s a story there.”
“There are a lot of stories there.”
“Should I be worried?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
I opened the gate leading toward the entrance. “No.”
She looked at me suspiciously. “I feel like that’s not a reassuring answer.”
“It isn’t supposed to be.”
She sighed dramatically. “Fantastic.”
We reached the sidewalk, and I started toward the front doors.
“Ollie.”
I stopped. Mostly because she’d somehow managed to make that nickname sound completely natural. I turned back toward her.
She stood a few feet behind me with one hand resting on her hip. “I’ve always heard...” she said carefully, “...that when Alice is mentioned, I should probably be afraid.”
I stared at her for a second. Then, before I realized it was happening, I smiled. A real one.
She noticed immediately. “There it is,” she said softly.
“What?”
“The smile.”
I shook my head. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Oh, I absolutely plan to.”
I laughed under my breath. “You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been told that before.”
I looked toward the Social Club before answering her original question. “I honestly have no idea what we’re about to walk into.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”
“No.”
“But?”
“But...” I reached for the front door. “...I know it’ll be a good time.”
Lark’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Now I’m excited.”
Something told me that was exactly what I should’ve been worried about.