7. Party Bus
Party Bus
Sheridan
“Before we go inside, we need to set ground rules so there’s no fighting over who we kiss.”
Winnie has a point. It feels like we’re going to walk out and there’s going to be total chaos with women running around kissing bikers.
“There are only three of us kissing anyone. How many problems could we possibly run into? Once a man is kissed, he’s completely off-limits to the rest of the group.” Savie has knitting needles in both hands while holding a cup of champagne.
Ilia, Greer’s new housekeeper, is staring at us like we have all gone absolutely bonkers.
Probably because we have.
“Cordelia, you dated Bear, didn’t you? Maybe you should join the Kissing Pact.” Dylan grins, egging the two troublemakers on.
“I…um…” She looks down and blushes. “We’re just, um, friends.”
“Bear?” Why did I open my mouth? Because she looked so embarrassed. “How did he get that name?”
“Bear is this giant man. He looks scary, but he’s a true gentleman.” Dylan seems to have all the answers about these biker guys.
“Oh, I want to kiss the bear.” Garnet lifts her glass and giggles.
“You guys can’t just toy with Bear. He’s a thoughtful, sensitive man with a big heart and a kind soul.” Cordelia glares at Garnet.
We need a topic change before the poor bear gets into any more trouble. “So how many people are you inviting to the reception?”
“Rogue won’t give me an answer. He said something like they put out a general invite and whoever wants to come just shows up…” She wrings her fingers. “For an entire weekend. They start showing up Thursday, and everyone leaves between Monday and Tuesday.”
What? How? That’s intense.
Like massively intense. “At home they’d just do a clambake and a barbecue for the other days.”
“That’s brilliant!!!!!” Dylan jumps up. “I’m sure we could convince some of the guys to work the barbecue…we’d just need to get all the sides. If only it were a little warmer, we could make it a beach bash.”
“A few strategically placed heaters should fix that.” Savie’s needles are clicking, which means her mind is working a mile a minute.
The bus pulls to a stop, and the door opens.
“Let the Kissing Pact begin.” Savie shoves her knitting into her bag, which is almost as large as mine, but I doubt she keeps her entire life on her at all times.
Winnie whistles as we step out of the bus.
There are a half-dozen bikers just kind of hanging out around us.
How is it possible that among the bunch of them there isn’t a single one that gives me creep vibes at first glance? There’s always at least one guy in every group who you just know, looking at him, that you need to watch your back when he’s around.
This is dangerous.
“Let the games begin,” Savie whispers in awe.
Why do I have a feeling she isn’t going to let this Kissing Pact go?
***
After an hour of marathon planning, I find a little nook outside to hide. Dylan and Dahlia have always been the planners of the group, but this is a whole different level of epicness.
“You needed a break, too?” Piper walks over, looking like she’s completely exhausted.
“Yeah.” I hold out a purse granola bar. “Need a snack?”
“Thanks. Sometimes I wonder why people need to…I don’t know, people so much.” She leans her head against the block wall and closes her eyes. “Sometimes, can’t we just let things be for a while?”
Why do I get the feeling she isn’t talking about the reception plans, which are a bit stressful, but mostly fun? “What’s going on?”
Piper sighs. “I’m hiding from him. I told him this was all about helping a friend, and it is, but I needed some space. He wants to introduce me to his family.”
Oh.
OH. “The family Winnie was talking about.”
She nods. “What am I going to do? This can’t work.
It won’t. The second I walk in there, they’re going to see right through me.
They’re going to break us up.” Tears well up in her eyes.
“By the end of our first date, I knew we’d never work out, but Valen…
” She brushes one away from her cheek with her hand wrapped around the granola bar.
“He’s perfect. Literally perfect. Sweet.
Thoughtful. Smart. He barely knows me, but he goes out of his way to spoil me.
Every time I’m near him, I feel like a spoiled princess whose prince is determined to give her the world. ”
WOW.
“No matter how often I try to show him that I’m not a princess, he just doesn’t get it.”
“That’s because you’re wrong.”
The shocked look on her face would be funny if it didn’t accompany a dropped bar.
The urge to pick it up and blow the dirt off overwhelms me.
It’s gone, and that’s all there is to it.
“Piper, you’re a princess. You’re his princess.
The woman he wants to give the world to.
You deserve love and kindness and beauty, and all the gifts that man wants to give you.
How much money you have or where you were born doesn’t matter.
If that man sees the beautiful person inside of you, you better start believing he isn’t wrong. Also, so what—”
“Huh?”
“So what if his family is rich and powerful? They’re just people the same as you or me. Money just means they can buy nice things. It doesn’t determine their worth.”
“I just…I’m so afraid that I’m going to fall hard for him, then he’s going to toss me away like a used tissue.”
No, you mean like your family did. Like that ex of yours. “Is he really giving you the vibe that might happen?”
She shakes her head. “I’m pretty sure he’s planning our wedding and deciding how many kids we’ll have. Oh, and what type of dog?”
“That’s rude. You should pick out your dog together.”
Piper giggles. “I’m going to want a mutt from the side of the road, and he’s probably going to want some thoroughbred.”
Mutts off the side of the road will love you forever…if you can afford to feed them.
“What if Winnie is right? What if he’s not a nice man?”
“There’s a difference between being nice and good. What you need to figure out first is if he’s really a good man.” Not many of those exist. “Then, when you decide he is, believe him when he says you’re a princess, because all of us know that.”
Piper stares out into the open field for a long moment. “Thank you.”
“Anytime. That’s what friends are for.”
“And Kissing Pacts.” Piper can’t quite reach an evil level, but it’s clear she’s teasing. “So are you going to join in? I can’t remember you ever going on a single date, let alone talking about a guy seriously.”
“That’s because I need to focus on my career right now.”
“A guy won’t stop you from meeting your goals.
Especially not in our field. He’ll inspire you.
He’ll make you dream bigger than you ever thought you could before.
Think about it…and maybe give the pact a try, even if it’s just for fun.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to kiss one of those bikers?
” Piper gives me a quick hug and walks away, leaving the bar on the ground.
Don’t pick it up.
You aren’t starving.
You have all the food you need.
You can buy more.
But all the hungry little kid in me sees is uneaten food. It’s not like I can leave it there. We’re guests. We don’t want to litter this compound…I think that’s what Rogue called it. He also called it a clubhouse, but this is bigger than any clubhouse I’ve ever seen.
I sink down and pick up the forgotten food. A single wasted bar isn’t the end of the world.
“Are you lost?” a husky voice says from a few feet away.
Did he see me pick it up?
Does he know I was tempted to eat it? He can’t. Everything is just fine. “Yeah. I just needed a little fresh air.”
Turning towards him, I freeze…that hair…that face…the messy-looking stubble… “You look familiar, but I could swear we’ve never met before.”
“We met, but it doesn’t surprise me that you don’t remember when. You were quite drunk that night.”
Drunk? I almost never get…“Dahlia’s pre-bachelorette. You were at the dive bar. The fight…You pushed me behind the bar when that crazy fight broke out.”
“Yeah, I did.” He walks over, resting his thumbs in his belt loops.
Normally, a studded black leather belt makes a guy look like he’s trying too hard to be something he’s not, but somehow it just feels cool and natural on this guy.
Stop staring at his belt. He’s going to think you’re pervy. “Thank you. That was very kind of you.”
“Nothing kind about it. We were paid to protect your group, so that's what we did.”
Whoa…that was frank. “If we had known, we would have tried to make your jobs easier.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. I’ve never seen a group so determined to have fun and put themselves at risk.”
We did have fun. “The risk part wasn’t planned.”
“Sure, you just happened to think a dive bar would be a fun place to walk into drunk and disorderly.” He grins like he won the battle.
Which, to be fair, he kind of did. “Most of the group didn’t know what a dive bar was before that night.”
“Most, but some of you did?”
I mean, that wasn’t my first, and it won’t be the last. “We were just too drunk to care at that point. Thank you for keeping us safe.”
“You’re welcome.” He leans against the wall next to me.
Does he know about the pact? Would he want to have one of the girls falling all over him? He’s certainly a nice-looking man. “This might be my chance to return the favor?”
“I don’t see any drunks around who are looking to molest me.”
Well, you obviously haven’t seen the group yet. To be fair, most of them aren’t even tipsy…I’m not sure about Garnet, though. “What if there were a bunch of beautiful women who wanted to flirt with you? Would you want that, or would you like someone to ensure that never happens?”
“A bunch of beautiful women, you say?” He smirks.
“What a male response.”
“Hey now, don’t be like that. I needed a second to process what you were saying.”
“You mean to perv out.”
He grins. “Maybe a little bit. Would you be one of the horde?” He puts his hand on the cement wall next to my head.