12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Griffin's Beach Gavin
B eing a Prospect in the club has its ups and downs. Mostly downs. Hell, it flat out sucks. But today, instead of cleaning the shitters at the clubhouse, Gavin pulls into the driveway of Lex and Colt's house. Of all the things he's been asked to do, building something, whatever it may be, is one of the better tasks. Unless it's a shitter. Then he might just throw in the towel and say he's done.
No one appears to be home as he climbs off the bike and walks up to the porch. Considering he was given no instructions on what specifically he was to build, this poses a fairly large problem.
"Well, great. Directions would have been really helpful, guys," he mumbles and turns back to his bike. Calla's screams of laughter carry around the house from the backyard, and he stops. "If Calla's home, someone over the age of ten has to be here, too."
Walking around the house to the backyard, he smirks as Calla squeals on the swing set with a gorgeous brunette pushing her from behind. Noah runs around with an older boy, and Gavin realizes these must be the teenagers Colt said they'd taken in.
"Gavin!" Noah shouts and runs up to him. "This is Lucas. He's really cool, and he lives with us. He stays in my room, and he's my new big brother!"
Smiling at the blond boy, Gavin ruffles his hair. "Is that right?"
"It is!"
"Hey," Lucas says and walks up to him. His brown eyes regard Gavin with tentative scrutiny.
"Hey, man. I'm Gavin. I'm their dad's best friend's kid. And Colt's my godfather whether he knows it or not. I think. Who knows?" he says and fist bumps the kid.
Noah nods. "Gavin's a Prospect just like I'll be one day!"
Lucas nods, and Gavin guesses he's around fourteen. Not as old as Gracie, but not as young as Noah. "Cool. Is it tough?"
"Not tough. Gross most of the time, but it's not that tough," he says.
"Lucas, why don't you take the kids inside and get their snacks ready? Noah, you should use the bathroom before eating," the teenage girl says. "And make sure you wash your hands."
"Come on, little ones," Lucas calls. "Line up!"
Calla runs over the moment her feet touch the ground as she clumsily climbs off the swing, and she forms a line behind Noah. They march behind Lucas into the house, and Gavin can't help but chuckle. "Well, that's cute."
"Hey, I'm Hailey."
His attention focuses solely on her now. Her dark brown eyes have specks of gold in them, and he wants to reach out and touch her shiny, straight hair. It looks so soft. It hangs down just above her chest, and he focuses his eyes back up when he catches himself lingering at her cleavage. She's barely a B cup, but tits are tits. Especially to an eighteen-year-old guy.
"Gavin."
"Ky's kid, huh?"
"Yep. I'm supposed to be putting something together for Colt. You wouldn't happen to have any idea what that would be by chance, would you?"
Shaking her head, she smirks. "You came to put something together, but you don't know what it is? How exactly did you plan to accomplish that task?"
"I expected Colt or my dad to be here. I guess I'll have to call them."
She smiles, and he smiles back involuntarily. "Probably should have tried to figure out a plan ahead of time, huh?"
"Yeah, I suppose so. I don't know if you know much about us bikers, but we're not exactly the smartest men in the world. And I could go back to the clubhouse while I wait for them to get back to me, but I'll probably be put to work there. You won't kick me out and make me clean the bathrooms at a gross clubhouse, will you? You'll take pity on me?"
"If it's going to save you from having to clean toilets, I suppose I can let you stay."
"Gotta say, I'm not that mad they're not here to tell me what to do. I might not have met you otherwise."
Narrowing her eyes, she says, "You're not the one having a kid, right?"
Snorting, he shakes his head, tossing the hair from his eyes. "No, that's my sister. Mom and Dad wish it was me. At least I'm almost nineteen and technically an adult."
"Gracie's your sister?"
"You know my sister?"
"I know of her. School."
Please don't be fifteen. Please don't be fifteen. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen. You graduated last year, then?"
"Barely, but yeah," he says and smirks, relieved to find she's almost legal. "You're in the year behind me, I take it? I feel like I would've noticed you, though. Maybe would've enticed me to actually get my ass to class on occasion."
"That kind of sweet talk get you far with the ladies?"
Her body shifts closer to him until they're barely apart, and he keeps glancing down at her perfectly plump lips that shine with lip gloss. "You have an opinion of me, don't you?"
"You're prospecting for a bike club. Yeah, I have assumptions."
"We're not all like the people you see on TV. We're tough as shit, yeah, but we're not all slutty misogynists."
"Big words."
"You assume I'm stupid."
Her head tips forward, her hair concealing her face slightly, but he catches the smile on Hailey's face. "No offense."
"We're not the most intelligent people when it comes to book smarts, but we're street smart. And street smart keeps you alive a lot better than memorizing all that shit in books."
"Hopefully the doctors in this town don't have the same mentality. I'd like a book smart doctor if I need brain surgery."
She's sassy. "In general. Not specialized areas."
"Oh, okay," she says and looks up into his eyes as she nods.
"You got a boyfriend?"
"You got a girlfriend?"
Gavin chuckles, his eyes still focused on her lips. "Nope."
"Me, neither."
"Boyfriend or girlfriend?"
"Neither."
His tongue slides out and licks his lips, his eyes unable to leave her perfect pout. Perfectly kissable lips. Her chin tilts up, inviting him to kiss her, and he lowers his face slowly. Just as he's about to close the gap between them, the sliding door opens. "Hailey!"
She jumps back before any part of her touches any part of him. "Yeah, Luke?"
"Calla's throwing a fit about her juice."
"Did you give her grape or apple?"
"Grape."
"She only likes apple," Hailey says. "Do you need me to come in and help you?"
Looking between them, Lucas smirks. "Were you two just about to start making out?"
"Lucas," she warns.
"Would you have a problem if I made out with your sister?" Gavin asks.
The comment earns him a glare from Hailey, but Lucas just laughs. "No, but you should be careful. The last guy she kissed ended up running away. Crying."
Her hands ball into fists, and she snaps her head to her brother. "Lucas—"
"I got it. You two go back to doing whatever you were doing. Just be careful, man."
The door shuts, and she groans. "I love having a little brother. I just fucking love it."
"Imagine having a little sister," Gavin says. "So... You made some guy cry?"
A proud smile appears, and she turns back to face him. "He thought I was easy after he found me sleeping in a car. That if I let him kiss me, it meant I was going to spread my legs for him. He pushed after I told him no, and I may have used my knee to prove the point that his hard-on was not making it past that particular joint."
"Smart girl."
"Am I going to have to use my knee on you?"
His hands lift in the air. "I understand that when a woman says no, it means no."
"Yeah, sure," she says but still laughs.
"Are you a... virgin?"
"Is that a turn on or a turn off?"
God, I think I'm in love with this girl. I love her fight. "Well, there's something insanely hot about being someone's first, but I'm not Elvis or anything. I don't go out trolling for virgins."
"He had something to hide, didn't he?"
"Maybe. Guess we'll never know. So...?"
"No, I'm not a virgin," Hailey says, her arms crossing over her chest, "but I'm not a slut. I've had sex with one guy. Only one."
The defensive tone makes Gavin wonder if the fact she made a point to say only one has anything to do with the perception people have of her. He can't imagine sleeping in a car would be easy, and kids are terrible to each other. "Being comfortable in your sexuality shouldn't be something to be ashamed of. As long as you're not using it as some type of currency, do what makes you feel good. Literally."
Her eyes glance down to his fly, and he knows she can tell he's half hard just thinking about her in that way. "I take it you're not a virgin."
"Lost it when I was sixteen. I haven't been with a lot of women compared to most guys, but considering my parents married each other when they were seventeen, I have a different ideal when it comes to sex. Granted, though, Mom just found out Dad lost his virginity to her sister and lied about it, so I'm not really sure where my values stand right now."
Jaw dropping, she laughs. "You're kidding. Your dad slept with your aunt? And they're both still breathing?"
"Aunt died around the time I was born. Dad's sleeping at the clubhouse because Mom kicked him out. She took it hard when she found out he'd lied and said they lost it together."
"I'm surprised she didn't kill him."
"To be fair, Mom and Dad weren't together when it happened. And my grandma was just murdered."
Leaning back, she shakes her head. "You're fucking with me."
Why is he telling her all of this? It's not like they're friends, but Gavin knows he wants to get to know her. Really know her. "Nope. Dad was only sixteen, I think, when a rival club killed his mom."
"Oh my God."
"Yeah, club life isn't usually boring."
"Doesn't sound like it."
Leaning forward, he lowers his voice. "Any idea what Lex is so busy doing? Why they had to move back here?"
Shaking her head, Hailey shrugs. "She hasn't said anything to me other than she wishes she could tell Colt. I found her crying on the kitchen floor one night, but don't say anything."
"Shit."
"What?"
"It has to be bad. I figured it wasn't good if they moved back here, but Lex hates crying. She sees it as a sign of weakness. Well, for her. If she broke down, it's big. And not good."
"You know Colt and Lex pretty well?"
He smiles. "Yeah, I grew up with Colt around. And Lex—"
"Gavin!" Colt's voice calls out.
Turning, he wishes Colt and his father could have been gone for just a little longer. Talking to Hailey's the most fun he's had in a long time. Plus, she's really easy on the eyes. He can't determine whether she's flirty or just kind of bitchy. Either way, he likes it.
"Backyard!" he shouts.
"You better not be mackin' on that girl," Ky calls when they round the corner. "I don't need to be a grandpa two times over."
"Coming from the teenage father, that's kind of hypocritical, don't you think?" Gavin says back. "Besides, unlike Gracie, I know how to wrap my shit. One of the only things that stuck from all the learning the school tried to do."
His father opens his mouth to say something, but Colt beats him to it. "Touch her, and you might have a few broken bones. She's part of my family, kid."
His hand slams harder than he intended on his own chest, and he does his best not to flinch from the self-inflicted pain. "Ouch! I thought I was part of the family, Colt."
"That would make anything between us incest," Hailey says. "Not your best argument, dude."
Colt snorts as Hailey gives him a smug look before heading inside, and Ky pushes Gavin's shoulder. "She's got almost as much attitude as Lex used to."
"More, I think," Colt says. "And Gavin looks at Hailey the same way I looked at Lex at that age. Be careful, man. I'm pretty sure she'll chew you up and spit you out."
"Thought you wanted me to keep my hands off her."
"That was more for her than you. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself. You're the one who needs to be on guard."
Gavin feels relief that Colt doesn't actually expect him to stay away from someone as hot as Hailey. "So, what is you need me to put together? Too difficult to do it yourselves? Did the instructions come with too many words and not enough pictures? Or is it something with technology? I know you boomers can't figure anything like that out."
"Fuck off," Colt says and wraps a large arm around his neck, yanking him down in a headlock. "First of all, I'm a millennial, fuck head. Second, I don't have to be nice and give you something less terrible than cleaning up after the drunk assholes at the clubhouse, but if you'd rather scrape jizz off the walls, go ahead and hightail your scrawny little ass back there."
The fact a black light in that clubhouse would keep Gavin from touching anything ever again, he knows he should be grateful. "No, I'm good here. You guys have apartments. Why do the guys have to fuck in the public bathrooms?"
Releasing him, Colt chuckles and lifts an eyebrow. "You've seen the bunnies here. Would you bring them to your apartment?"
"Fair point," he says, although he knows some of the guys do. "I'm ready to build some shit."
"Manly," Hailey says as she walks down the porch. "Colt, Noah's asking if we can get the game to play, but he hasn't given me anything else to know what game he's talking about. Any idea?"
He nods. "Yeah, tell him I'll be in there in a second to help him get it set up. It's kind of hard to explain until you see it."
"Sounds good."
Gavin can't stop staring at her ass as she walks up the steps and into the house, and he really wishes the guys hadn't shown up already. He definitely wants to get to know Hailey a lot better.
"Stop staring at her ass," Ky says, slapping him upside the head.
"Can't. She's hot. And stop being so abusive. Someone might call the authorities on your asses," he says.
The comment earns him playful punches from both older men, but he doesn't mind. He can't get Hailey out of his mind now, and he plans to take his sweet time with whatever they've tasked him with in hopes of talking to her again.