Celeste Chapter
Celeste:
Capri and I were having a blast. Christmas music was playing. Hot chocolate was made and kept hot in a thermos. Marshmallows were next to it, along with the candy canes. We loved to have our cocoa with both in it. We were in our PJs, dancing, singing, and decorating the house.
Neither of us could wait for Hulk to get home.
Tonight was a half shift for him at the club.
We had pushed him out the door after dinner and got right to work.
Combining the things we’d bought for his house, plus what came in the mail today, and our traditional decor made it feel like our Christmas in our house. It wasn’t merely Hulk’s.
He’d been sweet to give us carte blanche to do whatever we wanted.
Hulk explained he hadn’t ever spruced up the house because he was single and there was plenty of holiday cheer at the clubhouse, which was no lie.
The old ladies, with our help and the guys’, had done a fantastic job on it.
The following two days would see the baked goods produced in individual kitchens.
This weekend, we all planned to converge on the clubhouse to bake together in the big kitchen there.
Falling onto the couch, we looked around at the final completed task. A sense of accomplishment filled me. I glanced over at Capri.
“So, what do you think? Will he like it? Do you?”
“I love it, and I hope he does. Everything is beautiful. Our stuff mixed with the new things makes it perfect. Can you believe he didn’t have a single ornament or a stocking?
Man, I know they have a big dinner, and there are gifts for the kids and all at the clubhouse, but that’s so depressing.
I can’t stand that so many of them don’t have outside family, or if they do, they’re not on speaking terms.”
“I know, I feel bad for them, too. But guys aren’t the same as women when it comes to this kind of stuff. I hope he likes what we got him for Christmas and the kids like theirs,” I said.
When it became clear we would be spending the holiday here, Capri and I went online shopping.
It was true we lived frugally, but for birthdays and Christmas, we dipped into the money saved from the life insurance policies.
We never touched the principal and never spent close to all of any given year’s profits.
Plus, by staying here, we had no food or even gas expenses.
Hulk refused to allow us to pay for anything.
Other than the base amounts for our utilities and the rent on our apartment, we were saving money.
“Celeste, now that you and Hulk are together, when do you plan to move here? Hulk has mentioned it. And he’s been so sweet, saying I have a home for however long I want.
But I haven’t heard you say when, and you haven’t talked about it with me.
What is holding you back? Do you doubt your feelings for him?
Or are you worried about me?” Capri asked.
“Honey, oh no, I don’t doubt how I feel about him.
I know we haven’t known each other terribly long, but I love him.
I love the club, this compound, and everything to do with the Pagans.
And I adore this house. I guess I have been waiting for you to say you’re ready to move here.
And that I’m not insane for wanting to do it so quickly. ” I confessed.
She sat up on the couch. Her mouth hung open in astonishment. She snapped her jaw shut, then spoke.
“Celeste, you should’ve said something! Oh my God, I can’t believe you waited because of me.
I love everyone here, especially Hulk. And this house is magnificent.
I see how much you and Hulk love each other.
I don’t think you can put a time on that.
When you know, you know. Some people can take years to realize it.
Others know immediately. From what Aliya told me, the Pagans and their friends in the other clubs are pretty much in the love at first sight category.
Or at least, they know who is the one for them.
“She told me what their life was like before they met Twisted and the club. It was kinda like ours with a few differences. They had the added issue of prejudice from people who disliked them merely because they’re Arab.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to put up with that.
Her parents were killed in a plane crash in Qatar.
That’s where their family originally came from.
Her parents were there on business when the plane went down.
Only after meeting Twisted did they discover that it wasn’t an accident.
A guy they knew and trusted paid someone to sabotage their plane, all for what he assumed was wealth they had. ”
“What!? Oh my God, no! Damn, I want to hug them right now. And Zari ended up raising them the way I did you. What are the odds that two of us having such similar things happen to us would end up with bikers in the same club?”
“I thought the same. Aliya and I talked about it. We think it’s because it’s fate and the Pagans are guardian angels who ride motorcycles,” she smiled.
We were laughing when we heard a bike approaching.
On the compound, it was sometimes hard to tell who it was, but after checking the time, I saw it could be Hulk.
I had to hunt for my cell phone. When I found it buried in the side of the couch cushions, I looked and saw he’d sent me a text fifteen minutes ago.
Rather than running to the mudroom door like usual, we jumped up and shut off all the lights except those coming from the tree, garland, and other decor we had up.
We stood off to the side, so we’d be able to catch his expression when he saw it.
The main garage door opened, confirming it was him.
A minute later, we heard him enter the house.
“Hello, is anyone home?” he hollered.
“In here. Just come in when you’re done,” I called back.
I knew he’d strip off his jacket, gloves, boots, socks, and cut and put them away before he entered. It was hard to wait. When I heard his footsteps approaching, I clenched my lips closed. Capri gave me an excited look. When Hulk entered the area next to the kitchen, he froze.
He slowly scanned the kitchen, dining room, and living room.
We’d decorated them along with the half bath and the railing on the stairs up to the second floor.
The air was filled with the scent of evergreen and cinnamon.
His expression said it all. It screamed awe.
Capri and I slowly made our way out of the darkness to him.
He held open his arms. When we stepped into them, he crushed us to his chest.
“Christ, I can’t believe this. You have outdone yourselves. It looks amazing. And the smell. Man,” he muttered before kissing both of us on the top of our heads. She and I grinned at each other.
With us in his arms, he slowly circled the combined rooms. We pointed out certain things we wanted him to be sure to see. Finally, after showing him everything, we turned back on a couple of lights. As he sat on the couch, Capri went to the kitchen. When she came back, she had a cup of hot cocoa.
“Here, I hope you drink hot cocoa. This is our family recipe. We have it as we decorate every year. If you don’t like or want it, no worries, we’ll finish it off,” she winked.
He took it, then took a sip. He groaned. “It has cinnamon, and is that vanilla?”
“It is, along with a pinch of salt to enhance the chocolate taste, and you can’t forget the marshmallows and candy cane,” she happily replied.
“Salt?”
“Yes, it’s a trick my mom taught me,” I explained.
“You two are spoiling me. All the fantastic meals you make, this, and let’s not forget, the joy of you here. What can I do to make you permanently move in here?” he asked.
After a glance at Capri, in which she gave a tiny nod, I took the plunge. “Well, at the rate we’re going, there isn’t much left we can bring unless it’s household items or pieces of furniture. I guess it depends on how soon we can get someone to help us move it,” I told him.
Hulk’s head whipped to the side to stare at me.
“Troublemaker, don’t say something like that unless you’re serious,” he warned.
“Oh, I’m deadly serious.”
“You pick the day, and we’ll get it done. I can borrow the prospects, and if we need more help, I have brothers. It’s nine days until Christmas. What would you say to giving me the best gift ever and moving in before then?”
“Honey, that’s impossible. We have to get the rest packed,” I protested.
“Unless you want to pack it for privacy reasons, and I can promise you, no one will be packing your panties and shit other than you two, or in your case, Celeste, me, the rest can be handled by the prospects. We have more than enough trucks to move stuff, so no need to worry about not finding a rental. Shit, we could do it this weekend while you’re having your baking marathon,” he said excitedly.
Not wanting to ruin his zeal, and not having any panties or other stuff to pack that were private and not here, I shrugged.
“Well, then, I guess you’d better rally the guys because you have moving to do this weekend.”
He let out a whoop and lunged toward me.
Capri laughingly grabbed his cocoa before he could spill it.
As Hulk kissed me senseless, I marveled at how much my life had changed in such a short period.
When he was finished kissing me, he turned to her and hugged and kissed her on the cheek.
It was the best end to a long evening of holiday cheer.
???
It was Saturday. Capri and I were at the clubhouse.
The guys with kids were busy keeping their kids occupied, so the ladies could bake up a storm without having them underfoot or having to care for them.
Hulk and all three prospects had gone to town early this morning to pack up and move our belongings here.