Chapter 24
Shivana
Even though I was hesitant to give in to Jackal’s demand to cancel the showings, I did. Honestly, I didn’t have a job offer yet and had no idea where would be most convenient, anyway. And after looking back at the photos online, neither wowed me.
It would be the first time I’d lived on my own. It would be a rental for now, but still, I wanted it to be comfy and homey. Waiting a little longer to see where I got hired made the most sense. The market was crazy and I probably wouldn’t be able to make an offer before they got snatched up, anyway.
It had been quiet the last few days around the clubhouse. Jackal had gone out in the evenings and didn’t get in until late. But we had swindled Eagle and Jackal into bringing us twelve different wedding magazines and we had the internet. Until I heard about work, I had a singular mission–plan Lacy’s wedding.
The weekend rolled around, and I had already narrowed down venues and we knew her top three dress styles. We also had colors chosen. The next step would be to get permission from our daddies to leave.
Even though they were home, they had been holed up in Church for a while. We couldn’t very well buy a wedding dress online and we were not booking a venue without seeing it. Too many people spent money on good photography but had shitty spaces.
“What if we can’t book that soon? I don’t want to drag this out too long. But I do want a nice party,” Lacy said as we scrolled the websites of the three that made my cut.
“You have a lot on your side. You aren’t inviting your family and I’m your only friend from back home, so we can choose a different evening than your typical Saturday. Plus, Thursday nights, hell, even Friday nights, are all cheaper than weekend days for these spaces.”
“Do we really need something so big?” she asked, pointing to the screen. “It’s really just guys from the club and the bunnies.”
Daisy shook her head. “Eagle said he was inviting other clubs and their Old Ladies or plus ones.”
Lacy’s eyes went wide. “What? When?”
“Falcon told me. He thought I’d be disappointed about our wedding and wanted to know if we needed a do-over.”
We both stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
“Oh, I’m not. I wanted my biker, and I got him. I never dreamed about a wedding when I was little. The courthouse felt perfect to me. And you should have seen what they did to this place, Shiv. I wish you’d been here. It was great,” she said as she popped a pretzel in her mouth.
We’d been spending a lot of our time in the rec room so we could spread out and not worry about filthy men ruining out magazines and my binder. We also had snacks and a cooler full of beer. It was perfect.
“I thought it was going to be a small thing. Who knew he’d be so excited?” Lacy said as she took a sip of her beer.
“It’s like a dog marking his territory, I think. They all seem to put on a show for each other to claim their women.”
Daisy grinned. “Oh, like you don’t love it, Shiv.”
My hand flew to my chest. “ Moi? Ha.” I couldn’t contain my stupid grin. “Okay, maybe a little. Anyway, back to work. I will need a headcount. If he’s inviting a bunch of people I need a figure. Also, did he say what our budget was? I know he said he’s got it,” I said with air quotes, “but I need a dollar amount.”
Lacy shrugged. “He just keeps telling me to get what I want and tell him when to get his tux fitted.”
Gasping, I leaned over my binder. “He’s going with tuxedos? How dapper.”
Lacy jerked her head back, grimacing. “What, did you think he’d show up in jeans and his cut?”
“Falcon wore his cut to ours,” Daisy said. “He did wear some Dickies, though. But he looked hot.”
“I just figured these guys would be more…non-traditional. That’s all. But I can make sure we get a place for tuxes lined up. I need to know how many groomsmen.”
“Probably the officers. Oh, and his dad wanted a tux.”
I made notes to price tux rentals, then another to schedule fittings, then finally pickup. “We are coming right along. Now, we need to get showings scheduled for the venues so we can lock in a date. Then we can do dress and cake shopping. But we need a date before we can do much more.”
Lacy and Daisy both tipped back their drinks.
Sighing, I said, “I’ll talk to Jackal. This is ridiculous. We gotta get this going.”
“You think they’ll hold us up? Because of whatever is happening?” Lacy asked. “Maybe I should just do the courthouse, and we can plan a reception later.”
Daisy grabbed her hand. “No. We’ll work this out. Shiv’s right. They can’t keep us here forever. I love you both, but I actually miss work. I miss different walls. I’d settle for a ride at this point.”
Lacy’s lips thinned. “I’m bored, too. But if I learned anything, it was best to trust them.”
“I believe them. I know something is awry. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. When it’s my time, it’s my time. But I’ve been sheltered my whole life. I didn’t stay here in Georgia to be trapped in a smelly old clubhouse.”
“You were desperate to visit the clubhouse when you first got here,” Lacy said.
“I was. And I have. It’s fun. Until it’s not. I just hope I hear about a job soon. I’m going stir crazy here.”
“You’ll get an offer. They’d be crazy not to,” Daisy said as she flipped the page of one the bridal magazines.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. But I have very little experience, just a lot of education.”
“You’ll find something, Shiv. I’ve been thinking about going to college,” Lacy said.
I smiled wide. “Oh, that’s great. What do you think you want to go for?”
She shrugged. “I love hair and makeup stuff. So I was kinda thinking cosmetology would be fun.”
“I love that idea! Stylists are always in demand. My hair is too picky to let just anyone mess with it,” I told her.
Daisy nodded. “You can totally practice on me. Just don’t cut it too short. There’s a line where if you go too short, you have to style it. I’ve gotten lazy since I put dancing behind me. Just wash and go.”
“If I can’t pull it into a ponytail, it’s too short,” I agreed.
“Really? You guys don’t think that’s silly?”
“Why is that silly? I think you should do it. Whole new woman. Getting married, learning a new skill. Maybe you can even practice makeup now with your wedding party. Well, assuming you have one.”
Lacy smacked my arm. “What do you mean? You’re my Maid of Honor, Daisy is my Matron of Honor. I’ll choose some bunnies to walk with the officers so everyone is paired up, but why would you think you weren’t included?”
Daisy’s brow cocked. “Maybe since you never asked us.”
“You’re both ridiculous. It was obvious.” She grabbed her ponytail and wrapped it around her hand.
The vision reminded me of when I said I wanted to wrap my hands around Jackal’s hair and ride him like a pony. I wonder if he’d be okay with that.
“What’s so funny?” Daisy asked.
“Huh? Oh, just daydreaming.”
“About weddings?” Lacy asked wistfully.
“About fucking Jackal, but good try.”
They both laughed and I shrugged with a Cheshire grin.
“What about kids?” Lacy asked.
“You and Eagle will make such pretty babies,” I answered.
“Won’t we? He’s so handsome. But I meant you. Jackal is a little older. Do you think he wants kids?”
“I never really thought of kids. I’ve seen several births and it doesn’t appeal to me. Why don’t you have babies and I’ll be cool Auntie Shiv?”
Lacy looked like she’d seen a ghost. “No kids? Ever? You don’t think you’ll change your mind?”
“I mean. I never say never to anything because that’s the best way to jinx yourself. But honestly, I don’t think I’d be missing out on anything. Plus, both of you plan to have babies. I’ll play with yours.”
Daisy asked, “What if Jackal did want to have kids?”
“I think he should have that discussion with the woman he plans to marry. Pretty serious business.”
“You really are the dumbest smart person I’ve ever met,” Daisy said as she drank the last of the beer in her bottle.
“We barely started hooking up. I think you’re getting ahead of yourselves.”
“Okay. Whatever you say, Shiv,” Lacy said with a grin.
Suddenly it was a million degrees in there. How did I go from finding a biker daddy to talking about babies?