Chapter 5
Emmett took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was going to be fine. Ollie had invited him. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t want Emmett there.
He eyed the building in front of him and grimaced. Devil’s Garrote. He knew what a garrote was, and he wasn’t sure why the club’s VP would name his bar after it. It was a little… scary.
Before he could force himself out of his car, someone tapped on the passenger window, startling the crap out of him.
Gasping, he jerked his head around and clutched at his chest. CJ clapped a hand over his mouth, but Emmett could tell he was laughing. They just stared at each other for a moment, and then Emmett realized he was being pretty rude and reached over to unlock the door.
CJ slipped inside and turned to face him, his pretty eyes still dancing with amusement. “Sorry about that.”
“Um, it’s okay.” It wasn’t CJ’s fault he’d gotten himself all worked up about the name of the bar and stressing over whether he really belonged there. “Why aren’t you inside?”
“I had to run over to Rebel, and I saw you sitting here, looking two seconds away from leaving, on my way back.” CJ gestured past Emmett, and he didn’t have to turn his head to know that Roni’s tattoo shop was next door to the bar. “I thought I’d see if you’d like to walk in together.”
Emmett felt his face do something complicated. He was partially embarrassed at CJ realizing he was nervous about going in on his own, but he was also grateful for the offer. “I know it’s dumb, but I’ve never—”
“It’s not dumb,” CJ cut him off, voice stern. “You’ve never been here before and barely know anyone.” He placed a warm hand on Emmett’s and gave it a quick squeeze. “I felt the same way when Tank brought me around the first time and I had him with me.”
Warmth surged through him. As much as he liked Ollie and his brash, outgoing personality, there was this innate gentleness in CJ that spoke to him on another level. Like they were kindred spirits of sorts.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
CJ gave his hand another squeeze and then reached for the door handle. “You ready?”
He nodded. There was still a small knot of nerves in the pit of his stomach, but with CJ by his side, he felt brave enough to finally enter the building. “Ready.”
It was a mild day for early December, the little bit of snow that had fallen over the weekend having melted and leaving the world damp and chilly but not freezing.
The parking lot of Devil’s Garrote was sparsely full, the bar not actually open until noon, and it was only a little after nine in the morning.
When CJ pulled the door open, Emmett spotted a rainbow sticker on the glass, and a bit more of that knot melted away.
As soon as they stepped inside, a voice called out to them, “There you guys are! I was starting to think you’d ditched.”
CJ snorted and rolled his eyes at Emmett, making him smile instead of getting anxious all over again over being late. “I was just here, brat,” CJ reminded him, leading the way over to the two tables that had been pushed together just to the right inside the doors. “Don’t be such a drama queen.”
Ollie fake gasped, his sparkly eyes going wide. “Moi? Never.”
Emmett snickered as he unzipped his heavy coat, the inside of the bar making him overly warm in a hurry.
He spotted another guy around their age standing at the bar at the back of the room, chatting with Houston.
He recognized the club’s VP from some of Roni’s Instagram posts and stories, his dark brown skin and huge frame giving him away in an instant.
“Don’t scare away Emmett,” CJ was saying to Ollie, slipping his own coat off and adding it to a small pile on a nearby booth table. Emmett gently placed his on top, half expecting someone to scold him. “I like him more than you already.”
This time, Ollie’s gasp seemed more real. “Why would you try and hurt me like this? We are bonded. Just last night I watched you—”
“Okay!” CJ interrupted. “That’s enough. We really will scare Emmett away if you finish that sentence.”
Emmett looked back and forth between the two of them, brows raised and cheeks heating. “Should… I leave you two alone?”
There was a strange vibe between the two friends that even Emmett, in all his innocence, was picking up on.
He wasn’t sure what the vibe was, but he felt like he was a bit of a third wheel as they stared each other down.
Unsure, he glanced back over at the bar and the only other people he’d seen in the place so far and found them each leaning over the bar and locked in an intense kiss, Houston’s hand cupping the back of the other guy’s head in a possessive hold.
Heat rolled through him, and he jerked back around, feeling like an intruder.
Even though… they were doing it right in the open, so the pair obviously didn’t care that much that the others might see them.
Ollie noticed his quick movement and glanced over his shoulder to see what had caused it, then snickered and waggled his brows at Emmett.
“Oh, sweet, sweet Em.” He practically skipped around the table and came right up to Emmett, wrapping him in a hug. He smelled a little like oranges, and for some reason, that made Emmett smile, putting him a bit more at ease. “Wait until you see CJ and Tank going at it like feral bunnies.”
“Ollie! What did I just say?” CJ cried, throwing his hands up.
Leaning back, Ollie gripped the sides of Emmett’s face, squishing his cheeks. “Just look at this face! I can’t help but want to corrupt it.”
“For fuck’s sake, let him go.” CJ stalked over and grabbed Ollie’s shoulders, tugging him backward. Luckily, he released his hold, so Emmett didn’t tip forward and fall on his face. A cold breeze wafted through the bar, and CJ’s grin grew huge. “Hey, Six. Can you take control of your brat, please?”
Emmett peered over his shoulder, interested in catching sight of the infamous Six.
Ollie’s Daddy. He’d never been featured in one of Roni’s IG posts, and he hadn’t made an appearance during their cookie-decorating party.
All he’d really known was the little bit CJ and Ollie had said about him and the tidbits Roni had shared, but she mostly just mentioned how much they all appreciated the work Six did for the club and stuff like that.
The man striding into the bar, gaze locked on Ollie, was intense.
Maybe not quite as tall as Houston, but his whole aura made him feel bigger.
His hair was basically a buzz cut, leaving nothing to soften the harshness of his features.
But it was his eyes that had Emmett’s breath catching in his throat.
One was a rich light brown, the other bright blue.
Heterochromia. He’d never met anyone with the condition before, but had always been fascinated by it.
“Ollie.” His voice was raspy, like maybe he didn’t use it often, and he crooked his finger, calling his sub over to him.
“Hi, Daddy,” Ollie chirped, completely unperturbed by the man’s fierce expression. He planted himself right in front of Six and peered up at him, smiling widely. “I thought you had a job and wouldn’t get back until later?”
“Easy fix,” Six said, eyes running over Ollie in a way that felt even more intimate than Houston and his guy’s kiss. “Are you causing trouble?”
Instead of denying it like Emmett expected, Ollie’s grin turned flirtatious, fingers gripping at Six’s hoodie under his leather vest. “Aren’t I always? If only there was someone who could keep me in line…”
The corner of Six’s mouth twitched. He leaned down and said something directly into Ollie’s ear, one of his big hands cupping Ollie’s butt and giving it an obscene squeeze.
Emmett made a noise in the back of his throat, face flushing, and whipped back around.
CJ was on the other side of the two tables, putting together boxes, but he glanced up at the sound.
His smile was gentle as he waved Emmett over.
After he rounded the tables, CJ handed him a flat box and went back to putting his own together, taping the bottom securely.
“You can ask about us, you know,” he said after a few moments of them working in silence.
Emmett glanced at where Ollie and Six had disappeared down a hallway. “I don’t want to be rude.”
“You’re not,” CJ assured him, nudging their arms together. “Oh, wait, hang on one second.” He turned toward the bar and cleared his throat loudly. “If you two are about done, Kenneth was supposed to hang our sign ten minutes ago.”
The pair of kissing men parted, Houston chuckling and whispering something to Kenneth, who nodded. Houston looked past him at him and CJ and grinned. “He’s all yours.”
CJ shook his head, but he was smiling too.
Kenneth grabbed a large poster off the top of the bar Emmett hadn’t noticed and hurried over.
He was handsome in a sort of nerdy way, black-framed glasses slipping down his nose as he ducked his head.
His light brown cheeks were a rosy color that only made him better-looking, unlike Emmett, whose pale skin made him look like a lobster when he was embarrassed.
“Sorry,” Kenneth murmured, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from smiling a little. His lips were swollen, and Emmett forced himself to look away. “Got a little distracted.”
“At least you didn’t leave to go fuck him in the supply closet,” CJ said, laughing and handing over the tape he’d finished using.
Kenneth glanced around and then groaned, kneeling to secure the poster to the front of the two tables. “Ollie’s the one who planned this, and he just left?”