Chapter 8
GQ
I didn’t even try to hide the smile on my face. Kelly Lloyd was in my truck, and we were going out for drinks. Hot damn, I was excited about it!
After we all parted ways this afternoon at In and Out, I smiled the whole way back to the compound. I was so fucking happy she agreed to meet up with me and allowed me to pick her up.
Last night, I just wanted to have a drink with her and catch up. I would have agreed to meeting up somewhere.
But after spending a little more time with her, I wanted so much more. Driving together, made it feel like a date instead of two friends going out for a beer.
“You weren’t wearing that earlier today.” She pointed at my cut.
“We’re supposed to wear it everywhere we go in our territory. Chico isn’t our territory. I didn’t want to be noticed.” If Jefe knew where I’d gone, he would have been pissed. Fortunately, he was preoccupied with Alek, the Bratva Pakhan.
“Interesting. I don’t know much about how motorcycle club works.” She kept her hands folded on her lap and faced forward. She seemed a little nervous, which was adorable.
“What do you want to know?” Not that I could divulge many details, but sitting next to her wearing a denim skirt that hit mid-thighs and a white cropped tank top was almost my undoing.
Kelly was fucking tantalizing, and nothing like the tomboy I remembered. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and her copper highlights shimmered in the sunlight. I wanted to wrap her long mane around my hand and tug on it while I fucked her.
Like down boy. This is Kelly Lloyd.
“What does a MC do? Do you have a job outside your club?”
“We defend our territory against criminals. Think drug deals and traffickers.”
“There are traffickers in San Diablo?” Her mouth popped open.
Imagine my surprise when I felt my dick wake up as I stared at her full lips.
Like what the hell was happening to me? Kelly wasn’t the kind of girl I usually went for, but she was working me up in the best way.
I’d felt a small stirring when she was on the phone with Hector.
Jealousy and possessiveness had exploded in my veins, and now, the thought of that Latino asking Kelly to dinner made my blood boil.
“No,” I lied. “We do our best to keep our town safe. But you should be cautious regardless, it’s an evil world.”
“Believe me, I know how wicked it is out there. I see evidence of it in the emergency room daily. So you protect your town. What else?”
“The club owns some businesses.” Which we launder money through. I wasn’t about to tell her we also collect protection money. I had a feeling she wouldn’t like that. “We do some annual fundraisers.”
“Really, fundraisers? I didn’t expect that.”
I pulled into the parking lot of The Cocky Cactus. It was a bar and lounge, owned by the club.
“I’ve never been here before. It kind of looks sketchy to me, if I’m honest.”
“It’s not. My club owns it. You asked about a job. I’m one of two managers here.” While I was recovering from my injuries, Quino carried the load. The past couple of months, I was taking on more hours and responsibilities.
“Nice. Am I dressed appropriately?” She pulled down the visor and checked herself out in the mirror. This was a different side to Kelly.
“Trust me, you’ll fit right in.”
“Oh.” She twisted her lips.
“You look amazing, but I should warn you. There’s a private room where there’s pole dancing after nine o’clock.” Thought I should be honest with her in case one of the dancers approached me and got flirty.
She raised her eyebrows. “Now, I didn’t expect that.”
“We won’t be in that room. But I do know the dancers.”
“Know them how? As employees or more intimately?”
“Both,” I replied honestly. Did I sense some jealousy in her tone? I hoped so.
“Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t think this bar is my vibe.”
“It’ll be fine. Promise.” I got out of the truck and limped over to her side to open her door like a gentleman.
“Just promise me we’ll leave if I ask. I’m at your mercy since you picked me up.”
“I promise we’ll leave if you want to.” At my mercy? I liked the sound of that.
I extended my hand to help her out of my lifted truck, even though it had running boards. Honestly, I wanted to touch her in any way possible.
“Thanks.” She smiled and blushed a little, her long dark eyelashes fluttering softly. I could tell they weren’t fake eyelashes or if they were, they didn’t look like the club girls’ spidery ones.
Checking out her tan legs, I noticed her toenails were painted a light purple color. Adult Kelly literally blew my mind. High heel sandals, painted toenails, miniskirt and makeup. She’d had the most epic glow up. The sassy girl was gorgeous and had my heart racing.
We entered The Cocky Cactus holding hands. If she pulled her hand out of mine, I wouldn’t try to stop her. Since she didn’t, I held on tightly.
The lounge was dark as most were, with a speakeasy vibe.
Four armless velvet sofas filled the space in the middle of the room with wooden coffee tables and mosaic lamps.
Along the walls were a few high-back leather booths and on the opposite end was the bar.
The walls were dark green, gold framed pictures and mirrors, and the recessed lights gave off a warm glow.
The Cocky Cactus was the fanciest place in San Diablo.
“Wow, this place is amazing,” Kelly said, surprise in her voice. “Where’s the special room?”
“Why, are you into pole dancing?” I asked teasing her.
“Maybe. I might want to give it a whirl.” Her words turned me on but the thought of her in skimpy lingerie with her ass and tits falling out for others to see made me want to lock her in a room to hide her from the world. “But I wouldn’t want an audience.”
“What about an audience of one?” I wiggled my eyebrows, tugging her closer to me. It wasn’t lost on me that every pair of eyes were on us. From the bartender to the servers to the customers, I wanted them all to know Kelly was with me.
Something flashed in her baby blue eyes. Like what I’d said had given her a thrill. “I guess it would depend on who was the customer.”
“I think we both know who it would be.” Me, of course. I stared into her eyes and tried to reach her soul, making my intentions known. I was never the guy who dropped hints or kept a girl guessing about my feelings.
“Let’s not forget we’re here as friends. This isn’t a date.”
“I know.” But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try my damnedest to make it end like all my other dates. I needed to taste Kelly’s lips and feel her soft curves under my hands. And if I could get my dick hard, I would be inside her.
And with that, I led her to my favorite booth and guided her to slide in. Instead of sitting across from her, as a friend would do, I boldly sat next to her.
She sighed and tilted her head. “Maybe I wasn’t clear.”
“Clear about what?”
“This isn’t a date, Gideon. My life is complicated and I don’t have the time to nurture a new relationship.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “But I do want to be your friend.”
“We’re already friends, Kel.”
“It’s been a lifetime since we knew each other.
We’re adults now. We’ve changed. I mean, look at you.
” Her blue eyes traveled over my face and body.
I could tell she liked what she saw. ‘You’re not the tall, skinny kid who used to smoke in the park.
You’re a biker and I don’t know the adult you, just like you don’t know the adult me. ”
“But I want to know the adult version of you. Seeing you for the first time yesterday after all these years, it’s like it was fate.”
“Fate?” She laughed softly. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“No, seriously. I’ve been in a really bad place since the accident. Some days I prayed I wouldn’t wake up in the morning.”
“Oh, God, Gideon. Don’t say that.” She teared up and the sight of her emotions put an ache in my chest. “You have so much to live for. People who need you and love you.”
I shook my head. “I’m not the same man I was last summer. I used to be the resident playboy. I could get any woman I wanted, but I’m not that person anymore.”
“Hey, GQ. What can I get you both?” Shelley asked, interrupting my vulnerable moment. Perhaps it was for the best. I was getting deep with Kelly way too fast, but strangely, that was how comfortable I was with her.
I nodded at Kelly to go first.
“Can I get a lemon drop martini, please?”
“And I’ll just have my usual IPA,” I told Shelley. Not that I really wanted a drink. Since last night, I hadn’t taken any oxy or drank any booze. It was weird how clear my mind was but that shouldn’t surprise me. I wasn’t impaired, so of course, the world seemed brighter.
“Coming right up.” Shelley sashayed away, swinging her hips for my benefit.
“As the resident playboy, I assume you’ve been with her.” Kelly flicked her eyes at Shelley.
“Yes.”
She twisted her full lips. “I can’t say I’m surprised. You were a girl chaser in school. But if I’m honest, I didn’t find it attractive back then and I don’t now. Like, do you ever plan to settle down? Can you be committed to one woman?”
I thought about her questions. Couldn’t say I had imagined myself settled down and committed to one woman before my accident. But after it, I didn’t think any would be interested in my damaged body. Funny how events in our lives changed us.
“You don’t have to answer,” she said. “I’m getting too personal a little too quickly.”
“Yes, to both questions. If it’s the right woman.
” Which I believed Kelly Lloyd was the perfect woman.
It sounded crazy even to me to declare such things after one day, but I couldn’t deny the peace and ease I felt with my old friend.
She’d always been easy to be with back in the day, and now, I saw her with a fresh pair of eyes.
Shelley returned with our drinks. She placed them on the table and left without saying a word.
“Quick service,” Kelly said, reaching for her drink. “Should I be worried that she poisoned my martini.” She sniffed it.
“If she did, I’ll kill her.” I took a drink of my beer.
Kelly gasped and her eyeballs almost popped out of her head. “You’re joking, right?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Nobody gets away with hurting my friends.”
She sipped her cocktail and looked forward.
Maybe I should use a filter more with Kelly. She didn’t know the man I’d become after high school. That’d I’d killed a man before and had beat up many more. Not everything my club did was legal and the locals called us outlaws.
What if she didn’t like me once she learned more about me?
Well, I’d have to breakout my charm… “Are you seeing anyone?”