Chapter 20
Frankie
When I was married to Marc, I didn’t have many friends.
He was always so suspicious of every move I made.
If I happened to go to lunch with an old college friend or someone I knew in high school, he’d call a million times trying to catch me in a lie.
At the time, I didn’t realize it was because he was cheating.
I just assumed it was another way he was trying to control me and just gave up on trying to have friends altogether.
I focused on spending time with my boys and getting the coffee shop off the ground.
There were times when I was lonely, very lonely, so needless to say, I was excited about my girls night out with the ol’ ladies.
I had such a great time with them at dinner.
They were all so sweet and funny, and even though we’d really just met, they made me feel like I was part of the group.
When they mentioned going to the club to have a drink with the guys, I immediately agreed, thinking it would be a great way to get to know them a little better, and I’d get to spend some time with Roman.
I thought it was a win-win until we arrived at Stilettoes—the strip club, not the clubhouse.
I’d never been to a strip club, but I didn’t tell any of them that, fearing they might think I was a prude.
I simply did my best to feign a smile and followed them inside.
But as soon as we walked through the door and I heard the loud music, saw the flickering stage lights and beautiful women, my smile vanished as my mouth fell open with surprise.
I’d hoped none of the ol’ ladies noticed my startled reaction, but no such luck.
Marlowe started to giggle as she leaned over to me and said, “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? ”
“Yeah, a little.”
“This your first time at the club?”
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever been to any strip club.”
“I was the same way. Girl, I can still remember my first time.” Delilah laughed as she said, “All the boobs had me feeling a little insecure, but now, it doesn’t bother me like it used to. We’ve all gotten to know most of the girls, and they’re all really sweet.”
We made our way through the crowd and over to the table where the guys were sitting. As soon as he spotted us, Roman got up and grabbed me a chair, placing it right next to him. Once I was seated, he asked, “You girls have a good time at dinner?”
“Yeah. It was really nice. They’re super sweet and kind of filled me in on their side of the club stuff.” I glanced around at all the scantily dressed waitresses as I said, “They didn’t tell me much about this place, though. Just that Marlowe bartends here a few days a week.”
Delilah leaned across the table as she teased, “I tried to tell her that she’d get used to all the boobs, but I’m not sure she believed me.”
After a round of laughter, Remington leaned over to me and said, “Alcohol helps a lot. After a shot of tequila or two, you won’t even notice all the boobs and perfect asses anymore.”
“Makes sense.” I leaned over to Roman and whispered, “I’m going to need a shot. Maybe two.”
“You got it.”
When he motioned over to the waitress, Delilah announced, “I’m going to need one, too.”
“Me, too,” Remington chimed in.
It was good to know I wasn’t the only one who needed a little desensitizing. After Roman ordered our drinks, Menace looked over to Country and said, “Hey, why don’t you tell the guys about your little run-in with Viper?”
“Thought you weren’t gonna tell anybody about that shit?”
“I’m not.” Menace smirked as he pushed, “You are.”
“I’m too fucking traumatized to talk about it.” Country ran his hand over his face. “After what I saw, I may never be right again.”
Rafe gave him a puzzled look as he asked, “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”
“I saw Viper’s...you know....”
“Nah, not sure that I do.”
“His one-eyed snake.” Country’s face grew pale as he leaned in and whispered, “He stepped out of his room at the clubhouse, and for whatever reason, he was naked as the day is long. I was just minding my own fucking business and going to get some fuckin’ coffee when I got an eye full.”
“Wait! You’re saying you saw his goods?” Marlowe asked, sounding intrigued. “His long John? His penetrator?”
Remington was next to chime in. “His shlong? His...ah....man meat?”
“Ooohh...his wooly mammoth?” Delilah teased. “His looo-ve muscle!”
I might’ve thrown in my own commentary, but I was laughing too hard to even speak.
I could only sit there and listen as they continued throwing out different nicknames for their president’s manhood.
When they finally got stumped and couldn’t come up with any more, Marlowe turned to him and said, “Well, you still haven’t told us why it was so traumatizing. ”
“’Cause the damn thing looked like a fucking tallboy...policeman’s flashlight from the 1980’s...damn near a five-dollar foot long.” He shook his head and grumbled, “I’m telling ya, I think we should’ve called him King Cobra instead of Viper.”
“I think we got the picture, brother,” Rafe chuckled. “Thanks for sharing. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at Prez the same again.”
“I know I won’t,” Country mumbled. “That shit scarred me for life.”
Another round of laughter ensued, but quickly died down when Danny approached the table.
I hadn’t seen him since the night I’d picked Corry up from the clubhouse.
He’d seemed like such a friendly, easygoing guy at the time, but as he sat down at the table, he looked like he’d seen better days.
There were faint bruises under his eyes, much like the light bruise I still had from where Marc had punched me—only my concealer had worked wonders to hide mine.
Country gave him a pat on the shoulder as he asked, “How you making it, brother?”
“I thought my roughed-up look might give me an advantage with the ladies, but it hasn’t helped for shit.” He took one of the tequila shots from the table and quickly downed it. “I mean, damn. What’s a man gotta do to get laid around here?”
“Maybe if you were packing like Viper then you’d have better luck,” Country grumbled. “Hell, we all would. We’d have to beat the bitches off with a fucking stick.”
Danny’s brows furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Ignore him, man,” Rafe replied. “He’s still recovering from a traumatic event. Might even have a little PTSD.”
“Not sure I’m following.”
“Probably best that you don’t.” Rafe took a sip of his beer as he told him, “Just give it time. Things will change when you get your patch.”
“God, I hope so.”
Everyone continued to banter back and forth, and even though I was loving every minute of it, I needed to get back. I’d promised Sydney I’d only be gone a few hours, and I had to get up early for work. I leaned over to Roman and whispered, “I really need to get going.”
“Okay. I’ll take you home.”
“You don’t have to leave. I can...”
“I’m taking you home, Frankie.” With that he stood and announced, “We gotta get going.”
“So soon?” Marlowe complained.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I hate to rush off, but I’ve gotta get back home to the boys.”
“Okay. We’ll get together again soon,” Marlowe promised.
“I’d really like that.” I gave them all a quick wave as I said, “I really enjoyed tonight. I’ll see you all again soon.”
“Looking forward to it.” Remington smiled as she said, “You make a great addition to the group.”
“Thanks, Remington. That means a lot.”
Roman and I said our final goodbyes, then headed out to his bike.
When we got home, the boys were in the living room watching TV with Sydney.
They were so enthralled with their scary movie they didn’t even notice when she got up to leave.
Roman and I nestled up on the sofa and finished the movie with them.
It seemed so easy, so natural, being there with him.
It continued to feel that way over the next few months.
Roman had quickly become a fixture in our lives, and the boys truly seemed to enjoy having him there, especially Corry.
Between the continued counseling and the time he’d spent with Roman, he was really coming out of his shell.
Things with Marc had also improved over the past few months.
I never got the full story of what happened with him and Roman.
I just know that whatever went down had caused Marc to make a dramatic change.
He was friendly with the boys and actually seemed to be making an effort with them.
He’d even gone so far as to tell them they didn’t have to come to his house unless they really wanted to.
Marc had also left me alone. Other than an apology note and some flowers, I hadn’t heard from him since the night of the attack, and I was good with that.
The boys were, too. The change in their father had truly made all of our lives better—and I owed it all to Roman.
It had been seven months since the day fate brought him into our lives, and I was feeling really good about things.
The weather had turned warm, and I was sitting on the front porch watching as Roman took the boys for a ride on his motorcycle.
Knowing how careful of a driver he was, I’d overcome my fear of them learning to ride, and they were taking turns going around our subdivision.
They’d been at it for over an hour when Roman finally told them he needed a break, and he came over to join me on the front steps.
He gave me a quick kiss before asking, “How ya doing, beautiful?”
“Couldn’t be better.” I leaned over and placed my head on his shoulder. “I really like having you around.”
“Is that right?”
“Um-hmm. I’m thinking it’s time we talk to the boys about you moving in.”
“Too late.” He chuckled as he said, “They’ve been hounding me about it for a couple of months now.”
I sat up straight as I gasped, “What?”
“Sean was the first to bring it up. It was right after the shit with Marc.” He shrugged. “Corry brought it up a few weeks after that. Then, they both cornered me a few weeks ago asking what was the big hold up.”
“Seriously? They never mentioned it to me!”
“I told them I was giving you time.” He eased over and kissed me on the temple. “Told them you wanted to take things slow and all that.”
“So, you’re good with moving in?”
“Hell, yeah.” A smirk crossed his handsome face. “I’ve been wooing you for months now trying to get ya to come around.”
“Wooing me? Is that what you’ve been doing?”
“Apparently, I’m not as good at it as I’d hoped.”
“You’re very good at it.” I slipped my arms around his neck, pulling him towards me. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready.”
“So, we’re gonna do this thing?”
“Yeah, Roman. We’re gonna do this thing.”
He crashed his mouth down on mine, kissing me with all the love and emotion he had bottled inside of him, and as I kissed him back, I knew I’d found my person. Roman wasn’t just my boyfriend and lover. He was my best friend, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life loving him the way he loved me.