Chapter Nine
“Y ou’re nervous,” Lidia said.
Pat turned toward his friend , to see she was dressed in what appeared to be a mermaid costume. Her tail was attached to her wrist, and she had seashells as a bra. Her hair was curled, with gems inside. She looked beautiful.
“I’m not nervous.”
“Who are you expecting to walk through that door?” Lidia asked, perching on a barstool.
“No one.”
Lidia laughed. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bad liar?”
“They wouldn’t dare.”
“I have to wonder if this is a certain Beckett woman you’re waiting for?” Lidia asked.
Pat lifted the beer he’d been holding to his lips and took a swig.
Lidia laughed. “It is. You invited Ava, didn’t you?”
“I hinted at it.”
“Do you think she is going to be a no-show?” she asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Have you ever been stood up before?”
Pat looked at her, and Lidia held her hands up as if in surrender. “It is a perfectly reasonable question. Yes or no?”
“I never cared or asked anyone before,” Pat said.
Lidia frowned. “You know, not a lot of guys talk about what you were like before I met you.”
“Why are you asking?”
“So, I can help play Cupid for you. Clearly, you’re a guy who knows what he wants, but you’re not entirely sure how to go after it. I want to see you happy, Pat.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I know enough to know you’re a good guy.”
Pat laughed. “You see, that just goes to show you don’t know enough about me.”
Lidia chuckled. “You think you’re a bad guy?”
He leaned in close. “Do you see any of the pussy coming close to me? I’m not a good man, Lidia. I never claimed to be.”
Pat didn’t know why, but he felt something—a connection, a second sense—something that told him to look around. When he did, he came face to face with a beauty.
“Wow,” Lidia said.
He had no words, but he saw several of the club brothers had noticed fresh meat, and he was on his feet, heading toward her. Ava was looking around the clubhouse, not noticing the attention she was getting, and the moment she caught sight of him, he saw the smile on her face.
“Hey,” she said. “I made it.”
Her hands were clenched. Ava was dressed as a sexy, tempting witch.
Her hair was black, and he saw she must have dyed it.
Her long, blonde locks were gone. The dress she wore pushed her tits up, showing off the delightful round globes of her breasts and seemed to enhance the fullness of her cleavage.
He rarely saw her in such revealing clothes, but he didn’t have a problem with it.
As long as every other male in the room kept their gazes to themselves, he was fine with it.
The dress was curved in at the waist but flared out across her hips, and he spotted the large slit up one side of her thigh. She looked like one tempting witch.
“You dyed your hair?” he asked.
She touched a curl and smiled. “It’s not permanent. It should come away with a few washes.”
“I like it, but I like your blonde hair as well.”
He loved the smile on her lips.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I do. You want to get a drink?”
“Yeah, but ... not alcoholic. Just a soda or something.”
He nodded his head and saw she’d nibbled her lip. “Good call.” He went to the bar, and rather than order himself another beer, he got them both two cold, fresh orange juices.
So far, the party was not heading in a crazy direction. Most of the women had their clothes on, and the guys were behaving themselves. It was still early though.
“Where’s Bernice?” Pat asked.
“Violet is taking care of her for me tonight,” Ava said.
He handed her the bottle of fresh orange juice, and he watched as she took a delicate sip.
“Can I admit something to you?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve never been to a Halloween party,” she said.
“Not ever?”
“No. Mom’s gone to one this year. She opted to go the bar, and Violet offered to babysit Bernice for me. It’s the first time we haven’t spent Halloween together. Mom is like a big fan of horror movies. Violet and I, not so much.”
“You don’t like to be scared?”
“Not at all.”
“Why do you watch them, then?” Pat asked.
“Our dad used to watch them with her. We picked up the tradition after he passed.”
Now he felt like an asshole. Pat looked at her. Any other woman and he didn’t care about her history. He had no interest in learning about her past, or even knowing what she wanted to do with her life. Ava was different, and had been right from the start. He wanted to hear more. Know more.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a long time ago. Did you ever meet my dad?”
Pat shook his head. “No, I can’t say I have.”
She looked at him with such amazing blue eyes. They were stunning. “He was a good guy.”
“I can imagine. He helped bring an amazing woman into this world,” Pat said.
He knew they were completely different. Ava was young, she had her whole life ahead of her, while he had nothing. The club was his life, and the truth was, he expected to die serving the club. He’d gotten lucky when serving his country, but he would bleed and give everything for the club.
Ava deserved someone better. She deserved someone who had to wait to fall asleep through fucking exhaustion.
She needed someone who would be there for her, not dealing with club shit.
He’d tried to stay away and convince himself someone would come along for her.
The only problem was, someone hadn’t come along, or the other little nasty truth he struggled with.
He couldn’t stand the fucking thought of anyone else being with Ava.
She was not the kind of woman you screwed and forgot.
She was hardworking, loyal, she loved her mother.
Technically, she worked two jobs, although she didn’t get paid from helping her mother.
She did it without anger or annoyance. She just wanted to be there for her.
Most of the women who served the club were only after what would benefit themselves. He’d met a lot of selfish women along the way. Ava was not like that.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing. You want to dance?” he asked.
“There’s a dance floor?”
“Here, there is anything you want.” He took her bottle of juice, and he’d get fresh ones.
Even though they were at the club, he would not allow her to fall into bad habits.
You left your drink at a bar unattended, you got yourself a fresh one.
You also never allowed a stranger to take care of your drink. Bad shit happened with that.
Taking hold of Ava’s hands, he was aware of several guys at the club watching him. He wanted to tell them all to fuck off, but if he did that, he might upset Ava by making her aware people were watching.
He’d not succumbed to a woman in a very long time. With Ava, he was gentle. Pulling her close, placing a hand at the base of her back, and holding her other hand.
“You do realize we’re getting a lot of stares, right?” Ava asked.
She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him.
“You noticed?”
“Kind of hard not to. The guy I know as Rusty, he’s had his mouth open since I got here and you spotted me.”
“Ignore Rusty.”
Ava laughed. “Is something going on that I should know about?”
“Nothing.” He wanted to kiss her. Those lips looked so inviting. He felt a pulse within his dick.
Ava not only looked incredible, but she smelled it as well. She always smelled amazing for being in the coffee shop. Even now, without working, she smelled like vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. It made his mouth water.
“You’re beautiful, you know that, right?” he asked.
Ava looked at him, and he got the sense he’d surprised her.
“Thank you, and for what it’s worth, I think you’re very handsome for being ... a zombie biker? A scary biker?”
“I’m a dead biker, but I have a feeling I’m starting to wake up.”
And he wasn’t kidding either.
Ava was everything.
There was that sweet smile, and she leaned in close, resting her head against his chest. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but he had this funny feeling he didn’t want to ever let her go.
****
T he Halloween party was awesome.
Ava had never been to a party like this. She, her mother, and Violet would dress up to do their movie marathon on Halloween. Not just to entertain themselves, but also to be in some kind of character for when they answered the door for trick-or-treaters. She loved it.
This year, their mother had told her and Violet that she was changing things up.
She was going to a party at the bar. Violet was also invited to join.
However, her sister, much to Ava’s surprise, turned down the offer.
She was going to enjoy the fun movies this year.
The kind that didn’t scare the crap out of her, and were good for kids.
Ava felt bad, but Violet had insisted she go.
“I don’t know what is going on between you and this biker, and to be honest, it doesn’t matter.
Whenever he’s around, you’re happy. You smile more, and I have a feeling he makes you happy.
So, because of that, I am going to insist that you go, have fun, enjoy the party.
Don’t look back. Have fun. Don’t plan everything.
Let it all come to you naturally. You know, live a little. ”
Which is why her sister helped her get changed into the witch outfit, with a few tweaks.
She stood on the edge of the dance floor. Pat had just excused himself to get them both a couple of drinks.
“Hi, Ava,” Lidia said, coming toward her.
She turned to the other woman and offered her a smile.
“Hi, Lidia.”
“You look amazing.”
“Thank you, and so do you. That is amazing.” She pointed toward the tail.
“Thanks, I got your mom to order it for me at her shop.”
Ava looked at Lidia and then nodded. “Yeah, I remember packaging the order.” She then giggled. “You didn’t want to step foot into the shop?”
Lidia looked terrified. “No, I couldn’t.”
“Any reason why?” Ava asked, feeling a little concerned.