Chapter 9
Clara
I sit at the bar nursing a drink while Tex gives Wade a tour of the clubhouse and shows him to his room. There’s a middle-aged prospect behind the bar. He’s got long, dark hair that hangs down to his shoulders. Most of the brothers here seem to have longer hair, loads of muscles, and beards. He mixes my drink and delivers it with expert precision, but it’s clear that he’s got no time to make nice. As more brothers come in, he starts to get really busy.
I look around, still trying to figure out the club culture. Near as I can tell, the prospects work hard to earn the brothers’ approval. The brothers, on the other hand, clearly come here to de-stress. It’s the weekend, so I’m not surprised so many of them come pouring through the door. Prospects bring food from the back and the bartender diligently carries out drinks. Some brothers play pool. Others gather around a large table in the back to play poker. They all have cash on the table and seem absorbed in their game.
I see a few women running around in leather booty shorts, belly shirts, and spiked heels. No matter their coloring, they all look like carbon copies of each other because of the way they dress. I can’t figure out if they all dress the same because it’s considered fashionable here, or if it’s some kind of Savage Legion uniform. It’s difficult to tell if they’re employed here but they kind of do look like their job is to entertain the brothers.
I frown as I gaze at a woman in the corner who seems angry. Unfortunately, she catches sight of me, slams her empty glass onto a nearby empty table and comes stalking towards me. I spin around on my bar stool to face her because I don’t want her to think I’m scared of her.
She comes to a stop about four feet away and puts her hand on her hips. “Who the hell are you?”
“You first,” I tell her without raising my voice.
“My name is Brittany and I’m in charge around here.”
The man behind the bar snorts a laugh. “No, you aren’t, that’s Mel,” he tells her as he scoops some crushed ice into the blender.
She jumps up onto her toes and lands on her heels with a thud. “I mean the other club girls listen to and aspire to be like me.”
“I doubt that. You’ve been suspended three times and you’re on your absolute last chance.”
The woman tosses her bleached blonde hair back over her shoulder and practically preens. “See, that right there proves I’m special. The club officers have never given any other club girl three chances. Remember they have that three strikes and you’re out rule.”
He flashes her a knowing grin. “You like messing with people too much Brittany. It’s what always gets you into trouble.”
She stomps one foot, like a toddler. “What the hell do you care if I mess with someone, Nick? It’s none of your business.”
“I never said I cared, Brit. Just giving you your warning for the evening. If you keep trying to stir the shit with Miss Clara, Tex is gonna nail your ass to the wall.”
She actually laughs, a bit maniacally to be honest. It causes several brothers to glance over at her and roll their eyes. This and the fact that she’s been suspended three times clues me in that she might have a little main character syndrome going on. A warning bell goes off in my head, reminding me to tread softly with one.
She turns her attention back to me. “So, you’re with Tex? Well, I don’t see a property cut.”
Nick speaks her name in a warning tone, “Brittany.”
She waves him away with one hand. “Shut it, prospect. The women are talking.” Staring at me, I see some kind of mischief I can’t name dancing in her eyes.
She repeats her question, “So, you and Tex are together?”
Making a snap decision, I nod, “Yes, we’re together, so until further notice his business is none of yours.”
I immediately realize what a gigantic mistake claiming him has been, because she throws back her head and laughs, it’s an ugly cackling kind of sound that grates on my last nerve.
A deep voice comes from behind me, “Glad to see you’re as thrilled as I am with my new woman, Brittany.”
I whip my head around just in time to see Tex step up and put his arm around me. He gazes down at me, his expression hawkish and also slightly amused. “Is this club girl bothering you, honey bunny sugar pie?”
I press my lips together and nod my head to keep from laughing.
Brittany takes a step closer. “What the fuck Tex. You went and got yourself a woman?”
“Clara is my neighbor. We’re working on figuring out who’s stalking her. We kinda clicked.”
Pointing from one of us to the other, she says, “honey bunny sugar pie? Like that’s a mouthful, ya know.”
“I’ll tell you what I know, Brittany. Y’all are wasting a bunch of my time talking about things that ain’t your business. Why don’t y’all wander off and make a brother happy tonight.”
“Oh, I plan to. Any brother would consider himself lucky to end up with me for the night. At one time, spending the night with me was the highlight of your week.”
My head involuntarily turns to look at Tex. I mumble awkwardly, “You’ve slept with Brittany?”
Brittany answers for him. “Of course he has, a bunch of times. Tex has a voracious appetite for sex. He’s fucked almost every club girl at the clubhouse.”
Tex doesn’t deny it. Instead, he just glares at her.
Leaning sideways, she asks, “Who’s that stud standing behind you?”
Tex’s voice turns cold. “It’s my friend Wade. He’s not here to get wild with club girls. We have important business to attend to.”
“Why don’t you introduce me and let him decide for himself?”
Tex takes a threatening step forward. “Y’all need to walk the fuck away before I lose my patience with you.”
His voice sends a chill up my spine. Even Brittany snaps to attention and begins backing away. I sneak a glance at Tex, wondering what him losing his patience would look like. I’d always thought of him as my grumpy neighbor. Now, I can clearly see that he has some darkness deep inside, darkness that scares me a little. It’s right there in the tone of his voice.
“Now, Brit,” he practically growls.
She freezes for a second before turning and literally running away from him. Nick’s voice drifts to our ears from the bar. “I warned her about messing with your friend and stirring up shit tonight, Tex. Of course she didn’t listen, like always.”
Tex’s head turns to look at Nick and his expression softens, “It’s not your fault that Siege is too soft-hearted to sling her out. Brittany is nothing but trouble.”
“Wanna grab a table. I’ll bring you some food and drinks so you can decompress a bit. How about that?”
“That’s real nice of you, Nick. We’ll be in the back.”
When I step closer, Tex wraps his arm around me and I can feel his hand against the small of my back, guiding me towards the back of the bar. I whisper, “Sorry about saying we’re together when we’re not.”
He shoots me indulgent look. “Don’t worry about it, honey pie. I know y’all did it to keep her from trying to get her claws in me again. You’re pretty and protective in your own way.”
When we all sit down, I notice that Wade looks better. I wouldn’t go as far as to describe him as a stud like Brittany had, but he looks good. He’d showered and put on clean clothing. I can see he’s a bit shell-shocked to be here trying to get his head around the Savage Legion’s clubhouse, just like I had been a few minutes before attracting Brittany’s attention.
I look to where his gaze is going and see several women wander up to the bar. They’re all wearing jeans and a black leather cut that says ‘property of’ over their shirts. Instead of stripper heels, they’re wearing more sensible looking footwear, either sneakers or boots. One has some cute ballet pumps in blush pink which is a contrast to the tough leather vest. It suddenly hits me, that these are the wives and partners of the male members of this club. They’re not playing sex kitten games or trying to get noticed. They’re strong, confident women wrapped up in their own conversation.
I ask Tex, “Did you find Levi?”
One side of his mouth quirks up. “Yeah, he’s on the back patio eating and playing chess with Evan. Both Evan’s parents are back there giving Levi pointers. He’s having a high old time.”
“That’s nice,” I tell him before glancing away. I’m upset and don’t even know why. Actually I do, it’s because of that club girl saying she’s slept with him. I have no right to be jealous, but for some reason I am. I fix him a glare, and say perhaps more tersely than I mean, “Have you really slept with all the club girls?”
Tex leans across the table and states quietly, “We’re not actually dating, so I’m having a hard time imagining exactly why y’all are upset that I fucked my way through all the club girls. You were married and happily banging away with that cheatin’ husband of yours, remember?”
Suddenly, my heart is pounding in my chest. It feels like all the oxygen has been sucked from the room. I feel hot all over and my palms are sweating. I’m having a panic attack. I’ve had them before, and it’s Wade who jumps into action.
“God damn it, leave her the fuck alone!” He takes my hand and pulls me up from my seat and starts walking towards the door. I’m gasping for air and there’s a lump in my throat that won’t go down. Once we’re outside, Wade shoves me down into a chair and kneels down beside me. “Clara, look at me.” When I don’t, he lifts my chin until I’m looking into his eyes. “You’re hyperventilating and need to slow your breathing. Count to three between breaths just like your doctor taught you.”
I try to silently count between breaths. The first couple of times I only get to two, but after that I get to three. The lightheadedness clears and the breeze cools my face.
I glance up at him, thoroughly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I lost it in there. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or Tex.”
Wade moves back to give me space. “I’m not embarrassed by you, Clara. I’ve always thought of you as the kid sister I never had. Nothing you could do would embarrass me.”
I scan the area for Tex and don’t see him. “After that fiasco, we might be investigating this thing on our own, Wade.” I meant for the comment to be funny but it kind of hangs there, feeling more true than not.
“You know that man’s crushing pretty hard on you, don’t you?”
“He’s my grumpy neighbor. He’s only helping because someone’s been setting off my car alarm in the middle of the night and waking him up. I’m pretty sure he’d rather be doing just about anything else than helping me.”
“He’s a cop. Helping you is right up his alley.”
“He just wants a good night’s sleep,” I say. “Thanks for helping me there, Wade.”
“That’s what families are for. Or it was, I guess now I’m not with your sister we aren’t gonna be family anymore,” his voice is sad.
“You know that you’re always going to be part of our family, Wade. It doesn’t matter if you and my sister end up divorced. You’re still my niece and nephew’s father and nothing is ever going to change that. What just happened only proves that we need you in our life.”
“Maybe,” he admits. “All I know is I need to see my kids.”
I suddenly have an idea and pull out my cell phone, then call my sister. She answers right away. “Clara? Is that you?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking. Maybe you’re right about putting this behind us. How about if I pick up the kids in the morning so you can Chris can spend the whole day together? Would that be a step in the right direction towards fixing this?”
My sister perks up, “Yeah, that would be nice. We haven’t had a whole day together in a long time.”
“Alright then. I’ll be there at eight in the morning and bring them back around seven or eight in the evening.”
“Thank you, Clara. I knew this would all work itself out.”
When the screen went black, I tell Wade, “Ready to spend the day with your kids? We can bring them here. I think they’d really enjoy it.”
The relief on his face is nice to see. “She’s gonna be pissed when she finds out that you let me spend the day with them too.”
I shrug, “Bitch slept with my husband. Ask me if I care.”
He gives me a genuine smile. “I can already see that you don’t. Thanks, Clara. I owe you one.”
“No, you don’t, Wade. Family does things for each other. If I can outsmart my sister long enough for you to get some face time with your kids, I consider that fair play.”
“I agree. We’d best get back inside before Tex comes looking for us. I don’t want to get my ass chewed for hogging all your time.”
Just then we hear someone snorting like a pig from the other side of the porch. Tex steps forward out of the shadows. “You two are so fucking sweet to each other, like real siblings. The world can be a shitty place. I’m glad y’all have each other to rely on.”
I come to my feet and walk over to him. “There’s always room for one more friend.”
“Wade’s right. I’ve been crushing on y’all just a little. Don’t worry, I know now’s not the time and this ain’t the place, so I’ll stuff it. But y’all should know that sometime soon, I’m gonna ask y’all out. And you’re gonna say yes, sugar pie.” He turns and walks to the front door. “Food’s on the table. Best come eat before it gets cold.”
We follow him in and for once there’s nothing but pure happiness in my heart. We sit back down at our table, but it’s now covered with steak, baked potatoes, and a salad. The guys have cold beers, and the prospect has given me a wine cooler. I look over at the bar, catch Nick’s eye and give him a thumbs up with one hand while holding up the bottle with the other.
He grins and jerks his chin at me. When I turn around, Tex rolls his eyes. “Whatever man ends up with you, won’t be able to keep y’all if he has an ounce of insecurity. I can tell y’all that right now.”
I grin at him, “What do you mean?”
“You’re a flirt,” he says. There’s a twinkle in his eye so I decide to tease him right back.
“And are you a jealous man?”
“Honey pie, once a woman gets an eyeful of what I’m packing, she ain’t going no place else.”
I was about to tell him that this is some arrogance, when he bursts into laughter. He was pulling my leg with the alpha male act. Or was he? I’d kind of gotten a glimpse of what he was packing when he came outside that night my alarm wouldn’t shut up. Not that I’m a size queen, for me it’s personality all round, and I have to say that this big, handsome joker of a man is lighting all kinds of sparks in me.
We dig into our food, and I watch Wade start off by shoving food around on his plate and the more bites he gets down the hungrier he seems to get. It’s good to see his appetite come back so fast. Seeing him like this makes me hate my cheating husband and sister all the more.
When I glance at Tex my heart squeezes. He’s the reason Wade is doing better in such a short length of time. He somehow instinctively knew that the key to getting Wade to come to the clubhouse was making him feel needed. I don’t know about Tex, but I do need Wade. He’s the other victim in the cheating that imploded my world. We should be supporting each other. I can’t help myself, I reach out to give Tex’s hand a quick squeeze.
He looks surprised but pleased.