Quinn 6.
This has been a strange, strange day.
I have one more stop before the night is over. I wave to the prospect on duty at the gate as I drive through. I park near the main entrance, surprised to find a spot so close considering it’s a Friday night. The parking lot is packed with unfamiliar cars and rows of shiny chrome bikes. Throwing my car in park, I grab my purse and push open the driver’s door, kicking it shut behind me. Inside the clubhouse, I ignore the moans and skin slapping, my eyes scanning the hazy interior.
“BETTY GRIMALDA POWELL!” I yell at the top of my lungs. It’s 2024 so no record scratches, but there is an unsettling silence that falls over the busy clubroom.
The first lady saunters in from the kitchen, a smirk on her face, drying her hands on a towel. “Ain’t my middle name.”
“Don’t give a fuck!” My lips twitch but I firm them, so I don’t break.
“You’re back earlier than I expected. He didn’t take too long, did he?” She’s laughing and my blood blazes.
“Why do you hate me?” That stops her in her tracks.
“What? I don’t hate you.”
We’re a foot from one another, middle of the clubroom, every eye in the room glued to the two of us. “Then why would you set me up with Bro Dude? I’m old enough to be his mother!”
Betty waves me off with a roll of her eyes, “Shut up, you’d have been a teenage mother, so that’s a stretch. And that’s precisely why…you need to get laid. Tumbled, spun, worked over, let a young one give you a night you won’t soon forget.”
Hmm. “That’s oddly sweet of you, but I don’t work that way.” I glance around the room, giving Buck a thumb’s up. He’s behind Belly, hand on one tit, and I think a thumb in her ass, but he’s not moving. When everyone realizes Betty and I aren’t about to engage in fisticuffs, they go back to their regularly scheduled program, including Buck pumping into Belly. “Where are my favorite tax deductions?” I’m willing to accept an answer from anyone, but I’m looking right at my best friend and her husband…the two people in charge of my children for the night.
Audrey grins, “Polk had an emergency at the clinic, the boys jumped at the chance to help him.”
I nod, then focus on Betty again. “I helped him with his statistics homework!” Stacy appears out of nowhere, and the two of them lean on each other as they cackle like hyenas. “We’re gonna meet on Tuesdays so I can tutor him in medical terminology!”
“Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” I hiss at Lincoln, not appreciating his joke. At the bar, I slap the bar top for a drink. I throw the shot back and slap my hand for another. I hear the door open, but I’m too busy wincing through another shot.
“No more setting me up with guys from your gym, Betty Helga Powell.”
“Not my name.”
“No more setting me up, period. I’ll find my own dates, thank you very much! I’ll say one thing for Lenny Bro Dude…that boy can kiss !” Stacy cheers, clapping her hands as she bounces on her toes.
“God dammit!” I whip my head toward the door just in time to see Polk slam it open and stomp out. My boys stand in the doorway, staring after Polk in shock, before turning to me with various expressions of disgust.
“Gross, mom. Don’t talk about kissing.”
“Ha! Did a lot more than kiss to get the three of you!” Marco does not appreciate that in the least, following Polk outside. “Wait outside with your brother, boys. I’ll be right there.” I don’t want them in here while Buck is…going buck wild.
“Sammy! Upstairs.”
“But Mumzie—”
“Upstairs.”
“Yes, Pops.” Sammy and Enzo engage in some elaborate handshake, then Sammy puts a hand up to block his view of the clubroom and runs full tilt to the stairs.
“Quinn, be honest. Did you have a good time tonight?” Audrey takes my hands in hers, her expression so earnest and hopeful.
“That kiss…we aren’t in the same place in life, so the date was a dead end. But Lenny…he reminded me that I’m a desirable woman. And I didn’t know how much I needed that.”
Audrey looks at the front door, then back to me with a knowing smile. I don’t like it. “I have a feeling you’re gonna be reminded of that often…thoroughly…and loudly.”
I feel my eyebrow rise in confusion, “What?”
“Nothing. Boys’ bags are by the door. They stuffed their faces with food and did their homework. I’ll see ya soon, bestie.” She kisses my cheek, then heads upstairs to join Sammy.
I walk over to Betty, draw her in for a hug, and squeeze extra tight for funsies. “Thank you, honorable first lady.”
“I was hoping you’d get a kiss on your south mouth.”
“Jesus, Betty.” I bark a laugh as I pull back. “Life’s full of disappointments.”