Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
While I sat in the backseat, I sent a text to Brandon saying I was sick and had taken a rideshare home.
As soon as I sent it, I turned my phone off and shoved it into my wristlet.
I was feeling a little bit of the alcohol Brandon had ordered me to drink and the sips I’d had from the vodka bottle.
It was probably what had given me the courage to walk out of that party and text Brandon.
“Reid asked if we could swing by and pick up Mac on the way,” Roe said as he texted on his phone.
“Is she at Bram’s house or Reid’s?” Wyatt asked.
“Bram’s,” Roe answered.
“Bram’s house?” I repeated. “As in the Haven’s Rebels’ president?” As in the same man I’d met at the movie theater.
“Yeah. He’s married to Reid and Mac’s mom,” Roe answered.
“He’s Reid’s dad?” I asked, shocked. I remembered Wyatt telling me that Reid’s dad was a really bad man. The guy at the movie theater had seemed nice.
“No,” they both said at the same time.
“Bram and Vivian got married three years ago,” Wyatt explained. “Reid and Mac’s bio dad is…”
“Out of the picture,” Roe said.
“Oh,” was all I could think of to say. Reid was the MC president’s stepson. Interesting.
“I hate to bring this up, but I figured since we’re swinging by to pick up Mac, we could borrow something different for Lottie to wear,” Wyatt said.
“What?” Roe asked, sounding as confused as I was.
Wyatt’s forehead wrinkled with worry. “Lottie, I think you look very beautiful, but you’re going to stand out in that pink dress.”
Roe glanced back at me, taking in my outfit. “She’s beautiful. That’s already going to draw attention.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that, but do you want to put her in a bar full of drunk Rebels members while she’s wearing those clothes?
Really think about it, Roe.” Wyatt looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“You should be able to wear whatever you want wherever you want, but for safety, would you humor wearing something that will help you blend in a little?”
“I would prefer not to be noticed. So I’m good with it,” I said.
Roe got to texting again and by the time we pulled up to Bram’s house to pick up Mac, she was already outside with an armful of clothes.
The MC president had a nice house. It was a two-story home with a two-car garage in a newer neighborhood.
It had a nice green lawn, a long driveway, and flowers planted along the path leading up to the front door.
Roe got out of the car so he could pull the seat forward to let Mac climb into the back with me.
She was dressed in skintight jeans that were ripped all over, exposing skin in different spots all up her legs.
She had on laced-up matte black boots that had a thick heel and went up to mid-calf.
Her shirt was a black halter body suit. Her brown-and-caramel hair was up in a messy bun, and she had on sparkling black dangle earrings.
Her style was grunge and hot. Whereas mine was feminine and delicate.
She looked me over. “I see what you mean. Everything about her screams ‘princess from the north side of the bridge.’”
“Should I be offended by that?” I asked.
Roe climbed back in and Wyatt drove off.
“You look like money, babe,” she said as she went through the pile of clothes she’d brought.
“Plus, you look innocent and fragile. We don’t want to attract every douchebag that’s going to be there tonight.
” She held up a black leather skirt. “Do you like leather? I don’t fit in this anymore.
I refuse to give up chocolate and it loves to go straight to my ass.
Not that I care, or any of the guys who have seen me naked. They sure love to grab—”
“Ugh, stop it!” Wyatt protested at the same time Roe said, “We don’t need to hear this.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyways, this should fit you.” She handed over the skirt and went back to her pile. “What kind of bra are you wearing? Because I have this fishnet top—”
“No!” Roe and Wyatt said at the same time before I could even answer.
“We’re trying to not draw too much attention, remember?” Roe said.
Mac snorted. “You can’t hide that she’s hot. We’re just trying to hide the fact that if anyone kidnaps her, they can ransom her for money.”
“What?” I asked at the same time Roe snapped, “Makayla!”
“Kidding!” she said. “Sort of.”
Roe sighed as he ran a hand down the side of his face.
“She’s not wrong,” Wyatt mumbled.
Mac looked at me as if my answer was the only one that mattered. I shook my head. “My bra wouldn’t go well with fishnet.”
“How about going braless?” she asked, making Wyatt groan and Roe curse.
“I have this cute long-sleeve crop top that has ties in the front, but most of your sternum will be exposed. Wearing a bra with it would look weird.” She held up a dark green, almost black shirt. “It’ll look good with your eyes.”
I took it. “Thank you.”
“Yup. No problem.” She looked toward the front of the car. “Where is she supposed to change?”
“I’ll park in the alley behind Noble’s,” Wyatt said.
“What if someone walks by?” she asked.
Roe glanced back at us. “We’ll stand outside and make sure no one can see.”
When we got to Noble’s Pub, it was extremely busy.
I could tell just from the amount of people hanging around out front as we drove by.
Wyatt did as he’d said he would and parked in the back alley behind the pub.
The guys got out and both stood on the driver’s side of the car with their backs to it.
Before they had gotten out, they had cracked their windows to give us a little bit of air.
Mac helped me out of my dress and eyed my matching cream silk-and-lace lingerie. “Wow, your bra and panties match. Mine rarely ever match, but when they do, I really feel like I got my shit together that day.”
Just barely, I heard the guys grumble about not wanting to hear what Mac was saying.
I smiled and reached around to unfasten my bra. I took it off and folded my dress around it.
Mac handed me the shirt to put on first. I thought she was staring at the necklace Ms. Clark had given me, but then she said, “You have great tits.”
“Damnit, Makayla! You don’t need to say everything that enters your head!” Roe snapped from outside.
Not that they could see her, but she gestured to my chest. “There are nipples out, gentlemen. Am I just supposed to pretend they’re not there?
It’s not like I’m hitting on her or anything.
I prefer dick. If my tits were out and no one said anything, I would get self-conscious.
I would want someone to compliment them. ”
“Make her stop,” Wyatt whined.
Instead of feeling uncomfortable like I normally did when praised, I laughed as I got the shirt on and was tying the ties. “Well, thank you for the compliment.”
After that, I shimmied my way into the skirt. Mac said the boots I was already wearing went well with my outfit and we let the guys know we were ready.
Wyatt opened his door and slid the seat forward to let us out. He offered me his hand, and I didn’t feel any dread when taking it. As soon as I was out of the car, righting the leather skirt, I could feel Roe and Wyatt checking me out. I glanced at them. “Well?”
Wyatt whistled. “Living up to your name, Lottie the hottie.”
Roe didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare, slowly taking in every inch of me.
“She does look hot,” Mac said, and hooked arms with me. “Now that I’ve seen your tits, I feel like we’ve bonded.”
“I haven’t seen yours,” I pointed out as I walked with her toward the back entrance to Noble’s Pub.
“Do you want me to show you them right now?” she asked.
“No!” Wyatt and Roe said at the same time.
Mac chuckled and winked at me, which gave me the impression that she’d offered just to mess with them.
Roe got the door for us. The music inside was a lot louder than it had been when we’d come to play pool after school nearly a week ago.
Wyatt walked in first, then Mac and I, followed by Roe.
The back entrance brought us in by the restrooms. Even the short hall there was packed.
Mac had to let go of my arm as she moved around people, following Wyatt.
A warm hand went to my lower back and a body pressed close as I tried to follow Mac and Wyatt.
I glanced back to see it was Roe. I knew he was just trying not to get separated, but that hand touching my bare skin was doing things to my head.
The hall to the restrooms led out into the main area of the pub, where the bar, tables, and booths were.
The music was even louder there. I noticed right away that some of the tables by the steps leading up to the pool-table area were gone and people were dancing there.
As we moved farther into the main room, heading for the bar, I saw that the pool tables were also gone.
That entire space had been changed to look like a stage, and a live band was playing there.
Wyatt and Mac squeezed their way up to the bar.
Reid was behind it taking drink orders. He saw Mac and Wyatt and went right over to them.
Roe and I hung back because there wasn’t any room.
As I looked around, taking everything in, I realized Wyatt had been right to insist I change.
I would have stood out like a sore thumb.
There were men wearing cuts everywhere. I didn’t know how many members the Haven’s Rebels had, but if I’d had to guess how many were here, I would’ve said all of them.
Mixed in with all the bikers were what looked to be regular patrons and a lot of women.
Some looked like wives or girlfriends of some of the MC members.
Other ladies looked like they’d come here with the intent to snag someone single or just to dance.
As I looked around, I got bumped by someone trying to squeeze by. I fell sideways against Roe. His hand that was on my back slid around to my stomach and he turned and pulled my back flush against his chest, as if to prevent me from being bumped into again. It was foreign to feel protected.
“Sorry!” the older, long-bearded Rebel man who had bumped into me yelled back as he kept going.
I put my hand on top of Roe’s on my bare stomach. I liked the way my hand looked with his.
Roe brought his mouth to my ear. “You okay?”
I nodded.
Wyatt and Mac found and rejoined us. Wyatt was carrying three beers. Mac had a shot glass in each hand.
“I brought us shots!” Mac said, handing one to me.
The glass held a golden liquid. I had a hunch what was in it, but still brought the shot up my nose to smell. It was whiskey. A very spicy whiskey.
“It’s Fireball. You’ll love it!” Mac told me just before throwing back her shot.
Tequila, vodka, and now whiskey. I was so going to have a headache tomorrow. I brought the little glass to my lips and swallowed the whole shot of whiskey. It burned like crazy going down, making my nose scrunch.
Mac took my empty shot glass and set it with hers on a table nearby, not caring about the bikers sitting there. She then took two beers from Wyatt and handed one to me.
“I can’t drink this,” I said loudly over the music. Currently, there was a guitar solo playing.
“Sure, you can,” Mac said as she clanked her beer bottle with mine.
Roe got close to my ear again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Mac leaned close. “At least try it. I used to not like beer, but this one is good.”
Why the hell not? I’d already broken way worse rules. I took a sip and scrunched my nose at how bitter it was. I didn’t like it.
Roe took the bottle from my hands and swigged from it.
“You’re supposed to be DD,” Wyatt said before drinking from his own beer.
“I’ll nurse it,” Roe said. “You know one beer won’t do shit to me.”
Wyatt nodded.
“Your dad is okay with you drinking here?” I asked Roe. “Won’t he get into trouble for serving to underage people?”
Overhearing, Mac responded, “You’re smack dab in the middle of Rebel territory. Police aren’t coming here unless there’s a dead body. So don’t worry about Noble.”
“You really have a way with words that really makes people not from around here comfortable,” Wyatt said caustically.
“Just saying how it is, Wy,” Mac grumbled before finishing off her beer. “I’m going to get more drinks.” She spun on her heel and headed back to the bar.
“She drank that fast,” Roe commented, and I nodded in agreement.
While she was gone, I noticed that the live music had stopped.
Glancing at the stage, I saw a new band setting up.
As I scanned the rest of the room, my sights caught on familiar greenish hazel eyes.
Bram was standing by one of the corner booths close to the stage.
He was staring right at me, looking very surprised.
I lifted a hand to wave at him. Instead of waving back, his expression went from surprised to unhappy to see me.
“Who are you waving at?” Wyatt asked.
I dropped my hand and shook my head. “I thought I saw someone I knew.” Strangely, I felt disappointed.
“Okay. I got you something good,” Mac said as she returned holding two highball glasses.
She handed me one. The cocktail inside was yellowish orange, filled with ice, and had a slice of peach and a sprig of mint on top.
“Reid made it. Said we’d like it.” Mac took a sip, and her eyebrows rose as she stared down at her glass.
I took a sip as well. It was bubbly and right away I could taste peaches. The alcohol was warm and spicy, like whiskey or bourbon. This was my first mixed drink, and it was delicious. “It’s really good.”
“Yeah, it is,” Mac agreed just as the new band began playing. Mac’s eyes went wide. “I love this song! We should go dance.” She took my drink back and thrust both our glasses at Wyatt. He just barely had time to take them before she grabbed my hand and dragged me to where everyone was dancing.