ELLE
Nova had been lowkey depressed since Skylar’s first day of school. Missing her daughter left her mopey. Lyric didn’t help by asking to sit on the front porch and wait for her sister to return.
Ivy and I made it our mission to keep Nova and Lyric busy that first week.
We took walks around the neighborhood and visited parks.
On Skylar’s early release day, we went shopping for clothes.
I bought a few outfits and several pairs of pants for Sutter.
Nova found a few adorable outfits for the girls.
Ivy lingered in the baby clothes section, as she weighed the pros and cons of baby fever.
Nova and Lyric were both calmer by the time Zodiac and a half dozen of his bros rode to Little Memphis. They arrived the night before Cher’s birthday party.
I had worried a week apart might have given Zodiac time to rethink our relationship. Instead, he planted a kiss on my lips and announced he was spending the night. The rest of his guys rode to the condos to bunk.
That night, Sutter, Zodiac, and I had dinner alone since my parents were at Joker and Amanda’s house. We ate outside in the mild evening before retiring downstairs to watch a silly movie. After Sutter was asleep, Zodiac worked out a week’s worth of horniness while I mostly tried to keep up.
The next day, we got dolled up for Cher’s thirtieth birthday party. Zodiac looked fine as hell in a black button-up shirt and black jeans. I wore my new maternity shirt that made me look more pregnant than dumpy.
“What’s with the braids?” Zodiac asked as I tied Nova’s brown hair into two braids to match mine.
“They shaved Cher’s head when she got hurt. Her hair is still super short, so she wanted everyone to wear braids tonight. She claims it’ll help her dream of a day when her hair is longer than two inches.”
Zodiac didn’t react to my words. However, he kept a close eye on me while I gave Lula braids before doing the same for Ivy and the girls.
“We want to go to the party,” Skylar insisted.
“It’ll be super boring,” I told the girls before they got agitated. “We plan to talk about taxes and hemorrhoids. It’ll be all grown-up stuff. However, there’ll be cake and treats, so why don’t we bring that home for you? You can have the good stuff and skip the boring stuff.”
The girls sensed I might be full of shit. After all, I was often full of shit. But they couldn’t argue with getting treats.
“Deal,” Lyric said and smiled at Dillon, whose hair was too short for decent braids. “I like cake.”
“Me, too,” Dillon replied. “I also want cupcakes if they have them.”
After making a list of goodies to bring home, we walked with the kids to my aunt and uncle’s house. Ford and Shay were already there with Sutter.
Pax announced, “We’re having our own party with our own snacks. We’ll be ordering chicken wings and mozzarella sticks.”
With the kids sufficiently distracted, I gave Zodiac a lingering kiss and smacked his ass.
“See you at the party, lover.”
While Clint, Zodiac, Exile, and Lula rode their motorcycles around us, Ivy, Nova, and I drove to the party in my SUV. My itty-bitty sister-in-law had recently obtained her driver’s permit. Tonight, I had her take the wheel while I supervised.
Smiling at Ivy, I said, “I want you to know that I appreciate how you’re driving slowly to ensure my son doesn’t get car sickness.”
“I get it,” the tiny blonde mumbled, growing frustrated. “I’m driving too slowly.”
“No, you’re fine,” I insisted as she increased her speed by five miles, making her only ten miles below the limit.
Clint, Exile, Lula, and Zodiac kept pulling over to let us catch up.
“I want to casually point out that there’s very little traffic, so you’d likely be fine to press a bit harder on the accelerator. No worries, though.”
Ivy nodded, but she didn’t actually speed up. I loved how Clint’s gal avoided drama by agreeing with everyone and then doing whatever she wanted.
Turning around, I smiled at Nova. “Want me to shove you toward any men tonight?”
“No.”
“Sugar came up with Zodiac and the boys. Want me to assign someone to keep him from bugging you?”
Nova’s eyes lit up. “Can you? Would that be rude to ask?”
“Fuck rude. We’ll be at the Sorority House. That’s fox territory. If you want a breather from Sugar’s flirting, I shall put an alert out amongst our friends. Much like how they kept an eye on you when you got stoned at the clubhouse party and kept trying to climb things.”
Ivy snickered at the memory. The SUV was too dark to be sure, but I bet Nova was blushing slightly over her behavior.
We arrived at the Sorority House to find the party in full swing. Past the wrought iron security gate, the house’s large front lawn was filled with cars and motorcycles. The soothing riffs of My Morning Jacket played over the loudspeakers.
Zodiac, Clint, Lula, and Exile rode through the gates and parked while Ivy very gingerly rolled forward until she found an open spot.
“You did marvelous,” I told Ivy as she exhaled with relief and turned off the SUV. “But maybe I’ll drive home.”
Ivy and Nova shared a smile before Clint knocked at the driver’s window. She left the SUV to receive praise from Clint for her “safe” driving. Nova stepped out and nearly planted herself against the vehicle. Seeing her panicking, I took her hand and tugged her along.
“You’ve been here before.”
“Never when it’s been so busy.”
“It’s no different than the party at the clubhouse, except Cher and Stevie can join us. Plus, Boone is out of jail. We have a few more people, but you’ve already met them all. Just take a deep breath and embrace your inner fox.”
Zodiac strolled over and smiled at Nova. “Don’t listen to Elle’s advice. She got knocked up at the last one of these parties.”
Grinning at him, I rubbed my belly. “Aww, if Nova gets knocked up tonight, she and I can be baby buddies.”
Nova lost her grin and looked around. I ignored her paranoia and took her hand again.
I also grabbed Zodiac’s hand and tugged them toward the large white house.
On the second story’s wraparound porch, Moe and Nine were pretending to karate fight.
Down on the first-floor wraparound porch, Rock and Graham chilled.
Inside, we ran into Sabrina kissing all over Xandy. Leaving them to their horny selves, I stopped in the colorful kitchen, where Goldie stood with her fellow Rawlins transplant, Jas Tooker.
Leaning in between them, I mentioned the Sugar thing. Goldie nodded, while Jas seemed confused whether Sugar was a guy or a girl.
“I’ve handled your problem,” I told Nova while Zodiac narrowed his gaze and tried to guess what we were whispering about. “Let’s stay hydrated and head out back to see Cher.”
Down a long hallway, past a line of foxes’ bedrooms, we exited to the back porch.
Cher sat on a purple couch, looking adorable in her black T-shirt and pink tutu skirt.
Her short hair had been dyed green for the party.
Her eyelids sparkled purple, and her lipstick was a shiny red. She had never looked more colorful.
“Hey,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Happy thirtieth birthday.”
Smiling softly, Cher held me still and studied me. “Are you happy?”
“Very much so.”
“How is Wilbur?”
“He’s dancing around for the party.”
Cher’s smile widened. “I’m already tired. Sit with me for a while.”
I rested next to her and asked, “Are you feeling bad today?”
“Just tired. Physical therapy is way harder than I expected. I thought it would be stretching, but it hurts. Still, if I want to walk normal again, I’ll need to strengthen all my broken bits.”
Zodiac lingered nearby, casually eavesdropping. Nova had found herself tugged into a dance circle with Moe, Zadie, Jas, Goldie, and Ivy.
As my fingers stroked Cher’s head, I thought about how she cracked her skull and back in a fall during Lula’s abduction. Her gunshot wounds had mostly healed, and she suffered from fewer dizzy spells lately, but her mobility remained limited.
Her younger sister Stevie joined the dance circle and waved at Cher. The Irish twins looked so similar, despite Cher’s short green hair and Stevie’s long pink hair.
“Do you like Zodiac?” Cher asked me.
“Well, he’s a jackass a lot. It’d be easy to reject him for that alone. But he’s also incredibly attractive and can be really sweet. That’s why I’ve chosen to worship him for now.”
Zodiac nodded. “I also give her oral a lot.”
Cher smiled. “There it is, but keep in mind that oral sex only goes so far. I had a ginger boyfriend once who was very good at cunnilingus, but that wasn’t enough to save the relationship.”
Zodiac frowned. “I didn’t need that visual of Tricky Curran.”
“But I should also be naked in your visual,” Cher insisted. “That would make the image half hot, right?”
Nodding, I promised Cher, “I’d finger myself to that visual.”
“Don’t fantasize about other men,” Zodiac grumbled.
“I made it like a porn film where the guy’s head is barely in the action.”
“Still no.”
“Well, I can’t imagine her with you. That would make me jealous.”
“But it would be pretend,” Cher said. “It’s not like I would let that big, scary biker near my clit.”
“It’s true that you are very protective of your nub. Is that why you broke up with Tricky?”
“No, he suffocated my inner wild child. She deserved to be free, so I cut his ass loose.”
“Good,” Zodiac said and then scowled. “Let’s stop talking about Tricky.”
“He’s invited to the party,” Cher explained and then shrugged slightly. “I actually only invited Jagger, but that somehow got extended to Tricky.”
“Do you want a brawl at your party?” Zodiac growled. “Because putting the Jokers and Black Rainbow in the same place is how you get a brawl at your party.”
“Don’t snap at me,” Cher said, sounding tougher than she looked. “Your good looks don’t do it for me. So, quit flapping your lips.”
I smiled at Zodiac. “It’s her birthday. Say something nice.”
“You look hot for a chick with short green hair.”
Cher flashed a big grin. “Hell yeah, I do. I’ve put on a little weight, and my boobs are bigger now. See?”
She pulled her shirt open so I could peek inside. Though I couldn’t tell any difference, I still nodded and winked approvingly.
Stevie skipped over, likely high off her ass. She leaned down to kiss my belly and then patted Zodiac’s shoulder.
“You’re nicer than your president. I’m glad you love Lula,” Stevie told Zodiac, thinking he was Exile. She joined Cher on the couch and told her sister, “I almost lost you, but now you’ll be with me forever.”
“Sure, babe,” Cher said and stroked Stevie’s head resting against her chest. “I won’t go anywhere until I heal up. Then, I want to travel and do hobbies and live life to the fullest. I might even have a great love affair and break another man’s heart.”
My tears came out of nowhere. I was genuinely thrilled to see Cher and Stevie having a good time. Plus, Zodiac’s hand was stroking my back, and I had missed him over the last week. Turning toward his body, I rested my face against his chest and tried to regain control of my emotions.
I heard Zodiac telling the sisters how my hormones made me silly, and they shouldn’t take my tears personally. He was right, of course. I wouldn’t be crying right now if I wasn’t pregnant.
However, I had every right to be upset. The last six months had been chaotic with wild highs like my people falling in love and the baby plus painful lows like Lula’s abduction and the sisters’ recoveries.
Every day, I woke up and wondered if I’d face something great or cope with something terrible.
I’d grown paranoid over the last week, too.
If I didn’t hear from Zodiac, I became convinced he was hurt.
I felt the same paranoia with the baby. If Wilbur didn’t move, I was certain something had gone wrong.
My life had been relatively tame despite riding with a biker club and making a baby with a stranger. I knew I was lucky back then, but I hadn’t realized how much I craved that stability until it was gone.