Chapter One #2
“Of course I came. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.
” She linked her arm across Harlow’s shoulders, and they walked back to the main bar.
All the women came toward her and gave her a hug, including Hailey.
She offered the other woman a smile and ordered a soda for herself.
It was then she noticed that Ava, Raven, and Abriana were not drinking soda, and there were a couple of empty shot glasses behind them.
“You’re drinking?” she asked, looking toward Ava.
“Don’t judge me. I have expressed milk, enough to last for a couple of days, and some of it is even in the freezer to keep it fresh. Smokey said tonight I could have some fun. Just relax. He is in charge of the kids, and I get to have a fun girls’ night, including shots.”
“Same for me,” Raven said.
Usually that meant the men were going to turn up.
“Don’t worry, there is no pressure for you to have shots. You can drink soda like me.”
Normally, Larissa didn’t mind. But in the last few years, a lot had happened. Getting shot had messed with her head.
“You know what, I am going to do a shot,” Larissa said, and slapped her money down on the counter toward the bartender.
“Whoa, you don’t have to do this,” Raven said.
“I’m doing this.” She didn’t turn to look at her friends, instead, she watched as the bartender, whose name she didn’t know, poured a shot.
He took her money, and like she had seen so many people do, she picked up the glass and downed it, then wished she hadn’t.
It burned like hell. Why did people do this?
Why the fuck would anyone put themselves through this?
The burn was insane. And it tasted so damn bad.
She felt like her eyes were going to water.
“Hey, are you all right?” Raven asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to use the bathroom.” What the hell was wrong with her? She didn’t need to drink those shots. She just needed to get her head together.
Stepping into the bathroom, it was surprisingly empty.
She went to the sink and ran the cold water, putting her wrists beneath the surface and attempting to take a breath.
Lifting her head, she looked into the mirror and stared at her reflection, wondering when she was going to feel better.
Nothing felt right. It was no one’s fault but her own.
Once she had gotten herself together and was at no risk of crying or making any crazy decisions, she stepped out.
“Larissa?”
She should have known he would be here.
Turning toward Andrew, she didn’t smile in his direction. There was a time she tried to convince herself that everyone deserved a smile, but the truth was, not everyone did.
“Andrew,” she said.
“Look, I know you’re upset.”
“I’m not upset.”
“Then why won’t you listen to me, or return my calls?”
She looked at him. “You expect me to return your calls when you ran away?” she asked.
And there it was, Andrew looked around to see if there was anyone within listening distance. He cared more about his image than he did about her being hurt.
“Wow,” she said.
“Come on, Larissa, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?” he asked. “I was scared.”
“Scared? You were scared. I got shot three times. So, you know what, actually, no, I don’t think I’m being harsh at all.
I think you need to leave me alone.” She spun on her heel and made her way back toward the girls.
This time, she picked up her soda and noticed the whole group was quiet. “What is it? What did I miss?”
“Just a couple of guys made their way over here. Seeing as Hailey and you are the only ones not attached, we kind of sent them away. Then we got started on a little Truth or Dare, and they’re being a bunch of pussies and just speaking truth right now,” Raven said.
“I’ll do a dare,” Larissa said.
The whole group burst out laughing.
“What?” Larissa asked.
“Come on, Larissa, honey, you don’t need to do that,” Ava said. “Just speak truth.”
They didn’t think she could handle a dare. Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes couldn’t handle a game of Truth or Dare, or random guys asking for a dance.
“No, give me a dare,” she said, stepping toward Raven. “I can handle it.”
Raven looked at her and sighed. “Fine, how about you kiss the next guy that walks through that door?”
Every fiber of her being was screaming at her that it would be gross. However, life was too freaking short, and her interaction with Andrew had left her on her last nerve.
“Fine,” she said. She didn’t chicken out and walked right over to the door. This wasn’t going to be so hard ... was it?
She knew they were all watching her as she stood by the door.
Clenching her hands into fists, she tried not to be nervous.
What did she have to be nervous about? She was only going to kiss a complete and total stranger, and the more she thought about that, the crazier it seemed.
There was no way she was going to kiss a random stranger.
Anyone could walk through that door. Mr. Wilcox could walk right through that door. She went to walk away, and as she did, she looked over and saw Andrew, then the girls, and they were all smiling. She was pretty sure they all had knowing looks on their faces. They knew she wouldn’t do it.
She had stepped in front of the door, and she heard it open. What the hell? What did she have to lose?
Spinning around, she grabbed the first man through that door and kissed him.
****
“You know I should kick your ass for getting my sister pregnant,” Big Dick said.
“You’re going to kick my ass for making an honest woman out of your sister, loving her, and giving her a family?” Hunter asked.
If someone had told him Hunter would be a happily married man a year ago, Big Dick would have burst out laughing, and then said the earth was flat as well.
It just didn’t seem right. Of course, Hunter hadn’t exactly handled shit well.
There seemed to be a bit of history with the Hell’s Bastards MC.
They didn’t exactly do things by the book.
Like now, which was why they were heading inside Ryan’s Place to keep an eye on the women.
Smokey was ahead of the group, and he turned suddenly.
“You’re sure Jude can handle the kids?” Smokey asked.
The guys wanted to have some time with their women, away from the club.
Big Dick had gone to his youngest brother, Jude, and asked him to babysit.
Of all of the Erickson kids, Jude was the only other person he trusted besides Harlow.
But seeing as Harlow was enjoying a baby celebration, he was not going to ask her to babysit. He didn’t trust his other brothers.
He took the lead at the bar, then Kinky shoved him out of the way.
The other brother hadn’t been the same since Hailey’s shooting.
But then, Kinky hadn’t been the same since he got caught sleeping with her to get on her good side, to find out all the juicy gossip.
Although Kinky was known for being a ladies’ man, and certainly enjoying a whole lot of kink in his sex life, the other brother had been withdrawn since it happened.
“What the fuck are you two waiting for?” Ugly Beast said, getting to the front of the line.
Carlos Santiago jumped in front. It was still a shock to Big Dick that he even liked this mafia fuck, but he had proven to have the club’s back more than once.
Also, anyone Raven loved was more than a good guy in his book.
Raven had been through a lot of shit, and he would protect her with his life.
“Pussy-whipped fucks,” Big Dick said, beating them all to the front of the line. He stepped through the door and looked around the bar.
Only, he didn’t exactly get to look around much as within seconds, a woman was kissing him. At first, he was tempted to push the bitch away. Who the fuck attacked a man at the main door? But this woman’s lips felt amazing, and he had closed his eyes.
Rather than ruin the surprise of who the woman was, he kept his eyes closed, then banded an arm around her waist and pulled her close. This woman was soft. He felt the fullness of her tits and he ran his hand down, squeezing her ass.
Damn, this woman could kiss! He traced her lips before deepening the kiss, and that moan she let out, fuck, was going straight to his dick.
It had been a long time since he had felt this attracted to a woman, and he hadn’t even seen what she looked like.
He loved the feel of her body against his, and running his hands all over her was a dream.
The kiss came to an end, and as he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see it was fucking Larissa Adams in his arms. The town “good girl.”
He should push her away. There was no fucking way that kiss was even real. This was his sister’s friend, the same fucking age as his little sister, and that put her off limits. She was also Jonah Adams’s daughter, and that meant she was not to be touched. She was protected by the club.
Staring into Larissa’s eyes, he saw that even she was shocked. Her eyes were wide, and she pressed her now-swollen lips together.
“Sorry,” she said.
Before he had a chance to even say anything, she rushed off, back to the bar, and then he saw something he didn’t think he would ever see. Larissa had knocked back a shot. Larissa never drank.
Approaching the bar, he saw the smirk on Carlos’s face, as well as Kinky’s.
“Shut the fuck up,” Big Dick said.
“Just so you know, that was a dare,” Carlos said.
“What?”
“Raven just told me Larissa insisted on taking a dare, rather than a truth, and my lovely wife told her to kiss the first man that walked into the bar.”
“What kind of fucked-up shit is that?” Big Dick asked. He had a feeling he knew why Larissa wouldn’t take a truth. Just like he had seen Andrew across the bar, watching Larissa.