Chapter 19
*~* Barbara *~*
In my head, my plan to get laid, finally, was perfection.
All Cannon had to do was follow instructions, and we were good to go.
I thought sending the pictures would have him chomping at the bit to get at me, but no.
All he could do was laugh. I was so angry, right up to the point that he put us both in front of that mirror.
I have to admit, we looked totally ridiculous.
How to have safe sex after a nuclear apocalypse.
I tried. No one can ever say I didn’t try to bed my man.
It must seem like I’m some loose woman, the way I’ve thrown myself at him, but I want him so bad.
I knew I was attracted to him from the first time I laid eyes on him, but since then, I just knew he was the one.
I can’t say that I’m not impressed that he didn’t immediately feel the same way, but hell, he’s a man.
What do men know about feelings? Their own or someone else’s.
Jamie came in this morning and gave me the all-clear.
I didn’t get any of the pox spots, but she did say that it is rare, but you can get the chickenpox without the visible signs.
So, would that be chicken-no-pox, I wonder?
I asked about Cannon, but he wasn’t getting his all-clear until later today.
She was still wary of a couple of places where his spots had been late developing and then drying out.
Tapping at the door has me call out, “Come in.” Pattie slips into the room and immediately gives me a hug.
“Well?” She asks as she parks her butt on the bed.
“Jamie gave me the all-clear, but you know that or you wouldn’t be here and all huggy.” I smile at her, as she is fast becoming a good friend, if not my best friend.
“Don’t start being all coy and shy now, girl. Did you get the dirty deed done?” Her eyes are wide like saucers as she awaits my revelation.
“No, is the simple answer. It all went to plan, up to the moment he saw me, and then he went to pieces laughing at me.” I shake my head at her.
“Honestly, when he stood next to me in front of the mirror, I can’t imagine in what scenario either of us would have looked sexy enough to initiate sex, lovemaking, or any type of intimacy.
We looked ridiculous in those disposable coveralls.
Pattie, I just don’t know what I was thinking. ”
“You were doing a man thing. They think with their dicks, you were obviously in pussy mode. I can relate to that, been there myself on more than one occasion.” She looks at the wall as though it is a projection of one of those memories.
“Thank you, by the way, for all your help with that. Getting the coveralls and everything at such short notice. You were amazing and I thank you.” I bend down and give her a hug, whereby she surprises me by dragging me onto the bed beside her.
“As you haven’t got any juicy bits to divulge, I’ll tell you my news.” Pattie grins an insane grin and wiggles her eyebrows at me. “Ready for this, sister?”
“Ooh, sister! I like that. I was going to go with BFF, but I think I like sister much better,” I beam at her. “So, what’s your news?”
“Well, Whack asked me to take over bar duties so Thorn could spend some time with Ghost…”
“You and Thorn? I didn’t see that coming.” I frown, as that was never on my radar. Maybe because I haven’t been involved with the club much yet.
“What? No, not Thorn.” She looks at me as though I’m mad.
“You and Ghost? No! He’s a hell of a lot of man, I must say.”
“Stop! Stop right there or I’ll demote you from sister to second cousin! It doesn’t involve a man. Not like that, anyway. Now, are you going to be quiet and listen?” Pattie gives me a hard stare, and I think I’d better do as she says.
“I’m all ears.” I sit up straight and clasp my hands together on my lap.
“Okay. Whack had me watch the bar for a couple of hours and then took me in his office…”
“He did?”
“Barbara, not like ‘he took me’. He took me into his office so that he could talk to me. Jeez. Your mind is in the gutter. You need to get laid as soon as Cannon gets his all-clear. Anyway, he put me behind the bar as a test, and he said I passed. He asked if I would be prepared to help him out and do him a favor. He actually said, ‘I have a problem, and you are the solution’. I’m a solution for the Pres, Barbara.
What do you think of that, eh?” Pattie is clearly excited.
In fact, over the moon is probably a better description, but I daren’t ask what Pres’s problem was as I keep getting everything wrong.
I clap my hands, all girly fashion and give her my toothiest smile.
“You have no idea what the problem was, do you? Your mind is clearly still in the gutter, sis. With Mateo being laid up, he’s asked me to be the Deputy Assistant Manager for the bar.
He called Church, and they voted unanimously, ‘AYE’.
We heard them vote in the rec room it was so loud.
I am so excited. I can’t wait to get to work and make the place a success.
” Pattie looks like the whole world just opened up at her feet, and I suppose in some ways, it has.
“I don’t know what to say, Pattie. That is totally awesome. Congratulations, sister. You show them what you’re made of. If there is anything I can do, you just say the word.” I don’t know anything about bars, but if there is anything I can do to help her, I’ll go the whole nine yards and more.
“I need to go clothes shopping. My wardrobe isn’t suited for life outside the clubhouse, really. Could you help me get that sorted?” she asks me quite shyly.
“Not a problem. We can soon have that minor detail sorted. I love clothes shopping.” Jumping up, I pull her along, and we head for the kitchen.
We need food before we start this marathon.
Having a quick sandwich and a cold drink, I think about what would be best for Pattie in her new position.
Several brothers come in and out while we’re there, and they all seem fine with us being here.
All except one, that is. He comes in, sees us, stares at us, says ‘Fuck it’, and walks back out.
“Someone got out the wrong side of the bed this morning,” I say to Pattie, but I notice she is watching the doorway, almost as though she’s expecting him to come back and say more.
“He doesn’t get out of my bed anymore, that’s a fact.
I know we’re not supposed to turn a brother down, but I don’t go with him.
I won’t go with him.” Pattie looks at me and then her smile returns.
“Come on, then. Let’s get this show on the road.
” With that, she drops our empty water bottles in the trash, puts our dirty dishes into the dishwasher, and we’re off on our adventure. Well, almost.
As we reach the door, Whack steps through. “Where are you two off to?” He asks with a sly grin.
“Clothes shopping,” I reply. “Want to come along while we browse many, many shops and try on many, many clothes?”
“Hell, no. Not me. You can’t go alone though. I’ve just seen Noah at a loose end. He can be your chaperone. You can take one of the club's SUVs, too. There’ll be more room for your many, many clothes.” He calls out Noah’s name and we hear him answer.
When Whack tells him he’s going with us, we hear someone else say, “For Christ’s sake!”
“How is that a problem for you, Bandit?” Whack snarls, and I mean he snarls. His tone makes my blood run cold, and I see Pattie flinch.
There’s some muttering, and then a young man, presumably Noah, walks past Whack and tells us he’s ready. Whack asks him what’s crawled up Bandit’s ass this morning and Noah looks very sheepish.
“I don’t know what’s got into him lately, Pres.
It’s been going on for a while now, but I definitely think he’s getting worse.
He was telling me everything that was wrong with my hog the other day.
I know what’s wrong with it, I don’t need reminding, but it was the way he was doing it.
He was really going down on it and picking every minor flaw. ” Noah looks angry at this.
“I thought you guys were all for your bikes and didn’t say bad things about them?” I’m sure I’m right on this, so what Noah is saying doesn’t ring true.
“Yes, Barbara, that is how it’s supposed to be.” Whack doesn’t look impressed with what Noah has just told him. He turns away and disappears.
“Okay, ladies, where to?”
“Young man, you are in for a long day of women’s clothes shopping.” I take his arm, and we head out of the kitchen.
“Hell, as long as clothes shopping includes lingerie, trying it on, and needing an opinion, I’m up for it.” He nods and winks as he says this, but loses his smirk when Pattie speaks up.
“Two out of three ain’t bad, Noah. Two out of three.”
Surprisingly, we’re only shopping for a couple of hours, and we’re all done.
Pattie has enough clothes now to be able to look casual-smart in her new position.
She chose mainly jeans and blouses, but with a trouser suit for any formal meetings and a couple of jackets should she need them.
Her choice of shoes was almost work-boot like, but again, she also had some smart feminine shoes.
Walking back into the clubhouse, I noticed Mella lounging in the rec room. I thought she was supposed to be doing more work around the place lately, from what Pattie told me while we were shopping, but hey, that’s none of my concern.
As I look away from Mella, I’m lifted off my feet and a mouth slams hard over mine. Blinking furiously, I see that it’s Cannon, thankfully, and I surrender to the moment. When the kiss finally ends and I catch my breath, we’re no longer in the rec room, we’re in Cannon’s room.