9. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Bronx
Even though Ginger seemed at ease sitting with Reno, her gaze kept darting around the room. I knew Reno would have told her she belonged to us now, but I had to wonder if she worried someone was going to snatch her from our grasp. Or was she scared because of the men who’d come here last night?
“Want some eggs?” I asked.
“Why don’t you fix a big plate of them? I’ll share with her,” Reno said.
I nodded and got to work. While I scrambled half a dozen eggs, I put some bread in the toaster. I’d have normally made bacon or sausage to go with it, but it seemed we were out. In fact, the fridge was nearly bare, so we’d have to make a list and ask one of the girls to make a grocery run. It was part of how they earned their keep, in addition to keeping the place clean. They had a rotation, as well as the prospects, for basic shit like errands, laundry, dishes and that sort of crap.
“Ginger, what are your favorite foods and drinks?” I asked.
“I’m not picky,” she said.
I glanced at her over my shoulder. “Not what I asked.”
She worried at her bottom lip and shifted on Reno’s lap. “I like most soda, flavored water, and sweet tea.”
I plated the eggs and buttered the toast. “And food?”
“I like sweet stuff. I haven’t really tried many different foods. What I’ve eaten since coming here is the most variety I’ve ever had.”
She was breaking my fucking heart. I shared a look with Reno, and knew I’d be adding some stuff to the grocery list. Steaks. Pasta. Shrimp. And anything else I thought she might like to try. I only hoped she didn’t have food allergies. Chances were she didn’t have a clue if she did. I doubted her uncle had ever had her checked for something like that. Hell, I didn’t think he’d ever sent her to a doctor for anything at all.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone come check her out. She said she’d been to the clinic to get tested before coming here. Had they done a full blood work-up? Or anything else? I doubted it. Wouldn’t hurt to have her request her records from them. It would be good to have some sort of medical history whenever I called our doctor to come see her.
“We need to order her some clothes and get someone to pick them up,” Reno said. “Probably not safe to take her outside the clubhouse right now. Not with those men wanting to get their hands on her.”
“We can pile in the bed and use the laptop to shop.”
“I don’t need a lot,” Ginger said. “I have the one outfit already. One or two others would be more than enough.”
I slid the plate onto the table then got her some juice, and poured a cup of coffee for Reno, before sitting next to them. “You’ll buy as much as we deem necessary. Understood?”
She nodded and Reno fed her a bite of egg. We’d have to figure out who’s room we’d stay in. No point in keeping two of them since we’d claimed her together. Memphis came in, glared at the empty coffeepot and started prepping a fresh one.
“Heard Ginger is yours now,” he said without turning around. “Talked to Vegas, Houston, and Deigo last night. Since the two of you had rooms side by side, and you’re going to need some space, we’re going to open up the wall between the two. You can use one half as a bedroom, and put in a small living area in the other.”
His words surprised me. I hadn’t realized they’d have such an in-depth discussion about us and Ginger last night. Nor had I thought the club would go so far as to giving us a larger living area. I appreciated it, and knew Ginger would too. We could get a loveseat and chair, bigger TV, and maybe a bookshelf if she liked to read. Maybe even add a small table with chairs so we could take our meals upstairs.
“I take it we’ll be shopping for more than clothes,” Reno said.
“Yep. Memphis, any idea when we can open up that wall?”
“Whenever you want. The two of you both know how to do that sort of work. Do it today if you’d like.”
“Clothes for Ginger first,” Reno said.
I had to agree. While I liked seeing her in my shirt, I wanted more clothing on her when she wasn’t in our room. Didn’t matter that everyone had seen her naked already. She wasn’t ours then. Well, maybe we’d considered her to belong to us even then, but she’d been the club’s property.
“Is this going to cause problems with anyone?” I asked.
“No. Vegas made the announcement last night. The girls seemed happy for Ginger, and none of your brothers were upset by the news. I think we all knew the two of you looked at Ginger differently than the others. Wasn’t a big shock when Vegas said you wanted to claim her as your old lady.”
“Since she knows the other girls, at least we won’t have the drama some of the other clubs have had,” Reno said.
“Drama?” Ginger asked.
“When someone takes an old lady, it’s not uncommon for the club whores to get jealous or try to cause problems. The old ladies often look down on the club girls.” I reached over and ran my fingers down her cheek. “Your situation is unique, so we won’t have those problems.”
“I feel weird,” she said.
“Why?” Reno tightened his hold on her.
“I’m not sure how to act or what to do. Now that I’m not on call to please anyone who wants me, what am I supposed to do with my time?”
“Whatever you want,” I said. “Within reason. If you like to read, we can buy some books for you. Do you have any hobbies?”
“I don’t know.” A frown marred her lovely face. “I’ve never been given the chance to find out. I do like books, and watching movies. I sometimes would draw when I wanted to escape my life for a while.”
“Then we’ll make sure you have everything you need. Being ours means you have certain freedoms.” I lightly touched the tip of her nose. “But it also comes with some conditions. You can’t be with other men. If we tell you to do something, you need to do it without question. Don’t leave the clubhouse without asking one of us first, especially right now while you’re in danger. Anything we do will be for your safety. It’s not to make you feel confined.”
She took my hand and smiled, her eyes lighting up. “I understand, Bronx, and I’m okay with it. This is more than I’ve ever had before. I don’t know what’s expected of me, and I’ll probably make some mistakes along the way, but I won’t break the rules on purpose.”
“If you do, I promise you’ll enjoy your punishment,” Reno said.
Ginger’s cheeks turned pink, but I saw the flare of interest in her eyes. Great. Now that he’d planted the idea in her head, I had a feeling she’d break the rules just to see what her punishment would be. Things certainly wouldn’t be dull with her in our lives.
Reno
I understood why Bronx felt humbled by our club. Neither of us expected them to accept our relationship with Ginger, much less think of ways to ensure the transition happened smoothly. Giving us a small apartment was going above and beyond. I liked the idea of Ginger having an area where she could relax and feel at home.
We’d finished our breakfast and now lounged in bed. We’d put Ginger between us, but Bronx controlled the laptop. He’d angled the screen so we could all see it, and we scrolled through the website for one of the big box stores. They had everything, which meant we could get some furniture as well as more clothes for Ginger. Then we’d get a Prospect to pick it up.
“Looks like they don’t have couches, but some of those futons look nice,” I said, pointing to one in particular. It was a little pricier than the others. I liked the arms on it, and the fact it was fabric and not faux-leather.
“Do you like that one, Ginger?” Bronx asked.
She nodded, but seemed fretful. I placed my hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze. We’d already learned she didn’t like spending money. Or more accurately, her asshole uncle had trained her to believe she wasn’t worth anything. So every item we added to the cart sent her anxiety even higher.
“What about some of those throw pillow things?” I asked. “It would add some color to the room, since the futon is gray.”
“What colors do you like?” Bronx asked, looking down at Ginger.
“And don’t say anything is fine,” I said. She’d already tried that multiple times. It was like she felt her opinion didn’t matter. Of course, it could also be that she had no idea what she liked, kind of like with the food. They had deprived her for so long, she hadn’t developed many likes or dislikes.
Bronx pulled up the page of pillows, and she pointed to teal and purple. “I like those two colors.”
Bronx added two of each. I had no idea what they’d look like together, but it didn’t matter. If Ginger was happy, that was all that counted. We added the only coffee table and end tables they had in stock, as well as a small bookshelf. I knew we’d use Bronx’s bed, since it was the large of the two, and made sure he let Ginger pick out new bedding. Although, we’d need a closet in addition to the living room and kitchen.
I got up and let Bronx finish shopping with Ginger. I went to my room and got my stud finder and a pencil, then started marking the wall to get an idea of where we could cut. Since it was just the three of us, we didn’t need to close off the bedroom. Leaving a wider doorway would make the space seem larger.
My bathroom was on the opposite wall, just like Bronx’s. In fact, our rooms were identical. I measured my bathroom wall to get an idea of where the kitchen would end and marked that as well. Studying the space, I realized we’d lose a little of the bedroom if we added a closet, but it wouldn’t hurt to put in one that was two feet deep. I could add shelves to one side for blankets and towels, then let Ginger have the rest to hang any dresses.
I went back to Bronx’s room to run my ideas by him. Since he hadn’t checked out yet, I knew we’d need to add a little more furniture for my plan to work.
“What would you think of getting matching five-drawer chests instead of the two long dressers?” I asked. “I think I can add a closet to the backside of the kitchen. Nothing huge, but enough space to store towels and blankets, as well as give Ginger room for some clothes and shoes.”
“How big is that bathroom? Six by eight?” Bronx asked.
I pulled a measuring tape from my pocket and went to check. He was close. “Seven by five. Which is going to be the same as mine. I don’t think we need to expand the bathroom. Do you?”
“No. Just thinking. If that back wall is seven feet, the closet should work fine. And I agree about the taller chests instead of long dressers. I’ll add them. Anything else?”
“I’ll do a custom shoe rack in the closet for her, so we don’t need to buy one.” I folded my arms and tipped my head back, trying to picture everything in my head. “I’ll make a list of supplies and head to the hardware store as soon as we’re done. I want to start on this today. Even if we don’t have the closet yet, I’d like to at least get the furniture in place and open up that wall.”
“Think we can do it in a day?” Bronx asked.
“The doorway? Sure. Everything else? No. I doubt the furniture will take long to put together. But gutting the bathroom and building the closet will take a little extra time.”
“Can I help?” Ginger asked.
I knew she wouldn’t be of much help with the construction, and I wanted to get the wall done immediately. But I could teach her a few things when it came time to do the closet and kitchen. For now… “Want to paint while we open the wall?”
“Paint?” she asked.
“Thought we could repaint the living room and bedroom. Any colors you want. You couldn’t work on that wall,” I said, pointing to the one we’d be cutting open, “but you could do the others.”
“Ginger, do you want to go to the hardware store and look at the paint?” Bronx asked.
I glared at him, wondering what the fuck was wrong with him! We’d already discussed how it wasn’t safe for her to leave the clubhouse. Not with those men looking for her.
“Bronx, what the hell?” I asked. “Are you trying to use her as bait or something?”
“No.” He put his arm around Ginger and hugged her to his side. “But I don’t like the idea of getting all this stuff for our home without letting her be a part of it. Shopping online isn’t the same and you know it. If we both go, and maybe ask Memphis or another brother to tag along, surely the three of us would be enough of a deterrent.”
“I appreciate what you’re doing, but I think I’d feel safer here,” Ginger said.
“I can FaceTime her when I’m in the paint section. She can pick the colors that way,” I suggested.
“I like that idea,” Ginger said. “Please, Bronx? I’m not ready to risk going outside. Not yet. It’s too soon.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Fine. Once all this shit is over and done with, I want to check on adding a balcony to our bedroom. I think it would be nice to have an outside space.”
“Vegas has one. I’m sure the building structure could handle it. But I don’t think I want to try doing that ourselves,” I said.
“We’ll check on cost and get a quote. Maybe we can do that before spring.” Bronx set the laptop aside. “I’ll finish paying for all this just as soon as I figure out who’s picking it up. Make your list for the hardware store and I’ll give you some cash towards it.”
I waved him off. “You’re buying all the stuff we just shoved in that online cart. Do you really think I’ll spend enough on paint and the supplies for that one wall to come even close to your total? I bet I spend less than you did on the futon.”
“Fine. We’ll need to discuss finances at some point, anyway. Now that the three of us are together, it would make more sense for all of us to be on one account.” Bronx stood and stretched. “But that’s a problem for another day. Let’s focus on the wall today.”
I eyed Ginger. “She’s going to need clothes she can get dirty. Better add some shorts and t-shirts she can wear for cleaning and painting.”
“I’ll handle it.” Bronx tugged Ginger from the bed. Poor thing looked overwhelmed, but I also saw the happiness shining in her eyes. Whatever it took, I’d help chase away the shadows from her past. We had a new beginning, all three of us, and I wanted to make the most of it.