Chapter 6
“You gonna tell us the real reason you got us watching Specs?” Slider asked as he leaned forward.
My hand paused in midair with the glass I held.
“Who is Specs?”
Slider looked back and forth between Tech and Rico before he laughed.
“Raina. Don’t play dumb. You ain’t never have us watching a new person for this long before.”
I looked between the three of them, and Tech and Rico looked just as curious. The four of us were in my office after the fight that went down when we weren’t around.
“Y’all don’t think it’s strange she suddenly shows up after Rameek is killed?”
I still wasn’t sure why Munch was really here, and I thought about holding my suspicions to myself, but these were my brothers. They needed to be on high alert, too, if Munch was on some bullshit.
“I’on know, K. I think it’s more to it. You like her.” Slider had this dumb smirk on his face, and I wanted to knock it off.
The three of them were never afraid of calling me on my shit, and that was why I fucked with them.
I finally took a swig of the liquor in my cup, then set it down on the desk.
“You see what happened when we weren’t around? A fight broke out, and she was terrified. I just want to make sure she fits in.”
Munch could lie all she wanted about being okay, but I knew she wasn’t. That fight shook her up, and I wanted to find the dudes and beat their asses myself. They already knew how we felt about fighting in the clubhouse, but to make Munch uncomfortable . . . I wasn’t feeling that shit at all.
Munch made me feel things I didn’t want to admit to them, let alone myself.
I wasn’t one to care about someone else’s feelings if it weren’t for my family and club members.
Damn sure not women, but I wanted Munch to feel comfortable.
Maybe it was the respect I had for her brother, or maybe because I was really interested in her.
“How old is she?” Rico asked.
“Yeah. I mean, I could have looked myself, but I didn’t have a reason to look into her,” Tech added.
I ran a hand down my face. Munch looked young, but I knew she was at least an adult. It wasn’t like I checked her ID when I hired her. Caramel handled shit like that.
“I don’t even know,” I told them.
“Well, I’m sure she’s at least legal, but you don’t want her to be too young.”
“And I’m sure she’s not. Can we move on to something else and out of my business?”
There was a knock at the door before anyone could say anything else. I called out for the person to come in, and I regretted it.
“Oh, hey,” Drizzle said as she switched into the office. “I didn’t know you had company. I was just letting you know I was leaving and wanted to see if you needed anything.” She kept her hands at her sides as she looked at me.
The dress she wore was way too tight and short, but she wasn’t my girl or my business.
I thought about being an asshole toward her but changed my mind.
“Nah, I’m straight.” I took another swig of my drink.
“Okay. Call me if you do.” She turned and switched right back out of the door.
All four of us watched her until she closed the door. Drizzle knew I wasn’t going to call her. I hardly said two words to her since I found her waiting on me outside the clubhouse.
“I sure hope Specs can fight because Drizzle is going to be hard to get rid of,” Slider said.
The three of them laughed, but I didn’t find shit funny. I had a feeling he was right, but I kept that to myself. “I don’t know what one has to do with the other.”
“You’ll see.” Slider shrugged, while Rico and Tech shook their heads.
“Let’s move on,” Tech suggested, and I was happy to get the attention off me.
“I heard Beast was here, but he didn’t stay around long,” Rico informed us.
I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my chin. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. Sometimes it seems like he’s not even a part of the club anymore,” I said. “Keep y’all eyes on him. If he is on some funny shit, he’s gonna have to go. Simple as that.”
The three of them nodded, and we moved on to the next order of business.
The whole time we talked, I couldn’t get Munch’s face out of my mind. I never wanted her to feel afraid, especially not in my presence.
After the guys left, I went out to the bar to keep Munch company. I still couldn’t get a good read on her, so instead of guessing, I decided to come straight out and ask her.
“Why are you really here?”
Her hand paused as she went to put some glasses away.
The bar was officially closed, and I stayed behind to help her clean up.
We never kept the clubhouse open at all times, because some people didn’t know how to leave.
The main members could come and go as they pleased, but everyone else had to wait until the next day.
Munch put the glasses away before she leaned over the bar top.
“Because I needed a job.” She couldn’t look at me when she answered, and she played with the silver necklace around her neck.
To me, it felt like she was lying, but I couldn’t prove it.
“Have a drink with me,” I said instead of replying to what she said.
I noticed she seemed nervous every time I was around, and in order to get down to what she was up to, I needed her to relax.
“Um, okay. Do you want scotch on the rocks again?”
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
I was surprised when she poured two glasses of scotch. She slid mine to me, then set hers beside it before coming around the bar and sitting on the stool next to me.
As I watched her, I thought about how my heart raced every time I saw her, especially on the rare occasion she smiled. Her smile was beautiful, and I could tell a genuine smile from the fake ones she gave some customers.
I inhaled her scent when she sat next to me.
“So, what did you do before this?” I asked after she took a sip of the scotch.
“I was a secretary, but my job fired me when my grief made me miss too many days.”
Damn. I hated jobs like that, and that was why I had my own shit. I didn’t answer to anyone. I could come and go as I pleased.
“I’m sorry to hear that. We don’t do that shit around here, as long as you communicate, though. If you need a day or a few days for whatever, just shoot me a text so I’ll know. That’s all I’m asking.”
I could have told her to tell any of the office members, but I didn’t want her talking to the rest of them if she didn’t have to.
Carmen and Isis were cool, but I damn sure didn’t want her calling Slider or one of them.
I was the one who hired her, so it made sense for her to only communicate with me.
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“How have you been doing?” I took another swig of the liquor.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her as she thought about how to answer my question. It was the first time the two of us had been alone since she started, and the first time we had a real conversation.
“I’ve been—making it. Some days are better than others.”
Our fingers accidentally brushed against each other’s as we both reached for a napkin.
“Sorry.” She snatched her hand back and dropped her head.
“It’s cool. I know all about grief, so I completely understand. I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to.”
She looked surprised by my revelation.
“My father. He was killed years ago. He’s actually the reason why I got into motorcycles and this club specifically.
He was the president.” I wasn’t sure why I felt so comfortable sharing that with her, but I did.
I was sure she had heard things about me, but that wasn’t totally who I was.
Did I take women seriously? Hell no, but I was capable if someone was worth it.
The verdict was still out if Munch was worth it, but she damn sure made my dick hard.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
For a second, we were both silent, but our eyes kept meeting.
“You want another drink?” I broke the silence because I was close to kissing her, and we weren’t on that type of time.
She cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up. “Yeah. That’s fine. Can you put a little water in mine, though? I don’t want to get drunk and can’t drive home.”
“I got you. And if you feel like you can’t drive, I have a room upstairs you can use.”
I got up and walked around the other side of the bar to make our drinks. I made sure to add a little water to hers. Water was the only thing that should be mixed with scotch. At least the one we drank. The bottles cost too much to be mixed with juice or something.
Munch licked her lips as she watched me make the drinks. The lip gloss she wore made her lips shiny, and I visualized them wrapped around my dick. I had to think about something else before I walked back to my seat because I didn’t want her to see how hard I was.
“I don’t want to sleep in a bed where you probably take all of your conquests. Anything could be on them sheets. Eww.” She shivered and shook her head.
I couldn’t help but laugh, because she was partially right, but I wasn’t going to admit that. I changed the sheets often, though. I wasn’t nasty like that.
“You crazy,” I joked as I took my seat next to her again.
“I’m surprised your friend wasn’t waiting for you.”
“Who’s my friend?”
I knew exactly who she was talking about. Hell, I was surprised she didn’t hang around either, but knowing her, she found someone else’s dick to slide down.
“You know, Sizzler.”
I cocked my head to the side and looked at her.
“Why you call her that?”
“Because she’s always trying to serve up that tired pus.”
Laughter that came straight from my belly echoed through the room. I never would have thought Munch had a sense of humor the way she did.
“Ayo, you funny as hell.” She wasn’t lying, though. “What she does has nothing to do with me. She’s ain’t my woman.”
Munch put her hands up in surrender. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. As long as she stays out of my face, we’ll be good.”
I drank the rest of my scotch in one swig and put the glass down. I grabbed a straw and put it in my mouth.
Munch watched me move the straw around, and she looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t.
We moved on to personal things about each other, but nothing heavy.
It was more so about shit we liked to do in our spare time.
She told me how she liked to bake but hadn’t in a while.
I assumed it was because of her brother.
I knew what that was like. I stopped doing things I loved for a minute after losing my father.
I told her about my tattoo shop and how I had done most of the people’s in the club tattoos.
Once they became a member, they got a viper tattoo.
Usually, it was on the left arm, as long as they had room.
Some got them on the left side of their neck.
I noticed small things about her as we talked. I guessed that every time she pushed her glasses up, it was because she was nervous. And the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed.
At some point during our conversation, we gravitated closer to each other, but neither of us addressed it.
We ended up staying there talking for hours.
I didn’t want to let her leave, but after she yawned multiple times, I had to walk her to her car.
I offered to take her home and bring her back to her car in the morning, but she assured me she was okay.
I did make her promise to at least let me know when she made it home.
I wasn’t sure what Munch did to me, but shit was changing, and it made me nervous. I liked being around her, and I prayed she didn’t make me regret keeping her around.