Chapter 16
“Kane, can I talk to you for a second?”
I swung my leg over my bike and faced Drizzle.
“What’s up?”
She looked down at the ground and hugged herself. I wasn’t sure why she hesitated to say what she had to say. She was the one who stopped me as soon as I parked my bike.
I had come to the clubhouse to meet up with my brothers and check in with Isis about something. Munch and I had plans later in the day, and Drizzle held me up by being scary.
“Um, I was just wondering why you kicked me out of the clubhouse, and you haven’t been hitting me up.”
I looked at the side of her face since she acted like she didn’t want to face me.
“Are you serious right now? You, me, and everyone else know why. You were on some bullshit with Munch, and I ain’t like that shit.”
“Okay, but you ain’t never kicked me to the side over a chick before. What makes her different?”
“Shit, a lot. But I don’t have to explain shit I do to you.
Now, if you think you can hang out around here without bothering me or Munch, have at it.
You can even work the days Munch doesn’t.
Let me make myself clear, though.” I moved closer to her.
“If you think about fucking with Munch again, a broken nose will be the least of your problems.” I stepped around her and went inside.
There was nothing else for us to talk about.
I never explained myself to a woman, and I wouldn’t, unless it was Munch.
Munch was the only woman I wanted something real with, so if she had questions, I would answer them.
Talking to Drizzle even for a minute was disrespectful to Munch, but that would be the last time that happened. Hopefully, I made myself clear.
There were multiple people in the clubhouse when I entered.
“What’s good, Kane?” Tay walked up to me, and we slapped hands. “Where Munch at?” he asked with a smirk.
“Don’t get fucked up.”
He held his hands up. “I’m just fucking with you. Where is she, though, for real? She the only one that makes my drinks right.”
Caramel had found some chick to work the bar in Munch’s absence since I had kicked Drizzle out, but homegirl didn’t do a good job. I’d have to tell Caramel to get rid of her ass.
“She won’t be around long. Munch ain’t coming in today, though. Maybe Drizzle will.”
“Oh, she allowed to still work here ?” Lamont asked as he walked up.
I wasn’t even sure where his ass came from, because I didn’t see him when I came in.
“She can whenever Munch isn’t here. And if Munch don’t want her here at all, then she won’t be.” I shrugged. “Simple as that. I’ll get up with y’all later.”
I caught the eye of some of the chicks I fucked with over the years, but I had nothing for them. Unlike Drizzle, they knew what it was and dealt with it. I never gave anyone false hope. If someone didn’t like being a fuck buddy, then they could go about their business.
I went to Isis’s office first because it would be quick. Her door was closed, so I knocked before I opened it.
“Hey, Kane.”
“Hey. I heard the hospital was doing a fundraiser for single mothers, and I wanted you to send a donation from the club to them.”
“I can do that. How much? And when is the fundraiser? Did you want me to get tickets for it?”
“Five thousand is good. I believe it’s in a couple of weeks, and no to the tickets. I don’t feel like being bothered with them people.”
Isis laughed as she wrote down what I told her. Whether she remembered or not, she liked to write everything down.
“Got you.”
I went to leave her office, but she stopped me.
“I just wanted to say that Munch is a good look for you.” She winked.
I nodded, then left. Isis had been around for a while and was witness to the fact that I hadn’t taken anyone seriously before Munch. When she first came around, I wanted to hit, but she shut that shit down. Since then, we’d developed more of a brother and sister relationship.
I walked down the hall to Tech’s office. The door was already open, so I stepped inside and closed the door. What I had to say was only for the three of them.
Tech looked up from one of his computer monitors and nodded, while Slider and Rico verbally spoke.
I walked further into the room and sat in one of the chairs. Tech’s office had a couch and a desk with multiple chairs. He also had multiple computer screens around the room.
“What we talk about doesn’t leave this room.” I looked at the three of them. “The other day, someone tried to run Munch off the road, and I don’t know who it was. Did you find anything yet, Tech?”
Tech was the only one who knew, since I needed him to hack into the cameras.
“Hold on. What you mean? Is she good?” Slider had asked.
I knew Slider and Munch had developed a little friendship when she started working here. I wasn’t worried about it, because I knew Slider wouldn’t do no foul shit. If anything, he treated Munch like a sister.
“Yeah, she good. She was just really shaken up.”
“I looked at the cameras but didn’t see anything. The truck didn’t have any plates and no distinct markings or anything on it. It was all black, and that’s all I got. Whoever the driver was wore a mask, so I couldn’t even see their face.”
I ran my hand down my face and sat back in the chair. I hoped he could have found something, but we were stuck at square one.
“Damn. Okay. I’ll have to keep her with me until this shit ends. I can’t let no shit happen to her.”
“We’ll keep our ear out ’cause you know niggas like to talk,” Slider said.
Tech and Rico nodded in agreement.
I stood from the chair and slapped hands with them.
“Aight. I got a little date night and shit planned for Munch, so I’ll get up with y’all later. Oh, and someone tell Carmen to get rid of homegirl at the bar. I told Drizzle she could work when Munch wasn’t here, but she got one time to fuck up. If she doesn’t want to work, find someone else.”
“I got you.” Tech spoke up first.
I nodded, then left.
Munch had mostly been staying at my house since the incident, and I wasn’t mad at it.
She cooked and cleaned, even though I didn’t need her to, but she insisted on it.
While I was out, she’d gone home to get a few more things to bring to my house.
I wanted to tell her to move everything in but wasn’t sure if it was too fast for her.
It was fast as fuck for me, but it didn’t bother me.
I wanted to be under her as much as I could.
I had two of the prospects follow her home just in case. I made sure they understood that if something happened to her, then that would be the end of them. If she made it back in one piece, then they could officially become a Viper.
While she was gone, I set up our indoor date night. I wanted everything ready for when she came back.
As I lit the last candle on the table, I heard the door opening.
I gave her a key because I wanted her to be able to come and go as she pleased.
If she wanted to hang out while I was working, that was okay with me.
I knew she didn’t like being at her parents’ house all the time.
For me to give her a key meant I was serious as hell about her.
“You got everything you need?” I asked as I walked toward her.
She leaned in and kissed me. “I did. Was the escort necessary?”
She took her shoes off after handing me her bags.
“Very. I need you safe at all times. Plus, it was their test to see if they can be Vipers or not. Did they bother you at all?”
We walked into the living room, and she stopped in her tracks.
“What is all of this?”
“I’ll tell you in one second. Answer my question first.”
I knew they didn’t leave, because they were waiting for me to give them the okay.
“No, not all.”
“Good.” I gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
I went outside and told the guys they could leave, and I would get with them in a couple of days. I already knew they could join, but I wanted them to wait. I also wanted to talk to my brothers first to make sure we were on the same page.
Once I locked up, I rejoined Munch in the living room.
“To answer your question, this is date night. It’s too much shit going on for us to be all over the place. At least for now. Are you okay with this?”
Her safety was more important, but if she wanted to go out, we could do that. It wasn’t like I was afraid or no shit like that, but I didn’t want to get into no shit if we didn’t have to.
“This is perfect.” She beamed as she picked up the box with the puzzle.
There were blankets and pillows on the floor. I lit a few candles, and we had wine while jazz music played.
Munch told me she would eat with her parents, so I didn’t cook dinner, but I did have some stuff to snack on if she got hungry.
“Who gave you the idea to do all of this?” She squinted her eyes.
“What, you think I can’t be romantic? I told you I could be, just never had a reason to be. If you get hungry, I have some cheese and shit in the fridge. I picked up one of them boards. I wasn’t going to put it out, because you said you were eating.”
For some reason, I felt like I was rambling, so I was relieved when she leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“I’m good, but if we gonna be drinking, maybe we can get it out later.”
“Just let me know.” I poured wine into each of our glasses and passed her one. She drank some of it before putting the glass on the table.
“I had an idea. Instead of doing one puzzle together, I was thinking we could do the same puzzle and use a timer. Whoever wins gets a massage once a week for thirty minutes.”
“I feel like it wouldn’t matter who’s going to win, because we both would benefit.”
I smiled at her and rubbed my hands together. She wasn’t lying because a massage was damn near guaranteed to lead to sex, so either way, I would win.
“You might be right, but it’ll still be fun.”
She stretched her hand across the table, so I shook it.
“Let’s go then,” she said as she picked up one of the boxes.
We opened the boxes and spread our puzzle pieces out. They were small puzzles, so we didn’t need that much room.
I started the timer and we got to work. While we put our puzzles together, we talked.
“Just so you know, I told Drizzle she can work at the clubhouse when you aren’t there. She also knows she only has one time to fuck with you.”
“That’s fair. I don’t like her, but I didn’t like that you kicked her out. I’m not sure of her situation, but I know she probably didn’t want to miss out on that money.”
I felt the need to tell Munch because I didn’t want her to feel blindsided. I wasn’t trying to start off on the wrong foot by keeping secrets.
“You have a good heart, Munch. Me, I would have told the ho to kick rocks.”
She tossed her head back and laughed, but I was serious. The only reason why I let her stay was because we needed someone there, and she was good at her job when she wasn’t trying to suck dick.
“I may, but I’m telling you now—she be on some bullshit, I’m beating her ass.”
My dick jumped. “Understood.”
We focused on our puzzles for a few minutes, before Munch spoke.
“Thanks for giving me a heads-up. Anything else you want to tell me?”
I kept my eyes on my puzzle because I was nervous about what I had to say to her. I didn’t know how she would react, but it needed to be said.
“I do actually.” I dropped the piece in my hand and grabbed Munch’s hands.
She looked down at our hands, then into my eyes.
My heart raced, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe for a second. “I love you, Munch.”
Her eyes widened, then watered. “I don’t know how or when it happened, but I do,” I added.
I wiped the tear that dropped from her eye. “Kane,” she whispered. “Can I tell you that I love you too?”
I pushed the table away and pulled her into my arms. I kissed her face all over as she giggled.
“It’s crazy that shit is happening the way it is, and so fast, but it’s real for me. I felt shit for you the moment I saw you.”
My feelings and shit might have been new for me, but I knew that I loved Munch.
“I got something for you.” I released her, then went to my bedroom to get the gift I had for her.
It only took me thirty seconds to get what I needed. When I sat back down, I handed her the box.
She pulled the ribbon off and opened it. She released a low gasp as she pulled the gift out.
“This is beautiful.” She held it up and ran her fingers over the charm.
It was a silver necklace with the letter K, with a viper wrapped around it.
“You may not be an official Viper yet, but I want everyone to know who you belong to.”
“Oh, I belong to you?”
“Hell yeah. We exchanged bodily fluids, baby. We are together.”
I didn’t go around sticking raw dick into just anybody. For me to do that with Munch, the very first time, said a lot.
Munch laughed, but I was serious.
“You haven’t even asked me.”
I took the necklace from her and opened the clasp.
“You’re right. Raina Munch, will you be my girlfriend?”
She giggled and nodded.
“Yes, Kane. I will be your girlfriend.”
I put the chain around her neck and turned her to face me.
“Good.” I kissed her. “I say we forget these puzzles for now and celebrate.”
“I agree.”
I stood, then picked her up and carried her to my room, where we made love until the wee hours of the morning.