Chapter 16
Mia sat on her bed talking with Amber. It had been just another day of puttering around the place and keeping herself busy until this afternoon. The two of them had grocery shopped and retuned home with pizza to watch a chick flick. Mia switched off the television and Amber gathered the pizza box and paper plates.
Mia jumped at the sound of someone at her door. She hadn’t heard anyone come in the house.
The door eased open, and Lola leaned against the door jamb. “Well, damn. Thought I may catch some skin going on in here.” He flashed them a lopsided grin. “Isn’t that what a girls’ night is? Drink until the clothes fall off while dancing and comparing stories?”
“What would you know about girls’ night?” Amber questioned, sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed.
“Not a thing. That’s why I’m crashing it,” he told her, grinning.
“Maybe we’re talking about you,” Amber shot back.
His smile grew cocky. “Then carry on. I’m here for the sampling.” He threw his arms to the side, then cocked his head. “Unless you two are planning to sample the goods together. In that case, I suggest we take the party to my room. That way, you can just leave me passed out in my bed when you’re done with me.”
Mia shook her head, and glanced toward Amber who rolled her eyes.
Lola leaned over the bed toward her. His finger glided up the bottom of her foot sending shivers through her body. “So, you want me in your bed,” Lola teased.
Amber pushed him away from Mia with her foot and he laughed. “Fine. I’ll go to bed alone and dream about you.” Straightening, he turned toward the door.
Mia tapped Amber’s knee and signed “stay”.
“Mia said you can stay,” Amber called after him.
Mia was pointing toward a chair when he spun back toward them. He pulled it closer to the bed and fell into it. “So, what we talking about?”
“New Year’s Eve plans,” Amber told him.
“What do you two have planned?” he asked.
“This will be the first New Year’s I get to decide on my own. I think I’m hanging out here with Mia,” Amber told him. “I’m sure you’ll be at the clubhouse.”
“I will. I’ll be staying overnight. You both are welcome to come there for a while if you want,” he offered.
Mia immediately shook her head, spreading her hands far apart and then wiggling her fingers like people walking.
“There very well could be a lot of people,” he confirmed. “Only the club stays overnight though.”
“That’s odd,” Amber commented.
“It’s a tradition that’s been around since the early days of the club. It’s a belief about not bringing the old into the new.”
Mia smiled. A nice tradition to bring in the new year together. Her New Year’s had never been extravagant. And she had no plans for this year either.
“Now, if you want to go as my old lady, I’m cool with that. Just know you’re sleeping with me.” Lola’s brows bounced once as he looked between the two.
Mia’s face heated. His words always struck a fire in her. No. Maybe not his words, his voice, his eyes. To be honest, his presence did it. She dropped her gaze away.
“Do you ever stop?” Amber asked.
“That depends. How do you plan to make me stop?”
“Leave us,” Amber snapped.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “It’s the end of the year. Tell me, what have you learned or accomplished this year?”
Mia straightened. Good question.
“Deep question for a sex-crazed biker,” Amber told him.
Lola grinned. “Something my mom and I always talked about at the end of the year. So, what are you taking from this year?”
Amber bit the side of her lip and paused. “I accomplished gaining the courage to make a change and move to an unfamiliar place. I’ve learned that school is hard and math stinks. But it’s only numbers, and if I associate the numbers with something I’m familiar with, I can do it.”
“Cool,” Lola said.
Mia gave her a thumbs up and both Amber and Lola turned toward her. She smiled and began telling her accomplishments with her hands. Slow down and think. They don’t sign. She took a deep breath and lifted her hand to her chest, she tapped her palm in a rhythm, then signed a bit and exaggerated her smile.
Mia watched Amber jerk her head toward Lola and he smiled.
“That’s an accomplishment,” he said. “You’re alive. You’re learning sign language to communicate. And you’re happy.”
Mia smiled, and a warm sensation filled her. He understood. She nodded then she pointed toward Lola.
“I accomplished getting offered to prospect. I’ve learned way too much to list, but I guess the main lesson was that my father didn’t abandon us.”
“We’ve all had a good year,” Amber noted.
“I would say we have,” Lola agreed. “Now to make the new year even better.”