Chapter 44 – Christopher
“You found my boy?”
Before Bishop answered, Diesel stuck his head in. “He’s at your table, Uncle Christopher.”
Closing his eyes, Christopher dropped into his chair and cradled his head, so great his relief he couldn’t hold up his weight.
Those words urged Christopher to his feet. “Where’d you find him, Diesel?” he asked, curious.
“I didn’t, sir. Grant went to Skye Ratcliffe’s place. She said he’d been there but left about 4:00. Grant relayed the information to us. Ryan found him at Turn Creek Bridge.”
Christopher hurried into the main room, finding CJ in the spot where his ma usually sat and Ryan next to him, while Val sat in his usual seat and Grant took Mort’s chair.
Kaia sat at the far end of the long table.
Easton, Torrin, and Narci were at the bar.
They only sat at the table when Christopher was gone and Diesel was there. Bishop remained standing.
Christopher approached CJ, stopping himself from hugging his son at the last minute. He wasn’t a little kid. Diesel dropped in the seat across from CJ, at Christopher’s left.
“What’s up, son?”
CJ lowered his gaze and blushed.
What the fuck…?
Oh, fuck. He’d been with Skye.
“You used protection, boy?”
“We didn’t have sex,” CJ mumbled.
Then, why was CJ unable to look at him? And why the fuck did he look so embarrassed?
“His one-eyed monster needs a little first-aid,” Ryan announced, the laughter in his eyes matching the tone of his voice. “She bit him.”
“Fuckhead,” CJ said, elbowing Ryan, which prompted the little motherfucker to laugh and CJ to cringe.
Christopher exchanged a glance with Diesel.
“She’d never gone down on anyone,” Grant told him, and pressed his lips together. Clearly, he wanted to laugh, too.
“How the fuck you know that, Grant?” Christopher demanded.
“Because Skye has a big fucking mouth,” CJ exploded. “I knew I shouldn’t have even kissed her. Everybody will know by the time first bell rings in the morning.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “That’s not how that works, cuck. Girls don’t tell on themselves. Jaleena might know, but no one else. They’re on the cheer team together.”
Panic crossed CJ’s face. “Harley’s on the cheer team, too.”
“You’re like a fucking baby, CJ,” Ryan said, disgusted. “Harley isn’t your girlfriend. You don’t owe her anything. Not even a fucking explanation.”
“You don’t understand!”
“No, beta, and I mean it now, because you’re acting like a fucking beta ass bitch.
You and Harley are trying to mend your fences.
You aren’t back together. Even then, she turned you down when you asked to go steady and then crashed the fuck out because of her decision.
You don’t owe her shit now and you didn’t owe her shit then.
You don’t have to be a fucking asshole like me, but you do need boundaries. Goddamn.”
Was Christopher living in the fucking Twilight Zone? Val looked at Ryan, then at Christopher, fish-mouthed.
“That shit not important right now,” Christopher decided, circling back to his boy’s bite. “So, you fuckin’ stopped cuz she decided to use your cock as a test subject?”
“Dad,” CJ said, mortified. “Do you have to put it like that?”
Christopher shrugged. “Just answer the question, son.”
“Yeah. I-I mean no. I was going to stop anyway. Fuck, I forced myself to stop kissing her and said we couldn’t do it.
She was all over me. It’s what she normally does.
Push and push and fucking push. Asking me questions.
Insinuating herself in my space. Usually, I’m prepared, but I could barely fucking think.
” CJ covered his face. “Who knows? If she hadn’t bit me, I might’ve gone all the way,” he admitted.
“And it would’ve been so fucking meaningless. ”
“For you,” Ryan said. “It would’ve been quite meaningful for her, especially if she achieved her end goal. Your baby.”
“Exfuckinplain what the fuck that mean, Ryan.”
“CJ does not carry condoms, Uncle Christopher. Strike one. She told me and him that she’s looking for a way out of poverty. Strike two. She likes CJ but is willing to sleep with me because she thinks I’m like him. Strike three.”
“Skye Ratcliffe?” Kaia called.
“Yeah,” CJ answered.
“Would she baby trap?” Val asked.
Kaia nodded “She used to come into the mini mart where I worked with her mom and her brother and sister. Kayce liked her at one time. Mom and Dad was completely against that. They called her trailer trash.”
As much as Christopher disliked Kaia, his parents sounded like assfucks.
“That doesn’t answer the question, emo boy,” Diesel spat.
“Her mom sometimes works three jobs,” Kaia answered, glaring at Diesel.
“Skye liked reruns of this old reality show about pregnant teenagers. She talked about how, if it still aired, she’d find a way to get on it, but only with a rich boy.
She was tired of missing her mom and being hungry. So, yeah, she’d baby trap.”
“Do you know how the fuck she can afford Ridge Moore?” Diesel asked.
“Her mom, Diesel,” Kaia bit out. “She was fucking around with some rich married dude. She thought she was pregnant and threatened to tell his wife. He beat the fuck out of her. Skye came into the store and begged me to buy medical supplies for her because they couldn’t afford it.
Instead of calling the cops, she got him to pay Skye’s tuition for this semester.
I don’t know about next school year. Does she need more?
One semester is long enough to trap a rich boy. ”
“Told you, CJ,” Ryan said.
Christopher scrubbed a hand through his hair, hating the shame and anger on CJ’s face. He understood the anger. She’d planned to use him by placing lifelong responsibility on his shoulders.
Easton walked over. The club was quiet, so of course everyone overheard. “If I may suggest regulatory skirt lengths for the girls? I’ve seen Skye. In any other school, the amount of leg and thigh she shows wouldn’t be allowed.”
“We ain’t got a dress code?” Christopher asked in surprise.
“Only one that states what uniforms are mandatory,” Easton answered.
“We should see about finding a way to have students purchase the uniforms from a shop we’re affiliated with, Dad,” CJ said morosely. “It would be money in our pocket.”
Christopher looked at Easton and nodded, smiling at his boy. “Kenny, bring a setup,” he called. “Kaia, you not fuckin’ punished. Sit closer.”
Drumming his fingers on the table and grimacing, Diesel threw Kaia a hateful look. Kaia pretended not to see as he took the seat next to Ryan.
“Bishop, sit the fuck down. You too, Easton.”
“Narci and Torrin helped, too, Uncle Christopher.”
Since Diesel was right, Christopher called them over as well, waiting until Kenny sat two buckets of beers down and they all had one.
“Lemme ask you, CJ,” Christopher started after he sipped his beer. “How the fuck you ended up in that position with Skye?”
CJ sidled a glance at Ryan, who smirked and drank deeply from his bottle.
“It doesn’t matter, Dad.”
“It does, son. You didn’t even have no cum catchers. If you want to have sex, you got to stay ready. There’re diseases and girls like Skye. But sex…you don’t have a fuckin’ tickin’ clock that’s about to fuckin’ expire.”
“You’d already had sex…”
“You a broken fuckin’ record, CJ. Me and you different, boy. My ass probably shoulda waited, too. Fuckin’ not the measure of a man. Heart and soul is. If you never fuck, that’s your fuckin’ business and your fuckin’ cock.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Dad. It just never seems like the right time or place.” Once again, he dropped his gaze.
“Or the right person,” Christopher guessed, having an idea of who CJ wanted.
“Yeah, Dad.”
Draining his beer, Christopher grabbed another one, then looked at all the motherfuckers at the table, but stared at Narci. “Do any motherfucker have a problem with my boy, his cock, and what the fuck he do with it? Speak now or forever hold your fuckin’ peace.”
“I don’t,” Narci blurted, raising his hands as if Christopher had a fucking gun on him.
“What about you, Ryan?” Val asked.
“Ryan helped me a lot tonight, Uncle Val,” CJ said. “Seriously. I needed to hear what he had to say.”
Hope flickered across Val’s face, before he clenched his jaw and nodded. Christopher needed to talk to him about Ryan. As soon as him and Megan returned from the cabin.
“Girls are a lot of trouble, CJ,” Grant said.
Grumbles of agreement went up from all the motherfuckers except Christopher and Val.
“You have to be able to separate sex and lovemaking,” Grant added.
“Don’t forget to add fucking,” Torrin said.
They all snickered.
CJ’s eyes widened. “There’s a difference?”
“Yeah, CJ,” Diesel answered, and Christopher was so fucking glad.
How the fuck could he have answered that when every motherfucker knew he’d done all three only with Megan for the last seventeen and a half years?
“Maybe I can get Fia to teach you the difference,” Diesel said, addressing CJ but smirking at Kaia.
That motherfucker frowned.
“I don’t think it should be a club girl,” Val said with a shake of his head. “Imagine if it get back to Meggie? Especially if it’s Fia? She’d kill that bitch herself.”
“Yeah, she probably would.” It was Christopher’s turn to sound like a pathetic bitch. “Even though she barely at this motherfucker lately.”
“I would’ve thought she’d be blowing up your phone,” Val said.
“I called Mom when I got back to the club, Uncle Val. Before Dad came out. I just told her I had to watch football footage.”
Christopher pursed his lips. He should’ve warned CJ not to make a habit out of lying to his ma, but he had to allow his boy to share what he wanted with Megan.
“Have you washed your cock with antibacterial soap, by any chance, CJ?” Diesel asked.
“No,” CJ responded, blushed and then growled. “Why is this so fucking embarrassing? I’ve watched porn.”
“This is a new experience for you,” Christopher said. “Watchin’ fuckin’ got nothin’ to do with your cock. It’s other people fuckin’.”