16. Taylor
Chapter sixteen
Taylor
The warmth of the sun beats down on me. The sound of the surf is soothing, but laughter and squeals of the teens playing volleyball almost drown it out.
Player leans his elbows on the railing next to me and squints into the setting sun.
“Want to play?” he asks.
My brow shoots up, and I laugh. “No way. Not after I saw how good you are.”
His white teeth flash against his tanned lips, sexy grooves forming on the outside of his mouth. “You used to be right there with me in high school. I remember a lot of games we joined in on Rehoboth Beach.”
“I suppose so. That seems like ages ago. Life was easier then, wasn’t it?”
“Guess so. How’s your mother doing?”
“Better. The latest treatments seem to be working, and they’ve given her something to give her more energy. She’s on some protein drinks. She’s finally able to keep them down.”
“That’s great.”
“It is.”
“Come on. Let’s take a walk on the beach.” He takes my hand and leads me down the stairs.
“Your sister seems to be enjoying her party. She had a good turnout. There must be fifty kids here,” I observe.
“Yeah, Dad’s not so thrilled having them all milling around his new place, but she’s happy, so I guess that’s all that matters.”
“He didn’t expect so many to attend?” I ask.
“Guess not.” Player shrugs. “Too late. Now he’s stuck.”
“I’m sure he or one of his guys will handle any problems.”
“Oh, no doubt.”
“I noticed you put the fear of God into any boy who looked at your sister,” I tease.
“True. And Drae’s been taking up any slack. I think he’s sweet on my sister.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
“How’s Gage feel about that?”
“Don’t think he knows. But he’d have Drae’s head if he found out.”
“What about your sister? Does she return his feelings?”
“It’s hard to tell. It looked to me like there was something going on, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Have you asked her?”
“Nope, and I don’t plan to. Drae knows he better not cross that line. Anything happens, it’s all on him.”
“Is he a good man?”
“The best, but that doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“For one, he’s too old for her. Two, he’s in the club. I don’t think Dad wants her with anybody in the club.”
“Why not?”
“Just doesn’t.”
“You know this for a fact, or are you just guessing?”
“He’s never much wanted her hanging around the club, and that feeling solidified after the bombing.”
“I see.” My smile falls at the mention of the clubhouse bombing that took the lives of my brother and Player’s wife and mother.
I heard rumors the club suspected the Depraved Sinners.
The two clubs have been at war for a decade or more, but it had crossed the line of murdering family members.
Like in the mafia, family had always been off-limits in the MC world.
That day changed everything. I don’t like to think about it or talk about it, and I know Player feels the same way, so I don’t go there now.
Instead, I ask about Drae and Sissy. “So how’d they get together?
If your father doesn’t want her hanging around the club, I mean. ”
“My father got overprotective, and he’s trusted Drae with her protection when he felt she needed it.”
“You mean like a bodyguard?”
Player huffs a laugh. “Yeah, I guess you could call him that.”
“I suppose she feels safe with him, then. Maybe that’s all it is.”
“I hope so.”
We walk along the surf, stepping around a horseshoe crab
Gulls swoop overhead, calling loudly.
“How is your father settling in out here?” I ask.
Player shoves his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know. From what Drae’s told me, he doesn’t think the man has set foot on the sand. Mostly just sits on the deck and stares at the water.”
“Maybe he’s still grieving your mother. Wasn’t it her dream to move to the beach?”
“Yeah, it was. Guess he’s coming to terms with the fact he has to make a life here without her now. But he’s the one who wanted this, so I hope he doesn’t regret it.”
“Did I tell you there’s a new family in your old house? Two little boys. They remind me of you and Beck back in the day.”
“Really? That’s good to know, I guess.”
“I thought so.”
Player stops and tugs my hand, turning me to face him. The sun is sinking low on the horizon. I search his eyes, trying to decipher his mood.
“We’re all hoping your mom is back on her feet soon. But I can’t help wondering when that time comes, will you return to Norfolk or will you stay?”
I study the surf. “I haven’t decided. Are you asking me to stay, Player?”
He cups my face, bringing my eyes back to his, and he presses his forehead to mine. “Yeah, guess that’s what I’m saying. I don’t want you to leave again, Tay. Things have been so good between us. I need you here with me.”
“I always thought you didn’t need anyone.”
“If I ever made you think that, I’m sorry. It isn’t true.”
I don’t know how to answer him. I’ve kept so much from him, and now things have progressed so far I’m not sure how to tell him, so I change the subject. “You’re leaving for California soon, right?”
“Yeah, the national meet. We pull out Monday.” He brings my hand to his mouth and presses his lips to the palm. “You gonna miss me?”
I step closer, pressing my body against his. “You know I will.” I kiss him, and he wraps his arms around me.
We walk a bit more, Player with his arm around my shoulders and me with mine around his waist. It feels good. It feels right, and I don’t want anything to rear its head and change this comfortable way we’ve fallen together again.
The wind picks up, and the temperature drops. Dusk is fast slipping away, and the sky is turning from orange to purple to deep blue.
We turn and head back.
By the time we arrive at Gage’s beach house, they’ve got a bonfire going.
Player leads me on the deck where most of the MC have taken up chairs and are sitting around drinking and shooting the shit.
There was a time I felt a part of this tight-knit group, like one of the family, but except for Player and Gage, I haven’t felt that way in a long time.
Mostly I get a lot of looks from his brothers, club and blood included.
It’s like they’re either pissed at me for a reason I cannot fathom, or they pity me. I can’t figure out which.
Player goes to the cooler and gets us each a beer.
We stand by the railing.
I watch the bonfire while he turns and talks with the crew.
We stay until late.
Eventually, most of the teens head off to other graduation parties.
Around 10:00 p.m., Gage tells a couple of the prospects to put out the fire.
I excuse myself to use the restroom and go inside. After I’m through, I walk down the short hall and hear hushed voices near the foyer and the set of stairs leading to the second level. I peer and see two shadowy forms ducked in a small alcove.
I don’t think they see me, and I pause near the hallway wall and listen to their conversation.
I recognize Cici’s voice immediately.
“Come with me, please.”
“I can’t, sweetheart. You know that.”
I suck in a breath. It’s Drae. Everything Player told me comes rushing back.
“You could if you wanted. You could make an excuse. Say your mother is ill or something.”
“Sissy, don’t put me in a spot like this.”
“Fine,” she snaps, and I peek and see her smack his hand away. “Maybe I’ll find someone else then. Maybe I’ll get drunk at Cason’s party and find a boy who’s not afraid to kiss me.”
I see Drae’s hand flash up and grab her wrist as she moves to push past him.
“Don’t even think about it. You do, and I swear I’ll find out. I’ll hunt him down and break his legs.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she hisses.
“Try me.”
“I hate you,” she hisses, tears in her eyes.
“No, you don’t, babe. That’s the problem. You don’t hate me, and I don’t hate you.”
“Then why won’t you even kiss me?”
“You know why.”
“So, we can never be? There’s no hope for us?”
I can see his arms tremble as he holds her a foot away from him. The man is struggling, fighting against every instinct in him to pull her close.
“You think I don’t want you? You think this isn’t hell on me? You think I don’t lie awake at night—” He cuts himself off before he admits more.
The front slider scrapes open, and they both move into the shadows.
I take the opportunity to walk out into the great room.
“There you are, babe,” Player says. “I thought you fell in.”
“Just fixing my lipstick.” I hook an arm through his and turn him toward the deck. “How about another beer?”
It’s not long after we go outside that Drae comes out on the deck, lighting up a smoke.
“Where the fuck did you go?” Gage asks.
“Out to my bike to get another pack of smokes. What’d I miss?”
I study the man, knowing what I know. I feel for him. But at the same time, I hope the feelings those two have for each other don’t end in disaster. Drae seems like the strong, silent type, but apparently Cici has gotten under his thick shell.
“Not much. We’re pulling out of the clubhouse at 8:00 a.m. Monday. Be loaded up and ready.”
Drae nods and blows a stream of smoke toward the sky. His eyes scan the beach, and I’m sure a trip to California is the last thing on his mind.
“You’re leaving so early Monday?” I ask Player.
“Yeah. Need to get a good distance the first day.”
The realization of just how much I’m going to miss him hits me. “Can I see you off?”
“Countin’ on it, darlin’. Matter of fact, I thought maybe you could stay with me at the clubhouse tomorrow night. That way we wouldn’t have to get up so early to get there in the morning.”
I grin and lean against his shoulder. “Sounds like a plan.”