Chapter 8 #4
Scar’s head wound was completely healed, and Tally was planning ways to get Scar to the altar.
In truth, Steel was a bit surprised the two had not eloped, but it was their wedding.
Tally’s mom was pushing her to have a large ceremony, which clearly meant she had no respect for her future son-in-law or knew a damn thing about him.
Tally liked what Lucky and Harper had done with having their ceremony outside on the clubhouse back lawn.
Scar would give Tally whatever she wanted, but she was also trying to be conscientious of what Scar could or could not do, and crowds was something Scar could not do.
But their wedding wasn’t the current priority. Ollie becoming a licensed driver was. He was beyond excited and was taking Aaron out on a date in Cottonville to celebrate.
Aaron was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Ollie to come down.
Needing to make a grand entrance, Ollie was descending by riding Jenna’s chair lift.
Jenna and Steel were in the living room.
Jenna looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cringe at her son’s flamboyance.
Steel was concentrating more on Aaron than he was Ollie.
It hadn’t escaped his notice the way Aaron stared at Ollie, like he’d never seen a more beautiful sight in the world.
Maybe it was time to give Aaron another talking to.
Man, it sucked that he liked Aaron and thought he was a good kid.
Melanie hadn’t dated much in Mount Grove, so Steel had rarely gotten the opportunity to threaten any boys on her behalf.
And now Ollie had found a good man, one that Steel respected?
He felt gypped as a father. With any luck, Melanie would bring home some college boy that Steel absolutely hated.
Aaron and Ollie had celebrated their one-year anniversary last October. It really did seem like the two of them were going to go the distance, but changes were definitely coming. Jenna was already trying to subtly prepare Ollie for what it was going to be like when Aaron went off to basic training.
As Ollie reached the bottom, Steel’s eyebrows went up.
He wholeheartedly supported Ollie in whatever his son wanted to do or wear or be, so long as he was respectful to those around him.
However, Steel thought Ollie’s fashion sense left something to be desired.
Jenna and the ol’ ladies talked of Ollie’s outfits like they were high fashion and so coordinated they were envious.
Steel would never understand, but that didn’t mean he didn’t support Ollie.
It just meant he’d never be caught dead wearing one of Ollie’s outfits.
And it wasn’t like Ollie’s outfits would fit him anyway. His son was all bones, tall and lanky. There wasn’t an ounce of fat and barely any muscle on him.
Aaron was exactly the opposite, tall and broad like Cage. They even had the same Greek features that had women calling both father and son Adonises.
Holding out his hand, Aaron helped Ollie stand from the chair lift.
Ollie was wearing a very sparkly, very silver suit jacket with some meshy, flared skirt that hung off the bottom.
He was wearing pants too so Steel was pretty sure the mesh whatever-it-was was attached to the jacket.
Very tight, very pink pants with a pair of combat boots that had buckles instead of laces.
He had on heavy eyeliner and glitter. It was over his hair and cheeks.
“When did our son get his ears pierced?” Steel asked Jenna in a whisper.
“Last summer. Remember, you said you liked it.”
He was sure he had. Steel would never flat-out lie to his children, but he figured pretending that he’d noticed Melanie’s new haircut or that he liked Ollie’s earrings was along the same lines as telling a kid Santa Claus was responsible for the presents under the tree each year.
When Jenna used to take the kids clothes shopping for the new school year, she’d put on a fashion show of sorts for Steel to see.
Sometimes it was over video call when he was overseas and other times he got to be home for it.
But he never really noticed or cared. Jeans and a t-shirt were the extent of his fashion knowledge.
Carter and Jordan were each over the fashion shows by the time they were ten or so, but Melanie continued them into her early teens.
There were only so many times Steel could claim a dress was the prettiest and mean it. After a while, they honestly all looked the same.
Jenna shook her head, hiding her smile behind her hand. She knew exactly what Steel was thinking, because she’d caught on to his opinion of the fashion shows a lot quicker than their kids had.
Aaron bent to kiss Ollie’s cheek, getting glitter all over himself too. The young man didn’t seem to notice.
Ollie skipped into the living room, dragging Aaron behind him. He dropped Aaron’s hand to do a twirl for Jenna. Steel coughed and had to wave his hand in front of his face to disperse the glitter flying off his son. Jenna just laughed, holding up her hands like she was catching snowflakes.
“You look beautiful, baby,” she told him as Ollie struck a pose.
When his vision cleared of sparkling dust, Steel was able to confirm that the mesh was like a tutu looking thing that was attached to the jacket. What he couldn’t confirm was if Ollie was wearing a shirt under the jacket. Or maybe it wasn’t a jacket. Maybe the silver sparkly material was his shirt.
Fuck if Steel knew or was going to ask.
Ollie turned to Steel expectantly. His big blue eyes were wide as he waited for his father to say something.
“That’s, uh, a lot of glitter you’re wearing, son.
” When Ollie’s smile dimmed slightly, Steel cursed.
“But it suits you. I think you look great.” Ollie rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Steel’s torso.
Steel might not understand Ollie’s fashion, but he’d be damned if that ever stopped him from returning one of his son’s hugs.
Steel put his arms around Ollie’s shoulders and squeezed him tight.
“Drive safe,” he pleaded with his son. “And don’t get mistaken for a disco ball. ”
Ollie laughed and backed off. “You taught me everything I could possibly need to know, and a lot I likely will never need to know but now do, about driving, Steel. I’m a good driver. I promise. No speeding, no recklessness, no shenanigans. We’re just going out to dinner.”
Steel cupped his son’s face. Ollie was very tactile compared to Carter and Jordan, and that little smile he did when Steel showed him paternal affection was sweet enough to melt even Steel’s heart.
“Curfew is still ten.” After Ollie nodded his understanding, Steel looked up at Aaron over Ollie’s head and narrowed his eyes.
Because he could. “I am entrusting you with my son. You better return him to me in the exact condition he is leaving this house in.”
Aaron swallowed hard but did not cower. “Yes, sir.”
Jenna’s hand slapped his navel again. Damn their audience.
Ollie gave Jenna a hug before grabbing Aaron’s hand and walking to the front door. “Bye!” he shouted at them.
Both Steel and Jenna waved. As soon as the door closed, Steel sneezed up a pile of glitter. “Christ, how do I get this stuff off me?”
Jenna laughed and held her hands up to him. “By carrying your wife upstairs and taking a bath with her.”
“Fuck yeah,” he growled.
They were barely settled in the steamy bathwater when Steel’s phone rang. It was Chip, the club’s newest prospect. Steel had ordered him to discreetly follow Aaron and Ollie on their date. With Shaw still at large, Steel was taking no chances with his son’s safety.
“Steel! Something’s wrong with—fuck! They just crashed into the guardrail!”