9. Lilah #2
I let my eyes wander around the room, Jinx, one of the prospects, I was introduced to him a little earlier, is sitting at one of the tables with his laptop open, completely absorbed in whatever he's doing.
Somewhere beyond the doorway, I hear one of the women laugh, followed by another voice telling her to stop before she burns something. More laughter follows, easy and familiar, and the smell of whatever they're cooking drifts through the clubhouse.
It doesn't feel like a clubhouse.
It feels like a home.
The church room door opens, and conversation filters back into the clubhouse before the men do. Venom's voice reaches us first.
"...that's because you're wrong."
"I wasn't wrong," Savage replies, sounding harassed.
"You absolutely were."
The rest of them spill into the main room a second later. Tempest catches my eye almost immediately. He doesn't come over; he just gives me a small nod, like he's checking I'm alright. I nod back. Satisfied, he lets himself get dragged into whatever Savage is saying.
Natalia notices. "So," she says, wrapping both hands around her mug. "How'd we do?"
I blink. "What?"
She smiles. "Still think we're terrifying?"
I look around the room, Venom's stealing something off Ghost's plate, Ghost doesn't even look up before taking it straight back, Rogue says something that makes Sniper snort into his drink, someone at the far end tells Venom to stop hovering if he's not going to help.
The whole place feels... comfortable.
"I've been frightened of enough real things," I say quietly. "This doesn't feel like one of them."
Natalia's smile softens. "I was hoping you'd say that." She glances toward Tempest. "He's been worried you'd hate it here."
I look over and see Tempest's listening to Savage, but now and then, his eyes flick back toward us, just for a second, just long enough to make sure I'm okay. “He keeps checking on me."
Natalia smiles into her tea. "That's Tempest."
Before I can ask what she means, Venom appears beside the table. "You hungry?"
"I could eat."
"Good." He claps his hands once. "Ruin!"
A voice carries from somewhere behind us. "What?"
"We've got another victim."
Ruin appears from the kitchen doorway, drying his hands on a tea towel, he looks at me. "You eaten?"
"Not since breakfast."
He nods once. "Come on then."
Ruin doesn't ask what I want; he fills a plate, hands it to me, then points at the long dining table. "Sit."
I do as I’m told and take a seat, Tempest appearing a second later with two glasses of water, setting one beside my plate before taking the chair next to me.
"You didn't have to do that," I say.
He shrugs. "Already getting mine."
The table fills quickly, and I notice that the women that were cooking aren’t here. I make a note to ask Tempest about them later as Venom drops into the seat opposite us, followed by Savage, who immediately steals a fry from his plate. "I wasn't finished with that."
Savage shrugs. "You weren't eating it."
Venom splutters in protest. "I was about to."
Savage doesn’t care; he sits back into his chair and crosses his arms. "You were talking."
"I can do both."
"You've never done both."
Venom points his fork at Tempest. "Back me up."
Tempest takes a bite of his lunch. "No."
"Traitor."
Tempest glares at him. "I wasn't on your side to begin with."
Venom sighs dramatically. "I don't know why I bother."
"Because you like hearing yourself talk," Savage says without looking up from his food.
A few people around the table laugh, and Venom presses a hand to his chest. "That was unnecessarily accurate."
I smile before I can stop myself and Tempest notices, but he doesn't say anything, just goes back to eating.
Conversation bounces around the table. Someone asks Rogue about a job, and Ghost and Hades disagree about something I don't understand.
Jinx sits farther down the table, listening more than talking, only joining in when someone asks him a direct question.
Nobody seems to be trying to impress anyone, they interrupt each other, and steal food off each other's plates, and complain about who's making the tea later. It's loud, chaotic, and comfortable.
At one point, Venom reaches across and steals a roast potato from Tempest's plate. Tempest doesn't even look up; he simply reaches across and takes two from Venom's.
Venom stares at his plate. "That's aggressive."
Tempest shrugs. "You started it."
"I took one."
Tempest glares at him. "So did I."
"You took two."
Tempest nods. "I know."
I laugh and Venom points at me. "See? She thinks I'm funny."
"No," Tempest says calmly. "She thinks you're an idiot."
Venom looks at me. "He's definitely smiling more."
I glance at Tempest. He's looking at his plate, but the corner of his mouth twitches.
"Maybe a little," I admit.
Venom throws both hands into the air. "I knew it!"
"Eat your lunch," Ghost says from the other end of the table.
Venom sighs. "Nobody appreciates me."
"Correct," half the table answers.
Laughter rolls around the room. I look down at my plate for a second, and then back around the table. Tempest was right; this isn't just a motorcycle club, it's a family.
And for the first time in a very long time... I don't feel like the outsider sitting at the edge of the room. I feel like there's a place for me at the table.
We leave the clubhouse a few hours after lunch, the door closes behind us and the noise fades with it, replaced by the usual sounds of the city.
For a while we just drive. Tempest is watching the road as I glance over at him. "They're not what I expected."
He looks at me. "No?"
I smile to myself. "I thought it'd be... different." I thought they’d be like the Kings of Anarchy MC in Connecticut.
"Different how?"
"I don't know." I shrug. "More intimidating, I suppose."
"They can be."
"I know." I look out the window. "But not with each other."
"No."
"They really are a family."
He nods. "They are."
I smile. "Venom's exhausting."
A corner of his mouth lifts. "Constantly."
"And Ghost's a lot quieter than I expected."
"He only talks when he has something to say."