Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“I’ve been great, thanks. You?”
“Not bad. Any more incidents with my uncle?”
“Just pushed him up from the lobby the other day. He’s struggling with his chair.”
“Yeah. I got a custom electric one ordered that he’s going to claim he hates for a few weeks before he starts using it. Should only be another week or so.”
“Oh, that’ll be great for him. He could even go outside and get some sunshine. What?” she asked as I raised my brows.
“I don’t think my uncle has willingly gone outside in years,” I told her. “Which, honestly, might be better for the general population anyway. I got a salad here he turned his nose up at. Wanna share?” I asked, glad I’d decided to bring it.
“Are you a mindreader?” she asked, grabbing her big sack purse, and digging around in it. “I’m starving,” she added, producing a little case, then opening it to pull out a fork.
“That’s handy,” I said, moving over to the table with her, hopping up and saying a silent prayer that the old thing could hold our weight.
“I always bring a little kit with a fork, knife, spoon, and straw,” she admitted. “You’d be surprised how often you find yourself in need of them. Plus, you know, good for the environment,” she added as I pulled off the top of the salad.
I produced my own fork that I’d washed just a few moments before leaving with the laundry.
“Oh, that looks amazing,” she said as I held out the salad, letting her grab a forkful first.
“Eddie makes the best salads,” I agreed, nodding.
“Eddie. Is that your partner?” she asked, making me almost choke on my mouthful.
“No. No. I mean, if I swung that way, I might marry the fucker. But we’re both straight. He just likes to cook for the club.”
“What kind of club?” she asked, then let out a groan as she had a bite.
I went ahead and pretended that sound didn’t go straight to my dick.
“Bike club.”
“Oh, do you guys do competitions?” she asked.
“Competitions?” I asked.
“You know… races?”
“Oh, no, doll. Not that kind of bike,” I said, smiling. “Motorcycles,” I clarified.
“Interesting. What does a motorcycle club do?” she asked.
“Hang out mostly,” I admitted. “Throw parties.”
“Who doesn’t love a good party?” she asked. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was hinting at wanting an invitation.
“I can give you an address if you ever want to pop by for one.”
“But how would I know when one is going on?”
“Pick any night of the week and you’ll pick the right one,” I said. “But you also have my number. If you haven’t lost it.”
“I haven’t,” she said. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ve never been to a party at a motorcycle club. What does one wear to that sort of thing?”
In her case? As little as possible.
“This works,” I said, waving at her. “But you might want to wear a bathing suit under it.”
“What? I can’t swim nude?” she asked, tone serious, but her smile betrayed her.
“Baby, I doubt anyone would complain about you swimming nude,” I said, letting my gaze scan her.
“Oh, but I wouldn’t want to do it alone,” she said, laying the flirtatious tone on thick.
And I was eating it up.
“Doll, anytime you want me naked, I’m at your service,” I shot back, watching as her eyes warmed to golden honey.
Her lips parted to say… something.
When a mom with three enthusiastic kids rushed in, the older two gibbering about who was going to get to put the coins in the slots.
“Both of you. You can both put the coins in,” the mother placated them as she dragged two large trash bags behind her, and jiggled the baby in her carrier.
“Hey Lily,” Jade said, hopping off of the table and holding her hands out. “Come on. Give me my fix,” she demanded, making Lily pull the baby out of the carrier.
Jade pulled the baby to her chest and leaned down to press a kiss to her mostly bald head before she started to sway gently and hum.
Thanks to the older members of the club, I’d been around a shitton of babies in my life. And, yeah, they were cute and all.
But I’d never had quite the same kind of reaction to seeing any of the women with any of those babies as I did seeing Jade with this one.
It was a strange, I dunno, tightening sensation in my chest.
“How long have you lived here?” I found myself asking when she caught me staring at her with the baby.
“Just about a month,” she told me, grabbing the baby’s hand, and trying to remove the earring from her tiny fist before she pulled the earring free.
“Here,” I said, jumping up to held pull the earring free.
“Thanks. Why?” she asked.
“You seem to have acclimated really quickly,” I said, thinking about how I didn’t know any of my neighbors back before I moved into the clubhouse. The only reason I knew my neighbors at the clubhouse was because it was a club member and his wife.