Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Hey, honey, you think you can get me a tampon from the dispenser on the wall?”
“Sure,” I reply, walking over to the dispenser. “I don’t see a coin slot.”
“Oh, there isn’t one. They’re free, honey. Same with the condoms. Dolly says it ain’t right to charge for them.”
I like Dolly.
I offer the girl the tampon.
“Thanks,” she says, taking it. “You must be Rory.”
“You know my name?”
“Are you kidding me? The moment us girls heard Ares was bringing a date to the party, we all wanted to know who she was.”
“Really, why?”
“Ares never brings dates to the clubhouse.” She grins, and it’s as wholesome as apple pie. Deep dimples and all. “Correction… he never dates, period. I’ve never seen him with a girl. And I’ve been here going on three years.” She holds up the tampon. “Hold that thought.”
The door closes, and I return to the mirror to apply a fresh coat of lipstick.
Apple Pie joins me a few minutes later. And it doesn’t take me long to figure out that this girl is sweet. She screams pumpkin festivals and farmland.
Although, her tight denim skirt, bra top, and boots are more biker than bashful.
“So you’re someone’s old lady?” I ask.
It feels weird using the term, but while in Rome.
She looks at me in the mirror as she washes her hands. “I’m not a tie-me-down kind of girl. I’m more of a tie-me-up kind of babe.” She giggles. “I don’t want to be an old lady. I like my freedom.”
“So you just hang out?”
She shrugs. “Hang out. Party. Fuck.”
An unfamiliar tingle takes up in the base of my spine.
“Anyone in particular?”
Please don’t say Ares.
“I have a few boyfriends here.” She giggles, then her eyes widen. “Oh, but not Ares. Oh, my goodness, not Ares.”
She checks her image in the mirror, but then her eyes go round again. “Oh, dang it, I’m sorry. My name is Cinnamon.” She offers me her hand. “Don’t mind me, I ramble so much I sometimes forget my manners. You’re real pretty, you know that? When I heard Ares was bringing a girl, I thought to myself, Cinnamon, that girl is going to be somethin’, and well, I was right.” She rummages through her purse and pulls out a lip gloss. “And you know what, I’m so dang happy he’s found someone. You guys look real sweet together.”
“Oh, we’re not together.”
She glances at me sideways. “Oh, honey, I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You’re together.”
“We’re just hanging out.” I shrug to show her it’s nothing serious. “I was surprised he even invited me along tonight.”
She keeps glossing her lips but smiles to herself in the mirror. “Have you met everyone yet?” she asks.
“I’ve met a few but not everyone.”
“Well, everyone wants to meet you. But they’ll do it in their own way in their own time. And they’re real nice. Jack, the president, now he can be real impatient and, oh my Lord, he can be scary, but really he’s just a big ol’ teddy bear underneath all that gruff exterior. And his wife, Bronte, have you seen the face on that one? She’s so beautiful it’s almost hard to look at her.”
I think of the woman with the wildflowers in her hair, and I have to agree.
“There’s a bit of an age gap there, but, girl, I’d happily call Jack daddy any day of the week. If he wasn’t married, of course. I don’t do married. A girl has to have her principles.”
I can’t help my smile.
This girl is Disney wearing biker fashion.
“Have you met Dolly and Earl?” When I nod, she continues, “They’ve been married forever. They’re kind of like the club’s Mom and Dad. Well, Earl really is Jack and Beth’s daddy, and Dolly is their stepmomma, but they treat everyone else like their kids. Oooh… and have you met Doc and his wife, Lily? Now, there’s a story. She used to be part of the Appalachian Inferno, so technically, she was the enemy.”
“The enemy?”
“Yeah, it was kind of a forbidden love affair, but it worked out. Have you seen their kid, he’s just the cutest thing? His name is CJ, and he’s the best thing since sliced bread. I babysit for them. Actually, I babysit for all of them.” She sighs. “I might fuck like a whore, but I babysit like a momma.”
She winks and gives me a dazzling, cute grin, and I think I fall in love with her a little bit.
“How long have you been hanging out with them?”
“I came up from Alabama three years ago for a vacation. Got invited to a clubhouse party on my second night in town and never left.” She turns to face me and leans a hip against the basin. “And that’s long enough for me to know that Ares the Giant has gone and done what we all didn’t think he would ever do.”