Love Hard
Page 21
Other than that, though, I just decided once the other relationships had settled, I’d propose to her. I also wanted to make sure that if I proposed, Alyssa wouldn’t have to sacrifice her schoolwork to attend any wedding. She was too smart of a cookie to have to put things aside for us; I saw a bright future for her, and since Courtney and I were practically a guarantee, it wasn’t something we had to rush.
I eventually put my money on Trace and Jane. They were the ones who had started this run of club members settling down, and I was sure that it would work out that way.
I suppose the “Sensei” part of me was still there, because about five months ago, Trace walked Jane into a hall meeting, showed us the ring, and caused all of us to break out into applause. Trace then proceeded to put Splitter in charge of the meeting so he and Jane could go have some fun, at which point Splitter just said, “OK, nothing really can top that. So fuck it, meeting adjourned!”
He had slammed the gavel, and we all went back to our loved ones.
I swear, I almost forgot that at one point, we were a motorcycle club that existed as outlaw vigilantes. I almost forgot that we were even hardcore partiers; most of us had just settled down. Even Krispy and Mafia started looking seriously for girls, although with their personality types, it would probably be a bit before they found anyone.
In any case, though, on this day, I was just beat to high hell. The sun had only just begun to set, but I had been outdoors in a tuxedo as one of Trace’s groomsmen. Splitter had gotten the honor of best man, as he should have—the only concern I had was knowing Splitter was probably going to cry during his speech, for which he did not disappoint. None of us were bothered by it, though—in fact, it was beautiful.
I sat with Courtney on my right, with her in a beautiful, blue, floor-length dress. I had my arm around her while Alyssa sat on my left, taking in the views of Santa Barbara down below.
“OK, I’m sorry,” Alyssa said. “But it’s still kind of weird to have my dad and my theater director dating! I just need you both to know that!”
We shared a laugh at that. Even after all this time, even for as mature as Alyssa was, I supposed teenagers could still be teenagers.
And I supposed that I could embrace the embarrassment even more.
“Would it be weirder if I… kissed her?”
I leaned over to plant a kiss on Courtney, who reciprocated in kind.
“Oh my God!” Alyssa said, throwing up her hands and groaning. “I’m going to go hang out with the cool kids. Get a room, you two!”
I was tempted to bark out as she left “what would you know about that?” I kept my mouth shut, though, because I did value the privacy we had. And, frankly, when I was tired, I just liked to be with Courtney; she was the person that could comfort me even in the most exhausting of times. Thankfully, she didn’t have to also do it in many dark times anymore.
“So who’s next?” Courtney asked.
I gave a half-hearted chuckle.
“Whoever it is better not do a summer wedding and have us wear tuxedos,” I said with a groan. “I’m sweating harder than I would be on a bike. And that’s pretty damn hard to do.”
“I know,” she said, running her fingers down my jacket. “You know, you weren’t the only one who got wet on those rides.”
“Oh, my,” I said as Courtney burst out laughing before kissing me. “If I had to guess? I’d say probably BK and Megan.”
“Really? Not Amber and Splitter?”
I shook my head.
“BK and Megan are two people who went a long while before they found each other from what I understand. Amber was coming off a divorce I think within a couple of days of meeting Splitter, so I’m not that surprised they’re taking their time. They’ve made it this far, so they’re going to last. I just think Amber wants to make one hundred percent sure she’s OK with it. I’m sure she wants to make sure she doesn’t go through a divorce again.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t imagine,” she said.
And then she asked the question that every man had to chuckle at.
“What about us?”
Mostly because just about any reaction other than a positive one would have brought with it a torrent of questions that no one would have wanted to answer to.
“It’ll happen soon enough,” I said, which was something of an honest answer. Soon, in my world, was a bit of a longer stretch than most people. Soon, to me, was within the next couple of years. I think Courtney was on the same wavelength as me.
“Soon enough?” she said. “Hmm, are you hiding something from me again?”
It was a running joke now whenever one of us suspected the other was up to something. That we could laugh about avoiding topics and hiding things was perhaps the greatest sign of the health of our relationship.
“Never,” I said. “I would never do that!”
“Uh huh,” she said, giggling. “Well, you don’t have to rush it. I know you’re good for it.”
Absolutely. There’s no doubt about the if. It’s just a matter of when.
I heard footsteps coming our way and turned around. Splitter was approaching.
“They’re about to do a video tribute to Paul Peters,” he said. “You should come.”
I got up immediately and held my hand out for Courtney to come. She took it, and we hurried into the main tent area. We got there just in time for the video to start—which began with me facing the camera.
“I can think of no greater man, no greater influence on my life, than Paul Peters,” I said, facing the camera.
Various other people spoke about Paul as images of his life flashed by, almost all of them having Jane in them. I saw an assortment of family members speak, as well as just about all of the officers in the club.
“When I think of men that I look up to, when I think of men that I really admire, I have to say Paul Peters is one of the best ones, man,” Splitter said on camera.
“Just an absolute gentleman,” Trace said on camera.
“A hero,” Krispy said.
“A legend, but a greater man than a great legend,” Sword said.
“We’re all better for having known him,” Mafia said.
I looked again at Jane, who by now had tears streaming down her face as soft music played and more images of her and her father ran.
Finally, the video began to wind down, with the final bits of words being spoken by none other than Jane, his only child, the little girl who had turned him from a tough, mean man to a man who became cheerful and happy and empathic to all of his members’ needs.
“There is no one,” she said on camera, taking a chance to catch her breath, “that I love more than my father. My father was the greatest man I have ever met—sorry, Trace.”
The crowd broke out into laughter at that one, a much-needed relief from all of the tears falling down cheeks right now.
“He is my hero, my inspiration, my everything. I miss you so much, Dad, and I love you. I know if you were here, you’d be smiling at whom I chose to marry.”
The video then faded with Paul’s signature, the last photo of the two of them from her college days, and a voice recording of Paul’s that someone had somehow managed to find.
“The most important thing you can find in this life,” he said.
I remember this. It was at a club meeting after the death of an officer. It’s what allowed me to become an officer.
“Is love. Everything else will come and go. What you think you will have forever, you will quickly realize you don’t. But if you find someone worth loving, hold on to them. Never let go. And show them you love them every day.”
The video faded as applause broke out. Even I found myself emotional, with some tears falling down my face. I looked down at Courtney, who looked like she had a river of tears pouring down her cheeks. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and that went for the men and the women.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, one more time, let’s give it up for Paul Peters,” the DJ said, bri
nging applause before he started playing a song that transitioned us back to the dance floor.
But I never did make it out there, because Trace gathered Splitter, BK, myself, and all of our significant others and led us out to the spot where I’d just been sitting.
“Fuck, man,” Trace said, holding Jane’s hand as she took her other one to wipe away tears. “I need some fresh air after that. And…”
As if on cue, seconds later, a waiter came by with eight glasses of scotch.
“Paul’s favorite drink,” Trace said with a smile. “One for all of us, who have gone through some interesting ups and downs in the last couple of years.”
“You can say that again, man,” Splitter said with a laugh.
Trace, Jane, Splitter, Amber, BK, Megan, Courtney, and I all took our drinks. We held them up, and Trace gave a speech that sent chills down my spine.
“For many of us, the club is all we have,” he said. “But the last couple of years have shown us something even greater. We have the club, yes, but we also have the love of an amazing woman.”
“And I can say the same for us ladies,” Jane said, drawing some approving “yeah girl” from the other three. “I wish I had my father here. My only family is my Uncle Tommy, but he is in Las Vegas. But you know what I do have? I have all of you.”
“To all of you,” Trace said.
“Here, here,” we all said as we took our drinks.
We sipped on them, with Courtney abstaining, dropped them, and shared a look.
“Let’s remember this forever,” Trace said. “And let’s all make our love last forever.”
There was little doubt for me that that would be the case. I may not have yet proposed to her, but at that moment, seeing how happy Trace and Jane were, I knew what Courtney was going to be for me.
She was going to be my forever.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1: Sensei
Chapter 2: Courtney
Chapter 3: Sensei
Chapter 4: Courtney
Chapter 5: Sensei
Chapter 6: Courtney
Chapter 7: Sensei
Chapter 8: Courtney
Chapter 9: Sensei
Chapter 10: Courtney
Chapter 11: Sensei
Chapter 12: Courtney
Chapter 13: Sensei
Chapter 14: Courtney
Chapter 15: Sensei
Chapter 16: Courtney
Chapter 17: Sensei
Chapter 18: Courtney
Chapter 19: Sensei
Chapter 20: Courtney
Epilogue
More from Hazel
Connect with me!