The moment I think I’ve come to terms with becoming a Hellion, something pops up, making me wonder what if?
Gramps gets it, though, and I’m thankful for him. He’s the only one who doesn’t find fault in every move I make. Rather, he finds purpose in it, even when I’m clueless as to why I do shit. I just don’t tell anyone that. I also don’t find myself to be difficult, not like everyone thinks; rather, I like to question authority. What gives anyone the power or the right to tell me what to do? I am a man with a mind of my own.
I like to think people were given the power of freewill to push boundaries.
Sometimes, small town life doesn’t work for everyone. I’m not sure I have the staying power to have life here forever. Haywood’s Landing, North Carolina is nothing more than some sign on a road off Highway 58. There is no challenge to life here, not when you’re born a Haywood’s Landing Hellion.
Danza, he’s an original. The only one left here now. Two of the four have passed on. Frisco retired and moved on with his woman Amy. Last update, they were in South Carolina somewhere.
Since Roundman passed away, and Tripp took the gavel, Gramps made it his mission to be involved with our lives—more specifically, my life. Gramps says he wasn’t a good dad for Mom, so he tries to do better for us. I’m thankful for that, too.
When I was little, I begged my parents to leave me with Gramps and Grams. Even when my brothers were sick or just wanted to go home, I didn’t. To this day, if Mom would let me go live with them, I would. We’re just connected like that.
Gramps and I have spent hours in his garage working on his cars. When I turned fourteen, he bought me a busted up 1968 Chevy Impala SS with the original 427 motor. She’s a beast. He christened her Elvira. It took three years for her to be the beauty she is today. Every inch has been worked over by Gramps and me.
The car building process has taught me so much. Mostly patience, but also, if you want something, you have to work for it.
Blood, sweat, and motherfucking tears.
Gramps gets me like no one else. I’m the kind of guy who has to learn the hard way. Like my car, when shit didn’t fit just right, she didn’t run. I couldn’t rush the process, I couldn’t rig it, I had to do the job correctly the first time.
Except right now, Gramps and Grams aren’t all that happy with me. My parents, well, they’re downright livid.
My brothers … depends on which one you ask as to what they think.
Red says I’ve lost my way. Which, honestly, I find fucking hilarious. How can I lose my way when I don’t have a clue where I’m headed in the first damn place? Riddle me that one, joker!
Kellum, he’s the other middle child with me. Generally angry at the world, not just me, it’s hard to say why he’s hell bent on getting in my shit more than usual. Then again, he’s had it rough. An accident scarred his face when he was nine. Kids are cruel, and no matter how many bullies Red and I beat the shit out of for taunting Kellum, the words they said stuck with him.
Tommy Boy, he’s the baby and my best friend. He doesn’t give me shit about shit. In fact, it doesn’t matter what I do, Tommy Boy takes my back.
Isn’t that what the Hellions preach? Isn’t that the core of their brotherhood—acceptance?
I’m eighteen-years-old, and my family is pissed for one reason, and one reason only: I’m failing my senior year.
Everyone has an opinion about what I need to do with my life. They all want me to get back on track.
But what track? Where are we headed? What if I want to go North, not South, or West not East? I’ll make sure to cross the damn stage and get the piece of paper that means so much to them. Beyond that, I don’t need to have this plan. I simply need to enjoy the ride that is life.
They don’t understand that. To them, I shouldn’t be failing, I should be excelling, which is why everyone and their brother is pissed at me. I don’t give a shit. They don’t motivate me to be better. In fact, I’ll get by just to prove my point. Yeah, I’m stubborn like this, but they should know by now, I have to do things my way.
When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to feel the weight of that leather cut hit my shoulders. Now, well, I like the idea of fitting in my family mold more than I like the reality of it. I don’t know that being a Hellion is what I need. I don’t know that life in the club will fulfill me the way it does for them. Sure, it’s expected of me, but what if I want more? What else is out there?
Maybe I need to experience more in life than what Haywood’s Landing has to offer.
I don’t have all the answers right this second, but I do know I got a damn good woman in Jennissey Rose Rivera, and I’m not letting her go.
2
Jennissey
If only time didn’t slip away like sands in an hourglass.
I hold the pen in my hand. I’m shaking.
Am I really going to do this?
“Jenni, this is your future. It’s waiting, and it’s yours for the taking,” my recruiter chirps.
Short-term sacrifice, I tell myself. This is a short-term sacrifice with a long-term gain. I do this now, and it sets the future in motion for Jami and me. Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith, right? This feels like the best option for my sister, and for me, even if it hurts doing it.
“After basic training, if my sister wants and a judge allows it, she can move with me, right?”
The recruiter nods sitting behind the large desk in his Cracker Jack Naval uniform. “We even have base legal who can guide you free of charge. The benefits are abundant.”
He keeps spouting about benefits and frankly, I don’t care about that right this minute. I need to know I can support my sister and myself. “Jami, will she be able to reach me if she needs to?”
To this, my recruiter shakes his head. Petty Officer Second Class Decker explains, “I told you, Rivera, during basic training, you can call home during designated times. In the event of an emergency, she can have a Red Cross message relayed to you. At which point, your command will guide you through the next steps. But she will not have easy access to simply call you because she has a bad day.”
He has no idea what a bad day is for us. When home isn’t safe, no day is a good day. I don’t tell him this, though.
I blow out a breath, trying to push myself to do this. Jami can make it eight weeks without me. Get through this time apart, and I’ll make the next plan when I have more information. This is a career, not some dead-end job. This is my out. I just have to be focused. Basic training—boot camp—can be extended if I wash out of a unit and don’t move forward. I will be diligent. I just need to get Jami to be strong in my absence.
Scribbling my name on the forms, it’s all a blur as Petty Officer Decker tells me about my upcoming trip to Raleigh for my physical. I don’t care about any of that. I’ll be where I need to be and do what I need to do without question, without hesitation. I’m stronger than anyone thinks. I need to get out of Haywood’s Landing, and I need to make sure I can provide for my sister and myself. No matter what I have to do, I will remain steadfast in getting her out of this life.
Today is step one of the rest of my life. The beginning of better things to come for my sister and myself.
Why does it feel incomplete? I did it. I signed the papers. I locked it all in.
Except now, I have to figure out how to tell Rhett I’m leaving Haywood’s Landing, and it’s killing me.
We have these dreams together. I never should have let that happen. With my home life, I never should have let him take me on that first date. But I did, and then I fell hopelessly in love with a boy who has no clue all the plans we made never will be.
This is going to hurt. More so, this is going to crush Rhett. I don’t want to, but he doesn’t know about my life at home. I can’t tell him. I can’t tell anyone. Will he be able to see? I don’t want to break up with him. I want him to come with me eventually. I hope once I’m settled at my duty station, he will join me and my sister. In a perfect world, it wi
ll all work out.
Except, I know I don’t live in a perfect world. Far from it, actually.
“You okay?” Rhett asks as we sit in his car at our spot. “Seem a little off tonight.”
With the weather being mild this spring, we have the windows down and the car turned off. It’s a quiet night in the woods. We’re in a camping spot in the Croatan Forest, but it’s secluded. We come here often. Most of the kids in the area do. Occasionally, a cop will drive by, but they don’t know who has rented a space and who hasn’t so rarely do they bother any of us.
“Yeah, babe,” I lie.
He doesn’t even know I was considering joining the military, much less, that I took the leap. When the recruiters came to school, Rhett only took the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) to get out of class. His AFQT (Armed Forces Qualifications Test) score came in, and he threw it in the garbage without opening the envelope. When we took the test, I didn’t put much weight into it to begin with. Then I got my score back, and it was high enough to join any branch and have some job choices. It felt like a door had been opened for a reason. I have to take this chance. Otherwise, I’m going to be filled with regrets.
I don’t know how to tell Rhett, though. I love him. I really do, but I love my sister more. She needs me. I’ve spent my whole life trying to protect her and failing time and again. Leaving here, providing for us, well, it means no more facing home.
I leave for Raleigh in a week. When I’m there, I will officially swear in, and I will be issued my orders to leave for basic training in the United States Navy.
I don’t want to leave Rhett. He’s everything to me, but it’s not about me.
My little sister, Jamison Violet Rivera, is depending on me to get us both out of here and away from him. I shake my head to rid myself of thoughts of home. Rhett doesn’t know about my home life, and I’m not about to tell him.
“Talk to me, Jenni.”, he croons in a soft voice. I relax at his comforting tone.
“You think we’ll make it, Rhett?”
He gives me this smirk half-smile that somehow tells me everything is right in the world.
Rhett is tall, built, and gorgeous. I’m only five feet, three inches, so it doesn’t take much to be taller than me, but he is just under six feet tall. He is built like a tank, which is funny since that’s what everyone calls his dad, who is truly built like a tank—short and stout to withstand any onslaught. He has this strawberry blonde hair that he wears short and spikey. With his chiseled jaw, he’s more than handsome, he’s hot!
Leaning over, he cups my chin with his thumb and first finger. “Baby, ain’t no one got a love like ours. Know we’re young, and people think they know shit tellin’ us this won’t last, but the man I am, there ain’t a woman I’ll ever love the way I love you, Jennissey Rose. One day, I’m gonna give you my ring, my last name, and my babies.”
I melt.
The world around us slips away as I lean over and press my lips to his. Everything about home life, the Navy, and even what comes next is forgotten as I get consumed in him.
My hands roam, his hands roam. I moan as my body seeks more contact. He slides over the bench seat to get closer. We continue to make-out. As the gear shift in the floorboard gets bumped, he effortlessly lifts me up and slides under me so I’m straddling him in the passenger seat.
Passion consumes me. I grind against him. My summer sundress slides over my thighs, and my silk panties dampen against the hardness of him in his jeans.
Rhett rubs his hands up and down my thighs, encouraging me to keep moving. Our tongues tangle as I run my hands through his hair. His hands slide up my thighs, grabbing my ass and spreading my cheeks. My body is on fire.
The friction continues to build. I rock with need, desire, and love.
Reaching down, I find the hem of his t-shirt. Rhett and I have made-out many times before, but I want to be skin-to-skin against him. Breaking the kiss to pull off his shirt, I kiss his neck. He begins to move the straps of my dress down off my shoulders as I lick, nip, and suck on the sweet spot behind his ear.
He lets out a groan as he finds I’m not wearing a bra and my c-cup boobs are exposed for him. I continue grinding against him as he twists his neck away from me to put his mouth on my nipple. Rhett cups my right breast, tweaking my nipple, while he sucks on my left, and I feel the heat shoot right to my core.
The confines of the car force us to maintain this position, but I need more. I’m ready to explode.
Alternating between sides, he continues to feast on my boobs as his hands cup my ass and his fingertips tease my opening with every slide I make.
He blows against the sensitive skin of my nipple, and I cry out, “Rhett, I need you.”
Slowly, I feel his finger slide my panties over before he moves inside me. My muscles tighten around the digit as my body comes alive.
“Wet for me,” he says with a gravelly rasp to his voice.
“Yes,” I moan.
“You want more?” he asks as he continues to slowly glide his finger in and out of me. When he adds the second finger to stretch me, I am lost. So ready to explode.
“Rhett, I need more. Please,” I beg.
His fingers slide out, and I immediately stop moving with a whimper.
Opening my eyes, I lock them on Rhett. “Never gone this far, baby. Not gonna lie, I wanna have this with you, but I wanna know you’re ready, Jenni.”
And just like that, I fall more in love with the man under me. “I’m ready, Rhett.”
“Thank fuck, because my balls are gonna bust.”
I bite my bottom lip, trying not to laugh. He shifts me back just enough for him to unbuckle and unzip his pants. Lifting us both, he slides his pants and boxers down. I move enough for him to continue pushing them down. As soon as he settles back in his spot, he reaches over to the dash to grab his wallet and retrieve a condom.
Feeling a little self-conscious, I take his dick in my hands. At first, I’m not sure what to do. Sure, I have jacked him off, but this moment is so much more than exploring. His cock is thick and veiny. As I slide up and down his length, I find myself eagerly working him up as I think about the pleasure he’s given me time and again in this car. As I stroke him, I watch as his abs tighten, making a clearly defined six pack. His groans encourage me to keep at my task.
Slowly, I kiss and lick my way down to his waist where I find myself scooting off his lap and settling on the floorboard. While the space is tight, it’s manageable. With his large erection in front of me, I begin to wonder how he will fit inside of me. Thinking we need lubrication; I start by licking his shaft and working my way up to the head. Using my hand, I gently massage his balls.
“Thank fuck for muscle cars that have room,” he mutters as he holds my head gently in both hands and I continue to suck his dick.
Concentrating on my teeth, I go up and down, gently sucking, trying to take more of him with every breath. As he grips the door handle and squirms under me, I know I’m getting him as worked up as he gets me.
“Baby, you want more than what you’ve already had from me, you better stop and let me get inside you.”
Releasing him with a pop, it’s a split second before I find him rolling the condom down himself and scooping me up.
“Take off your panties, baby,” he commands, and I obey without hesitation.
As he lines up our bodies, I lock my eyes to his.
Inch by inch he fills me. Tears threaten to fall at the fullness. It’s not painful, but it’s uncomfortable as my body adjusts to him. It’s a strange sensation having him inside me.
“I love you, Jennissey Rose Rivera, and there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Feeling the need to move, I slowly work up and then back down. “There is no one who has accepted me for who I am the way you have. There is no one I will ever love more than I love you, Rhett Rebel Oleander.”
His full name always makes me smile. I can’t wait until the day we have our own
little boy so I can name him Rebel after his daddy. We begin to move in sync slowly. The confines keep us close as my body heats. My inner muscles takeover and begin to milk and grip him. I’m close to exploding. Rhett reaches between us and presses his thumb to my clit.
Time stops.
I can’t breathe.
My vision blurs as my body trembles, and I can’t stop the way I cry out.
He feels deeper and thicker as his pace becomes wild. What feels like aftershocks roll through my body in waves as he keeps working himself in and out of me before he stills and releases a soft groan.
We both work to recover as I feel him pulse inside me.
“That was incredible,” he whispers as he takes a few deep breaths.
“Wow,” is all I manage to say as he grabs the door handle.
“Gonna have to climb out, baby. Gotta clean up.”
I nod, and after he gets the door open, I slide off him, immediately feeling empty. Looking between us, the hints of pink on the condom show him the gift we just shared. I fix my dress straps and lean over to get my panties from the floorboard. Rhett climbs out of the car and moves to the trunk.
Before I have time to get my panties on, he’s returns and looks at me. “Let me clean you.”
I give him a nod as he opens the trunk, tosses the condom, cleans himself, rights his boxers and jeans. Then he comes back to me with a roll of paper towels.
“This might be a little rough. Sorry, baby.”
I can only let out a half laugh as I find myself a little embarrassed.
He goes about wiping me before he helps me get my panties on. As he stands, he presses his lips softly to mine, and for this moment, everything is right in my world.
For that reason alone, I don’t tell him about my plans. At least, not tonight.
3
Rhett
Two Weeks Later
Breathe for It: Hellions Motorcycle Club (Hellions Ride On Book 4) Page 2
