by Cee Bowerman
I looked at the two remaining condoms and shivered. Those first ten had been fun, I knew that the next two we used would be just as much fun, if not more. I had a vision of him sitting on that chaise lounge down in his living room while I planted my feet on the floor and rode him until he screamed my name. I smiled to myself and then realized that he was standing there staring at me.
“What was that smile for?”
“I was thinking of you, one of those condoms, and that lounge chair downstairs.”
“I like how you think, Sunshine.” Bird pulled me close to him and leaned down to rub his nose against mine. “Thank you for offering your house up to my brothers. And your Mom’s house.”
I just smiled, waiting on the kiss I knew was coming.
“And thank you for understanding me when I asked you for that promise downstairs.”
“I don’t know for sure that I understand all of it, but from the conversation, I know that there was gunplay and the cops are looking for your friends.”
“They aren’t specifically looking for my guys. They are looking for two white men on motorcycles.”
“Okay. So, why are there three hiding?”
“Only the three without an alibi.”
I nodded my head slowly.
“Did they murder someone in cold blood? If not, then why don’t we just give them an alibi?”
“Nothing was done in cold blood. There was a shooting, obviously, Grunt got shot twice. The people that shot him were not the kind that matter in the world.”
“They matter to their Mom.”
“Then their Mama’s shouldn’t let their sons deal drugs in my town.”
I let that sink in, it was a little harsh, but true. I nodded in agreement.
“I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable and I don’t want to ask you to lie.” Bird kissed me again and then sat down on the side of the bed and pulled me to sit on his knee. I resisted. I didn’t feel like I was light enough to perch there without him suffering. I tried to sit next to him, and he resisted right back and pulled me down anyway. “If you’re with me, Sunshine, there are certain rules that have to be followed. We’ll have to get that out of the way right off the bat.”
“I have rules too.”
“Okay. I’ll go first, we’ll discuss, then your turn.” I nodded so he continued. “Club business is club business. Period. I won’t always be able to tell you what’s going on, I won’t always be able to tell you what I’m doing. I’ll need your trust.”
“Will you ever cheat on me? I’ve read enough books and watched enough movies to know that seems to be a thing. It’s not something I’d tolerate, not even once. That’s an absolute.”
“No. I’d never cheat on you. That’s not who I am. I come from parents who love every breath the other one takes even after twenty-five years. They’re still as in love and horny for each other as they were when I was six years old. That’s my model to strive for. I can guarantee on my life that my father has never once strayed from her, or she from him.”
“I accept that.”
“There may be a time that I want you to go somewhere or do something that you don’t agree with. I very well might not be able to tell you why. That’s going to have to be one of those times you just trust me and do what I ask. I promise it would be for your safety or your boy’s safety.”
“That’s part of my conversation. My boys. Their safety.”
“Okay. Well, we’ll cover more later, but I want you to know that if you are with me, so are they. All of you, your Mama and her kids included, will be a part of my family. Part of the Kings family. Me or my brothers would never do anything to hurt you or yours.”
I nodded, my mind whirring at the information he was giving me. More with what he wasn’t saying than what he was. There was a chance that my boys could be in danger if I was with Bird. People around him were getting shot. But then again, they were in danger when I put them in the car and drove a mile from our house. Their father’s death proved that.
“What are you thinking about?” Bird asked me quietly. He put his finger under my chin and turned my face to his.
“We’ll get to what I’m thinking when you’re done.”
“That’s really it, Sunshine. I am my club. The club is my family. They are my brothers. They take care of me and trust me to lead them. Just like if we are together, we will take care of each other and trust each other.”
“That’s pretty deep thoughts for two people who met forty-eight hours ago, Bird.”
“You’re right. But, when I shook your hand in the bar the other day, I felt it all the way to my bones. I just knew that you were different. I needed you. I needed to know you and hold you. Talk to you, learn about you. Fuck you. Make love to you. I know you scoffed when I said it the other day, Sunshine, but I believe in destiny. Things happen for a reason. We might not know it at the time, or always see it for what it is, but it’s there.”
“Shit. That’s… Wow. That’s a lot.” I was reeling. I had never had a man say things like that to me. In my entire life, I had never had someone admit that their first sight of me struck them like that. But I had never felt like that about anyone until I met Bird either.
“So, talk to me. What are your questions? What are your rules?”
“I’m a package deal, Bird. My boys come first. They are above me and they will be above you. You’ll have to understand that. I’m all they have. I’m the one that they have to trust to protect them.” Bird nodded and I paused to gather my thoughts.
I heard a commotion outside in the hallway and looked at the door. There was a light tap and then a woman’s voice interrupted us.
“Bird? I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted you to know we came in. We had to stop for the kids, they couldn’t make it all the way home.”
“Hey, Carlie. I’ll be down in just a few minutes.” Bird looked up at me and smiled. “We’re going to have to put a pause on this conversation. We’ve got company and I want you to meet some good friends of mine. Remember I told you about Same and Zeke. Zeke met Lisa, they got together and have Brighten. Well, Sam and Carlie were together when we were in high school, they spent years apart, got back together and now have twins. I want you to meet them.”
Bird pulled me toward him and kissed me softly before he moved my legs so that I could stand up. He took my hand and linked his fingers with mine to head to the door.
“Wait! It’s bad enough that I wore your boxers and t-shirt to make breakfast. I washed my clothes yesterday afternoon and I’d much rather meet your friends while I’m dressed. I won’t have any make up and my hair is a rat’s nest, but still.”
“You’re beautiful with or without make up. You’re beautiful with your hair all around you, or up in that sexy, sleek way you wore it when I met you. You’re sexy as all fuck when you’re wearing my clothes.”
I melted a little bit at his words, but I still needed to at least be wearing my own things to meet more of his friends and family.
“Let’s get dressed in a hurry and head downstairs.” I tiptoed up to kiss him and was glad that I was going to be putting on shoes that would put my lips a few inches closer to his.
I put on the clothes that I had worn to work on Friday. Luckily, yesterday afternoon I washed and dried them. I had enjoyed lazing around in Bird’s clothes, but I knew I would need my own sooner or later.
I put on my pink top and the black stretchy pants, along with my heels. I walked into the bathroom and ran a brush through my hair and used the elastic that had been in my hair on Friday to pull my hair to the side in a braid. I looked at myself in the mirror and appreciated the flush on my cheeks from Bird’s kisses. I was a little shocked to see some red spots on my neck from Bird’s beard, and if my shirt fell just the right way, a hickey was visible.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I thought about what Bird had said just a minute ago. I could hear him in the bedroom getting dressed. It sounded like he was sliding change ac
ross the dresser. I heard it jingle when he dropped it in his pocket. I smiled because that was a domestic sound to me. I remembered my Dad doing that same thing every morning after he got dressed. One of the few memories I had of my father.
Destiny. Meant to be. A reason I met him in the bar that day. The electricity I felt when he took my hand. My willingness to follow him, a stranger, outside. My automatic trust in him to keep me as safe as possible as we flew down the highway on his motorcycle. My urge to let him see me. The real me. Stretch marks, cellulite and all, and not have a second thought about how I felt about my body.
I needed to talk to my Mom. Soon. I needed her flighty, but grounding presence. I needed a Mom talk.
I felt Bird come up behind me and slide his hands around to rest on my belly. He kissed me on the curve of my neck and when I opened my eyes, they were staring at his in the mirror.
“You okay?”
“I’m okay, Bird. I promise.”
“Let’s go downstairs. I want you to meet my friends. I’ve known Sam since I moved here when I was five. I met Carlie in High School. They’re good people, Sunshine.”
“I’m sure they are, baby.” I leaned up to give him a kiss, my heels putting me closer to his height. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll follow you. I like to look at your ass as you walk. It makes me want to bite it.” I gave a full body shiver at his words. Goosebumps popped up on my arms. “You like that thought, Sunshine? You want me to bite it?”
“We’ll talk about what you can do with my ass later, babe. I’m getting sore in all the right places. You’re wearing me out. But what your thumb did the other night. I liked that. I’d never felt it before, but it was good. Made me wonder what it would feel like with you all the way inside me. I’d like to explore that option if you’re game.”
He didn’t say anything, and I was worried that my words had completely turned him off. As I reached for the doorknob, I turned to look at him. The look on his face could only be described as primal. Hungry. Aroused.
“So. Um. You’re alright with that?” I asked him, knowing full well that he was ready to try it right now.
He didn’t say a word, just reached down to adjust himself in his jeans. I could see that my words had made him rock hard. I smiled at the thought, and sort of wished there wasn’t company downstairs.
“Tonight.”
He gave me a quick nod and took a deep breath. He rolled his shoulders and adjusted himself again.
“What are you thinking about right this second?” I asked him.
“On a 68 Ford 302 motor, the head bolt gets torqued to 65 pounds, and then on the second tightening you go up ten pounds to 75.”
I laughed at him as I glanced down at his zipper. It was not quite as tight as it had been just a minute ago.
“Whatever works, babe.”
~*~
I watched Bird as he cooed at the little girl in his arms. Zoey and her twin brother Zane were a little more than three months old. His friends, Sam and Carlie, had come over with their twins. They seemed like nice people. They were genuinely happy to meet me, and it was a joy to watch them interact with Bird and the kids. Their love for each other and their beautiful little twins came off them in waves.
As I snuggled the sleeping boy, occasionally leaning down to sniff his hair, Sam and Carlie’s niece toddled past me toward Bird. He looked up and smiled at her and she moved a little too fast for her own feet. She tripped and started to fall toward the coffee table, but as quick as lightning, Bird’s hand was in front of her and he swept her up into his lap.
“Careful, little Bright Eyes.” She stared up at him and reached up to pat his face. “Are you still Uncle Bird’s sweet baby girl?”
She laughed and jabbered at him, he answered her as if he understood her every word. They ‘talked’ for a while and then she slid off his lap to explore some more. I saw her start over to the shelves in the corner of the room. It was the section that I had started thinking of as the library. Sam following close behind Brighten, he helped her navigate the step up and she toddled over to try and crawl up into the recliner.
Carlie came out of the kitchen holding a bottle and called out to Sam. He turned to look at her and in a split second, Brighten managed to make it over to the bookshelf and grab one of the knick-knacks that Bird had sitting there. She started to put it in her mouth, but when her Uncle turned and moved to take it away, she threw it down onto the hardwood floor.
I heard the small glass item shatter and saw Sam scoop Brighten up before she walked into the shards with her little bare feet. Bird glanced over his shoulder and then looked up at Carlie.
“The broom and dustpan are hanging up next to the dryer in the pantry. You might grab the heel off the bread, Mama always uses it to go over the floor for tiny slivers, just in case.”
“I’m so sorry she broke that, Bird. Can I replace it?”
“It’s not important, Carlie. No worries. I just don’t want her to get cut.”
Carlie shook her head, looking uncomfortable that her niece had caused damage. I knew how she felt, but what I was surprised at was Bird’s reaction. One of his possessions had been broken unnecessarily, although accidentally, and he wasn’t mad or upset. He let it roll right off his shoulders.
“You’re not upset at all.” I blurted out.
“Well, no. She’s a baby. If it had been one of my brothers who got drunk, tripped and fell into my shit and broke it, I’d be upset. It’s different.” He smiled at me for a second and then looked back at Zoey as he fed her the bottle of milk her Mom had dropped in his hand as she walked over to clean up the broken glass.
Sam had Brighten on his hip and smiled down at her as she tickled her own face with his long hair.
“You look good holding her, Bird. I’ll remember that and call you to babysit.” Bird smiled up at Sam and nodded.
“I’ll do it, too. Not sure I can handle them both if they’re screaming at the same time. I might have to call in reinforcements.”
“It amazes me how all of you Forrester boys are so good with babies and kids. You need your own, man. It’s a fucking adventure. There’s no sleep involved and occasionally you end up getting shit or puke on you, but it’s a fucking adventure all the same.”
I laughed out loud at his description of parenthood. He was completely accurate in describing the ups and downs of having an infant.
“Because of you guys, I’ve given some thought to having some little Bird’s running around here. I used to think I didn’t want that, but now I think I do.” Bird shrugged. “We’ll see.”
I stared at him and then looked up to see Carlie smiling at me. “It just makes your ovaries flip around when a big strong man is holding a baby and says shit like that, doesn’t it?”
I raised my eyebrows but nodded slowly in agreement.
Sam looked at his wife and grinned as he said, “Not any time soon, Carles. I need a three-year nap first.”
“Pussy.” She retorted as she walked to empty the dustpan.
I laughed along with the men.
“So, you have kids of your own?” Carlie asked as she sat down beside me.
“I do. Three little boys.”
“Wow, three?”
“Yes. Almost like having twins, or triplets, rather. My sons are four, three and two years old.”
“Holy shit.” Sam’s eyebrows rose and he looked shocked. “You haven’t slept in years!”
“That’s the fucking truth.” I agreed with him. Sleeping until eleven this morning was insane to me. I hadn’t been this well rested since before I got pregnant with Hawk. “It’s been close to five years since I have had a full night of uninterrupted sleep.”
“Oh, my God.” Sam, still horrified, dropped into the chair.
“I want to have my kids close together. As soon as these two are a few months older I want to start trying again. I was an only child, I want my kids to have siblings that they are close to, like Bird’s brothers and Sam’s family.” Car
lie reached over to pat Sam’s leg and take Brighten from him. “Sam gets lightheaded at the thought of a bunch of kids. He’ll come around.”
I smiled at Bird. He looked so relaxed and comfortable as he held the baby to his shoulder for a burp. His big hand took up her entire back. He was patting her confidently, just enough pressure to get her to burp, not enough to make her uncomfortable.
“Thanks for letting us crash here for a minute, Bird. Zoey was starving and Zane’s diaper was nuclear. Neither one could wait until we got all the way home. We need to get out of your hair though. It’s almost Brighten’s nap time and her Mama is probably getting antsy to have her back.” Carlie stood up and took the sleeping Zane from my arms as she held Brighten on her other hip.
