by Ryan Michele
She pulls away and looks up at me, surely taking in all the changes that have happened since I last saw her. “You get more handsome every time I see you,” she says quietly and I grin. There really isn’t much you can say to that. “The doctors should be in any time to tell us what’s going on. They took her in for more tests and told me to wait in here.”
I can’t tell her it’ll be okay because I can’t predict what’s going to happen. “We’ll wait to see what they say.” She waves her hand, motioning me to sit in the chair next to her and I do, stretching my legs out in front of me. These damn things are hard. “Tell me what happened.”
“Cops said it was a drunk driver. He sideswiped her car in the middle of the afternoon.” Her face turns to mine. “Who gets drunk in the middle of the afternoon and then drives?”
“A lot of people do, Mom. They arrest the guy?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll find out later.” Her eyes are filled with unshed tears.
“When you find out, I want to know.” More like when I get to the clubhouse I’ll be asking Buzz to find out everything he can on this asshole. Mom nods.
“How have you been?” Every word coming out of her mouth is soft as a whisper.
“I’m good.” For the first time in a really long time, I’m exactly where I want to be.
“What is this leather about?” She points to my chest, taking in my rag.
“It’s a motorcycle club. I’m working on being a member of it.” Her eyes grow wide.
“What?” she gasps and I’m sure she really wants to dig in her purse and douse me with the holy water that she’s carried since I was a kid.
“It’s a club. We ride together. I work at the garage on cars. Got an apartment and a girl. I’m okay, Mom.” She has always worried about us. That is why I don’t understand why she stayed with my father. She was so protective of us all the time, getting into it with other parents over stupid shit us kids had done. But when it came to her, she let herself be a punching bag. I don’t get it and probably never will.
“Is that safe?” There is no way in hell I’d tell her the truth. I’m glad I locked my gun on my bike.
So, I lie. “Yep.”
“What about this girl?” Warmth fills me at the mention of my woman.
“Her name is Blaze.”
“Blaze, what kind of name is that?”
“She works at X and that’s her name.” I let Mom put two and two together. I stay quiet until it hits her.
“That titty bar?” She gapes at the fact she said titty, her eyes wide.
“Yeah. You’d like her. She’s smart and has a really good head on her shoulders.” And she’s all mine.
“Andrew. You should not be associating with…” She pauses. “With… those kinds of people.”
This does not surprise me in the least. “I am those kind of people, Mom. Accept it or don’t. You don’t, I’m gone.” It’s an ass move, but I haven’t talked to her in years, a few more won’t hurt.
“I do not believe that for one second,” she challenges.
I lean down to her ear. “I did it to protect you, Mom.” Her body stills at my words and I’m sure she’s remembering that night all those years ago. She loved my father with everything she had and would have died by his hand if I had allowed it.
“Mrs. Tugger?” A man’s voice says, stopping my mother from saying anything. Both of us follow the voice. A balding, slim man with glasses and a white coat searches the room.
“Here.” My mom answers him. The doctor smiles and comes to us, his eyes flickering between Mom and me. My mom shakes beside me. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she doesn’t resist.
“Your daughter’s tests came back good.” Mom slouches against me in obvious relief. “We didn’t find any bleeding on her brain and everything came back normal. I expect her to wake up at any time.”
Mom comes out of my arms and stands, holding out her hand for the doctor, who reciprocates. “Thank you.” I breathe out a sigh of relief as well. It would crush me if my sister died. “Give us a bit to get her settled then you can see her.”
“Yes. Thank you.” My mother’s face lights up and her shoulders slump as if a huge weight has been lifted. She really is beautiful.
“Everything is fine. She’ll wake up soon,” I reassure her.
“Are you going to come back with me and see her?” I think about it and no, not today. A family reunion shouldn’t be done in the ICU.
“Nah, you go on. I gotta take off.” Her body deflates and I’m not sure why. She’s the one that can’t get over what I did. I got over it the minute his dead body was in front of me. This is on her, but I love her.
“Will you come over for dinner?” She’s extending an olive branch. Shit.
“Yeah, Mom. Call me when Alexis gets out and I’ll come.” I give her a soft hug and get the hell out of here.
My lips trail from the corner of her mouth to her jaw to the back of her ear, down her neck, down the middle of her breasts, down to her stomach and suck in at her bellybutton as she shivers. She smells like vanilla ice cream and I want to fucking lick every inch of her. My tongue continues to taste my ice cream all the way up to her tits. I fucking love her tits. They are to die for, large, round, perky with the sexiest light pink nipples. I suck, kiss, and nip with my teeth as she writhes under me, her hands lacing through my hair. Her moans and mews coming louder and faster.
She tightens her grasp and tugs my hair to her. “Kiss me,” she says breathlessly. I climb up her body, whipping off my shirt in the process and throw it to the floor. I do as she asks and kiss her hard and deep.
I rest on my arm, trying not to put too much of my weight on her as we continue to kiss and damn she is good at it. She explores my body, each bite of her nails has my dick jumping to attention. She runs them up the side of my abs. Fuck.
I unbutton her jeans and move my fingers down to her bare pussy, every inch of her soft skin meeting me as I go. Before I can get them off, she bends down and yanks her pants off, rolling me on my side. She lies down, her arms coming around my neck, her eyes glassy and hot. I kiss her, my hand moving to the lips of her pussy, rubbing the little nub on the outside. I place a finger inside her heat and it takes all I’ve got in me not to fling off my jeans and plow into her, but I refrain… barely. I want her to want me so badly that I’m all she thinks about. Then I’ll fuck her.
Her back arches, pushing her boobs into the air and she breaks the kiss. I take this opportunity to kiss down her neck, between her tits down her stomach. I move up to her face and kiss her leisurely. We duel with our tongues as I continue pumping in and out of her heat. She’s wet, hot, and her pussy tries to suck me in deeper.
I curl my finger up in a come hither motion and she explodes, trying to buck her hips but I hold her down. Her face is beautiful as it contorts into the sexiest fucking vision, one that gets better every damn time I’m inside of her. I kiss her neck and jaw as she falls back down, soothing her fall. I continue pumping into her, keeping her attention.
“God, yes,” she moans loud. She finds my lips and kisses me hard, her arms around my neck, holding me to her. One of her hands leaves my neck and wanders ever so slowly down my body, leaving trails of fire down my flesh. She unbuckles my belt and undoes my jeans.
“You ready, sweet lips?” I tease on grin.
“Yes,” she answers breathlessly. I strip my pants and climb on top of her, my knees and elbows holding most of my weight. Holding my dick, I rub it up and down her pussy, getting it nice and wet. Her eyes roll in the back of her head in pleasure.
I place my dick at her entrance and advance centimeter by centimeter. With my piercings, she has to be really wet or it could hurt, though we have yet to have that problem. Her eyes stay closed and I wish I could know what she is thinking. “Sweet lips, open your eyes.” She complies and I stare into their shiny depths. They are filled with excitement, lust and desire. I inch further in her and she bites her lower lip. Then further
in and her body tries to arch, but I hold her down. I go deep inside of her, her pussy clamping me hard. I still and thrust hard, straining my calf muscles. She gasps and groans at the same time. Her fingers dig into my arms and I love the bite of pain.
“Move,” she barks out impatiently. First instinct is to make her wait, but I’m done playing. I need to fuck her. In and out, each thrust better than the last. She keeps her eyes on me and I’m glad. I want her to know it’s me fucking her. Know that no matter what she says, she’s mine. Each thrust massages my dick in a way I haven’t felt before and when the tip touches her cervix, Blaze cries out to God. The piercing hits nerve after nerve, and I lose it. Control gone.
My thrusts become harder, faster and my orgasm approaches. My hips circle, needing Blaze to be there when I fall over the edge. Her breaths pick up and her nails dig harder. She screams her release, clamping my dick. Then mine hits as I continue to thrust. I close my eyes, the release taking me over.
When I open them, Blaze’s beautiful smile lights up the room. I could so fall in love with this woman. I bend down, kiss her lips, and slowly remove my dick. I fall to the side of the bed, bringing her body with me. Her head rests on my chest, arm over my abs and leg over my thigh. It seems to be our position since we usually end up this way even in sleep.
“Damn, baby.” I try to catch my breath.
“I think I saw stars,” she says quietly and I grin. Damn right, she fucking did. I kiss the top of her hair. I turn off the bedside lamp and we lie in the darkness, not saying a word. We don’t need to say a word because the silence is comfortable between us. Just being together is enough.
“What did you do today?” she asks, yawning on my chest. Guess silent time is over.
“I went and saw my mom.” I squeeze her and wrap both arms around her.
“I thought you said you haven’t talked to her in a while. Did something happen?”
“My sister was in a car accident. Mom needed a shoulder so I went.” Her body tenses so I continue. “She’s fine, all the tests came back good, but she does have a broken leg.”
“You’ll have to go and see her.” A heavy stone forms in the pit of my stomach. I want to and I will. I just don’t know the reaction.
“She invited me to dinner when Alexis gets out.”
“What happened that you don’t talk to your mom anymore?”
I suck in deep and close my eyes, not wanting to tell her but it’s time. “I killed my father.” Blaze stills in my arms, her body becoming tight in a jolt. “My father used to beat the shit out of my mom. One night, he was beating her and it wasn’t going to stop. I took a lamp from their bedroom table and hit him in the head with it.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“It had to be done. He wasn’t going to stop and if I didn’t do something, he would have killed her.” Much rather have him dead than my mom.
“But, it was an accident. And isn’t your mom even slightly grateful, though?” she asks and I’ve wondered the same thing at times.
“Mom loved him. So I don’t think she ever forgave me for doing what I did. I tried to explain once, but she shut down and talking to her wasn’t any use.”
“That’s horrible.” Blaze stares up at me, horror and sadness all over her beautiful face.
“It’s life. You deal with the shit that life throws you. This is what my life threw me, so I deal.” I shrug it off. I can’t say that it doesn’t haunt me sometimes, but I can’t ever let it invade my life.
“Then she’s trying to reach out to you. You should take it.” Her voice is soft and full of hurt. She turns, lying on my chest. Her breathing picks up and expels out deep. I squeeze tight.
“What you are thinking about, sweet lips?” I ask and she stills.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbles quietly. I want to haul her ass up to my face and demand she tell me, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere with Blaze. She’d for sure close up then.
“No problem. Let’s get some sleep.” My mind trails off to different scenarios that could be spinning through her mind, none of them good. Eventually I drift off.
I sit in front of the mirror in my dressing room and apply my heavy eye makeup. Strong dark colors on the lids give a dramatic and sultriness to my blue silver eyes. I don’t know my father, but I’d guess he has the same eyes. My mother had green ones. I line the rims of my eyes with dark eyeliner, paying special attention to the corners and flaring them out a bit. I add blush and bronzer to my face, neck, and shoulders. I start the task of mascara, which normally takes me about three coats to get my lashes soft and fluttery. I swipe berry lip-gloss across my lips, rubbing them together and opening them with a pop.
As I look in the mirror, a whole other woman stares back at me, one that doesn’t have a lifelong history of shit to deal with. A person that can just be. A person that can be happy with Tug. A light tap comes to the door and I get up and unlock the door, opening it a crack.
“Ms. Blaze, you have three minutes,” Cali says through the crack. Since taking on the one night a week dancing thing, it’s working out well. Tonight is one of those nights. I’ve already been on stage twice and only have one more dance to go before I am done for the night.
“Thanks.” I close the door and adjust my costume. I would say clothes, but there isn’t much to them. Tonight, I chose a football theme. My Falcons gear I call it. Red, black and white line my top in a football jersey I’m positive wouldn’t be legal on the field. It ties in the front and cuts up my back, so basically it’s a halter-top that covers my boobs. My sparkling black and red sequence boy shorts are cut up high on my ass cheeks. Underneath them is a black lace thong. I strap on my four-inch heels and check the bottoms for the rubber pads. I don’t want to fall on my ass.
After everything checks out, I give my long, brown hair another fluff and amble out to the stage. Standing at the edge, I breathe in deep. You can do this. I mentally prepare myself for going out there, still trying to push away memories of being thrown off the stage. Once my music comes on I step out and the music takes me away.
On my way into the dressing room, there is a flurry of action. Princess isn’t here tonight. That leaves me. I change my clothes and use to the backstage bathroom. I sit on the toilet and hear sniffling. My eyes shoot up. Is one of the girls crying? What the fuck? I do my business and go to the sink. Under the stall, someone in bright red heels stands, turned sideways, and not on the toilet. She must be standing. What the hell?
I wash my hands, taking an inordinate amount of time doing so. The woman in the bathroom still doesn’t come out. I turn the water off, dry my hands then open the main door, but I don’t go through it, just shut it. I stand off to the side and wait.
Not five seconds later, the new girl comes out, wiping her nose and sniffling. Her eyes have no redness or puffiness from crying. White powder lines her upper lip. Fuck me. She’s doing fucking drugs. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“You doing all right?” I say from the door. Stage jumps and swirls around, her eyes wide. She clutches her chest like I just gave her a heart attack or something.
“You scared me,” she breathes out hard. Not only does she have white powder under her right nostril, she also has it on the small side of her nose. Dumbass.
“You got some on your nose.” I brush my own nose to demonstrate where it is. She wipes her nose abruptly and turns to the mirror, checking her reflection. “You know the rule. Princess went through all of it after your first dance. You’re out. Get your shit and leave.”
She turns to me and snarls, “You can’t fucking fire me, you bitch. Who the fuck do you think you are?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m in charge, therefore I have the authority to fire you. And when I tell Princess what I saw, she’ll back me a hundred percent.”
She steps a bit closer. “I don’t know who the fuck you think are, but I’m an ol’ lady in this club. I will not take orders from a piece of shit club momma like you.” Oh, she
just didn’t say that. Did she just say that?
My face tightens. I am beyond pissed-the-fuck-off. I ignore the club momma jab because a reactions is what she wants. I damn sure am not going to give it to her. “Here, you are a stripper. You break the rules you’re out. If you’d prefer to get the final word from Princess, that’s no problem. But you are not going on that stage.”
Stage’s face contorts somewhere between anger and disbelief. She steps closer and I keep my eyes and ears alert. “You fucking bitch,” she spits out and little drops of spittle come with it. Gross. I want to wipe it off, but I stand my ground. Her hand swings toward my face and I step back quickly, enough not to get slammed.
“Well, if the drugs didn’t do it, taking a swing at me di,” I smart off as she comes toward me. “Leave me the hell alone.”
“And if I fucking don’t,” she huffs, coming closer.
“You know what. I’m going to let Princess handle this. You are so not worth it.” I move to the door, turning around so I am facing her. I could fight her, but I really fucking don’t want to.
“You, bitch!” Damn she really needs to brighten up her vocabulary. She charges toward me. I sidestep and she runs smack into the door, slamming her face into it. Seriously, how much coke did she snort?
I twist her arm and clutch it behind her back. I bend her wrist until she screams in pain. I learned it in one of my self-defense classes a few years ago. Thank God. She groans and tries to kick, but I bend it further to get her to submit. Somehow, I open the door to the bathroom where Cali is standing.
“Get Doug to escort her off the premises. I don’t want her here again.” Cali takes Stage, gripping her arms behind her, and I follow after.
I call Princess who answers on the third ring. I tell her exactly what happened and she says she’ll deal with it. Man, Stage is something else. I just knew she’d be trouble.
I run the floor, check the girls, and an hour before closing take off for the night. I need to get out of here. After the incident with Stage, I was so damn pumped it’s like every bit of adrenaline was coursing through my veins. Now I’m crashing from it.
