by Nikki Mays
Elle pauses halfway to the chair that she was about to sit on. She looks like a deer in headlights. “I thought that you said that Noah wasn’t coming?”
Ma ever the skilled lying ass just looks at her in fake confusion. “I never said that dear. I just said that he wouldn’t be here until a little later.” Mom gives her a big smile. “Now just sit your little butt down and relax while I put the finishing touches on everything.”
Elle flops into the chair with confusion written all over her sweet face. “I could’ve sworn that she said that he wouldn’t be here. I never would’ve come otherwise.” She states in confusion.
“Oh, she knew that.” Marc chuckles as he gets up to get another wine glass and sets it right in front of Elle.
“What do you mean?” She looks around at all of us for some help. Ah, the first time you get bamboozled by Ma.
Kayla opens the wine and fills Elle’s glass to the brim. Elle holds her hand up with large eyes. “That’s good, I probably won’t even drink all of that.” She says causing all of us to break out into a fit of laughter, well everyone except for Mac. He’s just sitting there smirking at all of us.
He’s the one who finally has some pity on poor Elle. “Darlin’ she made sure to get your behind here no matter what. Even if that meant stretching the truth a bit.” The rest of us snort loudly at that comment. “Okay, flat out lied.” He looks around and we all nod. “I don’t know her motives, no one does. It’s best to just sit back and drink up. It’s probably going to be a bumpy night girl.”
Elle blinks a few times, seemingly unsure of what to make of what Mac just said. She then suddenly lifts her glass to her mouth and takes a large sip. When she’s about to lower it, Kayla puts her finger on the bottom and keeps it there.
“Trust me, you’re going to want to have a decent buzz on before Noah gets here.” Kayla says encouragingly.
After chugging half her glass, Elle sets the glass down on the table. “I don’t really drink. Two glasses and I’m usually so sloshed that Brad has had to put me to bed.”
“This is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever.” Marc says happily from his chair while Kay and I just shake our heads at him.
This one is definitely going in the record books, that’s for sure.
Chapter 11
Jessie
This is definitely shaping up to be the most interesting Thanksgiving that I’ve ever experienced. And that’s saying something, considering as a child and teen, I would watch my mother try to cook while as drunk as a skunk. Her and my father would both get drunk by early afternoon. Then he would start throwing a fit because the turkey would be dry and all of the sides burnt. I don’t really understand how he was expecting a gourmet meal considering that was the only day of the year that woman would cook. Then it would just turn into a night filled with more drinking and yelling. So many fun memories… not.
But this who scene, this is something else. I’m not even that mad about Dee’s comments about Ben and I living together because we’re obviously not. I would know if I was living with someone, thank you very much. Plus, just seeing what her crazy, meddling ass just did to poor Elle, yeah, I can’t really be too upset. I get to blend in with the furniture, Elle is the damn centerpiece.
I look over at her and smile. “Seriously girl, drink up. Nothing ever goes smoothly with Dee involved.” I tell her, my smile only turning slightly into a grimace.
“I heard that!” Dee yells at me from the kitchen.
I turn my heard to look in her direction. “It’s not like I was whispering. I’d be worried if you didn’t hear me.”
Dee looks at me evilly while holding a wooden spoon. She purses her lips. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to piss off the person handling your food.”
I give her a smirk and take a sip from my glass before replying. “We both know that you won’t do shit to me. Not unless you feel like walking around looking like Sinead O’Connor. And we both know that one accidental slip of my fingers and that’s exactly how you’ll be looking.”
I give her a smug grin as her lips thin. I hear a few curious *coughs* but ignore them. “Well played dear. Well played.” She says begrudgingly.
I raise my wine glass and give her wink.
Everyone starts laughing, well until we all hear the door open and a loud masculine “Ma!” yelled out.
You could hear a pin drop right about now. Poor Elle looks like she’s about to run for the nearest exit. Kayla looks like she’s praying. Ben is slowly moving his chair backwards, my guess is just in case he needs to get up quickly. Marc looks almost excited? Which is strange, but whatever. Mac, well he doesn’t appear to have a care in the world right now. And Dee, she looks almost apprehensive, not that I blame her. According to Ben, Noah has been nothing but an asshole. Hell, I witnessed it firsthand on Halloween when he was being a jackass to Dee.
I look between my wine glass and the bottle. Kayla appears to be reading my mind because she grabs the bottle and fills up both of our glasses. We clink them together quickly and wait for the sparks to fly.
Noah walks into the kitchen and wraps Dee in a big bear hug. “Happy Thanksgiving Ma.” He says lowly to her.
“You too, son.” She says as he releases her. She reaches up and places both of her hands on his cheeks, holding him in place to look only at her. “We have some extra guests tonight.”
He chuckles lowly. “Ma, I’m pretty sure that Jess and Ben are together already. No need to spring a surprise dinner on them like you did with Kel and Mase.”
Oh boy oh boy. If he only knew right now.
“I know that dear, we have two different guests.” Dee states with only a little hitch in voice betraying that she isn’t even sure how this is going to go tonight.
Honestly, she really should’ve stuck to one or the other. Can’t even say that Dee isn’t an overachiever.
I hear a noise that sounds like a mouse’s squeak and look over to see Marc who looks like he’s shaking with excitement.
I give him a frown when he catches my eyes. “You’re worse than a five-year-old.” I whisper disapprovingly.
“Don’t be a buzz kill. We already have one of those in the family thanks to Kellie.” He grumbles petulantly.
I lean towards him. “Will you give it a fucking rest you damn child. My best friend is not like that. Knock it off, I am not above kicking and biting.” I hiss.
He leans in and narrows his eyes. “Don’t think that I won’t send my kids after you. Everyone in town knows how good they are at throwing paint on someone.” He replies calmly.
I snort without meaning to. “And yet, they still act better than you do.”
“I teach them to do what I say, not what I do.” He shrugs and goes back to staring at Dee and Noah.
Poor Kayla.
“Who did you invite over ma and why are you holding my face in place?” Noah’s deep voice reverberates throughout the room. And let’s face it, he could probably turn his head easily. It’s sweet that he allows her to get herself into deeper shit all by her lonesome.
I hear a weird sound and look over at Elle who looks like she’s about to have a panic attack.
Marc looks at her with a frown before placing her wine glass at her lips and tilting it back. He shrugs at us. “One of us can always take her home or she could just pass out here.”
Elle tries to refute that but isn’t able to since Marc isn’t lowering the glass. Truthfully, it’s probably for the best if she is pretty drunk. Especially if Noah becomes a dick and acts rudely towards her. If she’s drunk enough, she might not remember.
“Well, I invited Elle over.” She starts. “As well as Mac.”
“Mac who?” Does Noah’s voice sound a little eerie or is it just me? I look around at everyone else, and yup, not just me.
“Mac Tremain.”
“The President of The Rebel Chasers M.C.” A very deliberate statement.
“Yes, that’s the one.” Dee infuses some of her usual badassness in
to it. And let’s face it, Dee is a total badass in her own right.
Noah is standing so still that you would almost mistake him for a statue. “Are the rest of the guys from the club here?”
“No, why would they be?” Dee huffs.
“I don’t know Ma, that’s the same thing I’m trying to figure out about Mac.” I feel like Noah missed his calling in being a lawyer. He totally had her walk into that one.
“Damn, he’s making her say it directly to him and not letting her off easy.” Marc says lowly.
Kayla nods her head. “Yeah, he’s not dumb. Ten bucks says that he’s already figured it out and has been waiting for her to come clean. This town is way too small for someone to have not brought it up around him.”
“Mase is going to be so sad he missed this.” Ben states with a little smirk.
“Nah, I started recording when Noah walked in. Unlike Kellie, I think of other people’s happiness.” Marc points to his phone that is aimed directly at Dee and Noah.
“Mac and I have been seeing each other.” Dee states proudly.
“Like around town?” Noah counters. Damn, she cannot catch a break.
“Ya know son, one of my biggest regrets in life is that you inherited my quick wit.” Dee drawls with her arms crossed. She leans her hips against the counter. “How long have you known?”
He mimics her pose. “We live in a town of like twenty people, all who are huge gossips. People love to talk, especially when I went sniffing around after Halloween.”
“Oh.” Dee’s lips purse.
Noah gives her a smirk and raises his eyebrows. “I’m assuming that’s who you were meeting up with that night? Unless you’re also secretly and very badly dating someone else in secret.”
“You’re such a damn pain in my ass some days. I don’t know where I went wrong with you boys.” Dee sighs dramatically.
“Not allowing us to kick the shit out of Craig as often as we wanted.” Noah states.
Ben raises his index finger. “I second that.”
Dee rolls her eyes. “Okay, in hindsight, I probably should’ve just let you boys knock some sense into him daily.”
Noah gives her a full smile and I’m pretty sure that I hear Elle give a little sigh. Judging from the smirks around the table, the rest heard as well. “Can I go and sit down now. Or do I have to stand here and talk to you about making sure that you use protection?”
“Dammit Noah, shut up!” Ben grumbles.
“Shoo, out with you.” Dee waves him off and gets back to making dinner.
Noah walks in and says hello to everyone, including Mac. Conveniently, the seat beside Elle has been left open for him. I swear, does Dee think of everything?
Noah sits down and looks at Elle and then her glass. “I thought that you said that you don’t really drink.”
“I don’t. Your family are all bad influences.” Elle says while shaking her head a little. “If I don’t eat something soon, my head is going to float out of here.”
He gives her a little chuckle. “How many have you had already?”
She gives him a wide-eyed look. “I have no clue. My glass never seems to go down.”
Noah shakes his head and moves her glass away from her while giving Kayla and Marc disapproving looks. Neither of whom look the least bit guilty.
“Ya’ll are something else.” Mac chuckles. “I thought your momma was exaggerating about some of the stuff that gets said and done around here.” He shakes his head while taking a sip from his beer. “Now I know that she was actually downplaying some of this shit.”
Marc leans forward and places both of his arms on the table. He looks directly into Mac’s eyes. “Listen, the first rule around here is that we don’t talk about what happens around here. The less most people know the better.”
“Boy how is it that you’re actually still a cop?” Mac asks what everyone else thinks frequently.
He shrugs. “Smitty loves me.” He gives us all a dirty look when we start laughing. “He does.” Marc insists. “Plus, his wife is way worse than we are. If she was chief, this town would be a lawless ass place.”
“I can actually agree with that.” I tell everyone. “Doris is pretty bad. She could probably even make Dee look innocent.”
“You know dear, most women are overly nice to their boyfriend’s mothers.” Dee sniffs like the wonderful, full of shit actress that she is.
“I’m not most people.” I drawl, much to everyone’s amusement. “Plus, I have to be nice to people who are nothing but rude to me all day long. So, why the hell would I do that around someone who has always liked me for me?”
I try to ignore the way Dee’s eyes get suspiciously glassy. “Well, I’m just saying, you were a lot nicer before that red hair. Pink and blue made you sweeter.” She sniffles and goes back to a bowl of something that smells great.
“I like the red.” Elle ends that with a little hiccup. She covers her mouth with both hands and gives Marc a dirty look.
Marc gives her a big smile. “I was being helpful.” He shrugs as we all laugh.
The rest of dinner was filled with food, fun and way too much alcohol. Mainly the men. They were all drunk as skunks by the end of the night. The kids were hysterical walking Marc, Ben and Noah out to the cars. Kayla ended up driving her, Marc, the kids and Elle home. I ended up driving me, Ben and Noah all home. And let me tell you, nothing is funnier than two grown men singing Toxic by Britney Spears when it came on the radio. They were practically screaming it at the top of their lungs. It was in that moment that I truly understood why Marc loves to get everything on video. This would’ve brought so many other people joy, well minus the two doing the singing of course. But everyone else, yeah they would’ve loved it.
I’m currently trying to get Ben’s drunk ass into my front door. This experience has made me realize how out of shape I truly am. Sure, I look fit, but getting him out of the car and helping him walk to the door is actually making my muscles shake. I need to get back to the gym or something.
“Come on, just a few more steps.” I croon like he’s a small child instead of a grown man.
“That’s what you said before.” He whines.
I roll my eyes and somewhat shove him through the door. “Yes, and it was only a few more steps to get INTO the car. We’re now talking about getting inside the house.”
“Same difference.” He mumbles as he holds onto the wall for dear life.
“I’m now seeing why you boys aren’t allowed to drink hard liquor when you’re together.” I state while staying close to try to hold him up in case he falls.
Marc decided to bring a bottle of some sort of whiskey. I have no idea which kind since I don’t drink that stuff. But I can tell you that it must’ve been strong as hell, or just the fact that the three of them polished off the entire bottle. Whatever.
“Ma just doesn’t want us living our best life.” Ben states seriously.
I can’t help the giggle that comes out. “Where did you even learn to say that?”
He walks into the living room and I redirect him towards my bedroom before he sits down. “Sage’s twins. They try to keep us up to date with what’s cool to say these days.”
“Right. Of course they do.” I chuckle. I have a feeling that those girls just like hearing all the adults around them sound like fools while thinking that they sound cool.
“Come on big guy. Let’s get you to bed.” I keep my arm around him as we walk down the hall.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” He slurs with a goofy grin.
“You can’t even hold yourself up to walk properly. How in the hell do you think that we’ll be having sex?” I laugh. Seriously, men really only have one thing on their mind.
We get to the door and walk into my bedroom, that now that I’m really looking around, does seem to have a ton of Ben’s stuff. Damn Dee.
“You can be on top and do all the work.” He says as he falls backwards onto the bed.
“How graci
ous of you.” I drawl while shaking my head at the drunken man who still looks way too damn appealing for the level of drunken mess that he’s currently at.
“I like to be helpful like that.” He mumbles.
“Can you get your clothes off while I go get changed or do you need my help?”
“Nope, I can always get naked for you.” He starts pulling at his clothes.
I turn and leave him to it. I can always help him when I’m done if he gets himself stuck somehow.
I do my nightly routine and shut the light off in the bathroom before walking back into my bedroom. I stop when I see that not only did the crazy man get himself undressed, but he’s laying on top of the sheets, naked and extremely hard.
He rolls his head to the side when he hears me walking towards the bed. He gives me a big goofy grin, that would probably look ridiculous on anyone else. “See, I told you that I can always get naked for you, no matter what.”
“I’m honestly just surprised that you’re not passed out and that you could actually get hard. You guys drank a lot of whiskey… a lot.”
He looks down at his dick and then looks back up at me and shrugs. “He has a mind of his own when it comes to you. All I have to do is think about you and I’m hard. Which is really inconvenient when you’re not around… or I’m at work.” He frowns.
I start laughing at the put out look on his face. “Well why are you thinking about me when you’re at work you dope?” I giggle as I get into bed.
He gives me a small shrug. “I love you. I think about you all the time.” He says simply. So simply like he didn’t just say something that makes my heart skip a beat and steals all the air from my lungs.
“What did you just say?” I stammer.
He rolls to his side to face me and leans against one of his arms. He looks directly into my eyes. “That I think about you all the time?”
“No.” I shake my head. “The other part.”
He tilts his head. “That I love you?”
I nod my head slowly. “Yeah, that kind of caught me off guard.”
