“You’ve had me jackin’ off for weeks now. I need some pussy in my life, Sakura. Fuck, man!” I slam my hand down on the side of the couch.
“How many times do I have to tell you this, Dix? You’re not going to shove your dick in her . . . yet. See what I did there?”
“Yeah, you’re real funny.” Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. This chick doesn’t realize what type of pure torture she’s been making me deal with the last few weeks.
“You’ve come this far and I know you can wait a few more weeks—”
“A few more weeks!?” I belt, lookin’ between her and Hawk. This has got to be some sort of fuckin’ joke.
“I think you’ll wait as long as you need to. Because you’ve told me how important it is to find the right woman. You don’t want a clubwhore, club bunny or anything close to it. You said you want a woman to settle down with. Indra could be just that for you, if you don’t act like a horned-up tool, that is.”
“Indra. Is that her name?” I question.
“How do you know that?” Sakura asks.
“You said it,” Hawk tells her.
“Crap. Yeah, that’s her name. Now I’m gonna get out of here before I slip up again. I’ll text you the address of the diner you’ll meet her at tomorrow for dinner. Just do me a favor and don’t be a dick.”
Hawk and Sakura say their goodbyes but to be honest I’m not payin’ them any mind. I’m still soaking in the small bit of information I got out of Sakura.
Indra.
What a name.
Chapter Four
A woman who opens up her heart to love you, when it’s already broken, is braver than any person you’ll meet.
~ Steven Benson
Indra
“Whoa. What did you say?” Tia is pulling my leg, getting me to repeat what I’ve already said to her.
“Ha-ha, very funny. I’m not saying it again. You might as well check and see if Hell has frozen over.” I retort, disinfecting the yoga mats. My class just ended ten minutes ago and I have another class this afternoon before I shower and go out to meet this mystery man.
Tia leans up against the back wall and plays with the sheer white curtains which cover the windows. Lotus Yogis is located about five miles away from the house I rent. Right around the corner is the herbal tea shop I love to go to, which is actually owned by one of our regulars, Natalia. “It must’ve if you’re going out on a date with someone.”
There’s one small detail I’m keeping from Tia. I could be honest with her, but she’d demand one of the girls goes to the diner ahead of time to make sure this guy isn’t some criminal or something.
But isn’t that what he’d be?
Hawk is in the Reapers MC. I’ve seen the leather thing he wears. I think he calls it a cut . . . but what do I know. When he came in to pick up the jewelry for Raven and the girls he brought a woman named Sakura with him.
Sakura came in for a small necklace from me last month and brought up the idea of letting her set me up on a blind date with someone. Hawk was right there too and it felt so weird. After all, weren’t blind dates for desperate people? I’m not desperate. I’m just not interested.
But if I wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t have agreed to do this in the first place. Hawk and Sakura both convinced me to do it. They told me a couple things about this guy. Nothing that would make him sound special, but enough to warrant giving him a shot.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been single long enough. Maybe I’m just ready to dive back into the water.”
“Indra, I love you but let’s be honest. You’re not the type who dives in the water.”
Tia’s right. I’m the slow, cautious and calculating type. “Yeah, you’re right. When have you ever known me to not enjoy life to its fullest, though? I’ll give anything a shot.” I never did things like this before Cornell’s passing. I’d stay safely in my bubble, but now I’m ready for more risk. His death opened my eyes on how every waking moment we have is precious. I for one don’t want to die with regret.
Tia eyes me cautiously, biting her bottom lip as she pushes herself off the brick. “What aren’t you telling me?” Instead of stopping and crossing her arms like she typically does, she walks right up to me, even though I’m still scrubbing my terry cloth against the mat.
“If you grab a cloth from the bucket and help me disinfect the rest of these bad boys, maybe I’ll tell you.”
Tia huffs, and I think I’ve won. She hates cleaning the mats, but she knows it’s a necessary evil. If we don’t clean the equipment here everyone will come down with something. We certainly don’t need that. I slide across the bamboo floor to get the next row of mats and realize Tia isn’t where she was a second ago.
Damn bare feet! She comes skipping up with a smile plastered across her face. “Okay, your turn to tell me.” She drops to her knees and grabs the first row, spraying the disinfectant across them and waits about thirty seconds for it to kick in before she rubs the rag across the first one.
“This might possibly be a blind date one of my customers set me up on.”
“Someone from here?!” She gasps in utter shock.
“No. One from the jewelry store. Remember that guy I told you about? The one from the MC?”
Tia nods, “Mhm. In my experience MCs aren’t really great. They’re the ones who took over the property the Demons of Hell owned, right? God, those were . . . horrible people.”
I shrug, wiping the mat down. “I don’t know anything about the Demons of Hell. I only know what Hawk and Sakura told me about this mystery man, which isn’t much.”
“I don’t like it, Indra.” Tia’s quick to pop a hole in the tiny bit of excitement I had.
I stop rubbing the mats and look across the room to her. “Tia, if they were that bad we would’ve heard something about them on the news, right? If they were stirring up trouble I mean. Honestly, isn’t that woman from that show dating one?”
“Huh? Who?” Tia asks, furrowing her brows together while she tries to think.
“Elizabeth Ashers! The one with the show about truth or whatever. I don’t know what she talks about ‘cause Lord knows I don’t have the luxury of watching television . . . but imagine it. If she’s dating one of them, they can’t be bad.” I barely scrape by working at the jewelry store and studio. We have a streaming service so Jalen can watch cartoons, but I don’t have cable. It’s too expensive these days.
“Wow, that’s a strikingly valid point,” Tia says while she puts the rag down. She pulls a hairband from her wrist and ties up her dreads into a long ponytail. “So, you don’t know anything about him?”
“Nope, nothing.”
“Besides the fact he’s in the MC.” Tia says.
“Actually, I’m not even sure he is. Neither of them said he was.”
“Hmm . . . I’m betting he is. Who else would they set you up with?”
“I wish I knew, but I don’t have any idea. I won’t know until I go on the date. Will you watch Jalen for me?”
Tia isn’t just another one of my bosses, she’s the closest friend I have here in Las Vegas and Jalen calls her Auntie TiTi. He loves her so much. “As long as you can pick him up from my house tonight, I’m fine with it.”
Immediately I grimace, “Tia . . . just promise me you won’t show him the lizards. The last time you opened the cage one of those gross crickets jumped from the cage and got stuck in his hair. I kept hearing it and couldn’t find it for hours. It was disgusting.” I about gag, meanwhile she’s giggling.
“I’m glad you think it’s so funny.”
“It was hysterical. I only wish I could’ve been there to watch you scream.” Tia keeps on laughing, but her phone starts going off and she answers it. “Hello? Yeah . . . uh, let me see if Indra has time to take your class.”
“I need to be out of here by four-thirty,” I state loudly.
Tia nods, “Sure. Yep, Indra is good to go. I’ll make sure to relieve her so she can leave. Feel better, okay?” She hangs up th
e phone.
“Michelle is sick, so I’m sorry but I need you to take her class tonight.”
“It’s fine, as long as I’m out by four-thirty.”
“You will be,” Tia smiles.
I’d better be. The last thing I want to do is show up to this blind date reeking of sweat, smelling like I haven’t showered in weeks.
Chapter Five
Love looks not with the eyes
~ William Shakespeare
Dixon
Nerves somehow settle in the pit of my stomach. Never have I been like this before. I suppose it’s only happening because this is a new experience. One where I can’t control everything going on around me. For the first time in many years, I’ve had no part in any of this.
Taking a heavy breath, I dismount my bike, place my helmet on the handlebars and walk around to the front of the diner. It looks like somethin’ that they had back in the fifties. The exterior appears to be aluminum, with bits of red. There are checkered tiles on the bottom three feet or so with black and white alternating through the front. Looking back to where I parked my bike, I notice it stops whenever you round either corner of the joint.
I made sure to arrive a few minutes early so I could scope out the place. It’s best to always figure out an escape plan just in case you need to have one. For all I know this woman could look like the witch out of Hansel and Gretel. Sakura did make sure to tell me that attraction is only skin deep. That bugged me out to be honest. Why the fuck would she say it if she wasn’t fuckin’ ugly?
I open the front door and walk up to a small hostess station. A young woman wears something that looks like a candy striper’s uniform. “Hi hon, would you like a booth or to sit up at the bar?”
“A booth would be fine, sweetheart. Thank you.” I reply, takin’ note how she eyes me a little longer than she should.
“Of course. Just one menu, or do you have others coming?”
“I have one other person who should be joining me in a bit. Her name’s Indra,” I say, watchin’ the girl frown for a split second. She quickly recovers herself.
“Okay, well then follow me and I’ll get ya sorted.” She grabs another menu and leads me to the back of the restaurant toward the restroom. Score. Bathrooms always have a window and if worst comes to worst I can squeeze my ass out and abandon ship.
I take a seat closest to the restroom and finally take notice of the small badge that reads ‘Belle’. “Thank you for your hospitality, Belle.” I smile brightly while thankin’ the young girl. Her face immediately flushes a bright red and I have to fight to hold back the chuckle.
“It’s my pleasure. What can I get you to drink while you wait for your friend?”
“Hmm, well,” I pause, takin’ a gander at the menu. This place seems like they have a bangin’ hamburger and fries so fuck if I’m not gonna order a shake to pair with it. “How are your peanut butter milkshakes?”
“Oh, they’re so good. We mix peanut butter syrup with Reese’s pieces and cups.”
“Alright, get me a large one of those.”
“Sure thing, I’ll be back in a bit.” She hurries off and goes behind the bar to prep my shake. In the meantime, I look at the rest of this place. There are gray tiles on the floor, but in the middle there’s another walkway. It has the same checkered pattern just like they do out front. The booths are lined with a red delicious colored latex. The tables are half black, half white to match the contrast the tiles have in here.
Instead of lookin’ over the menu I opt to check my phone. ‘Cause Lord knows if shit gets awkward I wanna look at somethin’. Goin’ over the menu isn’t a crappy thing to do, so I’m good when it comes to that. I see two missed texts from Sakura and Hawk.
I open up Sakura’s first.
You’d better be on your best behavior. Hawk and I both went to a lot of trouble to convince her to even give you a shot.
What in the actual fuck? This chick didn’t wanna come on a date with my glorious ass . . . she had to think about it? I’m already thinkin’ she’s one of them entitled bitches.
I scroll over to Hawk’s next.
Don’t fuck this up, asshole.
Well shit, obviously Hawk is the friend who roots for me. If I ever need some words of wisdom, I’ll definitely go to him. I roll my eyes at his text and slide my phone back into the pocket of my jeans.
The bell on the front door rings and I immediately shift my eyes to see who’s coming in. The first thing I notice is her hair. The tightest black curls I’ve ever seen cascading around her face. It seems a bit messy, but I like the look. I slowly start going over her features one by one. Her skin is the color of Malaysian Driftwood. As I keep starin’ at her I don’t see a spec of makeup on her, which instantly makes me like her more. Women shouldn’t have to cake up their faces for us. If they wanna do it to make themselves feel better for their personal self-care and all that shit, more power to ‘em.
As she gets closer, I see a silver lip ring under the right side of her bottom lip. It gives her yet another edge. She’s in this mesh sort of sports bra thing. It has other straps around it, givin’ her this cut out kinda look. I’m normally not a fan of that shit, but considerin’ the fact she’s small chested it’s nice. Fuck, I don’t mind that either. I’m an ass man. The more ass, the better.
She stops to talk with Belle for a second and Belle points over in my direction. The moment her eyes land on mine she seems pleasantly surprised, smiling lightly as she ventures closer.
The mesh color is silver and black. She has on a matching pair of silver leggins. They have a mesh cutout on the sides and she gets within a few feet of the booth before she stumbles and drops her keys. I stick my hand out to grab them for her but she’s already bent over and picked them up.
Now, I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t get a good look at her ass. Man, does she have an ass. Fuck. She has to workout. I wonder if she does yoga or barre or somethin’ like that. It’s toned like a sculpture in Rome.
“You must be Indra,” I smirk, exiting the booth and extending a hand out to her. She rises and turns toward me, brushes her hand through her hair to get the bit that fell in her face.
“Hi, yeah. That’s me. I’m surprised you know my name though. They didn’t tell me anything about you . . . Dixon.” She offers me her hand and we shake, and I see her eyes go to my cut. There’s somethin’ about her that makes me feel like she’s a little intimidated by it. I won’t ask her about it now, but I’ll be sure to ask about it later.
I chuckle, breaking the awkwardness. “Sakura let it slip. I took it as my own personal win.”
“Oh boy. There was no busting through that safe of a woman. She had me so nervous to come here.” Indra starts to laugh too, and I motion for her to take a seat across from me. We both slide into the booth when Belle comes up with my shake.
“Hi hon, what can I get ya?”
Indra takes a look at the menu and grimaces. “I’m not going to even hide how weird I can be. Do you know what a . . . oh God, please forgive me. I had this shake one time in New York years ago, but I remember the recipe. It’s called Spanking Monkeys. You make it with rocky road ice cream, fresh bananas, a dash of peanut butter and loads of whipped cream.”
Belle flushes with red again, giggling a bit. “First I’ve heard of it, but I’ll surely give it a go. One Spanking Monkeys comin’ right up. If you need any recommendations about the menu let me know. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Belle disappears to go back behind the bar.
“Firstly, let me apologize for how I look. Normally I’m not so casual when I go out on a blind date. I picked up a class for a friend at the yoga studio who couldn’t make it, and I was told I’d be out by four-thirty but of course that didn’t happen.”
I take another glance at her, “Babe, you don’t have to apologize for anythin’. I like it when women can sit back and show their true self. So, you work in a yoga studio? That’s sick.” I say, thinkin’ we’re gettin’ off to a pretty good start.
Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will
~ Unknown
Indra
Oddly enough, I like him. At the sight of his leather vest I didn’t want to, though. Deep down I figure if they were really bad people, their MC would be crapped on by the local media. But I haven’t heard a thing. Plus, Elizabeth Ashers is dating one of them. She’s a woman of integrity and she’d never involve herself with someone who was corrupt and wanted to hurt others. I don’t know the woman, but I’m telling myself that last bit.
The waitress Belle brought me my shake and Dixon went ahead and ordered for me. Never in my life have I allowed a man to order my food. Hell, Cornell never did it either. He ordered jalapeño poppers and mozzarella sticks as appetizers and got a mushroom swiss for me and a cheddar bacon for himself.
“I hope you plan on sharing some of that. Just because I’m a woman who works out doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate some bacon,” I tease. Before Belle brought over my delicious milkshake, we chatted for a couple minutes about how I work at the yoga studio and the jewelry store.
“Whoa, alrighty then. We’ll split everything, how about that? I’m even willin’ to split my onion rings. But first you gotta tell me how you met Hawk and Sakura.”
Instantly I smile because I genuinely like both Hawk and Sakura. Hawk is a rough guy around the edges but once you get to know him you can truly see how much he cares about those around him. As a mother, he melted my heart when he found a way to have Bridget and Danica in his proposal to Raven.
Now Sakura, I don’t know much about her because I only met her when Hawk came to pick up the jewelry for the girls. What I can say is that she’s a determined woman. She came back time and time again until I agreed to come out on this date. If it ends well, I’ll have to thank her.
Dixon (Reapers MC Book 10) Page 3