by KT Fisher
“Yes.” I nod happily, casting an eye out to the customers.
“I just wanted to drop by and see how things were going.” He wraps an arm around me.
“You’re not staying?” I ask.
“I have a quick run do to, but I’ll be back later in time for when you close up.” He kisses me on the head and I watch him leave, jumping on his bike and loving the sound of the rumble as he rides away.
“That was your man?” A young girl asks as she hands over a little red dress towards me.
“Yep.” I answer uncomfortably.
“Wow.” She shakes her head and I quickly take her money and send her on her way. Intentionally forgetting to give her a voucher for Drew and Tasha’s salon.
When I see two more familiar faces walk through the door I approach them with open arms.
“Hey sweetie.” Lauren smiles.
“We had to drop by.” Maci jumps in.
“We most certainly did.” Baby walks through the door with too much confidence.
Maci rolls her eyes and Lauren laughs.
“Thanks for coming.” I usher them towards the counter.
“I’ll make us a drink.” Maci runs into the back, with Baby eagerly following after her.
“Elise, this place is amazing.” Lauren’s eyes take it all in as she sits on the seat I offer her. Her bump is clearly showing now and I just love it. “It’s just a shame I can’t buy anything.” She sulks, looking down at her bump.
“There’s jewellery and bags.” I suggest and her eyes light up.
“Then I’m definitely leaving with something.” She claps.
“You don’t need to.” I reply, serving a customer.
“Grim gave me his credit card, I’m buying something.” She argues and I have to laugh.
“Well, if he’s paying then I insist.”
Maci and Baby walk out with drinks in hand. Baby hands me my cup of tea and I gratefully take it, he flashes me a cocky smirk and I wonder what he’s up to. The way he looks to Maci as she gossips with Lauren lets me in on his plan.
“So are you here for me or because a certain someone was already coming.” I whisper over to him.
He looks shocked for a few seconds, but he quickly replaces his usual self-assured expression back into place. “I’m here for you of course.” He wraps an arm around me and I have to shrug away because he nearly causes me to spill my tea everywhere.
While Maci and Lauren browse, Baby stands closer to me. “So, I heard you enjoyed some Sons of Anarchy.”
I turn to face him quickly, watching as he bites down his smug smirk. “Shut up.”
“Relax.” He holds his hands up. “Nobody knows, except me of course.”
Baby is similar to me, in the way we know more than everyone thinks we do and perhaps more than we should know. We share the talents in watching people and observing. He’s far more intelligent and wise than he makes out to be and just like me, he uses it to his advantage.
“Keep it that way.” I threaten.
Baby laughs, then looks out towards my little boutique. “So, Scrappy said you have hot customers.”
I don’t even bother to hide my annoyance. “Did he now?”
For the rest of the afternoon, I’m alone. Lauren, Maci and Baby only stayed an hour, the girls treated themselves and I obviously gave them a percentage off, even though they both argued not to. I sip on my cup of tea as the last customers browse, listening to the radio as it fills the silence. Until I hear the rumbling of a bike and I know its Bomber before I even see him. He walks in just after the last customer leaves and approaches me with open arms.
“How did it go?” He asks.
“Amazing.” I run into his arms, loving the safety I feel as I’m buried in his hold.
“Good, now let’s get locked up.” He lets me go and begins to lock up the shop.
“What’s the rush?” I laugh, watching him.
“We have to get going.”
“What?” I ask, Bomber hasn’t even stopped securing the place yet.
“We need to get going.” He says slower, passing me with a smile as he collects my jackets and bag from the back.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because, we have a party to get to.” He says, finally stopping in front of me and helping me with my jacket.
“What party?” I frown, as he pushes me out the door and locks up behind us.
“Yours.” He smirks when he’s finished and gestures for me to get on his bike. “Get on.”
With a stupid smile I can’t fight, I jump on behind him and hold on tight. “I can’t believe I have a party.”
I hear Bomber’s laughter just as he pulls away, and I lean my helmet covered head on his back. I wished we didn’t have to wear these great big things, then I could be leaning directly onto him, but I suppose when you count in the safety reasons, well then you can’t argue with that.
I am a little tired after my first official day of business, but hearing there’s a party that’s been planned for me has me wakening and feeling excited. I’m shocked when we pull up at my home, and not the clubhouse. Usually parties are held at the clubhouse, but if my mother has planned this, then it would be at home. She prefers to be at home rather than the clubhouse, and it’s why I arranged her birthday get together at home.
As soon as Bomber cuts the engine from outside the garden gates, I see my mother’s head poking out.
“Oh god.” I moan as I watch her usher my father out too and they both come running down the path, towards us. Bomber laughs as he takes the helmet from me and I shoot him my best evil eyes.
“Lissy!” My mother shouts, her arms open wide and an overbearing smile stretching across her face. “How was your first day?”
“Great mum.” I laugh as she squeezes me tightly.
“Give the girl some air.” My dad chuckles. “Coming inside Bomber?”
“I need a strong drink after that run.” Bomber laughs, shaking his head.
“Ah, I’ve heard Trevor’s bar can be a tough one.” Dad laughs and both men walk inside the house.
“It was kind of Bomber to bring you, wasn’t it?” My mum whispers to me as we walk behind them.
Bomber looks behind, flashing me a handsome smile before returning to his conversation with Dad.
“Yes.” I answer. It really was, I think as I look Bomber over. My eyes travel his bottom, covered in black jeans. Bomber has quite a perky behind and I can’t seem to take my eyes away.
“I suggest you remove your eyes.” My mother quietly adds as we enter the house and my cheeks burn from being caught out by my mother. Oh the shame.
We step inside my family home, and I hear music coming from the dining room and kitchen. The house I grew up in, is a large house and my mother loves to take care of it. It’s her pride to make the house look its best and it’s the reason I know that parts of the house are out of bounds while there’s a party going on.
“Here she is!” My mother announces and everyone flies out the kitchen and into the hall, facing the entryway I just stepped into. My mum proudly wraps an arm around me as we face everyone. It’s mainly Old Ladies and their families, some of the club members are here too and I’m happy to see the girls are here. “Her first day at her own boutique is over.”
Her voice sounds wobbly and when I look around at her, tears are shining and rolling down her cheeks. “Oh mum.” I say, wrapping my arms around her.
“This is for you.” She answers, wiping away her tears. “We’re so proud.”
After everyone has approached me and said their congratulations, I’m left to enjoy myself with the girls. We talk about how well business was.
“We had so many customers holding your cards.” Drew beams.
“Funny you should say that.” I laugh, and tell them all about the good number of customers I had today who had vouchers in hand from their salon.
“Seems like a good little plan.” Maci claps.
I mingle with everyone at the party an
d let my mother brag about me to anyone she can. Uncle Franky beams with pride as he watches me with my father but it’s Bomber who I can feel. I know without searching the house that he’s nearby, looking at me and I enjoy it. I decide to tease him a little, I lick and gently bite my lips, which I know drives him insane. He told me so.
I return to the girls as they talk babies with Lauren, and suddenly someone has grabbed me from behind. I jump out of my skin, but by the smiles on the girls faces, it’s nothing to worry about.
“Congrats little cousin.” Baby speaks in my ear and I push him away.
“Thanks.” I say, smoothing down my blouse. “You know, you could approach me like a normal person.”
Baby frowns. “And where’s the fun in that?”
“Why are you late anyway?” Drew asks her brother. “Mum told you to be on time Kai, you know Aunt June wont be happy.”
Drew frowns at Baby, and he wears one similar. I’m assuming it’s because she used his name but to be honest, I’ve never really heard Drew call him Baby too much. She is right though, if my mother noticed her little nephew Kai wasn’t here before me, he has to be careful.
“Well?” Asks Drew and Baby cringes slightly.
“I was caught up.” He snickers a little and I have a feeling where this is going.
“By a woman perhaps?” Lauren laughs, but I look at Maci from the corner of my eyes and see that she doesn’t look very happy with this new topic of conversation.
“Make that two.” He laughs and the girls all pretend to gag. That is except for Maci, she’s watching him with a straight face. No emotion sneaks through, she looks neither happy nor sad and if anything, that’s worse.
“Enough, I don’t want to hear about that right now.” I interrupt. “Or ever if I’m totally honest.”
Baby shakes his head, continuing to laugh as he walks away. The girls get back to talking amongst themselves but I watch as Baby pauses besides Maci. He looks at her, no trace of humour at all but Maci turns away. Baby looks at her back, frowning as he quickly walks away. Nobody else saw this but me, and it’s why I like to step back and watch.
“I need some air.” Maci announces and doesn’t wait for anyone to reply before she leaves.
“She ok?” Tasha asks as we watch Maci walk through the crowd.
“I’ll go and check on her.” I turn to follow and Lauren joins my side.
“I’ll join you.” She smiles, fanning her face with her hands. “It’s hot in here, I need some fresh air.”
I laugh as we walk, but Bomber jumps in my path. “What are you doing?”
“I need to talk with you.” He answers and I look across at Lauren.
“I’m going to find Maci.”
“Oh don’t be silly.” Lauren adds. “I’ll go and check on her.”
I’m about to argue, but Lauren walks away, leaving me alone with Bomber. I don’t miss the smirk she sends me though before she exits the house. Bomber holds me by the arms and sneaks me through family and club members. It turns quieter as we enter the part of the house my mother has ordered out of bounds. Bomber approaches the family room, and opens the door.
“What are you doing?” I repeat my questions. “My mother will kill you.”
Bomber laughs, closing the door behind us and leading me to the sofa. “I need to be alone with you.”
I can’t argue with that.
“Someone will notice I’ve disappeared.” I point out the obvious.
“I have a feeling Lauren has my back.” He winks.
The noise of the party is quiet, filtering through just a little. Bomber leans closer, placing his hand on my neck and drawing me in. His thumb strokes my bottom lip as I’m devoured by his eyes.
“I’ve been dying to kiss these lips all night.” He growls.
“So why aren’t you?” I ask and I see him clench his jaw, right before we join in the middle and share a kiss. It’s soft at first, but quickly turns more urgent. God I adore kissing Bomber. It’s something I dreamt of as a teenager and fantasize about as a woman.
Bombers hand travels through my hair and I sigh, our lips parting as he lifts me and sits me on his lap. I don’t have any time to think before his mouth returns to mine, growling as he places his large hands on my arse. He squeezes and I can’t help but laugh. His hands travel from my behind and up my back, settling on my neck and securing me as we continue the kiss. Bomber begins to lick my bottom lip and I bite down on his, groaning as I hold back from wanting to rip off all his clothes. Bomber strokes my breasts over my top and I begin to grind against him. My body does what it wants and I’m not about to tell it otherwise.
“Fuck you drive me insane.” He moans and we kiss some more. I feel as though I’m flying, his kisses becoming so addictive.
I push my breasts into his touch, wanting to feel more. I wish he could rip off my top, remove my bra and lick my nipples. God I bet that would feel amazing and as I fantasize I groan louder.
“What the fuck?” Scrappy snaps and I break apart from Bomber, noticing my brother standing in the doorway looking furious.
“Shit.” I curse, standing from Bomber’s lap and feeling a little awkward that my brother is here and possibly caught sight of my horny state.
“Mum is looking for you.” Scrappy looks from me to Bomber and with a heavy sigh, leaves us to it. The door is wide open, making it clear to stop what we were doing and return to the party.
I look down at Bomber, a satisfied smile has taken over his face. “Come on.” I laugh, holding out my hand.
Bomber stands and helps to smooth out my hair. “Everyone will know you’ve been with a man.”
“How?” I ask, looking myself over. My clothes look ok.
“Your lips.” He plants a single kiss on them.
I look to the large mirror on the wall and sure enough, my lips are swollen from all the kissing.
“Well, they will know it’s you.” I point out as we leave.
“How?”
“They’re not blind.” I laugh and as we join my party once more, people look to us and I give Bomber a pointed look to which he flashes a boyish smile.
Chapter Eleven
Elise
My boutique has been open a whole week now, and it’s doing as great as I thought it would do. The online shop has better success, but that’s just because it can reach a whole lot more customers than in store. As happy as I should be, I can’t help feel bad that I’m holding this secret away from Bomber, sure I feel guilty that nobody else knows but the fact that Bomber hasn’t got a clue feels worse. It’s beginning to get on top of me and it sucks that it’s not letting me enjoy my success as much as I should be.
I should tell Bomber, but I’m scared of what he will think of me once he discovers the truth. He’s a great guy, but I don’t even think the best of men could carry on the way they once were with the girl they liked if they had a secret like mine. It’s going to ruin my life, hell I think it already is!
As more customers enter the shop, I have to hold onto my fake smile and get through the day. One customer, a young girl with bright red hair approaches me with three tops she wishes to buy and hands over a voucher from the salon. “I just received this from the salon down the road.”
“Yes that’s fine.” I smile, taking the voucher and scanning it.
“This is a great shop you have.” She beams.
“Thank you.” I grin as I neatly fold her newly purchased items.
“I think you will be seeing a lot of me.” She holds up her bags, looking pleased with herself and leaves with a spring in her step.
Looking down at the voucher, I tear it up and chuck it away. It’s so they aren’t reused. Suddenly, I think of Natasha and remember that she went through a tough time when she and Devlin started getting together. She had some private secrets then too, still does from most people but me and the girls know as we’re her closest friends. I remember feeling bad for her that she was having to tell Devlin, of course, Lauren and I already knew a
bout her scars but we didn’t really know about her most private injuries. More guilt pushes forward as I think that even Lauren and Tasha don’t know what happened to me, I didn’t want to relive it but it seems that the more I hide it, the more I’m still living through it.
With shaky hands, I collect my phone from my bag. There’s only two older ladies here, and they’re busy browsing so I’m not being totally unprofessional. I send Tasha a quick text.
Hey, was wondering if you were free to talk alone later? X
I look at the words for about twenty seconds before I click the send button. She probably won’t even text me back yet because she’s busy working her own business. One of the women begins to walk up to the counter, so I hide away my phone and serve her.
It’s only when I’m closing that I notice I’ve already received a reply from her.
Tash: Of course. Is everything ok? X
Taking a deep breath, I reply.
Not really and I figured you were the best to talk with. I need your advice and I can’t have anyone else knowing about it. X
I watch the dots as Tasha types her answer.
Tasha: Sure hun, anything you need. I can meet you at my place after work tomorrow? Drew won’t be here. X
I feel bad that I have to make sure Drew won’t be there, but I need to talk to Tasha and her only. I agree to meeting Tasha at the apartment she shares with Drew above the salon right after work tomorrow and get everything ready to leave work.
***
The next day all I can think of is telling Tasha my deepest, darkest secret. In fact, until Bomber returned, I didn’t even think of this as my secret, it was a horrible part of me that I never spoke about. Now, I feel as though it’s tearing me apart.
I lock up the boutique, and take the short walk to the salon and make my way around the private entrance. Franky didn’t want Tasha and Drew’s apartment to be easily accessible, so unless you know the code, you can’t even enter the next coded door to access the stairs up to the apartment. I press the buzzer, and wait for Tasha to speak through the intercom.
“Hello?” She answers.
“It’s me.” I greet her, feeling overwhelmed by my nerves.