Rebellion MC 2: Ace & Mae's Story

by Nicola Jane

  “I asked who she went out with, Hulk?” I growl, and he stops talking and thinks for a second.

  “Not sure. I think she’s back now, though. In the bar the last I heard.”

  I stand and Dodge joins me, and I take a walk through to the bar. Mae is laughing, I hear her from the second I left my office. She’s sat at a table with a guy I haven’t seen around here before. I lean against the bar and Bear automatically hands me a whiskey.

  “Who’s the guy?” I ask, tipping my glass in their direction.

  “Mae never said, Pres. You want me to go and ask?”

  I shake my head no. “Does he seem legit to you?”

  Bear thinks for a second before replying. “Erm, I guess. I didn’t really speak with him, boss. He’s making her smile, which is nice to see.” Somehow, that just annoys me more. It doesn’t mean anything. I would have been pissed even before I knew she liked me. I care for her and this behavior from her is unsettling.

  Dodge makes his way over to them and Mae strokes his head when he nudges her hand with his wet nose. I hear her tell the guy about Dodge and how I found him. The guy tries to stroke him, too, but the faithful mutt growls, forcing the guy to retreat his hand and they share another laugh. I whistle, calling Dodge back to my side. Mae stares at me; I stare back.

  I want things to go back to how they were before she told me because right now, we feel a million miles apart and I hate it.

  Mae

  Lee has been asking me for a date since, well, I don’t even remember it’s been so long. When I began working in the office at the garage, Lee was one of the mechanics. He’d since left but we kept in touch. I have to try and stop the silly crush I have with Ace, and this is my plan. A date with Lee. Lord knows I’ve humiliated myself enough over Ace.

  “I was surprised when I got your text,” says Lee. “I must have asked you out a hundred times or more in the past.” He smiles, and I blush. “Is he your dad?” I glance in the direction of where Lee nods towards Ace. He’s leaning up against the bar staring at the big screen television and occasionally glancing in our direction.

  “No, he’s the president of the Rebellion MC,” I say. “My mom and dad were part of it. Dad died, but Mom’s still here.”

  “I heard some stories about the MC. A bunch of criminals dealing in drugs?”

  “You should never listen to stories, especially far-fetched ones like that.” It’s something I’ve gotten used to. People will always focus on negative stories but in truth, the MC brings a lot of good to the local area. They raise money for deprived families. They help feed the homeless and take Christmas presents to children in the hospital. But it doesn’t matter what you say to some people; they believe what they want to believe. It makes dating outside of the club so much harder.

  “Well, he doesn’t look too pleased about me being here,” Lee states.

  “He’s just having a bad day, I imagine. He has a lot on his shoulders. He isn’t bothered about me. I wouldn’t take it personally.”

  The rest of the date is awkward, and the conversation becomes stilted. It doesn’t help that Ace is looking over at us and making us both feel uncomfortable.

  Eventually, it comes to an end. Lee kisses me on the cheek before promising to call me in a few days, but I don’t hold out much hope for that. I feel like dating is going to be too much hard work.

  “Good date?” quips Ace as I pass him.

  “Why are you watching me? It’s a little weird.”

  “I’m not watching you, Mae. I’m just having a drink and watching football,” he snaps. I roll my eyes and head for the kitchen. He doesn’t watch football and his weird behavior confuses me more.

  My mom looks up from where she’s chopping vegetables. “Veggies?” I ask, screwing my nose up. The guys never eat vegetables.

  Mom looks guilty. “Don’t tell a soul that you saw me chopping these,” she says, pointing the knife at me. I take a step back and laugh at her serious face.

  “Okay,” I say slowly. “What’s the deal with them?”

  “I always hide them in their food, okay? Today is pie day. I’m going to blend these up and put them in the pie gravy.”

  “Oh my God, mom. You seriously go to all this trouble?”

  “Everyone needs fruit and veg, sweetie. These guys stay strong through my secret recipes, which contain these,” she smirks, holding up a carrot.

  Piper marches into the kitchen with Hulk hot on her heels. Mom lays a clean dish towel over her secret ingredients innocently and goes about washing the dishes. “Who the fuck is he?” Hulk growls, slamming his hand against the wall.

  “I’m not going to tell you. It doesn’t matter how many walls you hit,” she snaps.

  “We’ll see about that!” he yells, stomping out of the kitchen and slamming the door behind him.

  “What the hell was that?” I ask.

  Piper pulls herself up onto the counter. “That was Hulk’s way of telling me he’s jealous.” She sighs.

  “If he gets so jealous, why doesn’t he just commit to you?”

  “I have no idea, Mae. He has no idea. I’m sick of him. Who was the date with? You’re hot gossip around here today.”

  My mom looks over in surprise. “You had a date?”

  “Don’t even go there. It was a huge mistake,” I mutter.

  “I’m just pleased to see you getting yourself out there.” Mom smiles.

  “Don’t get too excited. I really don’t think dating is for me,” I say.

  “You know what you need, right?” asks Piper, “You need a makeover.”

  “Oh no, I really don’t.” I’ve been on the receiving end of one of Pipers makeovers before. It ended in a messy night out and some bad choices on my part.

  “Please, it’ll cheer us both up. We could hit the town tonight.” The thought of going out for a few drinks with the girls does sound appealing. Piper sees me wavering and jumps down from the countertop. “Yay!” She squeals excitedly. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ace

  I lay my playing cards out on the table and Scar groans as I pull the pile of cash towards me. “I’m done.” He sighs, chucking his own cards on the table in defeat.

  “Be thankful we didn’t put our bikes down like you wanted to.” I laugh. He always takes it a step further than just cash. But tonight, I wasn’t in the mood. “You’ll never meet a woman if you keep wasting your money on these dumb games, Scar,” I add. Not that he’ll listen to the friendly advice.

  “Angel’s in the house, Pres,” he whispers. I spot her entering the bar. Her hot pants don’t leave much to the imagination, and her tits are practically spilling out over her top. “Man, she looks hot tonight.” He grins.

  I tap him upside the head. “Show some respect,” I growl.

  “You made the rules, Pres. Club whores are free for all unless someone lays claim them,” says Hulk, sinking down into the seat beside me.

  “Don’t mean you can’t be respectful,” I grumble.

  Scar’s mouth falls open. “Well shit,” he mutters. We turn to see what’s caught his attention and I stand abruptly, knocking my chair to the floor at the sight of Mae and Piper. Hulk drinks his whiskey down in one go and slams his glass on the table. He clearly isn’t happy at the sight of Piper’s short dress and high boots.

  “She looks like a damn hooker,” he growls.

  My eyes are stuck on Mae. I don’t really pay much attention to Piper’s outfit. Her waist length hair is usually tied up but tonight, it flows in loose waves down her back. She’s wearing tight black leather pants that show off her rounded ass perfectly and a low cut black tank top. Her black heeled boots alter her posture, making her look more confident. But it’s her face that has me transfixed. The smoky eyes, red lips, she looks smoking hot. Mae catches me staring and I look away quickly. Sitting down casually, I fix my eyes on my drink.

  “Shit, look at Mae. She looks beautiful,” says Scar.

  “She scrubs up well,” agrees
Hulk.

  “I might get her a drink,” says Scar, rushing off towards the girls. I press my lips together, making sure I don’t do anything stupid like tell Scar to sit his ass down and stay the hell away from Mae.

  “What’s up with you?” asks Hulk. “You and Mae seem off kilter.”

  “Yeah, we had a disagreement.”

  “About?” he probes, and I take a minute to think it through before eventually deciding to speak the truth; after all, Hulk is my Vice President and my son. Even though we’re more like best friends.

  “She told me something. It knocked me for six, man,” I begin. “She likes me.”

  Hulk’s eyes grow wide with shock. “No fucking way,” he gasps. I nod to confirm it. “But she’s nearer my age!”

  “I know, right? I didn’t see it coming,” I admit.

  “What did you say?” Hulk is sitting forward, eager to get the gossip.

  “That it could never happen because I am too old for her.”

  Hulk smirks. “I bet you’re regretting that decision tonight.”

  “Shut up, man. I don’t see her like that.” I fiddle with my beer mat, turning it over and over between my fingers.

  “You can have your pick of the girls, Pops. No one’s gonna judge. No one would dare.”

  Scar rejoins us and sits back down. “She said she’d go on a date with me!” He looks as shocked as we do.

  “What the fuck? You never showed interest in Mae before,” says Hulk, stealing the words right out of my mouth. None of the guys at the Rebellion have.

  “Yeah, well Mae didn’t ever look like that before. She’s been hiding herself away under those baggy shirts.” Scar smirks and drinks the rest of his drink.

  “You don’t stand a chance, brother. Sorry to break it to ya, but she has the hots for someone older,” says Hulk, slapping Scar on the back. I glare at him, but he doesn’t take any notice. Instead, he leans closer to Scar. “She likes the Pres.”

  Scar raises his eyebrows and his mouth falls open. “Don’t yah think you’re a bit old for her, Pres?” He stares at me like I've grown two heads.

  “I know I am, shit head. Nobody said I liked her back,” I say firmly. “And you need to keep your mouth shut,” I add, pointing to Hulk.

  Hulk shrugs his big shoulders and relaxes back into his chair. “You didn’t say it was a secret!”

  Angel saunters over and sits herself in my lap. She wraps her arm around my shoulder. “What’s the secret?” she asks, picking up on the tail end of Hulk’s words.

  “That Pres has an admirer,” smirks Scar.

  “Competition. I like it,” Angel says seductively. “Who is she?”

  “We can’t say,” shrugs Hulk but nods towards the girls and makes it obvious.

  Angel smiles wide and turns to look at me. “Please don’t tell me little miss square is having dirty dreams about the big bad President.” The guys crack up, clearly amused by Angel’s nasty tongue. “She’d never be able to handle you. Isn’t she still a virgin? She needs to read less erotica and get out more.”

  “I heard she’s not a virgin,” says Scar. I know that she’s not a virgin, but not because we talked about that shit. I mean, we’re close but not that close. I overheard her a few years ago telling Piper; it sounded like she’d hated every second of it.

  “It’s all a bit much, though, just to hang around the bar. No one dresses up like that for a night in a run-down club bar,” says Angel, watching the girls laugh and dance around.

  “They’re going out to a club. They’re just waiting for Lucy and her friends to text them to meet up,” says Scar.

  Hulk instantly looks annoyed. “Where are they going?”

  “To one of the nightclubs that Tag owns. We all know he doesn’t let Lucy out of his sight, so he’ll be hanging around there too.” Scar laughs. He doesn’t understand how consuming love can be and Tag’s need to keep Lucy safe.

  “Maybe we should go, too?” Hulk suggests.

  “Count me out,” I sigh. I know forty isn’t old, but I’ve long stopped going to nightclubs.

  “We can get into the VIP area, Lucy would love to see us,” argues Hulk.

  “That sounds so good,” smiles Angel, “Let’s go.”

  I shake my head. “You guys go. Have a great time.”

  “You’re showing your age,” says Hulk. “Come join your kids on a night out!”

  Angel leans in close, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “I’ll treat you,” she whispers, smiling sweetly. It gets my interest and she grinds her ass against my cock. “You know how I love to fuck in public places.”

  I stand eagerly, placing her on her feet. “Let’s go,” I say. Angel laughs, and the guys look at me confused. “But make Bear come so I’m not the oldest one there.”

  Mae

  I feel great. Having Piper help me get ready tonight was a game changer. She didn’t push me too far out of my comfort zone, but it was enough to help me feel confident and beautiful. And now, somehow, our girly night has turned into a Rebellion night out. Lucy’s husband, Tag, owns the nightclub and we get VIP treatment whenever we come. It’s the first time that Ace has ever been out with us and at first, I thought that maybe it had something to do with me, but then Scar told us that Angel had promised him sex. Talk about pissing on my parade.

  “You look sad again, Mae,” groans Piper and I instantly feel bad. I don’t want to suck the fun out of our night out, especially after everything she’s done for me tonight.

  “I’m fine Pip, sorry,” I say, rubbing her arm and smiling.

  “Who is it? Who is this guy that you’re upset about?” She’s desperate to know but I can’t ever tell her. She’ll think I’m crazy.

  “It’s not important,” I say firmly.

  Lucy dances over to us, wiggling her ass. Tag is two steps behind her scowling. He places his hands on her hips to still them and growls something in her ear. She laughs and then takes a seat next to me. “I’m going to see Ace, be good!” Tag warns before walking away.

  “He’s so hot!” groans Piper.

  “He’s so intense. I don’t know how you put up with it.” I say. “In other news, Scar asked me on a date earlier.”

  Both girls laugh. Scar’s never indicated that he’s thought of me like that until he spotted my cleavage tonight. “I thought he liked Nova?” says Piper.

  “You go from no dates to two in one day.” I’m not surprised that Lucy knows about my earlier date. The girls love to gossip, and me finally dating would be hot news. Scar is really nice and, in some ways, he’s a bit like me. He doesn’t really go on dates. I think he’s shy because of the scarring across his face but I don’t really notice it. He’s always looked like that to me, so I couldn’t imagine him without them. He never talks about the scars or how they came about.

  I spot Ace and Angel moving towards the roof terrace. A jealousy burns through me and before I can talk myself out of it, I’m on my feet. “I need to pee,” I say, excusing myself from the table. I have no idea what I’m going to do, I just know I can’t sit by knowing they’re out there when things aren’t right between me and Ace.

  Outside, the air is fresh, and I shiver. Piper wouldn’t let me wear a jacket because it didn’t go with the outfit. Ace has his strong tattooed arms wrapped around Angel and they are both peering over the wall, looking down on the streets below. Ace must sense someone approaching and he looks back at me. “Mae,” he says, straightening up and moving towards me. “Everything okay?”

  I nod. “I needed some air,” I smile. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were both out here.”

  “Join us,” he says.

  Angel laughs; it’s cold and almost cruel. “Are you serious right now?”

  “Angel, don’t be such a bitch.” She tries to speak again but he gives her a hard stare. “Leave it!”

  Angel sighs heavily and then shrugs her shoulders. “Fine, I’m going inside.”

  I wait until she’s gone and smile innocently. “Sorry, I just wanted ai
r.”

  “Don’t mind her.” Ace shrugs out of his jacket and then places it around my shoulders. “You’re cold.”

  “Piper said I couldn’t wear a jacket because it messed up the outfit.”

  Ace looks me up and down then takes my hand and leads me to a couple of chairs. “You look great tonight, Mae. While I have you out here, I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Okay.”

  He looks hesitant for a minute. “I hate that we’re fighting. I’ve handled this all wrong. I shouldn’t have got mad at you for being honest; you can’t help your feelings and I’m flattered, I really am.”

  “It was a little out of the blue. I shouldn’t have sprung it on you like I did.” I shrug.

  “It surprised me. To have a young beautiful girl like you fancy me. It’s like a dream come true for a man my age.” He adds a laugh.

  “But?” I say, because I know there is one.

  “But, I’m not good enough for you. I’m all kinds of bad, Mae. The shit I’ve done haunts me at night. You should be with a decent man, one who is as good on the inside as you.”

  “I don’t know if you noticed, Ace, but they’re hardly lining up for me.”

  “Because you don’t let them. But they will come, Mae. You just have to put yourself out there.”

  “Maybe,” I sigh. “In time.”

  Ace places a finger under my chin and lifts my face to look at his. His bright blue eyes send shivers down my spine. “You’re gorgeous. A good person inside and out and if you were a few years older then maybe it could work.”

  I nod sadly. I want so badly to kiss him, but I don’t want to ruin our truce. Ace falls silent, his finger still under my chin. His eyes look conflicted, like he’s at war with himself and then he moves closer just a fraction. I hold my breath because he looks like he wants to kiss me too and I don’t want to make a sound in case I scare him away.