[Men of Inked 01.0 - 03.0] Volume 1

by Chelle Bliss

  I didn’t feel like hearing bullshit from my brothers if I went into the shop. I’d have enough explaining to do showing up at Sunday dinner, but I had to go. I needed to tell everyone that I had seen Tommy. They’d be relieved that he was well, but totally pissed off at me.

  I rubbed my face as I stood outside my parents’ front door. I could hear everyone inside laughing and carrying on. We were never a quiet bunch.

  “Here goes nothing,” I whispered to myself, trying to put on a happy face and come up with a bullshit excuse.

  I opened the door, walked into the foyer, and dropped my purse next to the stairs. “I’m here!” I yelled, heading toward the great room.

  The smell of pasta sauce filled the home and made me think of James. He’d looked so damn hot sitting in my kitchen, scarfing down pasta like it was the best fucking thing he’d ever eaten. I wanted to plop my pussy on the plate and let him attack it like it was his last fucking meal.

  I shook my head, clearing James from my mind. The man had me all crazy and losing focus.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Anthony hollered, standing from the couch and stalking toward me.

  “Nice to see you too, brother.” I smiled, wrapping him in my arms and patting him on the back.

  “You weren’t supposed to be back until tonight. What happened?” he asked, backing away and looking me up and down. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Anth. Really. Bike Week just wasn’t for me.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joey and Mike striding toward us. Here we go. Let the inquisition begin.

  “Hey, guys,” I said, turning toward them and holding out my arms.

  “Don’t give us that bullshit, Izzy. What happened?” Mike growled, coming to halt and glaring at me.

  “I just wanted to come home. I’m not built for that life.” I looked at Joey, trying to wrap him in a hug.

  “I call bullshit, little sister. You better spill and spill quick before I track Flash’s ass down and beat him to a bloody pulp,” Joey snarled.

  I pinched my nose between my fingers, trying to massage away the stress. “Honestly, I’m fine, guys. I made it home in one piece. I just missed you, is all.”

  “Bullshit,” Anthony coughed, and looked at the floor.

  Glaring at him, I sighed. “Listen, I’ll tell you all about it, but I want to say hi to Ma and Pop first.”

  “You will spill, Izzy.” Joey crossed his arms over his chest and did his best to look intimidating. He wasn’t to me; I’d known him my entire life. I knew the man underneath the big, hard exterior.

  “I know, I know.” I threw my hands up, walking away to find Ma, who was in the kitchen, pouring the sauce over the angel hair pasta.

  “Hey, Ma,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her from behind. I loved her more than life itself. She was everything to me, even though she thought I favored my pop over her. I did at times, only because he was a pushover and I loved him for it.

  “I’m so happy you’re here, baby girl. I thought I heard you walk in.”

  “Probably heard the three stooges out there.”

  She laughed, her body shaking in my grip. “They can be a pain in the ass, can’t they?” She giggled, turning in my arms.

  “Ma, I haven’t heard you use that language in a long time.” I kissed her cheek, a small laugh escaping.

  “Sorry. I’m just stressed. Dinner!” she yelled over my head and toward the four men, who were now sitting in the living room along with the other two females in my life, ones I adored like they were my sisters.

  I flinched, covering my ears as she yelled. Years of raising five children had given her the lung capacity to not need a megaphone to be heard over the loud, obnoxious cackles of their voices.

  “Jesus, Ma. Warn a girl before you yell in her ear. Will ya?”

  She chuckled and grabbed the giant bowl of pasta from the counter. “I want to hear all about your weekend. Was it exciting?” she asked as I followed her to the dining room.

  Everyone was already seated. They must’ve run when they’d heard her voice. No one kept her waiting—at least not if they liked their life too much. She wasn’t to be fucked with.

  “It wasn’t what I’d expected.” I sighed.

  I sat down in my usual chair next to Joey, who sat at the head opposite my father. My mother always took the seat to his right; often, I’d catch them holding hands while they ate. Suzy sat next to Joey in the same manner my parents sat. Mia and Michael were across the table next to my mother, and Anthony sat on the other side of me. We all had our places, but there was always a void at the table—Thomas’s spot.

  All eyes were on me. I felt them. They were waiting to hear why I’d returned early. The only ones not paying attention were my parents. My ma was speaking with my father and dishing him out a heaping helping of pasta.

  “So, dear, tell us about your trip,” Pop said after Ma filled his plate.

  Smiling, I began to speak. “Well, it was a train wreck of sorts.” I looked down at the table, grabbing my napkin and placing it across my lap. I rested my elbows on the table and caught Joey’s watchful eye. “Don’t say it,” I warned him, holding up my hand.

  “Are you okay?” Ma asked, continuing to work her way around the table.

  “I’m fine, Ma. I wasn’t hurt.”

  “What the hell did Flash do?” Michael asked, cracking his knuckles as he glared at me. I knew that suspicious look; he’d used it on me many times as a child when pulling information out of me.

  “He didn’t do a thing. That’s the problem.” I laughed, preferring to freak everyone out for a moment.

  “Izzy,” Pop warned.

  “Not like that, Pop. I saw James,” I croaked out for some unknown reason, hoping to take the heat off Flash.

  “Oh my God,” Suzy screeched, with a giant smile.

  “Who the hell is James?” Anthony asked, looking at me with knitted brows.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Suzy, in her excitement, answered for me. “He’s Thomas’s friend. He brought the card from Thomas to the wedding. Izzy met him there.”

  I nodded to Suzy, not worried about anything else she’d say about James. No one, not even Suzy, knew that I’d slept with James the night of the wedding. That information I hadn’t shared with a soul. I knew when to keep a secret, and that was one I’d hold close to the vest.

  “Isabella, did he have anything to say about your brother?” Ma asked, and I couldn’t hold out any longer.

  “Well, that’s the thing.” I swallowed, readying myself for the barrage of questions and some pissed-off brothers. “Flash took me to a biker bar and we ran into his club.”

  “I told you to stay the fuck away from that MC,” Joey interrupted.

  “Language, son,” Pop said, and then returned his eyes to me. “Go on.”

  I shifted in my seat, worried that the dinner would turn into a free-for-all, but I knew the information about James would both be a relief and a worry. “When I got there, one of the men at the table wouldn’t look at me. He was acting funny.” No one was eating, and everyone was staring at me. “When he finally made eye contact with me, I knew it was Tommy,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

  A collective gasp sounded around the table as my words seeped in.

  “Is he okay?” Ma asked, dabbing at her eyes.

  “Yeah, he’s good, Ma.” It wasn’t an outright lie. He was okay, relatively speaking.

  “Did you get to talk to him?” Pop asked, resting his fork next to his dinner plate.

  “I did. We spent an hour alone together.” I nodded and smiled. The last thing I wanted to do was add more worry to their lives. “He promised me he’d be home soon and he asked me to send his love. He misses us all.”

  “How did he look?” Joey inquired, leaning forward with his hands clasped over his plate.

  “He looked tired, but otherwise good,” I answered.

  “How exactly did you get time alone with him?” Anthony as
ked, the perpetual scowl on his face intensified.

  “That’s not important,” I snapped, glaring back at him and biting my lip.

  “Like hell it isn’t. Spill it, sister,” Joey growled with snarled lips.

  “Jesus,” I muttered. “He kinda called dibs on me for the night.” I smiled, pretending like it was no big deal.

  “I’ll kill Flash!” Joey yelled, slamming the bottom of his fist on the table.

  “Fuck,” Anthony groaned.

  “Dead man walking,” Mike growled.

  “Calm the shit down!” I yelled over their ramblings.

  “What’s that mean?” Ma asked, confusion written all over her face.

  Pop shook his head, patting my mother’s hand. “I’ll explain it later, love,” he said to her.

  “No matter how it happened, I was able to spend time with Tommy,” I said, looking around the table. “I wouldn’t trade my time with him for anything—not even the nonsense I had to go through to be with him.”

  “Tell me more about what he said,” Ma said, ignoring the others at the table.

  I spent the entire dinner talking about Tommy and answering questions. Knowing that he was alive and breathing was something we didn’t know on a day-to-day basis. Not being able to hear his voice over the phone or get a text message were the hardest parts to deal with.

  He’d been missing from Sunday dinner for so long that it had become the norm. His seat was never filled; it sat open, waiting for his return.

  I ate my last forkful of pasta, placing my napkin on my plate, and sighed. I felt relieved to get the information off my chest and be done with the questioning by my family.

  “Thanks for the great dinner, Ma.”

  She patted my shoulder as she walked by me on the way to the kitchen. “Thank you, Isabella.”

  I smiled at her, nodding. As she left the room I looked over at my brothers, who were still wearing scowls. They were like little girls who couldn’t let shit go easily.

  “We’re not done here,” Joey barked, standing from his seat and carrying his plate in the kitchen.

  “Oh boy,” I whispered, breaking out into a fit of giggles.

  Pop winked at me. He always knew when shit was going down. He had my back. That I knew. He’d make sure the boys didn’t get too crazy.

  As I stood, plate in hand, Suzy stood too, following behind me.

  “James, huh?” she teased, elbowing me as we entered the kitchen.

  “Yeah.” I rolled my eyes, placing my plate on the counter next to Ma. “Want help?” I asked her as she rinsed the pans.

  “Nah, baby. Go sit with everyone. You’ve had a long weekend. I’ll be fine.”

  I sighed, turning and running into Suzy. She smiled and winked at me. She wanted to know only about James, and it made me uncomfortable. I walked by her and made my way toward the family room and my usual spot on the floor.

  “Did you talk to him?” she asked before my ass hit the carpet. She settled down next to me instead of next to Joey.

  “Who?” I asked, playing stupid.

  “James,” she groaned. “Come on. I know there’s more there than you’re saying.” She grinned, tilting her head and studying me.

  “We spent some time together.”

  “Ooooh,” she whispered, positioning herself next to me as she sat Indian style.

  Suzy was now five months pregnant, and showing. I couldn’t imagine having a lump sticking out of the front of me. I always lay on my stomach and would be uncomfortable during the entire pregnancy. I winced thinking about childbirth and babies. I loved them, but fuck. I was nowhere near ready to become a mom.

  “Don’t you have a man to sit next to?” I hinted, motioning toward Joey.

  “Nah. He’s okay for now. They’re talking sports.” She rolled her eyes and put her finger in her open mouth and stuck out her tongue, making a gagging sound.

  “What else is new?” I turned toward the television, hoping she’d drop the topic.

  “I know there’s more to you and James than you’re saying, Izzy.” She nudged me with her side, almost knocking me over.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head and looking into her eyes. “There’s nothing between us.”

  She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I saw you two sneak out of the wedding reception.”

  I looked at her, my mouth gaping open, shocked by her words. “You never said anything to me before.”

  “I forgot with the honeymoon and then the baby.” She rubbed her belly in a circular motion as she spoke. “You mentioned his name and it all came back to me.”

  “Lucky me,” I whispered, resting my head in my hands.

  “Did you sleep with him?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “No. Wait. When?”

  “I knew it!” she roared, breaking into a fit of laughter. “Tell me all about it.” She fluttered her eyelashes, moving closer to my face. “I won’t tell a soul.” She crossed her fingers.

  “He got me out of Daytona, but no, I didn’t sleep with him this weekend.”

  “Tell me you did on my wedding night. I want all the juicy details.”

  “It was such a huge mistake,” I whispered.

  “Why?” she asked, her eyebrows shooting up and her smile vanishing.

  “I knew it the moment I woke up in his hotel room. I got my shit and got the hell out of there.”

  “Oh, no. You hit it and quit it?”

  “Where in the hell did you hear that phrase?” I asked as I started to laugh.

  “I’ve been hanging around you for too long.” She laughed, biting her lip.

  Talking to Suzy always made me feel better. I knew what I told her never made its way to Joey. He never questioned me on anything I confided in her, and I knew without a doubt he’d ask if it had. My brother couldn’t keep a secret. No one in my damn family could, except my girls.

  “What are you two talking about?” Mia asked as she stretched out on the other side of me.

  I was now in the middle of a Mia and Suzy sandwich, and I couldn’t be happier. These were my girls. The sisters I hadn’t had growing up, but I was thankful for them now.

  “James,” Suzy blurted, drawing her lips into her mouth.

  “Me likey,” Mia said, and laughed.

  “How do you know him?” I asked, turning to her, confused.

  “Suzy told me about him at the reception. We watched you slink out with him and not return.” She cocked her eyebrow and stared at me.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. “Did anyone else see?”

  Mia shook her head, pursing her lips. “I don’t think so, and if they did, no one has said anything.”

  I looked toward the ceiling and sighed. “Thank Christ for small miracles.”

  “Is he the one?” Mia asked, a giant smile on her face.

  “What? I’ve seen him twice in my entire life. That’s quite a leap, Mia.”

  “I knew about Michael after only a couple of dates.”

  “When the hell are you two going to get married, then?” I asked. “If you’re so sure, why wait?”

  She shrugged and picked at her nail. “I’m waiting for him to pop the question.”

  “Fuck that old-school thinking. Ask him to marry you,” I insisted, shaking my head.

  “No way in hell would I do that. Michael’s too old school and he’d have a coronary.”

  “Have you two talked about marriage?” Suzy asked.

  “Yeah. Neither of us is ready to take that plunge.”

  “He’ll ask when the time is right. It took Joey’s accident before he popped the question,” Suzy said.

  “I’m not worried, ladies. I love Michael and we’re in a really good place. The clinic is doing so well right now, and living together is enough for me.”

  “Makes shit less complicated,” I said, cracking my knuckles.

  “When you’re in love, everything is complicated,” Suzy said, smiling and rubbing her belly. “Joey has made my
life complicated since the moment I met him.”

  “You didn’t fall in love with him right away.” I remembered how he’d had to chase Suzy and make her admit her feelings.

  “I don’t remember not loving him. Sometimes you can only lie to yourself for so long.”

  “I don’t believe in love at first sight,” I lied, but didn’t even convince myself with that statement.

  “Girl, sometimes there’s a spark you can’t ignore.” Suzy rubbed my shoulder. She was always so touchy-feely.

  I hung my head, as the girls seemed too ecstatic about my time with James. “Ladies”—I cleared my throat—“I don’t do relationships, and certainly not with a man like James. I fucked him once and that’s it.”

  “What do you mean a man like James?” Mia asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Mia, you keep wiggling those things up and down and you’re going to get a cramp.” I laughed, slapping the floor.

  She scowled. “Shut the fuck up and spill it, woman. Your deflection doesn’t work on me.”

  “Fine. You two are nosy bitches.”

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Suzy giggled.

  “You both know how Mike and Joey are, right?” I whispered.

  They looked at each other with dopy smiles, and nodded.

  “I don’t like how they are, and James makes them seem like kittens compared to him.”

  Mia’s mouth opened into an O shape, and Suzy’s smiled grew wider. Half of my sisterhood understood my dilemma.

  “What’s wrong with how your brothers are?” Suzy asked, looking over her shoulder at Joey.

  “Um, hello. Bachelorette party ring a bell?” I asked, shaking my head. “They’re bossy, demanding, and cocky as hell.”

  “Yeah,” Suzy whispered, turning back to me with that lovesick-puppy look. “I’ve grown to love it.”

  “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Suzy, but that man has seriously scrambled your brains.” I rested my face in my hands, hiding my eyes and wondering what happened to my girls.

  “I get it,” Mia said, touching my shoulder. “I get it more than anyone here. Mike made me crazy at first. I had been on my own too long to put up with his bossy bullshit, Izzy.”