Love on the Mat (Powerhouse M.A.)

by Winter Travers

“You’re dating a stripper?” Molly blurted.

  “And Ryker’s aunt.”

  “Would you just shut the hell up, Dante. You’re not making this shit any clearer,” I drawled.

  “Wait, so you were dating a stripper, and Ryker’s aunt?” Kellan asked.

  “Who is Ryker?” Sage questioned at the same time.

  “You know Ryker,” Molly replied. “He’s the kid that is helping out at the studio.”

  “Ah, you’re right, I do know Ryker. For some reason, I thought his name was Ronnie and you just called him Ryker because it was more of a ninja name than Ronnie.”

  Dante leaned around me to look at Sage. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  She shrugged. “I mean, you guys all have ninja names. I just thought if you do karate and don’t have a kick ass name, you make one up. I mean, have you ever met a badass ninja named Bob or Clarence?”

  “Bob, yes. Clarence, no,” Dante replied.

  Molly waved her hand, silencing us. “You were dating two chicks, and you are trying to get the stripper back?”

  “She’s not a stripper, she’s a waitress, and she’s Ryker’s aunt.”

  Sage and Molly both ‘ah’d,’ and Kellan smacked his hand on the steering wheel. “I fucking knew something was going on with Hadley. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  I ran my hand through my hair and shrugged. “She didn’t want anyone to know, and as long as I could be with her, I was fine with it.”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet,” Sage cooed.

  “It was sweet until she kicked him to the curb,” Dante mumbled.

  Kellan laughed under his breath, and Sage patted me on the knee. “You’ll get her back. We’ll help,” Sage promised.

  Good Lord. This was all I needed. Not only was I part of Roman’s plan, but I also had Sage and Molly helping.

  This was going to be interesting.

  **********

  Hadley

  “So, how are they?”

  “They’re really nice.”

  Vanessa set three beers and six shots on my tray. “Did you get the tall one's name?”

  “You sure Rick would like you asking about a bunch of bikers?”

  Vanessa shrugged. “Does it really matter me knowing their names?”

  I looked over my shoulder at the three tables that had been pushed together and the ten people who were gathered around them. “I looked at their cuts. The tall one’s said King. The one with the blue hair is Rigid, then the other three were Demon, Slider, and Gambler.”

  “Oh wee, I would definitely climb King like a tree.” Vanessa leaned on the counter and twirled her hair around her finger. “Those are some lucky bitches.”

  “I’m not too sure they would like you calling them bitches.”

  “Please, those chicks know I don’t mean nothing but damn respect by it, and I’m just damn jealous they get to ride those men, as well as their bikes.” Vanessa winked at me and moved down to the other end of the bar.

  By the time Vanessa and I had gotten to work after my talk with Ryker, Rick was pissed the hell off and ready to fire the both of us. He had gotten word earlier in the day that the owners, the Devil’s Knights, were coming in to see how the club was running. To say he was a little stressed out was an understatement.

  Half an hour into my shift, they had come in and taken three tables in my section. Kay had thrown a shit fit when I wouldn’t switch with her. I wasn’t stupid. The owners of the club were hopefully going to tip big, and I needed money to get my car fixed.

  I grabbed the loaded tray and made my way back to their table. Vanessa was right when she said they were lucky bitches. All five of the men were drop dead gorgeous and looked like they could fuck someone up in a matter of seconds. They were the epitome of hot alpha bikers.

  “Here we go,” I mumbled as I set their drinks down in front of them. “Is there anything else I can get you guys?”

  The woman sitting in the lap of Rigid looked up at me and smiled. “You wouldn’t by chance have pizza, would you?”

  The chick with purple hair piped up. “Oh yeah, I could totally go for a pepperoni pizza. Extra cheese if you got it.”

  “Babe, we ate before we came here. How the hell are you hungry?” King asked. He wrapped his arm around the chick with the purple hair and pulled her close. They looked good together. While he looked like a badass ready to fuck some shit up, his chick looked like she kept him in line, while also raising a little hell herself.

  “That was an hour ago, and it was Chinese food. Everyone knows Chinese food doesn’t fill you up for long. Cyn and I are hungry.”

  “Meg, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with you,” King laid a kiss on Meg that even made my knees weak.

  Rigid, the one with the blue mohawk, motioned to me. “Pizza, and probably one of whatever else you got back there. Once Fayth, Gwen, and Paige get back from the bathroom, they’re gonna want shit to eat too. Pack mentality.”

  Cyn smacked him on the chest and rolled her eyes. “You act like we’re a pack of wolves or something.”

  “More like rabid dogs who thrive on junk food and sarcasm,” he joked.

  “I’ll see what I can round up in the back.” Cyn and Meg both beamed up at me, and I knew in a different time and place, we would totally be friends.

  I checked on my other tables then headed to the small kitchen behind the bar. “You got that oven fired up?” I asked Rick.

  “Yup, when King called earlier he asked if we had any food. I made sure we had some shit.”

  “Well, they’ll take three of everything according to the one with the blue mohawk.”

  Rick laughed and opened the tall stand-up freezer. “I got pizza, soft pretzels, and hot pockets.”

  “Hot Pockets?” When the hell did Hot Pockets become bar food?

  “Yeah, that’s all I could grab at the store before work.”

  “Well, start cooking because I don’t know how long they’ll wait ‘til they come back here and start cooking themselves.”

  Rick gave me a mock salute and started laying everything out on the table. “You still dancing tonight?” he asked as he opened a pizza.

  I twirled my pen between my fingers and leaned against the counter. “Um, I’m not sure.”

  He looked up at me and smiled. “I told V you didn’t have it in you.”

  I didn’t know whether to be offended or glad that Rick didn’t think I had it in me to strip. “It’s not that there is anything wrong with it, I just don’t think I have the balls to walk on stage and take my clothes off while men ogle me and throw dollar bills at me.”

  “Make that twenties, darlin’.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. “And is that supposed to help me figure out what I’m going to do?”

  “No. You’re the only one who knows what you want to do. Now V, she stripped for two years, doesn’t regret a second of it because she knew that stripping was the way out of a bad situation. Now you, I don’t think you have it as hard off as she did. You need your car fixed, and then you’ll be back on track.”

  “I need five hundred dollars, Rick. I’m not exactly going to make that waiting tables.”

  “No, but you know V and I will give it to you, or that guy you’ve been seeing would more than likely help you. He’s not like the jackasses around here. I saw the way he watched you when he thought you weren’t looking. He would cross Hell and high water for you, Hadley. Not many men would do that.”

  “I don’t know about that. I’m sitting at a table full of men who would do anything for their women.” Rick and I both turned around to see Meg standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I thought I needed to point that out. And, I thought I could come give a hand warming up pizza.”

  Rick nodded to the pile of food on the counter. “Come on. These pizzas aren’t going to open themselves.”

  Meg strode to the table and started ripping everything open. She lifted up the box of hot po
ckets and laughed. “You are going to be Cyn and Fayth’s hero. They were talking about how bad they were craving Hot Pockets on the way over.”

  Rick beamed at me. “And you laughed at my Hot Pockets.”

  “They’ll love you, but the guys are so going to give you shit,” Meg laughed.

  “Yo, your tables are getting restless, Hadley.” Vanessa peeked her head into the kitchen and smiled. “If I don’t get to hang out with the cool girls, neither do you.” She snapped her gum and disappeared back to the bar.

  “Boo,” I pouted.

  “Hey,” Rick called. “You let me know what you decide about going on, okay?”

  I nodded and slipped through the swinging doors into the bar. “Can’t I have a little fun?” I asked Vanessa.

  “Only when I’m part of the fun.” She grabbed a towel and wiped down the bar. “Now, I need to tell you something, and I pray to God you don’t freak the fuck out.” Vanessa grabbed my arm and pulled me to the other end of the bar. “There’s a guy here. He says his name is Roman.”

  I scanned the bar for him. “What’s he doing here? Is anyone else with him?” What in the hell was Roman doing here? I hadn’t seen anyone from Powerhouse since Tate and I broke up. Even Ryker hadn’t been to the studio much, because with his broken arm, he couldn’t do a whole lot.

  “He got a drink from me, told me to tell you he was here, and as of right now, he is by himself. How long that will last for, I’m not sure.”

  “What do I do?” I hissed.

  “Go talk to him. He’s in your section sitting behind the Knights.”

  Great, now I had to go talk to Roman with the boss sitting right there. “You think you could have told him to sit somewhere else? You think I need them hearing about my fucked up life?”

  “Then don’t talk so loud.” Vanessa winked at me and pushed me out from behind the bar. “Get your man back, honey.”

  “Roman is not my man.”

  “No, but he’s here for your man. Listen to what he has to say and don’t mess it up a second time.” She grabbed my tray off the bar and thrust it into my arms. “Go,” she ordered.

  I closed my eyes and slowly turned towards Roman. I had never really talked to him except for when he stumbled onto Tate and me making out. Not exactly the best first impression.

  Roman’s gaze was on the stage when I moved to his table. “Hey, V said you were here.”

  His lips quirked up. “I am.”

  I fidgeted with my tray and glanced at the Knights. Thankfully, none of them were paying me any attention. “Did you need something?” He had a drink in front of him, and there wasn’t much else I could get for him.

  “Tate is coming tonight.”

  I gulped and nodded. I kind of figured he was going to be coming, but I was praying I was wrong. “Okay.”

  “That’s all I’m gonna tell ya. I’ve done my part in getting you two together. Now the rest is up to you two to get your heads out of your asses.”

  “Did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words, Roman?”

  He grabbed his glass and held it up to me. “You’re not the first, darlin’, and you won’t be the last.” He shot back the rest of his drink, and I grabbed the empty glass.

  “I’ll get you another one. Holler if you need anything.”

  “See, now was that so hard?” Vanessa asked when I set Roman’s empty glass on the bar.

  “Yes, it was. He wants another of whatever you poured him before.”

  She grabbed the bottle of vodka and squirted in some lemon soda. “So, what did he want?”

  I leaned against the bar and drummed my fingertips. “He’s coming.”

  “I’m going to assume you mean Tate.”

  I rolled my eyes and grabbed the glass from her. “Yes, Tate. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.”

  “Talk to him.”

  “Easier said than done, V. The last time we talked, I was a bitch and crying my eyes out.”

  She patted my hand and smiled. “Then you can make it up to him, and you weren’t a bitch. You were just trying to do what was best for Ry.”

  “Hopefully, Tate will see it that way.” I missed the damn man. I had planned on calling him since Ryker and I had talked. It was never about me dating Tate; it was because I didn’t have the balls to tell him I was dating at all.

  “Well,” Vanessa smirked. “It’s time to find out.” She nodded over my shoulder.

  I slowly turned around and saw Tate and his friends walk through the door. He scanned the crowd, and his gaze fell on me.

  “Shit cakes.”

  **********

  Tate

  “I really need to ask Hadley where she gets her skirts.”

  Roman looked over at Sage. “You’re going to wear a mini skirt?”

  “Is it odd that you know it’s called a mini skirt?” she asked him.

  “I make it a priority to know the things that cover my favorite thing,” he drawled.

  “Women?”

  Roman leaned toward her. “Ass.”

  “How ironic that you’re an ass, and your favorite thing is ass.”

  Dante spit his drink out, and Molly high-fived Sage. “Nice,” she cheered.

  Roman smirked, but didn’t respond. Something was changing with him. He wasn’t his normal smart-ass self. Not saying he had completely changed, because he still had his moments, but it was possible to say that he was actually growing up.

  Molly put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “So, are you going to sit here all night staring at her, or are you actually going to talk to her?”

  Hadley had been to our table twice, both times not making eye contact with me. She hadn’t asked me what I wanted to drink but had brought me a Captain and Coke both times. She may be pissed at me, but she still knew what I drank.

  “I’m waiting,” I replied.

  “What, for grass to grow under your ass?” Dante asked.

  “I’m glad to see you guys spread the assiness around evenly. I’d hate to think you only acted that way to me,” Sage smiled sweetly at Roman and chomped down on her straw. “I’d hate to think you were favoring me.”

  Roman leaned next to Sage’s ear and mumbled. “You’d love for me to favor you, darlin’.”

  Her face heated bright red, and she slugged him in the arm. “You. Are. Such. An. Ass!”

  Roman leaned back and shrugged. “It’s part of my charm.”

  “I need to pee,” Molly announced.

  Kellan laughed and shook his head. “Cookie.”

  “What?” she asked. “I gotta go, and from the looks of it, so does Hadley. I think it’s time Sage and I had a talk with her.” Molly grabbed her purse and dragged Sage out of her seat.

  “Wait? What?” Sage and Molly were halfway across the club before I realized what they were doing. “Do you all think you need to help me get Hadley back? I’m pretty sure I can do this shit myself.”

  Kellan crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that why you’ve been a sad sack of shit the past three weeks, because you’re handling this shit yourself?”

  “I was giving her time,” I insisted.

  “Time to find someone else to take care of her and Ryker?” Roman asked.

  I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table. “You know you fuckers are supposed to be on my side, right?”

  Dante, Kellan, and Roman all shrugged. “We are on your side, you just need to get your head out of your ass.”

  I watched Molly and Sage follow Hadley into the bathroom, and I prayed to God they didn’t fuck this up any more than I already had.

  **********

  Hadley

  “Hi!”

  “Hey!”

  I stepped back into the stall and bumped into the toilet. Well, that was one way to be greeted after going to the bathroom.

  Molly and her friend were standing outside my bathroom stall waiting for me.

  “Uh, hey,” I mumbled.

  “I’m Sage.<
br />
  Molly hitched her thumb at Sage. “She works with me.”

  “Um, cool.” I wasn’t sure what was going on. I didn’t think the bathroom was the greatest place to be introduced to Molly’s friend.

  “How’s Ryker doing?” Molly asked.

  “He’s doing good. Only has eight more days until the cast comes off.” We hadn’t talked the past three weeks, but I noticed him crossing off the days on the calendar ‘til his doctor appointment to get the cast cut off.

  “Awesome. I bet he’s going stir crazy not being able to be a ninja.”

  Sage nodded, agreeing with Molly.

  “Ninja?” I asked.

  “He’s a Ninja Hottie in training. Won’t be long till he’s Badass Ninja.” Molly talked like I knew what the hell she was talking about.

  I held my hands up in the form of a ‘T.’ “Timeout. I think you need to better explain what you are talking about. I figured you would talk about Tate, not Ryker.”

  Molly waved her hand at me. “I was just trying to be polite before we bugged you about him.”

  Sage nodded and leaned against the stall door. “Is his name really Ryker? I figured it was Ronnie and he ninjafied it.”

  I tilted my head and scrunched up my face. “Um, I’m one hundred percent sure. I was there when my sister named him.”

  Sage stomped her foot and moved to the sink. “That ass was right,” she mumbled.

  Molly giggled and pulled me out of the stall. “Sorry to make you stay in there,” she laughed. “We just came to do some recon for Tate.”

  I washed my hands and watched them in the mirror. “Tate asked you guys for help?”

  Sage threw her head back and laughed, while Molly fluffed her hair. “Hardly. I’m pretty sure if he could, he would be pulling us out of here right now. We,” Molly motioned between herself and Sage, “decided to help on our own.”

  “I don’t really know how you can help,” I mumbled.

  Molly leaned on the sink next to me. “Girl, I was in the same spot you were in not even two months ago. I liked Kellan, but then Kellan was an ass, and then I had no idea what to feel, but I still liked him.”