Scenic Route

by D. D. Prince

  Andie was staring with her mouth open. “Brady that Jojo says is like her fourth big brother?”

  “Yep,” Jenna confirmed and nudged Andie with her elbow. “He’s single and movin’ to town so…” Jenna let that hang.

  My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of the sockets at the male perfection that was messing up Jojo’s hair teasingly. Jojo was gorgeous and he was looking at her like she was his little sister.

  “Who are these beauties?” Brady asked, eyes on me and Andie, folding his arms across his chest.

  “Andie and Pippa,” Jojo said.

  “Oh,” Brady’s eyes sparkled. “Which one is Pippa?” I waved a little.

  He gave me a big smile. “Hiya Pippa. Andie. Pippa, I’m probably gonna be shadowing you some next week.”

  “Oh. Cool,” I giggled, feeling my face go red.

  “I might hate you a wee bit,” Andie whispered from beside me, under her breath.

  “Maybe you can have the next drama, and he’ll be your bodyguard next,” I offered in a whisper behind my hand. “Perfect love story.”

  Spencer was suddenly in our midst, putting his arm around my stomach from behind. He leaned toward Andie’s ear, “No drama for anyone for a while when all this shit is over. You wanna board the Brady train, Andie, all you gotta do is bat your eyelashes and give Bray a gluten free sugarless cupcake laced with protein powder.”

  “That’s sacrilege,” Andie muttered, eyes still on Brady, who was turned the opposite way, talking to Delia. “A real man needs real food.”

  Andie was short, curvy, with lots of dark curly hair and green eyes. She was three quarters Italian and from a huge family of bakers. No way would she bake cupcakes without flour or sugar.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you smell good, Spencer?” Andie added.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my friend Andie?” I asked.

  She giggled. “When in Rome…”

  “Thanks, babe. And yeah, in fact. Pippa tells me.”

  I twisted to see his face better. “When have I said that?”

  “In your sleep,” he told me. “You snuggled in and told me. More than once.”

  Did I talk in my sleep? My face went red.

  Andie giggled and sang out, “I hear the secrets that you keep… when you’re talkin’ in your sleep.”

  Andie may have been quiet and shy, but not when it came to food. She was very opinionated about the right and wrong way to cook and eat. She took my yoga classes and regularly ran so that she could keep eating copious amounts of flour and sugar. She always joked about the size of her butt, but she was voluptuous and exotic-looking and had no idea how sultry she was or how often she turned mens’ heads, because she was so darn shy.

  She wasn’t acting shy right now, though!

  MC president, Rudy, nearby, talked into a megaphone. “Okay, brothers, family members, friends…welcome to another annual Sioux Falls Dominion Brotherhood Good Friday fish fry. Food’s ready. Come on up, take your fill, and watch for the hat comin’ round later for donations to pay for all the grub. Anything we raise above what it cost to buy all this food will go to the new charity established in Aberdeen, Biker Big Bros, a project started to honor the memory of our late brother Luke “Lick” Hanson. Lick wanted to be a Big Brother, but they shied away due to his record. He would’ve been all over helpin’ with this charity. So, dig deep into those pockets for good eats and a good cause. I’m just gonna say grace and then we can dig into some great grub.”

  He bowed his head. Nearly everyone in the place also bowed their heads, either out of respect for Rudy, or respect for the holiday.

  I wasn’t super-religious, but I did believe in a higher power. I also wholeheartedly believed in charity, so after the grace was done with a loud round of amens, I touched Spencer’s arm.

  He looked at me and grabbed my hand. “Ready to line up for some food?”

  “Can we zip back to the room? I want to get some cash out.”

  “I’ve got the donation, Sunshine.”

  “I’d like to donate, too.”

  He smiled and kissed my nose. “Okay, baby. We’ll go in after we eat.”

  We moved toward a lineup.

  “Okay. It’s really cool… you guys doin’ that. Jenna said you’re gonna teach skateboarding?”

  He smiled. “Yeah.”

  “That’s cool. Are you good?”

  He gave me a sly grin. “Am I good? What do you think?”

  “I saw some pretty beaten up boards on your wall. Either you’re good or you’re really bad judging by the scuffs. I think I’d have to see you skate before I could say one way or the other.”

  “You a skate critic?” he teased.

  I shook my head. “Nnnoooo, but I was a bit of a skater girl. Nothing too fancy, but I hung around skate parks in my teens. Mostly went for the boys.”

  “You had a thing for skater boys?”

  “Yup and I can probably still do a nollie and a shuvit.”

  “Hm.”

  “Were you a skater boy, Spence?” I batted my eyelashes flirtily.

  “Been a biker all my life, born to ride. Though it was BMX, then dirt bikes, before my first Harley. I rode my first Harley when I was twelve and was hooked. But been skating since I was about five.”

  “Driving motorcycles when you were twelve? Not just on the back of your Dad’s?” We moved up in the lineup.

  “No. Never been on the back of a bike. That’s for bitches.”

  I raised a brow, critically.

  “I say that with all affection,” he joked. “Naw. First time on a hog was drivin’ it. I took it for a spin. Thought she was gonna kill me.”

  “She?”

  “My ma. Chased me down in her car. I’d taken off when she went off on me, bein’ psycho. So, she chased me, but I rode straight to this compound. She came in, screamin’ her head off at me while Rudy and George sat me down and talked it out. Dad was outta town. She was so fuckin’ mad, she tried to backhand me, and George got between us. I spent the night here that night. They wouldn’t let her take me home. She was fumin’.”

  “But, you shoulda got in trouble. Twelve and riding a motorcycle?” I shook my head, giving him a disapproving look.

  “I took off on the bike to escape her. She was in a rage. Slappin’ me around for somethin’ stupid. I was the only one home at the time for her to take it out on. Yeah, I shoulda taken off on my BMX, my board, or on foot, but I just… I was done. Couldn’t wait to get my first bike. Just lost it, grabbed Dad’s keys, and rode. Always heard Dad, his brothers, all talk about how a ride cleared their head. I was so fuckin’ angry, thought it’d help.”

  “Dangerous though.”

  He shrugged. “Been on dirt bikes two years at that point and Dad let us drive his truck on the backroads near the cabin plus put us in the demolition derby every year, so we all knew how to handle vehicles. Like we were trained as stunt drivers from a young age. Know my way around engines for sure. Rite of passage in my house. If you didn’t do your first engine rebuild before you were sixteen, you’d be shamed. Not one of us, Joelle included, didn’t go for our license the day we were old enough. Every one of us passed first time. Like we were all born to ride.”

  “Yeah, but you guys probably don’t let Jojo ride…”

  “No, she got her license, too. Drives a purple Harley. We all chipped in for her birthday.”

  My mouth dropped. “She drives a Harley?”

  “Yep. She can rebuild an engine, too. All of us can. Did my first engine rebuild when I was thirteen. A year earlier than D who did it at fourteen, two years earlier than Ride who did at fifteen. Joelle, eighteen. She was a little less inclined, but we shamed her into it.”

  I laughed. “But, you don’t work as a mechanic like your brothers?”

  “Nope. I could. Don’t enjoy doin’ it for other people. I’ll build something for me, but usually prefer to design it. Let other people spin a wrench.”

  “Your drawings
are awesome.”

  “Thanks. I’ve got a licensing deal for skateboard skin designs. I just signed. Stand to make some decent coin.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Congrats. Busy guy.”

  “Between skateboard skins, custom bikes, my MC cut, my share of the businesses with Dad and my brothers, plus my paycheck, if I play it smart and bank a lot, I’ll be able to retire at forty if I wanna.”

  “Will you wanna?”

  “Not likely. Love what I do.”

  “That’s awesome.” I smiled.

  “You love what you do?” he asked as we continued to move up the line, getting closer to the food, which smelled great.

  I nodded. “I do. I love making someone feel great about themselves. I do it with the cosmetic stuff and with the yoga and Pilates. It’s like I can make people feel awesome on the outside as well as inside. It rocks.”

  His smile went wide. “It does.”

  I was at the front of the line for food.

  The girl in the purple tank top was in part of the group behind the tables, serving food to people. She looked at me with distaste when she gave me my salad. Spencer was smiling at me.

  He caught me looking at her and his smile turned to assessing.

  “Thanks,” I said and moved along.

  Spencer waved his hand “no” at her salad offer.

  She pouted and winked at him.

  I felt my ears grow hot as I moved along.

  “Don’t give her another thought, Sunshine.”

  I glanced at him and shrugged.

  “Don’t know why she was pullin’ that shit earlier. She won’t be welcome around here if she pulls anything else. You see me talkin’ to her after we eat, you’ll know that’s why I am. You got nothing to feel threatened about.”

  “Who says I feel threatened? Just because you used to have sex with her.” I straightened up.

  He rolled his eyes. “Not sure who’s tellin’ tales, but baby, shit with the club bunnies? Meant nothin’. Just sayin’.” He gave a nod to the biker with the giant pieces of breaded fish between tongs.

  “You don’t owe me an explanation,” I shrugged, but knew my face was beet red.

  ***

  Dinner was done, and girls were on clean-up duty while the men sat around smoking, drinking, shooting the breeze.

  “What’s with this nonsense?” Jenna muttered. “All these men sit around rubbing their bellies while we bust our rumps?”

  “It’s like this in my house,” I muttered.

  “And mine,” Andie put in.

  “Yep,” Jojo agreed. “At the clubhouse, always. But, actually, not so much in my house. Our mom wasn’t very domestic. I always liked cooking and cleaning for all the boys once I was big enough to do it, but we all pitched in. All of you girls can be grateful for my ma’s poor domestic skills when you notice how your men do laundry and cook and clean.”

  “Deacon cooks and cleans,” Ella said. “But he’s terrible about laundry. If I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done and he gets all confused.” She dropped her voice deep. “Kitten, how come I got no jeans? Well, Tiger… guess you’ll have to walk around in your boxers. What a shame.”

  We all laughed.

  “Rider cooks,” Jenna put in. “But he makes a royal mess. And I don’t think he has a clue how to use a washing machine.”

  “He does,” Jojo said. “They all know how to do all of it. If they act like they don’t, they’re manipulating you. Dad put a rotating chore chart on the fridge growing up. Only name not on that chart was Shelly.”

  Jenna shrugged. “I don’t mind doing his laundry, though. He seems to appreciate it.”

  “They will. All my brothers appreciate a woman who takes care of her man. Seeing that their dad didn’t get that from his woman.”

  Andie and I were gathering up more condiments onto trays while Ella and Jenna wiped down tables. We all went quiet at the mention of their mother. I had only heard a few stories, but knew it was sore subject.

  “This is pretty organized, though,” I remarked. “Feels like a family dinner, only way bigger.”

  “It is a family. As shit as my mother was, I learned all about regular families because of The Brotherhood,” Jojo said. And then her face dropped as she saw someone bring out a giant white cake.

  Jojo’s eyes filled up with tears.

  “You okay?” Jenna put her hand on Jojo’s arm.

  “Carrot cake. Trudy makes her carrot cake every year for this. Like, huge ones. And it was Luke’s favorite.”

  She pulled her lips tight. “When am I not gonna feel this anymore?”

  Ella put her arms around Jojo and hugged her.

  Deacon was suddenly there, stepping in. Rider was behind him with a questioning look aimed at Jenna.

  “Carrot cake,” Jenna said.

  Rider’s eyes went hard. Or sad. I wasn’t sure. Jenna had told me Rider and Luke Hanson, who’d been killed on his motorcycle last Fall, were best friends. This was the first annual fish fry for all of these guys without Luke.

  “We’ll drink a toast to him tonight, Joelle,” Rider said, squeezing her shoulder. She turned from Deacon’s arms into Rider’s. He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead.

  Spencer was nearby, too, but not approaching. He looked angry.

  I stepped over to him. “Hi.”

  He looked at me and flexed his jaw and then reached for me. I moved even closer to him and he put his arms around me.

  “Were you close with Luke?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Spencer said into my hair. “Fuckin’ shithead.”

  I looked up into his eyes. He looked so angry. I suspected that’s how he was expressing his pain. Anger.

  I squeezed my arms tight around him and put my head against his chest.

  He kissed the top of my head.

  I shivered. It was getting chilly.

  “Let’s go to the room, get you a sweater,” he said, rubbing my arms. “By the time we’re back, they’ll have the fire pits goin’, kids’ll all be sent to sitters, and the party will amp up.”

  ***

  I’d had no intention of wearing that Dominion Brotherhood hoodie before that girl, Alison, had decided to try to screw with me. Now, I was all about wearing it. I half-wished it said Property of Spencer on it.

  I tied my hair up in a ponytail, brushed my teeth and swished some mouthwash, reapplied lip gloss, and took my blouse off and headed back into the room and stuffed the eighty bucks I had in my wallet into my jeans, so I could put it into the hat when it came around.

  From his spot, lying on the bed looking at his phone, he eyed me in just my yellow bra and jeans speculatively as I reached for the hoodie on the dresser. I kicked off my leather boots, with plans to wear my comfy shoes.

  “Come here,” he ordered, his voice husky.

  “Nope. Anticipation.” I tore into the plastic with my nails and pulled the soft black hoodie out. I pulled it over my head. Before I got my head out, hands were cupping my boobs.

  “Hey,” I admonished, slapping at his hands.

  “You can’t show me your bra, Sunshine, without expecting me to react.”

  He wound his arms around me and kissed my nose while I got my arms into the shirt holes.

  He pulled the hood down off my head. I reached up to tighten my ponytail and got up on my toes and kissed his lips. “Let’s go. I want a screwdriver.”

  “Say again, you say you wanna screw?”

  “Screw-driver. Orange juice enriched with vitamin V.”

  “Damn. Okay, well dessert first? The women put on a huge dessert buffet.”

  “Nope. I’ve indulged far too much today already. I’m saving the rest of my calories for beverages.”

  “You’re gonna be burnin’ all kinds-a calories later, baby. Not to worry.” He pulled me against him and rubbed my ass with both hands.

  I smiled. “Then I look forward to a calorie deficit for today, which is gonna be a tall order, since I ate a whole whack of breaded fish and French
fries.”

  “Yeah. My fries,” he grumbled.

  I opened my mouth to defend myself. He spoke first.

  “You asked for a salad with your fish and then proceeded to eat all my fries.”

  “I didn’t eat all of them.” I rolled my eyes.

  He chuckled. “All but four.”

  “You ate more than four,” I rolled my eyes some more.

  “Okay, five, maybe six. But s’alright. All my fries for you, baby.”

  I pulled my shoulders up and dropped them slow with a sigh. “That’s the most romantic thing you could say to me.”

  “Back out there for more anticipation. Shall we?”

  ***

  “You havin’ a good time?” Jenna called out, sitting two seats to the right of me, in her Property of Rider hoodie, trying hard to be louder than the loud music. Ella was beside her, in a big Betty Boop sweater, leaned forward to look at me with a smirk, like she had a secret.

  I nodded and raised my red plastic cup in a cheers gesture. It was dark and us girls were gathered around one of three fire pits with that girl Tracy, who had moved in and started hanging with us as well as Leah. The vast majority of the men from the Aberdeen charter were in a meeting, elsewhere, but Spencer had told me they wouldn’t be long.

  “Okay, well, we’re about to make it even better,” Ella announced, “Time for the Dominion Sisterhood trifecta. The holy trinity. The divinely perfect combination of shooters. Jell-O, Orgasm, and pudding. Jenna, gimme a hand?” Ella and Jenna disappeared back inside.

  I stayed seated in the circle, the firepot in the middle. Jojo was on my left, Andie on her left.

  “What’s this?” Andie asked me.

  “Elle said they did it as an initiation when she came here the first time. Leah and Jet, the girl that was killed, did it with her.”

  Two prospects, one of them the mouthy prospect Sax, brought a table over and set it up beside us.

  A few minutes later, Ella and Jenna each came out with big trays covered in little shooter cups. Delia was behind them with a big smile on her face as well and another tray of shooters in her arms.

  “So!” Ella said and waved Leah over. Leah got up with her.

  “First, let’s raise a glass to Jet, who isn’t here but who initiated me last Fall when I joined this awesome family by getting me very, very plastered on these.