Clutch

by Drew Elyse

  “Oh man, are you making pie?” I asked.

  “Sure am,” Mom answered, not looking up until she brushed the apple she’d broken down into a bowl with the others. When her eyes landed on Cami, they widened in shock. “Oh my gosh, look at me being a horrible host.”

  That was Mom, upset she didn’t greet the guest she had no idea was going to be there. “Mom, this is Cami,” I introduced, wrapping my arm around Cami’s waist in explanation.

  If Mom’s smile could have split her face in half, it would have. She was close to bursting, and I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to put a cap on it.

  Cami reached out a hand and said, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

  Mom looked down at her extended hand, then up to Cami’s face. She thrust her own out, grabbing onto Cami’s with both hands and shaking it vigorously. “It’s wonderful to meet you, dear.”

  Worried Mom was going to do something crazy like burst into tears or start screaming excitedly, I broke in and kept talking. “Cami is Tank’s daughter.”

  Mom broke out of her daze to say, “Oh, Tank. Such a sweetheart. He’s told me a lot about you.”

  “Really?” Cami and I asked at the same time.

  “Of course,” Mom answered.

  “When?” I asked. I knew next to nothing about Cami before we met, how the hell did Mom know anything about her?

  “When you came by and cleaned the gutters that one time. We had a nice chat and he told me all about his beautiful daughter.” She smiled at Cami. “Clearly, he wasn’t exaggerating.”

  “Thank you,” Cami said with a little blush. Fuck, that was cute.

  “Oh, you’re a sweet girl. Come on, you take a seat while I finish this. Joshua, you need the keys for the car?” Mom asked as she ushered Cami over to one of the stools by the kitchen island. Over her shoulder, Cami mouthed my real name with a mocking smile.

  “Yeah. They hanging up by the door?”

  She confirmed they were exactly where I knew they would be and got to work breaking down another apple. As I walked away, I heard Cami say, “Is there anything I can do to help? I’ve always wanted to learn how to bake a pie.”

  “Then get over here! I’ve still got to make the crust while these apples hang out. I’ll show you the ropes.”

  It was like a damn sitcom in my mom’s kitchen, which seemed totally ridiculous. So why was I stopping in the middle of the living room, debating over turning back around to watch them?

  Alright, no. I was not going to hang out for baking hour. I was going to drain and replace the brake fluid in the Eldorado, which wouldn’t make my balls climb back up inside myself.

  When I finished, I returned to the house with grease on my hands. Walking in to the smell of cinnamon and the sound of laughter, I grinned. Like I’d told her, Cami had no reason to be nervous. Mom loved her already, and I knew the feeling was mutual. It was impossible not to love Linda. She made the whole club of asshole bikers fall for her charms. Cami was not immune to it.

  After scrubbing my hands clean, I found the two of them sitting at the breakfast bar. They obviously hadn’t heard my approach because my mom changed gears to a conversation I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to stay hidden and listen in on or break up to save my girl.

  Which one did I do? Well, it wasn’t the helpful one.

  “I hope I don’t make you uncomfortable by bringing it up, but I could have sworn Tank mentioned you were engaged,” Mom said.

  Cami cleared her throat and I watched from around the corner as she stared down at the cup in her hands. “Yes, I was. Until recently, actually.”

  “May I ask what happened?”

  “I left him,” Cami said confidently, not at all ashamed of owning up to that. She shouldn’t have been. She should’ve been fucking proud. “Nathaniel was…pompous, and controlling, and nothing like the man I met in college. I put up with it for a long time. It didn’t feel like it…it didn’t feel like I was worth the fight. I made myself into exactly who he wanted me to be even though I hated that life.”

  “What changed?” Mom inquired.

  That made Cami hesitate. “Honestly?” I couldn’t see my mom from my vantage point, but I imagined she nodded at Cami in that encouraging way of hers. “Your son happened. He came with my dad to visit one day a few months ago. He was the first person who really called me out for living a life I despised. Dad was never a fan of Nathaniel and he didn’t hide that fact, but he never actually confronted me about why I stayed the way Gauge did. Once I was forced to confront that question, I couldn’t go back to ignoring that I was miserable.”

  Did she really give me all the credit? She was the one who walked away. It took brass balls to take off with no plan, no job, and no idea if the jackass who convinced her to do it was even going to be there for her. She took that leap on her own. I’d only led her to the edge.

  “You really care about my son, don’t you, sweetheart?” Mom asked in a slightly strained voice that told me she might cry.

  “I l—” Cami choked back what she’d started to say, “I do.”

  Holy. Mother. Fucking. Shit.

  Had she been about to say…?

  I shook myself out of the stupor I fell into at that thought, catching the conversation that had gone on without me.

  “… when you’re ready,” Mom finished whatever she’d been saying. A beeping sound resonated through the room. “Oh, there’s the pie!”

  That was my cue to rejoin the two of them, trying to act like I hadn’t heard what they said and it hadn’t knocked me on my ass.

  We didn’t leave Mom’s until late that evening. By then, there was no denying Cami had a new fan. The two were already making plans to go out to lunch, which they did not invite me to, and Mom was insisting I come by more often with Cami. I was already there almost weekly, how often did she want us coming by?

  The sun had long since set by the time we pulled up to the clubhouse. The place was lit up from all corners but based on the number of bikes out front, it was just the brothers inside. A handful of cars were parked among them, probably belonging to the girls being of service for the evening. I didn't pay that much mind, since most would probably never return.

  When we got inside, a less-than-amused Ham immediately greeted us.

  “Where have you been?” he asked. “I've been trying to call you.”

  “Told you we were going up to my mom’s,” I reminded him. “What the hell is up with you?”

  Before he could answer, Tank approached, and said, “Cami, why don’t you come with me?”

  “Why, what’s going on?” she asked, picking up on the same uncomfortable vibe I was.

  “It might be best if you give Gauge a few minutes,” Tank tried again, but I was losing my patience.

  “Someone tell me what the fuck is going on,” I demanded.

  Then, I got an answer I was not thrilled to get. It came in the form of a question. “Gauge?”

  I knew that voice. The question was, why was I hearing it?

  I turned to face Stacey and wasted no time getting to the point. “What are you doing here?”

  She shrunk back from the harshness of my voice, but I wasn’t reeling that shit in. She had no business being back here, and I didn’t want her upsetting Cami for no good reason. If my girl asked, I’d be honest and tell her I screwed Stacey. It happened before I even met Cami, and she certainly wasn’t suffering under any delusions I was celibate before her. Still, that didn’t mean she should have to deal with Stacey’s crap.

  “I really need to talk to you,” Stacey said in a small voice. “I’ve tried calling.”

  “And I didn’t answer. That should’ve told you what you need to know.”

  Stacey looked over at Cami, then down to where I held her hand. I saw a new sadness take over, and that was all I needed.

  “Look, I really need—” she started, but I cut in.

  “Stacey, you need to leave. We have nothing to talk about, and if you stick around trying to c
ause problems any longer, I’m going to take you out of here myself,” I snapped.

  “Gauge,” Cami warned from next to me. No. Hell no. Not even Cami was going to convince me to listen to whatever line Stacey was going to drop to get me to take her out. I was perfectly set woman-wise, thank you very fucking much.

  “No, darlin’, I’m not listening to whatever shit she wants to spew. I got drunk before you and I met, I fucked her, she got bent out of shape about it, we had to let her go from the garage. End of.”

  Stacey found a damn fucking fine way to shut me up.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Wait. Did she just say...

  “What?” Gauge breathed.

  “I’m pregnant,” Stacey repeated.

  Not good. So very not good.

  I looked her over. She was on the shorter side, her long, blonde hair pulled into a low ponytail at the side of her neck. She was pretty—really pretty—with flawless skin and bright blue eyes. She was small, but had enough curves to look very feminine. She had on jean capris and a light pink satin top. Sure enough, when I took a closer look at the fabric, I could pick out the slightest of baby bumps forming.

  No, this was not good at all.

  In the silence that lingered after she repeated that little bomb drop, I looked to Gauge. He was shell-shocked, which only solidified my anxiety. Just a moment ago, he had admitted he slept with the woman. Maybe there was a chance the baby she was growing was not his, but it was clear there was at least a distinct possibility it was.

  “Maybe I should go,” I said quietly, definitely wanting that escape my dad had offered.

  “No, please,” Gauge answered on a whisper. “Please stay.”

  Crap. As much as I really didn’t want to do that, I could not walk away when he was pleading with me not to. My serious reservations about dealing with the situation at hand aside, Gauge needed me.

  “Okay,” I assured him, “I’ll stay.”

  “I’ll go clear out the kitchen so you all can talk in there,” Ham spoke from beside him, then he walked off to do that.

  My dad placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be in my room if you need me, baby girl.” He walked off as well, leaving the three of us standing in the world’s most awkward face off while several of the brothers and some scantily clad women sat a few feet away.

  “Come on,” Gauge instructed gruffly. He gave a soft pull to my hand and started to walk to the kitchen without looking back to be sure Stacey was following. Though, she’d been the one to seek him out, not the other way around.

  Ham had successfully emptied the kitchen, leaving the room so still, it seemed oppressing. Gauge led me to the breakfast table and pulled out a chair for me to sit. Stacey hesitated when she made it into the room, but eventually chose to pull out a chair for herself as well. Gauge opted not to sit, leaning against the wall instead. We all sat there for long minutes. I could not remember having ever been in a more tense situation.

  Looking at Gauge, it was clear he had no idea how to handle the revelation. Stacey looked too terrified to speak. Meanwhile, I was trying to talk myself into speaking up and moving the car wreck we were all stuck in forward, but I was held captive by my own issues.

  Gauge might soon be a father. He might be having a child with another woman. How exactly was I going to fit into that equation? A big part of me was wondering if maybe I wasn’t.

  “We used a condom,” Gauge snapped out of nowhere. “I saw the wrapper in the garbage.”

  Stacey seemed beyond uncomfortable, glancing over at me covertly before answering, “We…um…we used one the first time.”

  “What the fuck?” he yelled. “Why the fuck didn’t you make me if we did it more than once?”

  “Why didn’t you do it?” she defended.

  “Because I was drunk off my face! It had to be a little fucking obvious. I don’t even remember that night.”

  Stacey didn’t answer, but there really was no answer to that. Silence took over again.

  “How do you know it’s mine?” Gauge finally asked.

  “I haven’t been with anyone else for a while,” Stacey answered.

  “You realize I can’t just take your word at that,” he said.

  Surprisingly, she nodded a little. “We can look into getting a paternity test if that’s what you need to be sure, but I’m telling you, this is your baby, Gauge.”

  “We need to look into that,” he responded, making it clear where he stood.

  “Okay. Okay, we will.”

  “We can deal with the rest once we find out,” he said.

  “I…” Stacey looked floored.

  “Alright, we done here?” Gauge stood up fully, ready to walk away.

  “Gauge,” I scolded.

  “What?” he asked, like he really didn’t understand.

  “You need to finish talking about this,” I insisted.

  He ripped a chair away from the table and collapsed in to it. “Fine, what else?”

  “I haven’t…” Stacey cleared her throat a few times, “I haven’t found another job yet.”

  “Okay?” Gauge said, like it was a question.

  Stacey looked at him with palpable shame, and I decided to spare the poor girl. “There are a lot of expenses when you’re pregnant. Doctor appointments, prenatal vitamins, even after insurance, there’s a lot to pay for. Then there’s setting up for the baby. None of it is cheap.”

  He looked at me like he was wondering when I had become the advocate for Stacey and the baby. I was curious about that myself. Why I was rallying for the woman possibly growing my boyfriend’s child was a mystery to me.

  This was one enormous hot mess.

  There was a long pause in which I worried Gauge was going to tell her to walk away, that he was not going to help her with the baby costs. “Right, okay. Just tell me what you need,” he finally said. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “Right. Okay. Thanks. I…ugh, I have a doctor’s appointment next Thursday if you want to come. You’ll be able to see the baby,” Stacey offered, then quickly backtracked, “You don’t have to, though.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Gauge was clearly stalling before coming up with his answer, “yeah, I’ll come. Send me the details. I can pick you up, if you need me to.”

  Right, he could drive her. Gauge and the very attractive woman he slept with a few months ago going off and sharing a very emotional moment where they would look at the little life they created, hear the heartbeat, and experience something she…

  Alright, maybe I was sounding a little selfish.

  “Great. That’d be great. I’ll call you then,” Stacey said.

  “That’s it then?” he asked. Stacey nodded in response. “Okay. You can call if you need anything. I’ll walk you out.”

  Without so much as a look my way, Gauge did just that. He walked her out of the kitchen to her car with his arm loosely around her lower back. Well, wasn’t that peachy.

  I stood, unwilling to sit there with my thoughts clearly passing slightly uncomfortable and going straight to catty and passive aggressive. The problem was where I should go. I was staying in Gauge’s room, after all. Going back there sort of seemed to defeat the purpose of getting up and leaving the kitchen in the first place. I could go to my dad, but it was unfair to drag him into the situation. Running to him would undoubtedly involve me driving a wedge between him and Gauge. No, that was off the table.