by M. N. Forgy
Bobby and the girl walk our way, his blue eyes piercing me as he approaches. As my body temperature rises, I think of all the things that could go wrong in the next thirty seconds.
“Jessica, what are you doing here?” Bobby’s tone unsettles me as he looks between Shane and me.
“Shane, this is Bobby. Bobby, this is Shane,” I introduce, gesturing my hand between both men, and ignoring his question.
“Shane,” Shane greets, holding his hand out. Bobby eyes it, before finally clasping it in a handshake.
“Bobby,” he responds gravely.
“Hi, I’m Diamond,” the dark-skinned girl adds, stepping up to shake my hand. I reach out and shake her hand. She is beautiful, stunning actually. I notice body glitter glisten off her chest from the light above our table, and her perfume wafts toward me as she shakes my hand. She eyes me with disgust, as if I just crawled out from under the table. I give her a death glare right back. Wouldn’t be the first time one of Bobby’s tarts gave me that look. When I do attend a club party, girls could throw knives from their eyes the way they look at me.
A waiter comes up and scoots a table right next to mine and Shane’s, catching our attention. Apparently, the hostess thinks we are all here together. Shit!
“Um,” Shane interjects, trying to look around Bobby to correct the hostess for the error.
“Ooh, a double date,” Diamond claps eagerly and sits right next to me.
“Date, huh? Is this a date, Jessica?” Bobby asks, sitting across from me, his eyebrows raised mischievously. I’d tell him yes, and to shove it up his ass if I didn’t fear for Shane’s life. There is no way Shane would survive a fight against Bobby
“Actually it is. She took me to a coffee shop when I let her pick our first date. So I got to pick this time, for a real date,” Shane explains, taking a sip of his beer.
I smile a tightlipped smile, my stomach suddenly not hungry.
“Is that right?” Bobby muses. “Funny, Jessica has never mentioned you,” Bobby lies, his eyebrows inward as he looks at me. I take a deep breath, and prepare myself for a pissing contest.
“Yeah, she is kind of a private person,” Shane continues, smiling brightly at me, talking as if we are close.
“She’s not very private with me. In fact, she was rather open to me last night,” Bobby continues, his tone earnest, making my cheeks flush with warmth from embarrassment. My hands grab a menu, seeking some kind of distraction.
“What’s good here?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“Good. I am glad she has someone she can open up with,” Shane mentions, completely oblivious to what Bobby is indicating.
“Oh, man, I am the most open person I know,” Diamond adds, smiling cheerily at Bobby. Bobby doesn’t even look at her, making Diamond sit back in her chair with a look of displeasure on her face.
I swallow the lump in my throat and set the menu down, my aversion not working. This is too much. I’m not sure if I want to laugh, or bolt for the door. I take a deep breath trying to gain some self-control.
“Bobby is not much to open up to,” I respond, trailing my eyes downward to Bobby’s crotch, implying he has a small dick even though I know it's not true, but playing Bobby’s game against him is something I can’t resist. “But he gets an A for effort,” I continue, eyeing Bobby wolfishly. Bobby smirks, knowing the game I’m playing. The look of the cat that is about to eat the canary playing across his face.
“Funny, I didn’t hear you complaining last night,” Bobby smarts, making my smile fade quickly. The table goes quiet, Diamond and Shane finally noticing the actual conversation.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I inform, my body sweating nervously from Bobby’s confession. I scoot my chair back, and head toward the restrooms quickly. Maybe there is a window in there and I can just shimmy out and run like the wind. I snort at the image of me trying to fit my ass through a window in a restaurant bathroom, trying to escape a bad date.
As soon as my hand hits the bathroom handle, I’m pulled back, turned around, and my back is slammed against the door. My eyes land on two angry blue irises, belonging to Bobby.
“An A for effort?” he asks, a grin crossing his face. He grabs both of my wrists, plows them above my head, and spreads my legs open with his knee. “How about I show you how hard I strive for excellence,” he grits, grinding his knee right into my clit. My body flames with desire and my head falls back against the door. We’re in public. This thought thrills as much as it horrifies me.
Bobby slides his nose up the side of my neck, leaving a blazing trail of need behind. This is so wrong. It’s not right doing this right here, but it feels so amazingly good.
“Go ahead and deny that our bodies are undeniably made for each other,” he whispers into my ear, tugging my earlobe with his sharp teeth. My body arches into his on impulse, and I bite my bottom lip trying to keep from whimpering.
“I-I…” I stutter, not wanting to do this in a restaurant. “I can’t do this here,” I mutter, out of breath.
“I told you. When you’re mine, you’re mine, and right now, you’re mine,” he mutters against my lips, tugging my bottom lip that was pulled between my teeth with his. He slides his hands down my abdomen and under the waistband of my scrubs. My body trembles with passion, and my breathing becomes labored.
“Why are you here with him?” he whispers into my ear, his hands slipping under my panties.
“Why are you here with her?” I question, my core vibrating with excitement as Bobby’s fingers brush against my clit.
“Just as friends, baby,” he whispers against my ear, his fingers pressing hard against my clit making me moan.
“He’s nothing but a friend,” I whimper.
“You’re mine, remember?” Bobby growls, pushing a finger into my heat, causing my head to fall back against the door, and sigh from Bobby finally giving my body what it craves, him.
“Ahem.”
Bobby and I turn and find a little old lady waiting to get into the bathroom that Bobby and I currently block. She is clutching her purse tightly, her eyes darting anywhere but at us.
Bobby pulls from me hesitantly. His eyes promising me that this isn’t over, his smirk giving off one delicious dimple. Just as he pulls away, his phone rings. He pulls it from his pocket and answers it as he walks away.
“Sorry,” I whisper to the lady, pulling away from the door. I straighten my shirt down, and try to get a hold of myself before walking back out to the table.
Walking back, Shane eyes me awkwardly, his face twisted instead of beaming with cheer like usual. As soon as I sit down, my phone beeps with a notification.
“Shit,” I curse.
“Getting called in?” Shane asks, his tone holding a solemn energy.
“Yeah,” I reply.
“Hey, Diamond, I’m sorry but I have to go, too,” Bobby states, giving her a kiss on the cheek. I stop in my tracks and watch as she lights up. My stomach knots from watching him kiss her. I’m jealous. Bobby looks up at me, his eyes unwavering.
“All right, well I guess the date is over,” Shane interjects, breaking my eye contact from Bobby.
“Yeah, I have to leave, sorry,” I mutter. I stand from my seat and walk out of the restaurant quickly, not wanting to see anymore of Bobby and Diamond.
I start down the sidewalk but am gripped by the arm and stopped short.
“Do you really have to go?” Bobby asks.
“Yeah, I was called in,” I reply, looking over at the buildings.
“Do you really have to go?” I ask, fiddling with my phone.
“No, but I can see you don’t like me with Diamond,” he admits. My eyes dart to his and relief spins my head to the point I feel dizzy.
I shrug, trying to play it off like I don’t care. But the pain in my chest from seeing them together would beg to differ.
“No more dates for either of us while we are doing this? Even if it’s just friend-dates,” he suggests, digging his ha
nds in his pockets.
I lick my bottom lip and nod. I don’t know what is going on with me but I can’t see him with another tart. He leans in and gives my mouth an earth-shattering kiss. I place my hands against his chest as he drinks me in, feeling his heart drumming against his chest in a violent rhythm. Feeling the lines we set for each other fading into something more, I wonder if he’s just as scared as I am.
His soft mouth devouring mine is intoxicating. Possessive lips taking mine under the night’s sky encourage me to sink into him. He grabs the back of my head, and deepens the kiss as if I’m the only one on the sidewalk. At this moment, I couldn’t care less who walks past.
“I’ll see you around, babe.” Bobby kisses my forehead and walks away, leaving me gasping for breath and in a complete haze.
I stride around the corner. The hospital is just a block away so I decide to walk. My mind is in a complete jumble. I don’t know what I am feeling or what I am thinking. I just know that I was jealous over Bobby for the first time ever, and I hate the feeling. It burns and feels like my chest is sinking all at the same time. I have seen girls climb all over Bobby, and him all over them, but not once have I cared as much as I did tonight. I need to try harder at distancing myself, but to do that, I’d need to move across the world.
10
Bobby
I sit at the wooden table in the chapel of the club, waiting for some of the brothers to show up after leaving the restaurant, Shadow called and told me to get my ass to the club fast. Lip got into some shit and we needed to gather quickly.
My fingers tap against the wood grain as I think about seeing Jessica with that doctor guy. It made me angry when he rubbed it in my face about how close he and Jessica were. I considered throwing Jessica on the table and fucking her right in front of him.
“You’re here,” Bull observes, walking in with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His dark hair slicked back, he pulls his leather cut onto his shoulders comfortably.
“Yup,” I reply, still tapping the tabletop. A bunch of the guys come in after Bull, and sit down in their usual spots. I look over and see Lip holding his arm which is patched up with white gauze, his face holding a shadow of pain. Speckles of blood cover his clothes and face, causing me to eye him skeptically. “What happened to you?” I question, staring at the red blood seeping through the gauze.
“Bullet grazed me,” Lip croaks, his voice scratchy.
“Sounds like a fucking mess to me. Why don’t you explain?” Shadow insists, sitting near the head of the table. I turn and look at Shadow, curious at what the hell he is going on about. Shadow looks nervous as he runs his hands back and forth through his black hair. This can’t be good.
“I was headed to Greg’s Pizza and I took the back way. I stopped to light a cigarette and saw an exchange between some SUVs down an alleyway. I stood there for a second to get a better look at what was going on. Some men spotted me, and instantly started shooting at me, so I fired back,” Lip explains, his eyebrows raised as he speaks.
“Why did they just start shooting?” I ask, shrugging. They had to be up to no good to draw their weapons and fire.
“I wondered the same thing at first,” he informs. “I ran around a building to reload my gun when a man was being guided from the building toward a black car. When he went around his side of the car to get in, he spotted me and pulled his weapon, but I was faster. I shot him and ran,” Lip rambles anxiously, shaking his head.
“Why did you run?” Shadow questions gravely. I nod, wondering why in the fuck he would run. We don’t run. We aren’t pussies.
Lip looks up from staring at the wooden table, his eyes holding a sense of grief as he looks at Shadow.
“Because,” he mumbles, “it was Augustus,” Lip continues, his eyes never leaving Shadow.
I stand immediately, my chair falling against the floor from the force. “You fucking shot Augustus?” I holler, my heart thudding against my ribcage. My hands become clammy, and the scar cutting into my abdomen flares with pain, a reminder of how Augustus nearly killed me.
“Yeah, it was either me or him. When he went down, his men ran toward him, and I made a break for it,” he confirms, looking downward. I sense there is more to the story he is not telling me, his eyes avoiding everyone at the table.
“What are you not telling us?” I mutter.
He looks up and sighs. “It may be nothing, but as I was running away, I ran right into Doc,” he explains, shaking his head as if he is sorry. All the breath rushes out of my lungs from the thought of Augustus’s men seeing Lip with Jessica.
“How did that happen?” Bull asks, putting his cigarette out in an ashtray.
“I just ran, man. I was only a few blocks from the hospital, and when I was running, I slammed right into her. She was concerned with my arm, but I yelled for her to let me go, to get the fuck away from me,” Lip nearly shrieks, his tone pleading for me to understand he did what he could to get her to go away.
“Were you followed, did anyone see you two talking?” I ask, placing my fists on the table, and closing my eyes trying to keep calm. Jessica could be in danger if anyone saw them conversing with each other.
“I’m not sure,” Lip replies, his tone solemn. I rub my face, and exhale slowly. My fists clenching and unclenching, wanting to punch Lip in the fucking face for putting Jessica in such a position. I finally feel like Jessica and I are making progress, and this could ruin all that. Proving to her that my lifestyle is too much for her and her daughter.
“If anything happens to her, I will fucking kill you, do you understand?” I seethe, my teeth clenched so hard they may fucking shatter. Lip flinches from my threat, the rest of the guys at the table silent as I stare a brother down with deadly promise.
I’ve made sure the entire time I have known Jessica, that I never put her in danger. Then a brother goes and throws her into the most dangerous situation this club has had to endure. Augustus is a savage and doesn’t care who he tears apart to make a point.
“Bobby, that’s enough. Sit down so we can figure this shit out!” Bull hollers, snapping me from my haze of anger.
“This is not good. As soon as Augustus gets the chance, he is going to ID you and order his men after us,” Old Guy motions from the back, taking my nerves a notch higher.
“Why did he shoot at you?” Bull asks, his tone exasperated as he looks at the wall confused. “I thought we were on good terms.”
“Because he was doing something he didn’t want us knowing about. He saw Lip with his cut and tried to take him out, before he could get back here and tell us.” Shadow’s jaw ticks in anger.
“I bet that is exactly it,” I add. Augustus is the worst person to be in business with. To get his point across to our club last time, he tried to run down every one of our ol’ ladies, killing one in the process. He has everyone in his pocket, making him one of the biggest kingpins on the west side. His reputation wasn’t built on trust, but rather in blood and fear. If anyone saw Lip with Jessica, they could come after her. There is no way she would survive their tactics in getting her to talk, but there is no way I would let that ever happen. Augustus needs to go, and today.
“Shit, I need to call Jessica and warn her,” I grumble, pushing away from the table.
Jessica
I look at my phone in disbelief as the nurses close up the patient on the operating table. Augustus to be exact. I turn to get a better look at him, his long black hair pulled into a blue cap. His face blemished with age and pockmarks from acne across his cheeks. He was just rushed in for a bullet wound to the chest. Working the ER, I worked on him instantly. If I had known who he was, I would have taken my time digging that bullet out.
Bobby just called, concerned I might have been seen with Lip who was running after shooting Augustus. I was rounding the corner after leaving the restaurant and Lip slammed into me, nearly knocking me on my ass. He was holding his arm, blood rushing down his elbow at a fast pace. I was concerned, but he pushed me aw
ay and told me to fuck off. I didn’t know he was in trouble, or that he might have been followed at the time. I just thought he was being a dickhead. I wasn’t seen with him though. When I got to the hospital doors, Augustus was being rushed into the ER at the same time. I helped wheel Augustus in, his men right next to me. If they had seen me, they could have easily grabbed me, thrown me into the back of their car, and tortured me for information on the club.
Trying to control my mind, I close my eyes and inhale deeply. This guy killed a good woman of the Devil’s Dust, nearly killed Bobby, and now might have the opportunity to finally kill Bobby and the rest of the club. I saved a monster, a plague about to wipe everyone I know out. Strings of memories flare in my mind, images of Bobby wheeled into the hospital when Augustus shot him years back. I thought Bobby was dead when he arrived at the ER. The things I said I would do differently if Bobby would just pull through never happened. I made empty promises of being a better person, living more openly, spending more time with Bobby, and accepting the club as family. All were forgotten over the years. But now, it seems my lies are paying their dues, and the ultimate fate of the club and Bobby’s life might resume its deadly timeline.
I just stamped the death certificate of the club, and someone I care about more than I am willing to admit.
Bobby
I eye the fluorescent-lit hall, the smell of antiseptic strong as I take in everything. I left my leather cut at the club, and pulled on a dark blue hoody, the hood concealing my face. I pull the hood down over my face lower, making sure I’m not seen as I sit in a chair directly across from the hall. I see where Augustus’s room is; there are two bulky men standing guard, their heads wrapped up in a green bandanna, indicating they are men of Augustus. All men who work for him wear green. I told the brothers I was coming to the hospital to just check on Jessica, but now I’m here, I can’t walk away from Augustus until I know he’s dead. He is too much of a liability. If he wakes up and tells them who shot him, he could order a hit on the entire club.