by Kay Marie
We didn’t have any bonfires in Arizona. We didn’t have the right kind of yard for it. That, and I couldn’t stomach the memories bonfires brought me. I didn’t want to have one tonight, but Minx and Rivet talked to Shade without me around and he was all for it. I knew I’d have to suck it up and deal eventually. Now is as good a time as any.
I finish at the grocery store and make my way back to the house. I pull into the driveway and Rivet’s car is there, telling me she and Minx are already here. I climb out of my car, grab about half the bags of groceries, and take them inside.
“Shade! Go grab the rest of the groceries!” I call out as I walk into the kitchen. “Hey Minx, hey Riv.”
“Hey B. Need us to grab anything?” Minx asks. I set the groceries on the counter and see a cake sitting there.
“No, Shade will grab the rest. What’s this?” I question as I take a closer look at the cake. I recognize this. It’s an . . .
“Apple cake!” Rivet’s voice is laced with excitement, and my stomach drops. Someone in my past used to make apple cakes for me all the time. Only, she called them something else. Something in Russian. They were my favorite dessert. “We found this super cute little bookstore and bakery called A Novel Bunch. The girl who owns the place is Russian and she has such an awesome accent.”
A bookstore and a bakery. There’s only one person I’ve ever met who loved baking and reading enough to want to open a place like that. The only girl to ever have my heart and I fucked it all up. It can’t be her, though. Can it?
“We tried to get her and Emma to come tonight, but they already had plans,” Minx tells me.
“Wait, what did you say her name was?” I ask, studying at them.
“Her name is Cali.” As soon as Minx says it, my heart stops.
“Woah, you alright, bro? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Shade says, walking into the kitchen with the last bags of groceries. Could it be my Cali? I haven’t seen her in five years. I’ve thought about her every day I was gone. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. I’ve been beating myself up about how we ended things. How I ended things. If it is her, I doubt she’d want to talk to me, let alone see me.
“Uh, yeah . . . ” I glance at Shade. “Yeah, I’m fine. Can you two manage not to burn the kitchen down while I take a shower?”
“I don’t know how we’ll ever manage without you,” Minx jokes and I chuckle.
“Tell doofus here if you need anything,” I say, hooking my thumb in Shade’s direction. Minx nods and Rivet giggles. Minx is messing with her phone. I’m sure either texting Raze or turning on some music. Sure enough, music starts playing. It’s Halsey, Bad at Love.
I pat Shade on the back. “Good luck, brother.”
He shakes his head and I laugh as the girls belt out song lyrics. This isn’t anything new. This was a regular occurrence with them in Arizona. They’re entertaining, to say the least. I walk to my room, my mind going back to the girl Minx and Rivet were talking about. How much of a coincidence it would be for us to know two different Cali’s, who are both Russian and both wanted to open their own bakeries. Maybe it isn’t a coincidence at all. Maybe she’s the Cali I knew and loved. Only one way to find out for sure. I’ll go with the girls to the bakery next time they go.
The first thing I do when I walk into my room is grab some fresh clothes. Clean jeans, a black t-shirt, socks, black boxer briefs, and my favorite Hooey hat. It’s black with a turquoise bill and logo. I lay my clothes out on my bed and make my way into the bathroom. I turn the water on, closing the curtain and step away. While it’s warming, I strip to my boxer briefs. I rest my hands on the counter, leaning forward and let my head hang.
What the fuck would I say to Cali if I were to see her again? Hey, sorry I’m a complete dumbass and ruined what could have been the greatest thing in my life? I shake my head and hop in the shower. The water is perfect. Hot but not melt your skin off hot. I let it hit my back and shoulders for a minute, hoping it will maybe melt some tension away. I go through my routine of washing my hair and body as quickly as possible, rinse off and shut the water off. I grab a towel without opening the shower curtain fully and dry myself off.
Once I’m dressed, I go check on the girls. I walk into the kitchen and Headphones by Florida Georgia Line is playing. Fucking perfect since it’s been nearly impossible getting Cali out of my head lately. I glance around and Shade isn’t anywhere in sight. The girls are quietly preparing hamburgers and some different side dishes. They’re so engrossed with what they’re doing, they don’t even notice me. I clear my throat, causing them both to jump.
“What the fuck, B? Are you trying to give us a heart attack?” Rivet scolds and I laugh.
“Y’all need to be more aware of your surroundings and I wouldn’t have scared you,” I tell her. “Where did Shade disappear to?”
“His sister called or something,” Minx says. “Check out back.”
“Do y’all need help with anything?” I ask them.
“We’re good. Go check on Shade. He seemed a little off.” Minx smiles at me. I nod at her and go search for Shade. I find him in the backyard, sitting in a lawn chair. He’s not on the phone, but he seems deep in thought.
“Everything okay, brother?” I ask, sitting down next to him.
He sighs. “My sister is going to be the fucking death of me.”
“What happened?”
“She was supposed to come to the BBQ tonight but called to tell me she’s not coming anymore. Said she’s going out with her boyfriend. She won’t bring him here. She’s worried I might kill him or something.” I can’t help but laugh at him and earn myself a glare.
“Now, why would she think that,” I ask him.
“I may have threatened to. No one is good enough for my little sister,” he growls out, making me laugh again. Shade has always been super protective of his sister. If she called him crying, he’d find whoever made her cry and fuck them up, if not kill the bastard. Whoever wins that girl’s heart will have to meet Shade’s approval. I don’t blame him one bit either. I’m the same way when it comes to my little sister. She’s a junior in high school. Ben, my little brother, and I are always warning her off little dipshit dudes at her school.
“She’s a smart girl. If it’s serious, she’ll tell you,” I remind him. “Now, come on. Let’s make sure the wood is ready for the bonfire.”
Chapter Four
Cali
Minx and Rivet haven’t stopped texting me since they left the shop yesterday. They’ve been begging me and Emma to go to the BBQ tonight. When Minx came to pick up the sharlotka, she was telling Emma to talk me into going and now they’re all three teaming up on me. I’m thinking it would be a good idea. I haven’t hung out with anyone outside of Emma and Bash since the three of us became friends. It might be a good chance to meet a new guy too. Last time I dated someone was about three years ago. He was the first guy I had actually dated since Ryan and I had ended things and needless to say, it didn’t last long.
My heart wasn’t in it. As much as I want to get out there and date, I always end up comparing them to Ryan. We met each other when we were kids. He was my best friend, even when we went down separate paths in high school. We dated other people, but nothing broke our friendship. At some point, something changed between us. The little spark that had always been between us burst into a flame. We spent the majority of our free time together. While I didn’t lose my virginity to him, sex with him was always the best. The chemistry between us was intense.
Last time I saw him, we had gone to a bonfire for the fourth of July together. We had been dating for close to nine months and things had been going great. That is until we started talking about plans for fall. For whatever reason, he’d always tell me he was holding me back or he didn’t want to hold me back. I never did understand what he thought he was holding me back from, but it didn’t matter. That night, we got into a huge argument that ended with him leaving and me never seeing him or talking to him again.
I told everyone we made a mutual decision to break up. I put up a front, pretending I was okay, but inside, I was dying. My heart was shattered. The only person who could see I was hurting was my mama. She suggested I go to visit my babushka in Russia. I did, and I ended up staying for a whole year. Right before I came back, I made the decision to work toward my dream. Now, I have a strong business, amazing friends and family, but no Ryan.
It’s time I move on. No more comparing guys to him. I need to get out there and play the field, have some fun. It’s been too long. Which is why I’m going to tell Emma, Minx, and Rivet we’ll be at the bonfire. With them by my side, I’ll replace bad memories with awesome memories. With Emma sitting next to me, I decide to send a message to our group chat.
To Emma, Minx, and Rivet: You ladies win. Will meet you at the BBQ.
Emma’s phone pings and she glances at it. Her face lights up when she reads my message. At the same time, we get two new messages in the group.
From Minx: REALLY!?!?!?
From Rivet: Yassssss! We’re going to have SO much fun!!
Emma grins at me. “We are so getting you laid tonight.”
“Woah, slow down. I agreed to go to the BBQ. Let’s take baby steps,” I tell her. Her grin widens. We get another text from Minx with the address for the BBQ and her telling us to be there around seven. That gives us over an hour to get ready.
“We were going to get you laid even if we were going dancing.” I fight a smile and shake my head at her.
“I’m going to get ready,” I say, standing and walking to my room.
“Oh! Let me pick out your outfit!” She jumps and runs ahead of me to my room. She is going to be the death of me. When I walk into my room, she’s digging through my dresser, trying to find jeans I’m sure. She pulls out my nicest pair. When I wear them, they look damn near painted on. Plus, they make my ass look nice. I usually skip wearing panties with these jeans.
She goes to dig through my closet, but changes her mind and leaves the room. I’m sure she remembered I don’t have many sexy tops. She comes back a couple of minutes later with a black racerback flowy tank top. It has thin spaghetti straps and I’ll probably have to ditch a bra tonight. It’s the perfect top to show off my tattoo of chamomile flowers on my shoulder. It always gets mistaken for daisies, but that never bothers me. They are similar to daisies, only smaller.
“Those jeans . . . ” She points to the ones she laid out on my bed. “And this shirt.”
“Got it.” I smile at her. “Can I at least pick my own shoes?”
Emma shrugs at me. “Yeah, sure. I’m going to go get ready. See you in a few!”
With that, she leaves me to finish getting ready on my own. I get changed into the outfit Emma picked for me and go to my bathroom to work on my hair and makeup. I decide to do beach wave curls in my hair. For my makeup, I choose a simple, natural look for my eyeshadow and use my favorite mascara to make my eyelashes longer and fuller. For my lips, I use a deepened burgundy matte liquid lipstick. It’s one of my favorites. After I’m finished with my hair and makeup, I put on some socks and grab my black cowboy boots out of my closet, putting them on before going to Emma’s room.
“You almost ready, Em?” I ask as I walk into her room. She’s about to respond but stops as soon as she looks at me.
“Holy shit, Cali! You are rockin’ that outfit! I did good,” Emma boasts.
“Yeah, you did good. I feel pretty sexy right now,” I tell her and she beams at me.
“You are sexy as hell. You’re definitely getting laid tonight.”
I laugh at her. I want to get into dating again, but I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into having sex. Emma hurries to finish getting ready and we leave. On our way there, I become apprehensive. We pull up to the house and there are some cars but bikes are everywhere. The whole MC must be here.
“Minx said we can walk around to the back of the house,” I tell Emma once we’re out of her car.
“You ready,” she asks me. Her voice is laced with excitement.
“As I’ll ever be. Let’s go find Minx and Riv,” I respond. We walk around to the back of the house. The place is crowded with people. There are a bunch of guys wearing the Savage Menaces cuts and a bunch of women scantily dressed. Those must be who Minx refers to as cut bunnies. She’s told me a little about them, but not much.
As we’re standing there searching for Minx and Rivet, one of the bikers walks over to us. At least, I’m pretty sure he’s a biker. He has a cut on, but he is way too pretty to be a biker. He’s about 5’10”. I’m not sure what color hair he has because he’s wearing a hat, backward. It says Hollywood in old English letters. His eyes are blue, like the ocean. They remind me so much of Ryan’s. Only his have kind of a greenish-blue to them where Ryan’s are a deep blue. His eyes always reminded me of the color of the deep sea and there was always more to him than you could see on the surface. Shit, I do not need to be thinking about him right now.
“Well, hello, ladies,” he greets us with a sexy smirk. His eyes move down my body and back up again. Heat rises in my cheeks. It’s been a while since I’ve recognized a guy appreciate my appearance. It’s definitely a confidence booster. “I’ve never seen you ladies at a Menace party. You here with anyone?”
“We’re supposed to be meeting Minx and Rivet,” Emma tells him and his eyes move to her. I glance at his cut and confirm his name is Hollywood.
“Ah, gotcha. I heard Minx tellin’ her ol’ man she had friends coming. I’ll take you to her. Follow me.” Emma makes googly eyes, motioning toward Hollywood. I’m sure she saw him checking me out and she’ll probably try to get me to make a move on him.
“Eeeeeek! Y’all made it,” Minx screeches when she sees us. Her and Rivet give us each a hug. “Raze, babe, this is Cali and Emma. They work at A Novel Bunch. Well, Cali owns it.”
Raze lifts his chin at us in a greeting. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, you too,” I respond. I turn back to Minx. “So, who’s house is this? It looks nice.”
“It is nice. It’s Buster and Shade’s house. They’re part of the club, or more so an extension of the club. Them and two other guys don’t ride bikes, they’re street racers. We call them the Savage Riders,” Minx explains to me. Those names sound so familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve heard them from. Hollywood is standing a few feet away talking to Raze and another guy. Every once in a while, he steals a glance at me.
Minx nudges me with her elbow, causing me to jump. She chuckles. “He’s single in case you’re interested.”
“Oh, she’s interested,” Emma says, popping up on the other side of me. I roll my eyes at her. “She needs to get laid. Ask her how long it’s been since she got laid last.”
“Emma, would you leave it alone. I agreed to try dating. I’m not ready for sex,” I tell her, getting a little irritated.
“Bad break up?” Minx asks me.
“Something like that.” I don’t want to get into this here.
“I’m going to grab a drink. Would any of you ladies like something?” Hollywood asks all of us.
“I’ll take a beer,” Minx tells him.
“Make it two, please,” I respond.
“Me too!” Emma and Rivet say at the same time. Emma watches Hollywood walk away.
“You should hit that,” she says to me as soon as he’s out of earshot.
I laugh. “If you think he’s so hot, why don’t you?”
“Because it’s not me he’s interested in or I totally would.” She sighs.
“There are a lot of hot, single guys here, Em,” Rivet tells her. “One, if not more, will be interested in you, no doubt. The night is still young.”
“Oh, yes. I like the way you think!” Emma playfully bumps her hip against Rivet and they laugh.
“Come on, let’s go scope out the guys,” Rivet says as she links arms with Em and they walk away. I watch the guy standing next to Raze watch Rivet. He’s wearing an irritated expression.
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“Who’s the guy standing next to Raze?” I whisper to Minx.
She rolls her eyes and says, “That’s Saint. He and Riv have a thing for each other, but neither will admit it or make the first move.”
My eyes move around at all the people. I didn’t want Ryan consuming my thoughts, but I can’t help it. It’s been years since he left, but it still hurts like it happened yesterday. The look on my face must give something away because when I turn back to Minx, she’s giving me a sympathetic look.
“Do you want to talk about whatever has you twisted up?” she asks me.
“I’ll bring y’all your drinks when Hollywood gets back if y’all want to go sit and talk,” Raze offers.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I say, answering both of them. Minx leads me to an empty picnic table not too far from where the bonfire is set up. I glance around one more time like I’m expecting to see him, which would be impossible. I turn back to Minx and tell her about Ryan, finding her easy to open up to.
Chapter Five
Buster
Everyone from the clubhouse showed up and then some. All the brothers, cut bunnies, and some hang-arounds. It’s a little weird having everyone here instead of being at the clubhouse but it’s gonna be fun regardless. Some of the brothers thought it’d be a great idea to have a beer pong competition. We invested in some beer pong tables for occasions like this. I recruited Clutch to help me get them from the basement. When we get them outside, it looks like the number of people here has multiplied. Luckily, our closest neighbor is across the street and they’re pretty cool.
“Man, hurry up and get those set up! I’m ready to get this party goin’,” Shade shouts at us.