Once she was situated, he helped her put on a leather jacket and gloves.
“That’s better. I can’t have you freezing on the way to the bar,” Speedy said, with a wink.
Violet walked in a daze out to the bike and let Speedy help put her helmet on. Once he was on the bike, he held her hand as she swung her leg over, glancing around to see if anyone noticed how awkward she was.
She was a little self-conscious of her weight and big booty on the back of the bike, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She wasn’t the woman who let all her mom’s opinions shape Violet’s view of herself.
She was curvy and a lot of men liked that.
Speedy held the door for Violet as she walked by him. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her lush butt and legs. Having her on the motorcycle behind him was a trial and a blessing. He loved riding with her but her hands tightening on his cut as they wound their way along the curves and straightaways had him imagining her hands holding onto him while he did other things with her delectable body.
As he walked in behind her, he noticed some of the guys staring at Violet. At this point, he didn’t have the right to warn anyone off. Sure, she’d been on his bike but not as his girlfriend.
And he’d kissed her but then immediately apologized. But he wanted more. Each moment he spent with her had him craving to be the one who had the right to warn others off.
Once they’d settled at their table, a waitress took their order. Since it was Nelson’s Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe night, hot cocoa was on the menu—regular or high octane. Most of the women at the table ordered the high octane to try. A sweet, chocolatey drink didn’t sound good to him, so he ordered a beer and a water.
He wondered how long they needed to hang out at the table before he could ask Violet to dance. Maybe he could figure out, while holding her in his arms, exactly how to move their relationship from him being her boss to him being her man.
A commotion on the dance floor had him smiling. Halligan and Quinton, two of the cousins who owned the bar, were clearing the dance floor.
Oh, this should be good.
“Do you know what they’re doing?” Violet asked.
“No, but I’m sure it will be entertaining,” he said, wishing Violet wouldn’t have sat down first. As it was, her chair, along with Savi’s, were the ones on the side of the dance floor. For some reason Speedy didn’t want to examine, he wished she was on his side of the table where he’d be in front of her.
“Welcome, everyone, to Nelson’s First Annual Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe Party,” Whiskey, the oldest cousin, said. Whiskey let the yelling and applause die down before continuing.
“We’ve got some great music tonight for you to dance to, but first, if you’ve been here before, then you know that my family enjoys bets, teasing, and a little humiliation when we lose. Well, tonight’s no different. If you don’t know, I am married to an amazing woman, and because I’m not a dumbass like other people in my family, I work to keep her happy.
“When Quinton was recuperating from his little boo-boo a while back, he, Halligan, and Gaines were trash-talking in the main room of the apartment upstairs. Now, the trash-talking wasn’t the problem. It was their —okay, let me get my note out to make sure I get the quote correct,” Whiskey paused, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.
“Here it is. It was their antiquated thinking coupled with their—hold on a second. Vivi, what is this word?” he asked.
“It’s neanderthal, Whiskey, and we all know what happened to the neanderthals,” Vivi yelled from the bar.
“Okay, their antiquated thinking coupled with their neanderthal view of women’s motivations that brought you tonight’s entertainment. And like I said, because I’m not a dumbass, I don’t have to participate. Please notice that Crewe wasn’t a dumbass either and is getting to enjoy the entertainment with his arm around his woman, Ry. Now, unfortunately, Hennessy was a dumbass, and when he was relating the story to his woman, Ellie, he might have taken the guy’s side. So, men, I apologize for you having to watch, but I think your women are going to dearly love what the punishment is. Let’s go,” Whiskey said, walking off the floor and wrapping his arm around Vivi.
At this point, Speedy wasn’t sure what to expect. The bar darkened with a single spotlight on the stage.
Chapter Fifteen
Violet regretted where she’d sat by Savi. She enjoyed her friend, but she should have taken this chance to be a little closer to Speedy. He was beside her but on the other side of the table.
If this was a real date, she’d want to be able to have her boyfriend slip his arm around her shoulders during the evening.
“Hey, let’s turn our chairs around. I want to see this,” Savi said, moving her chair until she was facing the dance floor.
The music started, bringing a smile to Violet’s face. She quickly turned her chair around. She didn’t want to miss this either. As the music built and the voices stopped talking, multiple lights lit the stage where she could see the backsides of the Nelson cousins.
Violet dearly loved this song and moved her shoulders to the music. Vivi’s yell of “It’s Raining Men” had the guys turning around and moving to the dance floor.
Violet looked at the guys’ outfits. Dark, tight jeans highlighted every muscle in their thighs. Tight white T-shirts were tucked into dark belts. Quinton danced over by Savi. He and a couple others were wearing cowboy hats.
Violet wanted to fan her face because she was getting a tad hot as Quinton swung his hips back and forth close to Savi. When he turned a little, Violet spotted something on his back but couldn’t tell what it was from the quick glimpse.
She leaned toward Savi. “He has something on his back.”
