“Stop! One at a time!” I yelled, and pointed at Star, who had raised her hand.
“Is it true you beat the shit out of Dolly?” I winced at the description and shrugged.
“I roughed her up a bit.” Charlie snorted at that, and all eyes swung to her.
“Broke her nose and dislocated her elbow. Ripped out some of her hair, too. Fee doesn’t play,” she told them, and I felt my face heat up.
“I would pay good money to see that,” Roxie said, as both Star and Charlie nodded in agreement.
“They drug tested all of us and searched our rooms. I can’t believe Dolly drugged Bash. Is he doing okay?” Star asked, looking concerned.
“I think he—we both—still need some time to process things,” I replied.
“So you and Bash… Things are getting even more serious?” Roxie asked, leaning forward, her eyes kind and excited.
“Yes. I—well, we… I told him I loved him. He says he loves me, too, and asked me to move in.” The girls squealed, and Charlie just laughed along.
“So when are you moving? I know Bash thinks you’re gonna get out of here by Sunday, but be honest with us, is your landlord giving you an issue about breaking the lease?” Charlie asked with concern.
“The landlord isn’t being unreasonable. I didn’t give proper notice, and there’s still half a year on my lease. He wants three months rent, plus the security deposit to give him enough time to fix the place up to show it to new tenants.” Roxie and Star gave each other a look before turning to me.
“How much is the rent, if you don’t mind me asking? Star and I have been talking about possibly moving out of the clubhouse,” Roxie said.
“Is everything okay? Are you guys leaving?” I asked, surprised, and Charlie leaned in to examine their faces.
“Yes, everything’s totally fine. Don’t go Chuck Norris on anyone there. We just… Well, I’ve got a good savings account going from working at the bar, and with Star working at the garage, we’re in a good spot to move out on our own. We love the club, and still want to hang out there, but I think we’re done being club girls,” Roxie said, as Star nodded next to her.
“That’s a great idea! I would love for you guys to take over the apartment. Do you want a tour, and we can figure out if it will work for you both?” I asked, and they agreed eagerly. After showing them around, they both loved the place, and were comfortable with the monthly rent—especially split between them.
We talked about putting up some dividers in the bedroom to make it comfortable for the two women to live together. Neither complained, as they were used to impermanent sleeping solutions over the past few years before they landed at the MC.
After that, I shifted the focus back to Star and Roxie, excited to catch up with them and take some time away from thinking about everything that happened with Dolly. Star had passed her GED with flying colors and had decided to give the job at the garage a try.
“Star, how is it going at the garage? I heard you’ve been shadowing Charlie for over a week now?” I asked, and watched as Star blushed. Before she could reply, Charlie jumped in.
“Star is killing it at the garage. Better than I ever did. She’s a natural with the customers and knows how to keep the boys in line,” Charlie bragged.
“That’s great! I’m so happy it’s working out. Star, are you happy there?” I asked, wanting to make sure she was actually okay with the move.
“I am. I feel… I don’t know how to explain it. I guess I feel useful, needed. The more Charlie teaches me, the more confident I feel. All of the guys are behaving themselves, and tobe fair, stripping is a pretty good way to learn customer service. I just hope I’m picking everything up fast enough,” she said nervously.
“I don’t know how she does it. I get in trouble all the time for chewing out rude customers, but somehow, she just sweet-talks them into getting an unnecessary update. It’s a fucking work of art,” Charlie said. Star beamed.
All in all, it was a great night. We were all moving forward into new phases of our lives, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I was glad we had each other to lean on as all of us went through those exciting changes. We were growing and thriving, and I felt blessed to be surrounded by so many good people who really cared about me.
My landlord was more than happy to transfer the lease to Roxie and Star, as it meant no work on his end to find new tenants or paint the apartment. While the Brothers were sad that the girls had decided to leave, they were still important to the club. They both worked at MC-owned businesses, and promised not to be strangers when it came to club parties and events.
I spent the remainder of the week packing up my personal belongings and getting everything in labeled boxes so the guys could move them easily. I left a lot of furniture for the girls, only taking the vanity from my bedroom that I had found when I first moved to the city. It was the first piece of furniture I ever got for myself. I had seen it at an antique shop and loved it.
Bash didn’t have a problem with keeping it in the bedroom. He didn’t have a problem with anything I brought as long as my stuff was there. Per his wish, I was fully moved in by Sunday. It felt scary and new, but I couldn’t wait to see what the next chapter of our lives brought us.
Chapter 23
Fiona
Bash and I had officially been living together for two weeks. It wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. Moving in together wasn’t the cure. It didn’t magically fix everything between us, but it gave us the foundation, the space to start working through things together. Changing a lifetime of habits and responses didn’t happen overnight. Living together gave both of us full access to each other’s lives, a front-row seat to see how we responded to everyday events.
After our last fight, we realized we had to be conscious of how both of us responded when upset, and how to be more mindful of our different fighting styles. Bash and I were like fire and ice. In an argument, Bash worked himself up into an angry lather, whereas I froze, retreating to a safe place away from it. It was not that one reaction is more right or wrong, but knowing that was the way we each responded provided perspective.
