I don’t have to wait long before we’re all on the road. Butterflies are flapping their wings rampantly in my stomach, and I do my best to ignore them and just enjoy this. Being surrounded by other bikes as we ride together as a group, it’s what I love the most about the club. These people are my family. This feeling of freedom with them is something I could never leave behind. This is where I belong.
I must be getting sentimental, and so I squeeze Tate harder. His hand grabs my knee, squeezing lightly, a reassuring gesture that he’s got me.
It shouldn’t feel so good being this close to him, but it does, and I know I don’t want it to stop. When his hand leaves my knee it feels like a substantial loss, and I selfishly think of ways to get him to touch me again.
The park is beautiful,but I really don’t want to get off the bike. I know as soon as I do it will all feel like it didn’t happen, just like those nights in my bedroom. All I’ll have is the lingering haunt of his scent and a memory of what was.
He drags his fingers through his dark hair and puts his glasses on the top of his head before squeezing my thigh.
“Ride’s over, darlin’,” he says.
I swear this motherfucker knows what he’s doing to me.
Two can play that game.
I take off the helmet, holding it with my left hand as I grab his shoulder to whisper in his ear. “Thanks for the ride, Tate.”
He stiffens, and I might touch his back longer than I need to before hopping off. I hand him the helmet, and he sets it on the seat before getting off himself.
All the girls who came waste no time at all taking off their clothes and stripping down to their bathing suits. I do the same, but I stare at Tate as I undress, his eyes never leaving my body as I pull my shirt over my head or shimmy my shorts down my legs.
“Can I leave these on your bike?” I ask him sweetly.
He nods his head dumbly, and I place my clothes in a pile on the seat before I walk away, adding extra sway with each one of my steps.
I swear I hear him curse behind me, but I don’t think too much of it as I reach the rest of the group. Most of the guys stay clothed. Honestly, the idea of seeing them in bathing suits is borderline humorous to me. I doubt most of them even own a bathing suit.
“Come, jump with me!” Shelby exclaims, and I divert my attention to her.
She looks amazing in her all-white bikini, which my brother seems to appreciate. I smile back at her and walk over to the platform.
“Did they drive out here just to ogle all the girls in their bikinis?” I ask, making her laugh.
“Just wait till the prospects get here with the beer,” she giggles.
“I thought beer wasn’t allowed in the park,” I reply, and Shelby laughs again.
“Oh, sweet Lily. Are we jumping or what?” she asks, and I nod my head, looking over the edge.
I’m a little nervous, but there’s no way I’m going to chicken out. When I look to my right, I can’t help but notice two men who seem a little on edge with me standing on this platform. Tate is chain-smoking cigarettes like his life depends on it, and Axel looks like he wants to hit someone.
“Let’s do it,” I tell Shelby.
We take each other’s hands as we take a running start before leaping off the edge. I can’t help the small yelp that leaves me as we go over and before we hit the water. It takes a few moments for me to get my bearings, but when I do, I swim up to the surface with a huge smile on my face.
“Wasn’t so bad,” Shelby pants with a smile, her blonde hair wet and sticking to her back, but her eyelashes still look amazing.
“That was so much fun,” I reply with a smile of my own.
“Now to get our guys to jump in with us,” she schemes.
“Guys?” I ask puzzled.
“Ambien and Axel,” she says, and I take a relieved breath. “Unless there is someone else you had in mind… like, I don’t know… a broody, hot stepbrother, perhaps?” she jokes, and I splash her with the water that’s too warm for this summer heat. “I fucking knew it,” she squeals, splashing me back.
“I’m not going to do anything about it,” I tell her sternly.
“I mean, if you’re going to disobey the Prez you might as well go balls to the fucking wall and fuck his son too,” she teases, and I swim over to her and dunk her head under the water. She swims back to the surface, laughing her ass off as we swim over to the stairs.
