“Ah! Yes!”
She threw her arms around me, and I hugged her as tightly as I could. However, I wasn’t as happy to go home as she was. Somehow, I had gotten used to hanging around the clubhouse. I had gotten used to sleeping next to Fangs and working with the guys throughout the day. Going back to my normal life felt almost like a cop out. Like that wasn’t the next step I needed to be taking. However, as I lost myself in my own thoughts, Fangs and my sister exchanged places.
And it wasn’t until he kissed my cheek that it pulled me from the recesses of my mind.
“There you are,” he said as my gaze focused back on him.
I took his hand in mine. “Thank you for looking after my sister.”
He squeezed my hand comfortingly. “Any one of my guys can take you and your sister home whenever you guys are ready to head that way.”
“Actually,” I said as I looked down at our connection, “I was hoping to stay behind with you for a little bit.”
“Usually, I’d take you up on that offer. But me and my guys still have a lot to do, so I’ll be busy pretty much into the evening.”
“Oh,” I said softly.
“Couldn’t help but overhear,” Angel said as he stuck his head into the room, “but I just shot a text to Nadia and she said that all she needs is your address and she can take you home whenever you’re ready.”
I snickered as I shook my head. “You guys really know how to rally around one another, huh?”
“It’s one of our many strong suits, yes,” Angel said matter-of-factly.
I giggled. “Tell her I’d very much like to take her up on that offer. And thank you.”
“I’ll let her know,” he said as he ducked back out into the hallway.
“I see why you like it here,” I said.
Fangs scooted his chair a bit closer to mine. “And why do you think that is?”
I shrugged as I kept staring out into the hallway. “It’s like you have a little home here. A little family, you know?”
It hurt, the idea of having to leave them. Ever since my parents died, nothing felt like home. It was why my sister and I sold the house and moved into the little townhome we owned now. There were too many memories that hurt way too much that kept haunting us within the walls of that place. But here? In the clubhouse, with all of them? It felt like home without the pain. It felt like family without the tears.
I found myself not wanting to leave.
“If you want to go be with your sister, I understand, Julia.”
I turned my gaze back to him. “I will. But once Tee gets home, I know she’ll want to sleep the day away. She’s always been a night owl, so, yeah.”
He tucked some hair behind my ear. “Well, there’s a good chance that I’ll be taking one of the afternoon shifts at the dock to help repair the last of the things we broke last night. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, though.”
I nodded slowly. “Gives you plenty of time, then.”
“Time to do what?”
A grin crawled across my face. “I’m pretty sure someone promised me a non-traditional sort of date.”
He stood to his feet and offered me his hand. “Have you ever ridden on the back of a bike before?”
I slipped my hand into his. “Never.”
He helped me to my feet before wrapping his arm around my waist. “Then, make sure you hold on tight. It gets a bit fast in some places.”
He whisked me away outside, with our giggles intermingled with soft kisses that we couldn’t stop giving one another. My heart took flight as we made our way out front, and as he dug around in his pocket, he set me back down onto my feet. I watched him pull out a key before he pressed a button on it, and out of nowhere a motorcycle engine revved up right in front of me.
I found myself staring at a black and red motorcycle with some of the biggest, baddest mechanisms on it that I’d ever seen. Racing stripes. Massive wheels. And I was pretty sure the tailpipe on that sucker was much bigger than it was supposed to be.
