“Yeah,” I groaned, though if I was going to be completely honest with Silvie—which I wasn’t going to be, of course—I was glad Gauge was riding my ass about school all the time. At least when he did that it felt like I had a real dad and I wasn’t really all alone in the world.
We’d been visiting colleges over the past couple of weeks, and I couldn’t help but get a little excited about the prospect, though of course I kept that shit under wraps. I didn’t want Gauge thinking he was doing a good thing for me. He might have started getting the wrong idea and thinking he was doing a good job of raising me—which he wasn’t.
“School is important,” River—Axle’s old lady—called over.
I scowled at her, but she saw right through me.
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re getting older, and the boys have been looking at you like you’re something to fuck for far too long. The fear of Gauge’s wrath won’t put them off much longer. You need a plan if this isn’t what you want for your life, because before you know it, this club will suck you in and never let you go. Or worse, it’ll spit you right back out.” She brushed her blond hair away from her eyes and smiled sincerely.
“As if any of the men here would be stupid enough to dump her fine ass after getting a taste!” Rose replied as she came into the kitchen. She winked at me as she dumped some groceries on the counter. “Besides, ain’t nothing wrong with this life.”
“It can’t always be about getting drunk and hooking up, Rose,” River scolded, glaring at Rose.
Charlie—Rider’s old lady—snorted out a laugh and we all turned to look at her. She looked up sheepishly, but couldn’t contain her laugh.
“What? River, I’m pretty sure your motto in high school used to be‘this life is all about getting drunk and hooking up,’” Charlie snorted on another laugh.
“What the fuck, Charlie? You’re supposed to be on my side,” River laughed back and threw a dish towel at her.
Charlie laughed again, her cheeks blushing red. She wasn’t much of a talker, though I suspected she’d loosen up once she got to know everyone a little more. She’d only been with Rider a couple of months, and I knew more than anyone how over-the-top this life could feel when you weren’t used to it. Though to look at her, she just screamedbiker bitch. Heavily done makeup, a piercing through her septum, plus the tattoos she had going down both arms—yeah, she was made for this life; she just didn’t know it until recently.
I hadn’t known that Charlie and River had known each other back in high school, though. That was definitely news to me—and to Silvie, by the looks of her expression. I’d kind of pieced together that Rose and River had known each other previously, but I guess it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise, since the town was so small.
River rolled her eyes. “Fine, getting drunk and hooking up is all well and good, but only when you’re someone’s old lady. Up until that point you’re no better than one of the club whores around here, and you know how fondly we think of those bitches.” She winked at me, her gaze sliding snidely over to Rose, who shook her head and left the room.
“Well, I don’t have much say in it anyway. Gauge says I have to go, so it’s been decided,” I replied soberly, feeling guilty for how River had just spoken to Rose. Rose was a good woman—beautiful, reliable, and loyal. I had no idea why she hadn’t ever been made into someone’s old lady, or why she stuck around. Club girls came and went all the time. Once they realized they weren’t going to be wearing someone’s patch, they took off. Or they went working in the club’s strip club, The Pit. But not Rose.
There was a long story there, but I figured I’d probably never hear it.
“So, when do you start?” Silvie asked.
“This fall,” I fake groaned.
Silvie reached over and squeezed my shoulders. “You’re going to do great,” she said. “I guess we won’t get to see too much of you, though.”
I groaned again, sounding every bit of my eighteen years. “I bet you will. I’ll be home every weekend, apparently.” I put down the knife I was using, thinking I might throw it at Gauge if he came in the room right then.
“Wait, what?” River asked. “So he’s sending you away to college, but you have to come home every weekend?”
“Uh huh,” I grumbled. “It’s like he doesn’t want me to have a life.”
“Or he wants to make sure you have a life and don’t waste it,” Silvie said kindly.
“Stop being so motherly, bitch,” River snapped, pointing a red-nailed finger at Silvie. “Laney needs to get laid at some point, and the best college parties are Friday nights. Gauge can’t be serious in making her come home every weekend and miss out on all those hot college boys!”
River genuinely looked annoyed for me, which only fueled the hilarity of the situation. She was right—I’d never get laid if Gauge kept me under lock and key constantly, though I wasn’t too concerned about missing out. After all, there were men that I’d rather spend my time with at the clubhouse than at college. Unfortunately, he was pretty much out of bounds, since Gauge had given me ano bikerclause when I first moved in with him. I’d agreed at the time, not realizing the severity of my decision, or that several years later, biker would be the only thing that would do it for me.
Charlie and Silvie were still laughing about the unfortunateness of my situation when Gauge came into the kitchen. They cracked up even more when River glared at him.
“What the fuck did I do now?” he grumbled. He glanced over at me. “What did you say?”
“Don’t look at me. I was just telling them how you expected me to be a virgin until the day I died,” I smarted.
“Not till the day you die, just until you don’t live with me anymore!” he grumbled back, and I just bet he was blushing beneath that dark beard of his too. Good.
“This is unacceptable, Gauge!” River said, heading toward him, one hand on her hip and her red-tipped finger now directed at him and not Silvie. “A girl as pretty as Laney deserves to be—”
Gauge lifted a hand up to River. “Don’t want to hear this shit right now, River!”
