She tilts her head to one side as she examines me. “Are your cramps that bad?”
“Not now,” I answer truthfully. “I took Advil which took the edge off.”
She grins. “How about I break you out of here?”
I brighten. “I’m not up to a ten-mile hike, but maybe a coffee?”
“You took the words out of my mouth.” She waggles her car keys. “I’m ready when you are.”
I glance down at myself. The shorts I’d put on, part of my new wardrobe, reach mid-thigh and definitely cover my ass, and my brightly coloured and full-length top might not be high fashion, but respectable enough for the planned outing, and not unlike what Pippa is wearing. “I’ll just grab my phone and purse.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re at a coffee shop that’s not long opened, but one I’ve already decided will be getting a lot of my business. Not only is the coffee excellent, but the cakes and pastries are melt-in-your-mouth, to-die-for. After giving our orders to the barista, we grab a table by the window.
“How’s it going living with Freak and Ace?” Pippa blows on her still-too-hot coffee.
“Ace is an angel.” I chuckle. “His nana obviously has him well trained. He picks up after himself. And Freak? Well, his Army days are still with him, everything’s got a place and has to be in it.” I shake my head. “I more used to letting shit lie around and then do a massive tidy up.” I grin. “It drives Freak wild. He’s always picking up after me.” I roll my eyes, “Though he’s not without his own faults. Beard hair? Why the fuck leave that in the basin?”
She grins as if in solidarity, then takes a tentative sip from her cup. “Both Saint and I are pretty disciplined.”
I shrug. “Then you wouldn’t like to live with me.”
To which she says drily, “I don’t swing that way, so I probably wouldn’t.”
Her response makes me laugh. And though my stomach is still reminding me it’s the first day of my period, I’m glad she got me out of the house. “I’m not that bad,” I defend myself. “I just want to pull the covers up on the bed and not make sure the corners are all square.” Smiling, I admit, “But I do love keeping house. I love being able to take care of it myself.”
I notice she’s eaten half her pastry, while I haven’t yet taken a bite out of mine. I rectify that immediately.
“I’m so glad Freak got his head out of his ass.” She leans forward, and speaks confidentially, “When I was with the Secret Service, I studied MCs like animals in the zoo, but it’s totally different living the life. Take you, for example. MCs have a reputation of trapping women in sexual slavery, but in reality, or at least with the Kings, it’s different. All club girls have their own reasons for being there – you, for one, had no damn choice. And some just like sex.” Her brow creases, then she adds, “Though there are other clubs, like the MDMC who do live up to the hype.”
They sure do, I think in my head. As I’ve seen for myself. But as for the Kings, “I like sex with men who don’t hurt me.” At my sad comment, her eyes soften, and I can see the compassion there. “My husband never made love to me. We never had consensual sex. Every time he laid hands on me, it was rape. He never pretended otherwise. I think it excited him.”
She finishes her coffee and I catch up to her with mine. For a moment we sit in comfortable silence. When we start talking again, it’s about other things, like how great Saint’s turning out as a dad. He’s got Jade today, leaving Pippa free to come visit me. She explained that she’s already expressed enough milk for a couple of feedings. I’m dumbfounded how proactive he’s being. The club’s VP had been a scary, moody asshole before Pippa came along. Of course, I know Freak’s already a good dad, but it does make me wonder what it would be like if I could have his baby. Especially when Pippa confides that Short and Bronwyn are trying to get pregnant.
Although my body still plagues me with bleeding and cramps every four weeks, there’s no guarantee that I’d be able to conceive. As Freak had said, it would be fun trying.
A sudden flash of lightning makes us both jump. Pippa’s eyes immediately go to the sidewalk out front. It had amused me to note it’s the same way as Freak would have done. She’d positioned herself so she can see anyone’s comings and goings. A loud rumble of thunder sounds from overhead, making the windows rattle. And then the rain comes, like some faucet has been turned on in the heavens. Turning in my chair I watch as the huge rain drops bounce off the ground.
Pippa shivers, and leans forward. “Is it wrong to say I fucking hate monsoons?”
I recall it was autumn when she came to the club, so this is all new to her. Raising and lowering my shoulders, I respond, “I’ve gotten used to them.” As rain lashes the windows, Pippa grimaces. Chuckling, I reassure her. “The rain won’t last long. Soon the temperature will be back close to the hundreds again and the sun will come out as if nothing ever happened.”
“I know, I can’t get over how fast and furious they come on.” Suddenly her lips curve. “As we’re going to be stuck here for a while, why don’t we talk about Ace’s birthday. It’s in, what, two weeks now? Have you got any plans?”
“Not really,” I admit. “Freak’s getting him a car, he’s going to surprise him.” I bite my lip. “I did ask Ace about his friends from school, just casually, in a kind of wanting to get to know him way.” As she eagerly sits forward, I shrug. “Seems like he hasn’t got any.”
Sharp as a tack, she asks, “Is he bullied?”
I move my head side to side. “I was worried about that, but it appears not. It seems the other boys are in awe of his gaming skills and ask him about cheats.” Then I grin. “And the girls are, in his words, always trying to get in his pants.”
She outright laughs, much the same as I did when he’d disclosed that little tidbit. “He’s a good-looking kid, takes after his father. And he has that air of mystery about him.”
My mouth twists. “His autism? It makes him different.”
“He’s composed, doesn’t get fazed, and is content to just do his own thing. He probably seems so much more mature than the other kids. I can see why the girls like him.” She chuckles, “In time I suspect he’ll appreciate the female attention he attracts. I take it, then, there’s not going to be anyone of his age that he wants to invite?”
Dipping my head and raising it again, I show her she’s right. “Which has got me stumped. A teenage party was what I’d been thinking.”
“Club party,” she says decisively. “Ace has grown up around the club. He doesn’t need outside friends when he’s got his whole family there. We can hire a tent, so we can have it outside even if it rains. We can get the men grilling, and we’ll produce all the sides. Is it too late to order a cake?”
