So far . . . so good.
When we first arrived, I entertained Wicked in the living room while Ma finished up dinner. She insisted she didn’t need any help, and I didn’t bother her. She was the kind of woman who loved cooking and hated other people in her way. The only time she allowed me to help was when she had a lot of people coming over. About thirty minutes passed before Chris joined us. By then, Ma had asked me to show Wicked our family photos. He’d been laughing his ass off at the old pictures of me, though I didn’t find anything funny about my bushy hair and glasses. I was still adorable.
The air felt colder in the room as the two men sized each other up. When Chris extended his hand, Wicked stood and shook it.
“I can’t say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I’ma do what needs to be done for my goddaughter. If she insists on being with you, I want us to be able to get along. But I want to make one fact clear. I will never like or respect you, young man. I hope you can handle that,” Chris said, and when Wicked chuckled, my heart dropped.
His laughter settled into that wicked smile. Head tilted, Wicked told him, “Just being honest, Captain, you ain’t gotta do shit you don’t wanna do. I ain’t going nowhere, so it would be nice if we could get along. If not, I’m cool with that too.”
Chris took a step closer toward him, and I groaned. “The Wilted Roses and The Outlaws have been menaces in my city for decades. My best friend knew that, and that’s why he didn’t want you with his daughter?—”
“That might not have been what he wanted initially, but there’s no way you could have talked to Dylan about me before he transitioned, because if you did, you would have known our relationship had changed.”
Wicked pulled his hand from Chris’s. “And if my club is such a menace to society, I want you to name one occurrence we’ve initiated. Anything we’ve done that was violent or against the law was in response to something someone did to us. My club rides out, has fun, and does good for the city, yet I never hear people like you mentioning that.”
Standing, I took his hand into mine as he continued. “I didn’t hear y’all gossiping about the spring break extravaganza we did for the seniors last year, where we raised almost seven figures and donated scholarships to their colleges of choice. Did you have something to say when we started that mobile business to make sure the elderly would have a ride to church and theirdoctors appointments? Or how about the single parent fund my father and I personally started and were the first to contribute to?
“Nah. All you wanna talk about is some shit I did a decade ago. Never mind the fact that it was to protect your goddaughter. If you can name one thing I’ve done offensively that makes me the menace you claim I am, I’ll leave this house right now and never come back.
“Otherwise, I would appreciate it if you stopped throwing up me protecting my gal and her honor like it’s something I should be ashamed of because it’s not. I’d go to war behind her and fight the devil himself to keep her safe, so imagine how I’m coming when it comes to a judgmental nigga like you.”
“Uh, why don’t we go outside and get some fresh air?” I suggested, tugging Wicked toward the back door gently.
Ma was standing by the doorframe that separated the kitchen and living room with a pitiful look on her face. She muttered a quick sorry to Wicked and squeezed his free hand as we walked by. I looked back at Chris, furious over his antics, and I was surprised by the sight of him smiling. I honestly didn’t know if that was good or bad.
When we made our way outside, Wicked sat down and exhaled a hard breath. “I’m sorry, bae. I didn’t mean to snap like that, but it was either that or knocking him in his shit.”
Chuckling, I sat on his lap. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry that he said that to you. I can’t believe him. After dinner, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. My daddy wouldn’t have even talked to a man like that that he didn’t like. I don’t know what Chris was thinking.”
Wicked squeezed my thigh and kissed my neck. “It doesn’t matter. He ain’t changing shit between us. Not for me at least. I meant it when I said I wasn’t letting you go. Your mama is acting cool though.”
“Yeah. I really don’t think she personally had a problem with you. More than anything, she was basing her decision off what Chris has been telling her. I know the more she gets to know you, she’ll love you just like I do.”
The back door creaked, and Ma stepped out. “I’m so sorry, Yates. I made Chris leave. His behavior was unacceptable, and I don’t condone that kind of disrespect in my house.”
“I could have handled him, but I appreciate that, Mrs. Williams.”
“Please, call me Diane. Dinner is ready. I’m about to go ahead and start getting everything set up in the dining room. Y’all come in when you’re ready.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we agreed simultaneously as she closed the door.
“Aight, let’s go eat,” Wicked said as he stood. “You said the chefs at the restaurant use her recipes, right?”
With a light giggle, I nodded. “Yes, baby.”
“Aw yeah. This food ’bout to be good as hell.”
All I could do was follow behind him as I laughed. This man was something else. He acted like nothing had happened between him and Chris, and I loved how easily he was able to shake the encounter off. It made me feel a little guilty knowing there was a time where I judged him and his motorcycle club easily too, but I’d had nothing but positive vibes and good times with them all. The only person that gave me the ick was Rian, and Wicked had already told me to stay away from him because they had issues in the past. Other than that, they were genuinely a good group of people who treated each other like family, and I was glad they treated me like one of their own too.
Me and Pops were chopping it up about what happened last night when I had dinner with Jelai and her mom when he said, “Well there goes another hating ass nigga.”
Turning my head in the direction of his gaze, I shook my head and chuckled at the sight of Hamilton. I was surprised to see him on our side of town, and I was even more surprised to see that they’d let him into our clubhouse. He lifted his hands immediately as a form of peace as he neared our table.
“I ain’t here on no bullshit. I’m actually here doing you a favor,” he said, looking at me.
“What favor could you possibly be doing me?”
Pops pointed for him to sit in the unoccupied chair at our round table.
