Chapter 10
Jules
Flint comes out of the chapel about twenty minutes after the rest of the brothers and drops down onto the chair across from me before signaling for the prospect behind the bar to bring him a beer. He rakes one hand through his hair, looking a bit overwhelmed.
“Did you get tired of sitting at the bar?”
“It was getting crowded over there. I figured I’d grab us a table where we wouldn’t have to fight for elbow room.”
“That was a smart move. The fuckin’ club girls act like queens holding court at the bar. We’ll be more comfortable here anyway.” He drinks down the rest of his bottle of beer in one huge gulp.
“Are you okay?” I ask worriedly. “You look stressed.”
“I’m fine. I had a long talk with Rock. It was just club business.”
When I don’t respond, he huffs out an exasperated breath. “We’re not supposed to talk about what goes on in church with old ladies.” Before I can object, he clarifies, “I know you’re not my old lady, but I’m your protector, so you fall into a similar category.”
I let it go even though it looks like it really rattled him. I take a sip of my drink and ask brightly, “So what’s on the agenda for tonight?”
Another bottle of beer lands on the table in front of him, and he takes a mouthful before answering my question with one of his own.
“I don’t know. Want to hang around the clubhouse for a while? The ladies of this club always make a nice spread after church on Saturdays. You hungry?”
Mimicking his deep tone, I repeat his favorite phrase, “I could eat.”
He chuckles. “You’re all kinds of cute when you talk like me. Let me grab us some food.”
He stands up and walks to the back of the room. There is a buffet table set up. I notice that men are bringing food for the women they’re with. It must be some kind of club culture tradition. He comes back with two plates piled with food, another cold beer for himself, and another wine cooler for me.
“Here you go,” he says, putting one plate down in front of me. “I got all the things I know you like.”
My eyes light up at the selection of items he chose. “You most certainly did get all my favorites.” My eyes lift to his. “You even brought me fries and a baked potato.”
“I know you like both but didn’t know which you were in the mood for. I figured you can eat whichever you want, and I’ll take whatever’s left.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I say, grabbing the wine cooler he put beside my plate.
“Let’s have a few drinks and unwind. We can ride home when we sober up or crash here for the night. There’s a roomin the basement. Me and Tommy keep it stocked and take turns using it on nights we don’t feel like going home.”
“You really have a room here?”
“This place is huge and has three levels, counting the finished basement. There are dozens of rooms for the brothers to use. Most of the patched brothers have claimed one.”
“That’s actually really smart with the amount of alcohol I’m seeing the brothers inhale.”
Flint nods, smiling. “You ain’t wrong about that, sister.”
I frown at him because I don’t like being called that by him. “I’m not your sister, Flint.”
He stops with a forkful of steak halfway to his mouth. “Sorry, Jules. I didn’t mean anything by that. I just see you as my best friend’s little sister. I saw you grow up.”
“Well, I’m not a little kid anymore, Flint. I’m twenty-two, went off to college, and lived on my own for four years. I’m not skinny little flat-chested Jules anymore. You want to see my breasts for proof?”
Flint actually chokes on the bite of steak he just ate and begins coughing and thumping his chest.
I’m trying not to laugh at his reaction. Finally, he says hoarsely, “You’re not showing anyone your breasts, least of all me.”
The sternness in his voice surprises me. Alright, he wants to be a grumpy bastard about this, so it’s game on. As I eat my way through the plate he made for me, my mind fills with a thousand devious ways to make him uncomfortable.Unfortunately, all of them seem like flirting. Maybe that’s what I need to do to get him past seeing me as Tommy’s little sister? He’s going to regret being so stubborn about this.
