“It was really good to meet you,” I said.
“We’ll have more time to get to know each other,” Trix said. “Go make the rounds, and don’t worry about remembering anyone’s names. There are too many of us to keep track of.”
As we walked away, I could feel the women’s eyes on the backs of us. Curtis’s hands were full, keeping the baby secure, so I reached over and set my hand on his back, sliding it up under his cut and T-shirt. The smooth skin of his back was hot undermy palm, and his muscles flexed as he turned to smile down at me.
“Not so bad, yeah?”
“This is not what I expected,” I murmured, glancing around. It was actually kind of surprising how relaxed the party was. If I would’ve tried to imagine an Aces MC barbecue, this would have been pretty much the opposite of what I would’ve envisioned. I knew that years ago Pop had brought Jesse to family days at the club in Sacramento, but I’d been so focused on work and glad that he could babysit that I hadn’t thought too much about what they were doing. Pop was solid, and I trusted him with our lives, so I hadn’t needed to.
We found Charlie sitting on the lap of an insanely handsome man, holding a sweaty little boy who was still sniffling as he held an ice pack to his chin. Draco and Kara were sitting with them, along with another woman with shoulder-length brown hair whose back was to us.
“I had a feeling she’d be hungry soon,” Charlie called out, pressing a hand to one of her boobs. “She lasted longer than I thought she would.” She set the little boy on his feet, and he wandered over to Kara and collapsed dramatically onto her lap in the grass.
“I want her back when you’re done,” Curtis said as he handed her the baby.
“You’re such a baby hog,” Draco said with a scoff. “I haven’t even held her yet today.”
“You snooze, you lose,” Curtis replied with a grin. He turned and paused, like he hadn’t noticed the brown-haired woman before and just realized she was there. “There’s my girl.”
I watched from the outer edge of the circle as she popped out of her seat and threw her arms around Curtis, squeezing him around the middle. He leaned down to murmur in her ear, and then they both turned to me.
“Teddy, this is my best friend, Rebel,” he announced as she beamed at me. “Rebel, this is Teddy.”
“Hey, Rebel,” I greeted as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
“Hi, Teddy,” she said. “I love your name and your tattoo.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said with a little laugh, looking down at my arm. I didn’t even think about my tattoo anymore, I’d had it so long. The lines were done in all black, no color, with flowers and my family’s names, but if you didn’t know what you were looking for, they just looked like swirls. “I love your hair. I can’t ever get mine that smooth, even when I iron it.”
“I love your shirt,” she replied quickly. “And your sandals.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but I wasn’t really sure if I should say thank you or name something else that I loved about her.
“We get it,” Draco teased. “You love Teddy’s whole vibe.”
“It’s nice to tell people when you like something about them,” Rebel replied loftily. “Especially if you’re a girl’s girl.”
“You’re definitely a girl’s girl,” Charlie said firmly as she nursed the baby. She looked at me. “Pull up a chair and stay a while. Curtis can go grab you guys some food.”
I smiled at her and sat down in one of the empty lawn chairs. “Do you know where Jesse went?” I asked Kara.
“My mom stole her,” Charlie answered. “They started talking about curl cream or something, and my mom said that she had some shit in her room.”
“Oh, okay.”
“You gotta come see our new place,” Curtis was telling Rebel. “Once we have some furniture, we’ll have a movie night.”
“You don’t have any furniture?” Rebel asked as she sat down in the chair beside me.
“No, the stuff we had in Montana was shit, so we figured we’d just get new stuff when we got here.”
“Did you live in Montana too?” Rebel asked me.
“No, I just moved up from Sacramento.”
“I’ve been to Sacramento,” she replied, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “I like it there. Have you been to the Railroad Museum?”
“I haven’t,” I admitted. “Have you been to the zoo?”
