7  Chapter 7

AVERY WEST

Once again, I found myself in a biker’s compound, right outside of Lancaster County, doing something foolhardy like buying parts for an old bike that didn’t work.

How did I get here?

Well, let’s see.

I sold my car online to a guy named Andrew Jacobs, who didn’t even have the time to come and do it himself. He sent his brother who paid me the money, we exchanged information, so the car could be in his name, registration and everything. He paid me top dollar for my car, and said, it was the custom work that made it great for his niece. At least my baby would be going to someone who wanted the vehicle and thought it was cute like me.

I hope she did.

The money I was paid for my truck, I was going to purchase the old bike, which was the same brand that Snoop told Apollo we could use for parts. This contact was made by one of my brother’s friends, who worked as a mechanic. He didn’t have the bike or the parts but knew of a guy that did. He made the initial introductions over the phone and came with me to get the bike from the owner. This happened to be a member of the Skullz MC.

When we arrived, the compound was a dreary, run-down warehouse with rusted steel covering the building. There was nothing clean or read safe about the place. I looked at Carl, my brother’s friend, and he shrugged his shoulders and knocked on the door.

“Here goes,” he murmured.

The door creaked open and we slowly made our way inside. Carl told them who we were here to see and then we were led to the left side with a row of cheap, wooden doors that were cracked, damaged or some had fist-sized holes in various places. The biker that led us, opened the third door on the row and grunted towards an older, unkempt man in the office.

“Fuck me,” the man greeted when Carl and I walked into the office. “You’re the sweet piece that’s buying the bike?”

He was the definition of a biker who lost himself with a beer gut that hung over his pants, a scruffy beard that was scruffy and yellow eyes like he spent way too much time drinking every night.

The entire compound smelled like alcohol, sex and weed. It was the complete opposite of the Guardians, which was clean, much brighter and usually smelled of food. They might not be the tidiest or men, but the place wasn’t nasty.

“I am the person that’s buying the bike, yes,” I answered and moved a little closer to Carl.

“Sweet,” he said and took a swig of the amber liquid in the cloudy glass sitting in the middle of the old, cluttered desk.

Carl cleared his throat because when we looked over, a naked woman was lying on her side with her ass facing us on the couch.

“Oh yeah,” the biker chuckled. “Fucking rough night. That one.”

Then he picked up the receiver on the phone and barked, “They’re here. Get in here.”

I grew a bit unsteady by someone else joining us but Carl just kept looking at the naked woman. I dared not look at the man’s pants to see if he had a boner. I could mentally feel that he did by the change in his breathing pattern.

A minute later, the door opened, and a young man walked in with khakis, a polo shirt with a biker vest over it that read Skullz MC, Slay. He was taller than me, but maybe by a few inches, dirty blond hair, clean cut with no facial hair. He resembled a prep kid but the vest threw off the look. It seemed out of place.

“Hey,” he greeted me with a smile. “The name is Slay and you must be Avery. Interested in my bike?”

“Yes, that’s me.” I answered.

Carl told me ahead of time to not give out too much information, so I had to shut my chatty self up.

This time, I was willing to listen.

“Good, let me show you what I have. We’ll see if that’s it and go from there.”

A voice cleared in the room, causing us all to turn towards the man sitting at the desk, drinking away.

“Pop?” Slay addressed him.

“I think whatever arrangement y’all make should also include dinner. Wouldn’t you say, son?” His yellow stained eyes glanced from me to the biker in khakis.

The younger one brightened up and said, “Yes, I’d like that.”

The father grunted and then we proceeded to make the deal. Bringing me to my current situation that included me waiting in the Skullz compound, two days later, while one woman sucked a guy’s dick on the sofa in the main area and a few others were smoking weed on the other side watching the ordeal.

This time I was alone, since Carl’s one and only trip to the compound, resulted in him hauling the old bike on his truck. He made it clear that he did not want any parts of that place and I was in full agreement, except I had a date.

When I arrived, I asked for Slay and proceeded to stay as close to the door as necessary.

“Hey, you came.” Slay smiled when he saw me, probably looking like a cat shrinking in a corner. This look must have registered on his face because he said, “Yeah, the club is still in the old-world order. A new dawn is coming and shit like this won’t be tolerated. Believe me.”

He scoffed and waved for me to exit so we could start our dinner deal. It was not a date, it was a deal that came with a bike. I’d sworn Snoop to secrecy when Carl and I drove up with the old bike for parts. The man was in shock that I had even found the old model. He’d said, he couldn’t even find one. I think I scored a point with him that day. He could not believe it and kept shaking his head at me.

Slay took me to a local bistro that was down in Norristown. He made the decision to have lunch, instead of dinner, which was great. They had paninis, frappes, freshly squeezed lemonade and sushi. It was not the typical place the locals went to, but this wasn’t my town. I got a sandwich and a glass of lemonade. Slay ordered the sushi and an espresso. I didn’t date much or at all for that matter, but this was by far not how I saw one happening. Though, it wasn’t a date, but a deal.

He talked about the club, how he would transform it when he was president. He even mentioned going legit and not being outlaws, but I wasn’t sure what that meant either. I, on the other hand, rarely said anything about me, family or why because he monopolized the conversation about him, his undergraduate degree and the master’s he was currently pursuing. He seemed ambitious enough, but clearly full of himself, which was a complete turnoff.

Towards what I considered the end of our deal that included a meal, a presence hit the small bistro, like a rushing wind. My head whipped over to see what changed and that’s when I saw a raging bull by the look of Shiz and Swag, right behind him.

He did not look happy and for some reason, his anger seemed to be directed towards me.

“Avery!” he barked at me. “Let’s go.”

It took me an entire minute to process what was taking place. It was then that I asked, “Excuse me?”

He was now in our space glaring at me, while ignoring Slay.

“I said, let’s go.”

“Who are you?” Slay asked in a calm and unthreatened voice.

“Someone who doesn’t have to tell you who I am,” Shiz bit back.

“That so?” Slay turned his head towards Swag. “Swag, nice to make your acquaintance again.”

“Didn’t think the first encounter was nice,” Swag countered.

“This one surely doesn’t look nice,” Slay nodded towards Shiz.

There was a sinister look in his eye that made me leery. He wasn’t into me or anything like that but the fact that another man just came up in here and tried to take over, was enough to make even a beta man, bulk. Slay didn’t strike me as the type to clap back physically. Shiz would crush him and he knew that. He looked like the type who’d bide his time, like he was doing with the club and then when the iron was hot, he’d strike. Scary, almost.

This was my clue that despite what I felt, I needed to diffuse a bomb that could potentially blow up with me in the middle.

“Slay,” I rose and held out my hand. “Thank you for a lovely evening. I appreciate your help with everything and I hope you get finished with that degree fast like you said.”

I went for my wallet, but he held up his hand and said, “No need. Avery, I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“The fuck you won’t,” Shiz snapped back.

Holy shit.

Swag intervened at this point and said, “Brother, let’s go. Not why I called you.”

However, Shiz had other thoughts. He had fully turned toward Slay and if looks could maim, the man would be missing some arms and legs. This was not serious Shiz, this was a seriously pissed off Shiz. I didn’t know what to do in this case.

“Shiz,” I called. “Come on.”

He just stared off at the calm Slay who didn’t seem perturbed or moved by Shiz’s stance.

Feeling my own self about to get in a snit as they wanted to have a pissing contest.

“Fine, I’m leaving.” I picked up my purse. “Swag can you take me home please?”

He looked like he was confused but when I started marching to the door, I heard Shiz curse, “Fuck me.”

Then two sets of footsteps followed me outside of the restaurant. There was one hand that halted my progress as he pulled it around the bend of my arm and Shiz growled, “The fuck are you doing here?”

“Excuse me,” I snapped and tried to jerk from him but was unsuccessful.

“The fuck are you doing here with him?” Shiz was hissing at the point.

“First of all,” I planted one hand on my hip.

Shiz shook his head one time and murmured, “Nope. You’re going home, and I swear to God, I’ll spank your ass if you keep throwing me that attitude.”

That was when he catapulted me using both hands and lifted me by my arms, propelling me to his truck.

“Swag,” Shiz called behind him as he put me in the passenger side like I wasn’t a little on the chunky side and yelled back, “Thanks for the call man. I owe you a marker.”

“My next tat on you,” Swag said with a laugh.

“Yup,” Shiz slammed the door and I watched as the two of them exchanged some words, did their manly half-hug thing and departed. My whole back was facing Shiz because I had no words. The embarrassment, not only in front of Sway but Swag too. Let’s not even discuss the restaurant.

He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his temper rolling off in waves. Hopefully, he could feel mine too. I guess he couldn’t because as soon as that truck came to a low rumble in front of the house, I flew out and headed towards my new place. He did the same and followed me up as if he was coming in too.

“Nope,” I shook my head. “Buck stops here. I’m going to bed.”

Man, Shiz was showing all sides of his ass today. Some of them I could have done without. Including the alpha one, he seemed to be stuck on.

“You got five seconds before I put you over my knee and spank your ass.”

I gasped out loud and that’s when I heard, “five...four...three...two...one. You got five coming to you.”

That was all I got before he had me up, off the floor and moved me into the house.

“Shiz,” I was snapping at him. “I’m not someone you can just manhandle.”

His eyes pierced into mine then he said, “What was that shit? What were you doing out with him? Why were you in Norristown? Answer me, Avery. My patience is gone.”

“First of all,” I was screaming. “I don’t have to answer shit to you. Who are you?” I pushed him with both palms of my hands against his chest. “You’re my landlord, not my father. You don’t question me. What I do is none of your business. You don’t have any right to come and embarrass me in front of Sway and the other customers. What the hell....”

His face turned into a sneer before he spits, “What? So you go from biker to biker?”

A thump hit my chest because it felt like he struck me.

“W-what?” I croaked.

Shiz was bending down in my face and he sneered with nothing but venom in his voice, “You get into it with one club, seeking refuge in another, now you’re moving on to some other club?”

I wasn’t violent. Well, I might vandalize, tap a person’s leg with my truck, but I rarely laid my hands on other people. However, the dropping of my hand and the clear strike I made across his beautiful face with my open palm even shocked me.

I could not believe I actually laid slapped his face.

“Get out,” I hissed.

It was low and deadly which Shiz must have recognized because he turned and left. The look on his face was from pure regret but I couldn’t have given one fuck. Nobody talked to me like that. I didn’t put out or even do the cock tease thing. If that’s what he thought about me, then he could just never talk to me again.

Ever.

Tears streamed down my eyes by the buckets, but I would be fine in the morning. That’s what I kept telling myself.

***

NO SLEEP CAME THAT evening and my eyes were red from crying all night. No makeup would fix the puffiness that gathered as bags on my face.

Shit.

My brother was due to get out of the hospital that evening, so I wanted to help him adjust but his girlfriend was on top of everything, which was such a relief. She seemed like a genuine girl and much better than his knuckled-headed friends. Though, I couldn’t be mad at Carl, since he helped me get something I needed to repay.

I felt like I was in debt to Shiz but there was no way I was talking to him. Not after what he’d said; what he insinuated about me. He didn’t know me, know what I was, who I am. He didn’t know Avery West.

Not for real.

The next day was horrible, since I had a bad night, I was in no rush to deal with customers about the fact that they didn’t read the fine print from when you sign up for a free giveaway, their number would be in our call registry. Period. I hung up on one lady and the other one I raised my voice. My manager came and must have seen the state of me, which was worse than normal. She asked if I was okay, I told her that I wasn’t, so she gave me the rest of the day off. This would cut into my hours and money, but I had some left over from the car that I sold.

Therefore, when I arrived back at my place, I was shocked to see a bouquet of flowers being delivered and the courier had placed them on the porch.

With no thought, I started speaking.

“Who are those from?” I called to the short delivery guy, who looked to be a college student with freckles splattered over his cheeks.

“Hi, ma’am. Uh,” he looked down at his pad and said, “They’re from a Shiz?”

He said the name like it was a question or a mistake. However, I wasn’t in the laughing mood. Therefore, I told him, “Take them back. I don’t want them.”

He blinked once and then again.

“Uh, ma’am,” he started to say, so I put more emphasis on my voice.

“I don’t want the fucking flowers, so take them back.”

He quickly jogged back up the steps, nabbed the bouquet and nodded to me as he went to his delivery truck.

“Good day, ma’am,” he murmured.

I slowly walked up the steps, put the deadbolt and latch on the door, and crawled in bed. My chest still hurt by the sting of what was said but now I also hurt because of his absence.

An hour later, I heard knocking but I put my headphones on and went back to sleep. By the time I got out of bed, I was tired and starving. Quickly, I made some food and ate in silence, only to have that pang in my heart again.

I didn’t want to call my mom, because she would know something was wrong and that woman is like a pit bull with a bone, once she discovers a mystery. So, I opted for Dad.

“Hey, Dad.” I answered when he said hello.

“Hey, baby girl. Everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “How are you?”

“Good,” he said in a hesitant voice. Then he let the word linger when replying, “Baby girl?”

I sighed.

He was no better than Mom.

“So, if I said I didn’t want to talk about it, would you let it go?” I asked.

“I could, but I suspect you did want to talk, since you called me,” he surmised.

Right.

“Okay,” he reluctantly said. “Let’s try this. It’s about a boy? Assuming it’s that guy, the landlord, and he’s made you mad.”

“Dad,” I whined.

“I must be right,” he chuckled.

“It’s really not funny Dad.” I huffed. “The thing is he’s acting like we’re together or something and we’re not. He’s my landlord, that’s all. And he’s super alpha. Wants to know why I’m talking with other guys. Completely interrupts and he won’t quit. Then he said something really mean and he don’t know me like that. I smacked him Dad. Right across his face, so I know he’s fuming. I shouldn’t have hit him, actually. But then he brought flowers and I refused them because I remembered what he said. Sort of forgot that I smacked him. But, ugh.” I groaned in the receiver.

Silence met me over the phone, then I heard light laughter.

“Dad?” I called.

“Sorry honey,” he said through louder laughter. “It’s just.” He sighed. “If you aren’t your mother’s child. I swear it.”

This had me confused.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Baby girl, your mother has the same temperament. Just feisty to the core. Act first, think later. That woman done got me into so much shit,” he laughed. “I love her to death. She speaks her truth, mine, yours and everybody else’s. She’s a little volatile at times. Then I have to reel her in but that’s my lady. That’s what I do and that’s what makes us perfect. That, uh guy of yours, the landlord, honey, you and he may be the only ones that don’t know but he likes you a lot. He ain’t about to sit back and let some other man invade his territory. The first thing he did was put you in a house. Made sure you were covered, a place where he knew you’d be, were safe and invited you into his family. That was the very first thing he did. Shit, the man so smooth, he made the rent something no one could refuse. Oh, he likes you, which is why me and your mamma made the trek over there to check him out. He’s legit. At first, I wasn’t too keen on what he’s doing with you, but he’s legit.”

Holy shit.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

It was right there all the time and I was moseying around like a little girl, just oblivious.

“Do you think I should move out?” I asked. “I don’t want handouts or to be kept.”

Dad huffed and said, “I reckon he knew that too, which is why you pay any rent at all.”

Huh.

“And no, you shouldn’t move out. You two need to talk. Don’t do that running away from shit. Deal with it. Deal with him. Then if you don’t like what you see, do what you need to do. Don’t shortchange yourself because of pride. You got a lot going for you girl, don’t miss out by being bullheaded.” Dad shared, “And I ain’t talking about a house.”

My mind tried to process what he meant and just when I was about to ask a question, he told me.

“Gotta run, your mother’s coming and she’ll want to know what’s wrong. You don’t want her on his ass.” He chuckled and clicked off.

The man had a point. I did not need Lenora in on the drama. That woman wouldn’t leave a stone unturned.

No, this was something I’d have to deal with.

So, I acted first and would think about it later.

I found my way to the Guardians compound and asked the first person I saw if Shiz was around. Between the grunts and I don’t know, I walked up to the kitchen counter, where Bear was sitting.

“Hey Grizzly Bear,” I greeted with a huge smile and sat down at the counter. “What cracking?”

He slowly turned his head, saw it was me and then turned back around.

“Hey, tiny terror.”

I smiled at the man.

“Ha, you made a joke.” I laughed. “Who knew you were a ball of laughs?”

“Riots,” he answered dryly.

“You nervous about the wedding?” I asked for no particular reason.

“Fuck no,” Bear quickly said. “Trying to hurry up and get the shit over with. My woman is nervous and that makes her agitated, which puts me on edge.”

Man, if someone would have told me that this big hunk of a man, was head over heels in love with this feisty girl who had him wrapped around her pinky finger, I would have called them liars. Anything that woman wanted, he was all about it. He didn’t argue with her and though I wasn’t in their bedroom, I’d guarantee she was pleased first as a rule.

She seemed so sweet and innocent but I’m sure she had to be a pistol to carry on with someone like Bear.

“Gotcha, it must be stressful. Do y’all have a planner?” I asked.

“No, she’s doing it herself. Still working at the bar. Trying to help out Shay with the pregnancy. And some other shit, I’m sure,” he shared.

“Man, sounds like your best bet is to hire a planner and that will be one thing she won’t have to do,” I advised. “Then you’ll be less stressed too.”

He looked to me again with the side eye and chuckled.

“You may be on to something, tiny tot.” He nodded. “I’ll get on that. Oh, Shiz is at his store.”

What?

“Huh?” I asked.

“He’s at his store,” Bear repeated.

“What store?” I asked with my eyebrow raised.

Bear eyed me again and asked, “You shitting me?”

“Uh, definitely not shitting you.” I replied as all sorts of thoughts scrambled my mind.

What store? What kind was it? Did he own it? Was he the manager? Inherited? I was so confused, because he never, not once, mentioned this.

“Fuck, ain’t my place to tell ya if he didn’t. But his place is on Main Street. It’s called Sh-Ink.” He nodded and turned back around.

What in the world? I could not believe it, but I didn’t wait around to hear more.

“Thanks Bear. Owe you one,” I called back as I made my way to Main Street, which wasn’t far from the compound. Well, thirty minutes walking and about half of that driving. I walked up and down the busy street and looking from side to side, I finally saw the place.

Sh-Ink.

The S and h in bold Arial letters and every letter after the dash were in a multicolor cursive font. With a black canvas mounted above the store’s matching awning.

My heart raced as I stood debating whether to go inside or not, then my default mode kicked in. Opening the doors, I saw a woman at the main desk with spiked hair like I occasionally wore mine, a goth look to her and black nails.

I liked her already.

By the time I went to say hi, the vibe had hit me almost instantly. My head turned to focus in on where the energy was coming from and lo and behold, there he was standing behind a podium on an elevated floorboard.

The nameplate read, Shiz, Owner.

His eyes burned into mine until the woman said, “Are y’all through eye-fucking each other?”

My head turned to see the woman, whose nameplate read Addy, Administrative Sh-Ink Assistant.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You two. Eye fucking.” She jerked her thumb towards Shiz. “Guess you’re the reason he been moving around here like somebody stole his dog, huh?”

A grunt came from Shiz, causing me to turn my attention back his way. The distance between us was deafening, but at the same time was loud and clear. The man must have read that, because he rounded the podium he was behind and began to stalk towards me.

Oh shit.

He was probably going to throw me out like I threw him out of the place that he technically owned. Therefore, I quickly semi-yelled, “I’m sorry for smacking you. I shouldn’t have done that because it was completely rude. Even though what you said was rude too, mean and untrue, I shouldn’t ....” Shiz dipped down while in stride, put a shoulder in my stomach and flipped me over him like I was an inflatable Barbie doll. So, after my initial grunt, I kept talking so I could at least say what I came to say. “I’m sorry again and for kicking you out. It’s your house, like, you own it. But I just felt like you were...”

My body tilted upward, and since there was sudden light, I knew I was outside.

Damn.

When the blood came back to my brain, my eyes were able to focus. It wasn’t outside but we were in a really bright room.

I looked at Shiz and asked, “What’s the full rent on your place? I would like to either pay it or move out because my dad told me, that you like me and that’s why I pay so little. Is that true? I, mean, that’s what he said, not me. I totaled a motorcycle that has been in your family for years, so I know I’ve done the unimaginable. I just...”

“Avery,” Shiz cut me off. “For fuck's sake, stop talking.”

I opened my mouth to say something but shut it right back. We continued to stare or more importantly, Shiz stared as my eyes wandered from his to other objects that weren’t as piercing as that gaze.

He was taking too long to say anything so I just sallied forth.

“Why didn’t you tell me you owned a tattoo parlor?” I rushed out. “Was it some sort of secret?”

“Fuck!” He growled. “No. It wasn’t a secret. It’s just you got under my goddamn skin and I can’t get you out. I don’t want you out. I just...fuck.”

“What?” I asked because he was making no sense. “I can move out or just pay you the full rent. Let me know.”

Shiz’s eyes were wild, almost feral as he stared at me with the look of a tormented madman. His hands kept running through his hair, every agonizing minute of him trying to say whatever he didn’t want to say.

“Look, Okay. I came to apologize. I did and that’s that.” I interjected into the deafening silence, then I turned on my heels to leave since he wanted to be a statue.

“Fuck, will you give me a moment?” he snapped with his hands still in his hair.

My huff of annoyance came out quickly, but I wasn’t sure what he was going to say, so my anxiety rose. I just wanted to apologize because he’d been great until that last scene. I wasn’t sure he would think of me in that way.

“Didn’t mean to say that shit, at your place,” he said in a low voice. “That wasn’t legit. That was fucked.”

My head nodded because I gathered he had more to say. Shiz’s eyes were full of conflict and I was not sure how to help him or even if he would let me. Being the impulsive person that I am, I moved towards him and said, “I shouldn’t have hit you. I’m really sorry.”

“No, sweetheart. That was some hit worthy shit,” he said as he took a step towards me. “I don’t believe that, it just threw me off. Those Skullz bikers are so fucked up, it’s crazy. Swag told me and I nearly lost my shit. It’s no excuse, but I want to protect you. Want you to be safe and...”

He trailed off but I was already moving towards him as my hand extended to touch his face. I was an idiot, I knew, but this man’s obligation to protect me drew me in. Completely.

“I don’t need protecting,” I told him.

He laughed out loud as my hands framed his face. Then he placed his on my cheeks.

“You, Avery West of the Westonians, need to be protected more than anyone,” he said before his soft lips touched mine. “Nobody else is taking the job because the position is filled. Got it.”

He wasn’t asking, the man was telling me.

I didn’t want anyone else taking the job, so I said against his lips, “I got it.”

That was when his hands moved from my face and were on my hips and we were moving back up against the wall. My arms wrapped around his neck as he went in and took his fill of my mouth. His tongue explored every facet of me, his hips were grinding into my stomach so I could feel the indent of his hard cock. My fingers grabbed locks of his hair to pull him closer and deeper into me, which resulted in Shiz’s growl as he grabbed my ass and kissed me harder.

It was messy but fucking sexy. I started to nibble on his slippery tongue, then his bottom lip before I dared put my tongue in his mouth. Once he started to suck on it, my panties grew instantly wet and my leg started to climb up his to get a better feel. Shiz grabbed my thigh and dipped down, so my core connected with his rigid hard-on.

Holy Moses.

He was big and hard as hell.

My small whimper must have pulled Shiz out of our haze because he pulled back and placed his forehead on mine.

“Shit,” he breathed. “Can’t do this here. I want you spread out, so I can feast on every single part of you.”

Shit.

My breathing was coming in at a fast pace from the intensity of the make-out session. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, but I was a thrill seeker. There would be no running away from this and we both knew it.

“What’s stopping you?” I asked, causing his head to jolt back and those piercing eyes pinning me to the spot.

I couldn’t move, breathe or even say anything else. The man looked ready to devour every morsel of me, like an unleashed lion who wasn’t on the prowl, but had found his prey. The sweet innocent prey that knew no better than to mouth off to a caged beast.

With no further words, Shiz grabbed my hand and nearly dragged me until we reached the door.

“Woman, don’t tempt me to take you right here and now.” He nipped my bottom lip. “Swear, I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”

I nipped his lip back and that’s when he growled before pressing into me again. I could feel just what he meant by not stopping.

“Tonight,” he murmured in my ear. “Taking you out so we can talk. Then we decide. Okay.”

Yeah, I was hard-headed, as my dad would often say. 

“What if I’ve already decided?” I mused.

“Fuck, sweetheart.” He groaned. “Then don’t change your mind.”

As if he were forced, Shiz backed away from me and put his hands in his pockets. The intensity behind those eyes was blazing still but his mind was made up. I knew no matter how much I wanted him to throw caution away, he had something to do, so I stopped.

“Okay.” I said. “I’m going to go home now and not freak out about tonight.”

Shiz laughed but he nodded and replied, “Put on one of those pretty dresses for me. I’ll be at your place around seven.”

My head nodded as I made haste to the door of the bright room. It almost looked like a doctor’s office. I waved at the spunky woman at the front and said, “Have a good day.”

“Oh, you too. I’m sure you are having one now.” She was smiling from ear to ear.

I guess she knew what I knew.

My day just got that much brighter.