Blaine used to get off on wielding the power that the club’s logo afforded him. A small part of him still did.
The asshole on the Ninja bike didn’t know Blaine personally, but he knew enough about the Bonds to not fuck with one of their members.
He had watched the pretty girl pull into the station in her rust bucket civic, and when that douche bag had muscled into her he felt a strange urge to protect her. She wasn’t a bombshell, hell her tits weren’t even that big, but there was something about her that made him want her.
When he caught her checking him out in the mirror he smiled to himself. There was no way he could ever get involved with an innocent one like her. Hell, there’s no way an innocent girl who played a giant guitar would be into a rough guy like him. He was surprised when he noticed that her eyes followed his every move outside of the car.
When he told her that her gas was paid for, and his eyes met hers, he felt the strangest sensation. Her pretty blue eyes seemed to look at him differently than the makeup caked eyes who usually met his. He had meant to get her name, but for the first time in his life, he felt unnerved by, not even a woman, a girl. When he grew stiff against his jeans, he had high tailed it out of there.
‘That’s the last thing I need right now.’ He thought to himself as he growled away from the gas station. He had two appointments with landowners and had to focus on securing a spot for their AGM.
His first stop was on the outskirts of town in an agricultural area. The owner was an aging hippie named Steve, who supplied the town with organic vegetables, and supplied the Bonds with organic weed. It was good stuff, nice and mellow.
Blaine wheeled his bike off the main road and carefully navigated the overgrown driveway back to Steve’s barn. It was a gorgeous day, the sky was robin’s egg blue, and the prayer flags on Steve’s barn flapped listlessly in the light breeze.
“Blaine?” Steve shouted from behind the barn. “Can you give me a hand here, brother?”
Typically, Blaine would’ve been offended by an outsider calling him brother, but Steve was from a long-lost era and Blaine let it slide. He jogged around the corner and saw Steve struggling with a rain barrel.
“What’s this all about?”
“It’s a gravity fed system, and as you can see, it’s sitting on the ground.”
“Well, that’s not gonna work too well.” Blaine chuckled.
“No shit, brother.” Steve smiled. “I’d just dump it out, but with this drought we’re having, I’d hate to lose this precious life source.”
Blaine rolled his eyes and laughed. “Why don’t we siphon some of it out so we can lift it up to where it needs to be?”
“Good call. Let me see if I can find some hose.”
While Steve rummaged around in the barn, Blaine surveyed the open fields. They would be perfect for the AGM. There were islands of trees that could provide shade, a couple of huge out-buildings and cabins, and acres of flat land that led to a meandering river. It was just far enough from town that neighbors wouldn’t be calling the cops about noise, and close enough that people could go and get supplies.
“Got it,” Steve said breathlessly as he reappeared beside Blaine, holding a dirty rubber hose. “Whatcha looking at?”
“We need a location for our AGM. This is perfect.”
“Oh yeah, when is that shindig?”
“September sometime,” Blaine said, affixing the hose to the barrel. “I don’t think that exact date has been established just yet.”
“I don’t know if that’s going to work, brother.”
“We would pay you, dude. And I promise you that we will leave the place cleaner than we found it.”
“I don’t doubt that Blaine, but I’ve got crops that aren’t going to be harvested at that time. These fields are precious, and as much as I appreciate everything that your club does for me, this soil is my livelihood. Hundreds of bikes and partiers isn’t going to be good for her physically, and that’s not the kind of energy that I want for my plants.”
“Hmmm.” Blaine grunted disapprovingly.
“You know that I’d do anything for the club.”
“I do Steve, I do,” Blaine said begrudgingly and shook Steve’s hand.
The guy was straight up with him and Blaine understood where he was coming from, minus the weird energy part and calling his land ‘her’. They also relied on his crops to supply all the weed smokers in town, and Blaine didn’t want to jeopardize that local supply. The organic shit was growing in popularity, and Steve’s weed had a loyal following.
“Let’s get this barrel sorted out.” Blaine took a deep breath and sucked the water up into the hose. He was a big powerful man, and his lungs had siphoned off a few gas tanks in their lifetime, so in no time at all, he helped Steve siphon and relocate all of his rain barrels.
“Thanks, man.” Steve slapped Blaine on the back. “And thanks for understanding.”
Blaine nodded and headed back to his bike. His next meeting was not going to be as cordial.
He pulled into the industrial plaza on the other side of town and leaned against his bike while he waited for Ed to show up. He lit a joint and inhaled deeply.
“Damn, Steve’s stuff is good.” He mumbled to himself.
The sleek black Mercedes crept into the lot and Ed stepped out into the parking lot. Ed was a dick, and Blaine hated his guts. It wasn’t just his pointy Italian shoes, or his stupid gelled hair, the guy was slimy as fuck. Blaine hated that the club did business with him, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he fucked them over.
“Blaine, buddy.” Ed sauntered up to him and held out his hand for a handshake, but he stopped just far enough away that Blaine would’ve had to meet him to shake it.
Blaine didn’t bite and took another slow toke from his joint. Ed lowered his hand and cleared his throat.
“What can I do for you?”
“I need a tour of your facilities.” Blaine flicked the joint away and stood up to his full height and towered over Ed.
“Why?”
“I need a tour of your facilities,” Blaine repeated. He enjoyed taunting the slime-ball.
“Fuck, fine,” Ed muttered under his breath. “This way.” He turned on his heel and motioned for Blaine to follow.