Ember
To say that I was a little disturbed by all the Satan’s Sons would have been an understatement. They all had this cruel look about them, and I couldn’t really place why Wheeler didn’t feel that way to me, but I wasn’t going to question it. Nope, I was going to make him drag me out and show me a good time so that I could get out of my head for a little while and let my loved ones know that I was safe so that they wouldn’t worry about me too hard.
Totally, one hundred percent easy.
So I was on the back of Wheeler’s bike, again. More clothes on than the last time, but they were still a little skimpy. While Elise had been kind enough to supply me with some of her things, I hoped that I got the chance to go out and get some clothes of my own choosing at some point. I’d remind Wheeler about it when we got back to the clubhouse.
We pulled up to a bar that I’d never been to. It looked like your typical biker club, all rustic and rugged with a ton of bikes out front and loud rock music blaring, even though it wasn’t even evening yet. There were a few bikers out front drinking and laughing loudly with each other, and women in skimpy clothes seemed to be the norm. This wasn’t my crowd, but at least in the clothes that I had borrowed from Elise, I didn’t stick out in the “she doesn’t belong here with us” kind of way. Tight, tight, jeans and an impossibly low-cut red shirt had eyes on me, but the men had their eyes on all the girls.
As we walked into the bar, Wheeler had his arm around me, which was comforting and seemed to send the message to people not to mess with me. I was beginning to be fine with this contact and those signals—both in this situation and at the clubhouse.
Just don’t go getting used to it.
“You know, I’ve been around bikers before, but never like this,” I said as we walked inside. We were seated; Wheeler just found us a table near the bar.
“You mean in the thick of things as opposed to just seeing us wherever for gigs and shit.”
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I take it your general opinion isn’t very favorable.”
I laughed.
“Well, at least there’s you,” I said. He gave me a strange look and I realized how that must sound to him. “Oh, well, you know what I mean.” I rolled my eyes and held out my hand, refusing to let him think too long and hard on that one. “Go on, give me a couple quarters. I need them for the phone calls.”
Wheeler snorted, but fished inside his pockets and pulled out some change. I took it and winked at him.
“You’re a doll.”
Wheeler snorted and I got up, weaving through the huge crowd of people to get to the back where the payphones where. All the older places had them, and I was grateful for it. There was one out of the two that were back there that was free, and I slotted in one of the quarters before hovering my fingers over the dial pad. Who did I call first? Wanda, or my mother?
I sighed. Wanda first. That would be easier.
I dialed Wanda’s cell phone number and waited while it rang. She always took forever to answer her phone, and I stood there, foot tapping lightly until she answered.
“Hello?”
“Wanda?”
“Ember!?”
She sounded surprised to hear me, but not angry. That was a good thing.
“Hey, girl. What’s up?”
“What’s up? Ember, where have you been? Have you been watching the news at all? What the hell happened at the festival? And why is that creep Jameson saying that you had something to do with it? I don’t understand.”
I sighed.
“It’s a long, long story, and I can’t really get into all the details right now, but I had nothing to do with that fire, Wanda. You have to believe me.”
“Of course I believe you. Why the hell would you do something as crazy as that?” She sighed. “Still. What are you going to do? I mean, like—” she paused. “They’re really, really out in full force wanting to pin this on you and those biker boys,” she whispered.
“Yeah, I know. But I’m going to figure it out, okay? Don’t worry about it. I got it.”
“Okay, but Ember, where are you staying? Do you have a phone? Money? I’ve tried calling your cell phone and there’s been nothing from it. I’ve tried everything! How are you taking care of yourself? Let me come get you wherever you are—”
“No.”
She was quiet.
“No?”
“No. Listen, Wanda. You’ve done so much for me, and as much as I want to see a friendly, familiar face right now, I don’t want you getting into trouble over me, all right?”
“But you didn’t do anything!”
I laughed. “Tell that to the people that are looking for me because Jameson Mathers decided he was going to be a bigger asshole than he already was.” I sighed. “Listen, Wanda, I know it’s not ideal and I can’t tell you everything, but I’m safe, okay?”
“Are you? Like actually safe? You’re not just telling me what you think I wanna hear to get me off your ass, are you? Because I’ll hunt you down wherever you are and I’ll kick your ass. You know I will.”
I smiled.
“Yeah, I know you will.”
Wanda sighed again, resigned to the fact that this was my plan and it was the one that we were going with.
“Fine, fine, fine. Do whatever you want. Try to keep me posted, okay? Lord knows that the last thing I need is to keep worrying what nasty ditch you’ve fallen into. If anything happens, is there a way to contact you?”
I chewed on my lip. I wasn’t supposed to give details out about where I was staying. Or with who.
“I’ll let you know the next time I call, okay?”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“All right … I’ll take that for now. Listen, I need to go, okay? We’re sorting shit out on our end. Tried telling the cops you’re not an arsonist and they laughed, talking about some bullshit over how that’s rich, you play with fire for a living. Whatever. Anyway, basically they’re wanting to make sure we’re not arsonists, too.”
“Are you going to be all right?” I was concerned.
“Girl, you know I’m fine. You look after yourself, okay? Don’t forget to call your mother; she’s probably worried about you if she hasn’t been able to get ahold of you after all this time.”
“Don’t worry. That’s what I was getting ready to do.”
“Sweet. Love ya, girl.”
“Love ya too, Wanda.”
I hung up and slotted another quarter into the payphone. I dialed my mother’s number this time, and I waited less time than I did for Wanda.
“Angela Amor.” My mother sounded tired and worn down—I couldn’t help but wonder if it was partly my fault.
“Mama?”
There was a bit of silence and if it hadn’t been for the fact that there wasn’t a click, I would have thought that my mother had hung up on me.
“Em—Ember? Baby, is that you?”
“Yeah, Mama it’s me.”
“Oh, thank God.” My mother breathed a sigh of relief and I could imagine her holding her chest, sitting down before that relief got the better of her. “Oh Ember, I’ve been worried sick. You weren’t answering your phone; you hadn’t shown up. All those things they’re saying about you on the news—”
“They’re not true, Mama.”
“Oh honey, I know. I know. I know you would never do something bad like that. Why do you think they did?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Jameson Mathers is an asshole and a disgusting pig; he probably thinks it’s funny, trying to slot the blame onto me.”
“And then that news with the bikers involved too? And the drugs? I shudder to think how anyone would associate you with any of that.” She sighed again. “Honey, where are you? Are you safe? Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine, Mama, shockingly,” I said. “I—I’m staying with a friend right now, under the radar until we figure out what to do about this situation.”
“A friend?” she asked. “What kind of friend? Are they safe?”
Safe? Pft. Questionable.
“Yes, Mama, they’re safe.”
“Boy or a girl?”
“Mama, does it matter?”
“It matters to me. Is it a boyfriend? Is he going to take care of you, honey?”
“It’s not a boyfriend, but I am being taken care of, Mama, I promise, okay?”
She sighed.
“I guess I’ll have to take that for now, won’t I?”
“For now, yeah.”
“Please, please be careful, honey, okay? Where are you calling from? Is there a number I can get?”
“I’m calling from a payphone right now, but I’ll keep you updated as much as I can, all right?”
“All right, Ember. I love you, all right? I’ll tell your brothers that you’re doing all right. Please, please stay out of trouble. You’ll worry me into a grave.”
“I love you too, Mama. And I will.”
The line went dead.
I breathed in a deep breath and hung up the payphone. Well. That was two important calls down and no more than I needed or wanted to make right now. Wanda and my mother knew, roughly, how I was doing, and neither of them were trying to urge me to go to the police, so that was good. I went back out to the main bar area. Wheeler had already ordered us some drinks.
“Oh thank God, I need one of these,” I said. He’d gotten me a beer and I eagerly drank down a huge gulp of it, apparently to Wheeler’s surprise.
“Damn girl, you can drink,” he said, eyeing the glass of beer now half empty before me. I laughed.
“I can drink like this when it’s necessary. What, you don’t think girls can put back their alcohol?”
“You don’t look like a girl that puts back alcohol, that’s all.”
I rolled my eyes and took another—smaller—drink. I stuck my tongue out at him when I was done and he reach over, ruffling my hair up.
“You’re such a little shit. I’m convinced you dragged me out here just to pick on me.”
“You like it.”
“I’m not complaining. So, how’d your calls go?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“About as good as they could go, but my mother and Wanda know that I’m all right, so there’s that. I just wanted to make sure that they knew that I wasn’t dead or involved in this bullshit that Jameson says that I am. Other than that, I guess we just gotta wait and see. That’s where I am right now.”
“I’m sorry that that’s the position that you have to be in.”
“Oh, come on now.” I waved at him. “Don’t get all … serious with me. We’re supposed to be loosening up from the shit storm that’s about to happen, aren’t we?” I asked. “So let’s just forget about this for a little, okay?”
Wheeler smiled.
“All right. We can do that.”
It wasn’t typical of me to run away from my problems or even ignore them temporarily. But this was something that was a little different than bucking up and taking responsibility to help my family, or making choices about what college to go to, or trying to figure out how I was going to pay off my school debt. This kind of problem was out of my element—I didn’t deal with the law like this, and I certainly didn’t deal with false accusations leveled at me by bigwig executives in lofty places in life. Just. I didn’t.
So in this situation I was totally content to pretend like nothing bad was happening, at least in the small amount of space that I was sharing with Wheeler.
“Hey, you wanna dance?”
I seemed to have caught him off guard with my question.
“What?”
“You deaf? I said: you wanna dance? Come on, it’ll be good for the both of us.”
I didn’t give him a chance to protest or tell me no. I stood up and took his hand, tugging him up with me.
“You’re in a mood tonight, I see.”
“I’m always in a mood, Wheeler.”
He laughed at that and we went to the dance floor. There were other people dancing and grinding on each other. I was quick to move Wheeler’s hands to my hips as I turned around, moving my body against him. He was surprised by that at first, not doing much, until his hands became sure, confident grips at my sides and he started moving with me.
It was an odd notion, but even though we had already had an impulse fuck, this was more intimate, somehow. Dancing was more personal than a one-night stand—it was what made fire dancing so erotic and alluring without ever touching another person. It was what made passions and desires boil without ever going anywhere but watching. Observing.
I loved the way Wheeler felt pressed against me. We were separated by clothes and public decency, but there was something oh so good about having his face pressed into my neck and out bodies flush to each other. It was divine.
We moved together and I got lost in the undulation of our bodies. I was a little surprised at how well he danced.
“You got a lot of rhythm for a biker boy,” I teased him. He laughed.
“Biker boys don’t have rhythm now?”
“Not that I’ve ever known,” I said. I laughed. “But it’s okay, I like it.”
He tightened his hold on me and made it so I was jerked close to him, making me gasp. He mouthed against my neck.
“I’m beginning to think that you have ulterior motives—”
“Heey.”
The scent of alcohol wafted up with the approach of a man. He had clearly been drinking and was sloppy as all hell. Wheeler and I stopped moving, but Wheeler kept his hold on me, an obvious indicator that the man’s presence wasn’t welcome.
“Heey, pretty girl,” he slurred. “You—hic—are really hot.”
“Hey, beat it, asshole.”
“Hey, hey, lemme talk to the lady.” He stumbled forward and tried to touch me but Wheeler backed us up before the man could put his hands on me. He looked disappointed at that, but I honestly didn’t care about it.
“I’d rather not,” I said. I narrowed my eyes at him to drive home the message that I wasn’t having any of his shit.
“Oh, come on, come on, I know you, we—hic—know each other, don’t we?” He smiled at me, revealing a bunch of nasty, unbrushed teeth. My stomach flopped over.
“No, I don’t think we do.”
“Come on, asshole, scram.” Wheeler bulked behind me, tensed. His muscles seemed to swell, and I knew that he was ready for a fight. I didn’t want that, so I nodded along with Wheeler.
“Yeah … come on, leave me alone, I don’t know you.”
“Sure, sure. E—ember. Fire Girl!” The man laughed as though that was the funniest thing he had ever said in his entire life. I grimaced; how did he know my name?
Wait …
“Fire Girl, yeah, I know you, the one that—”
The man had started toward me again, hands out like he was going to touch me again. Before he could, Wheeler was in front of me and decked the guy. The group of people that had started to stare at the exchange continued to look on, laughing a little at the drunk man on the floor, knocked out cold by Wheeler’s hit. But Wheeler and I didn’t stick around long enough to enjoy the attention.
“Come on.”
Wheeler took my hand and we left the bar.
“I guess going out in public right now isn’t a great idea.”
“I didn’t even think about it. I should have known better.”
“No, it’s not your fault.” I stopped in my tracks, making Wheeler stop as well when he tugged my hand and I wouldn’t budge. He looked down to me.
“What?”
“Listen. I totally blame your biker buddies, because they were the ones setting shit on fire. And Jameson—he’s the one that lied about my involvement. But you’re the one that’s tried to help me this entire time. Besides, I’m the one that said we should go out when I’m the one with her face plastered all over every news and social media outlet. Don’t worry about it. Besides, we had fun while it lasted, didn’t we?”
He smiled.
“Okay … Fair point.”
I patted him.
“It’s not just your issue … burden … whatever. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”