Daria
Humming to myself at work, I couldn’t believe how much had changed in the last few days ever since Rocky and I had mild-blowing, dirty sex on the floor of the garage.
The day after we’d had sex, I came into the office and it was more than a little awkward. Rocky didn’t really seem to know what to do or how to act so I took pity on him and acted like I did every day. A few moments later, he realized that I didn’t expect anything to go a certain way, and that I really was fine going back to the way things were.
It was true; I didn’t want to risk my friendship with Rocky. That didn’t stop me from getting turned on by almost every little thing he did. Sometimes his eyes would rake over me a certain way, or I’d look at him and remember something from the other night and all I would want to do was jump him. What was worse was that we were literally standing at the very place we’d had sex, all day, every day. Nobody could blame me for imagining him striding over to me in my office and bending me over the desk. I knew it would be just as mind-blowing as the first time too.
It was just my kind of luck to finally find a guy that gave me the best sex of my life and know it could never happen again. I’d never had such a powerful orgasm before, or an orgasm at all. My previous partners left a lot to be desired in the bedroom department, an area that Rocky more than excelled in. Though, I wasn’t too surprised. One look at Rocky and his body just screamed ‘I will give you a night you’ll never forget.’ Which is exactly what he did.
If there was one good thing that came out of it, it was the fact that Rocky and I were actually a lot more comfortable around each other these days. I supposed that’s what happens after you see someone naked.
It was times like these that I wished I had a girlfriend to talk things over with and vent to. Unfortunately, I hadn’t interacted often enough with other people in town. I made a mental note to start hanging out with other people instead of restricting my time to just be with Rocky.
I frowned at the thought. Was I hogging Rocky’s time? Was he getting sick of me?
Rocky was currently on the phone with Cameron, pacing back and forth and not saying much more than the occasional ‘uh huh.’ I’d noticed that most of his conversations with Cameron went that way. I’d love to listen in on them one day, just to find out what Cameron was saying to him.
They’d been talking for almost twenty minutes and Rocky’s face was getting darker and darker as the conversation went on. I knew he didn’t like what Cameron was saying but I didn’t know if that meant bad news or just a bad conversation.
When he finally did hang up, it was with a somber expression, holding the phone in his hands for several more minutes. He didn’t seem to want to be disturbed so I sat silently while he paced back and forth. When he stopped, seeming to come to a decision, he walked over to me and sat down.
“That was Cameron,” he began. I resisted the urge to smile at that. I’d already gathered that from the ‘hey uncle’ he’d opened the conversation with, but I figured this was a serious matter.
“He’s called me to a meeting at the clubhouse.”
“Oh,” was all I could say. That was good, wasn’t it? That meant that things were about to happen, plans set in motion and all that.
“Would you ... would you come with me?”
I blinked rapidly a few times. He wanted me to go? I couldn’t quite control the smile that had begun to spread over my face. Surely this meant that he wasn’t quite sick of me yet. I wondered if that was the decision he was trying to come to while he paced. If it was, I was flattered. He was beginning to open up to me more and more, letting me into more parts of his life.
I realized I still hadn’t answered him so I hurriedly replied. “Of course.”
Rocky let out a breath of relief at my answer, though I wasn’t sure why he was so surprised. There was no way I was not going to go. I wanted to know the danger the Rocky was going to get himself into and this was the only way to make sure I got all the facts and not a distilled version that glossed over the detail. If I didn’t go to this meeting I had a feeling that Rocky would come back and tell me very little.
“When is it?” I hoped it would be sometime soon so it would give Rocky less of an opportunity to change his mind, which I knew he was still considering.
“Tonight. Listen Daria, are you sure you want to come?” Rocky asked.
“I said I would, didn’t I?” I figured he’d already learned that I never went back on my word, especially in matters like this. I was already mentally anticipating how the meeting was going to play out, who was going to be there and what the big plan was.
I felt like I had to have Rocky’s back, especially since I knew he was so hell bent on getting revenge that he could become very reckless. He probably wouldn’t have a care in the world, putting himself in harm’s way left, right and center. Someone had to make sure he didn’t do something stupid. I knew his uncle would look out for him as well, but I didn’t know if Cameron was also blinded by hatred and revenge.
He hid it well if he did. If anything, Cameron gave off the vibe of endless patience and cold calculation
Between Cameron and myself, Rocky had two people who cared deeply for him, even if he didn’t know it. I just hoped that it would be enough for when the time came.
###
I’d never set foot in the clubhouse when I was younger so I didn’t know what to expect. It was strange to think that Mom spent most of her time here when she was my age, even weirder to think it had been Rocky’s home once upon a time.
We entered the clubhouse to meet Cameron, who seemed quite surprised to see that Rocky had brought me along. He looked oddly pleased about it, something that made me a mixture of nervous and suspicious. I remembered back when Rocky had told me that Cameron was asking him about me, and wondered why all the interest. Did it have anything to do with my mother? I still hadn’t asked her about the strange dynamic between her and Cameron and I knew that I had to do that soon.
“Daria, Rocky.” Cameron strode forward and wrapped his arms around me in a warm embrace, something that seemed very out of character. I froze a little in shock then awkwardly attempted to hug him back. My eyes flicked up to Rocky and he seemed amused by my discomfort. I suppose if he wasn’t shocked by his uncle then I shouldn’t be either. Anyway, if this meant that Cameron was accepting me into Rocky’s life then I appreciated it greatly.
“Hey uncle,” Rocky replied. “I thought this was a meeting?”
“It was. Until I decided that all our men didn’t need to be involved. I think I've worked out our next move.”
Cameron sat us down in a little seating area and went to grab some drinks, a beer for Rocky and himself and a water for me.
Rocky was leaning forward in his seat, his face serious and waiting for Cameron to continue. This was what he’d been waiting months for.
“I think we need to meet with Garcia.”
“What? Fuck no,” Rocky protested. His entire demeanor had changed from captivated to very angry in a heartbeat and I could understand exactly why. I was dumbfounded that Cameron had decided this would be the best move to make. Was I wrong about who this man was?
“Jose Garcia, right?” I clarified. “The Mexican drug cartel boss?”
“Yes, the leader of the cartel,” Cameron affirmed.
“That’s a terrible idea,” Rocky interrupted.
“It’s the best move we can make,” Cameron’s words to his nephew were sharp. It wasn’t a suggestion, he’d already made up his mind. “We need help to take out Steele without it seeming like it was a Satan’s Wings hit. And no one will cross Garcia so it won’t be linked back to us.”
The fact that nobody would cross Garcia just seemed like more reason not to make any deals with him. He was clearly more dangerous than I realized.
“He’s not going to want to help us,” Rocky argued.
“He might. For a price. Besides, he’s our only shot if we don’t want a club war on our hands. Even without Jason, the Nightmare MC is strong. They’d want revenge and they’d take a few of our men down with them. We can’t afford something like that.”
But what would he ask for, I wondered. My mind was recalling old movies I used to watch of mafia bosses being paid in either money or favors.
“When’s the meet?” Rocky asked.
“Tomorrow. An abandoned warehouse just outside town.”
“Who’s going?” I asked, suddenly nervous about where this was going. The lack of people attending this ‘meeting’ gave it away.
“Just me and Rocky,” Cameron answered casually, as if saying it in a calm tone could convince me that it wasn’t a big deal. I knew very well that I had little clue about how the club worked but surely, he could see this was a bad idea. Garcia couldn’t be trusted and he’d probably bring more men with him. They could walk right into an ambush.
“Are you sure that’s a good move,” I put forward uncertainly. “Shouldn’t you take a few more people with you?”
Cameron snorted and shook his head. “Rocky and I will be fine. Garcia won’t try anything unless he’s got reason to and at the moment, he’s got nothing. And on top of that, it’d also be bad for business if he just started shooting people that wanted to meet with him. No, we’ll be fine.”
The way he said it was so convincing. No wonder he was club president, he could talk anyone into doing anything.
“I’m in,” Rocky said then. I cursed him for his impulsiveness but stayed quiet.
“Good. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”
###
Rocky had dropped me off at the hotel after leaving the clubhouse, walking me to the door like a gentleman. A part of me wanted to use this time to plead with him not to go but I knew it would be useless.
I just couldn’t help but think it was really strange that they were making a deal with Garcia. Surely someone would question why Garcia was going around and killing MC presidents. It was times like this that I realized I would never understand some things in Rocky’s world.
We arrived at the hotel door and I turned to Rocky to say goodbye, impulsively leaning in to give him a brief hug, thinking he wouldn’t appreciate too much affection.
“Don’t be stupid tomorrow,” I warned. That was probably what worried me the most.
“Have a little faith, Daria,” he replied with an eye roll.
“I’m serious. Please. Be safe,” I whispered into his ear.
“I will. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And with those parting words, I watched him stroll away back to his bike without a care in the world, hoping that I really would get to see him tomorrow.