Chapter 5

 

Graham

 

I THOUGHT I’D feel like an outsider, but the guys were so easy-going and not what I’d imagined a hardcore biker club to be like. Of course, when I’d first met Tank at Sal’s, I remembered him to be pretty easy going. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that his closest friends had similar demeanors. The only one who seemed a little distant and out-of-place, was Jordan. He didn’t say much, except to his wife and something told me that he really didn’t want to be at the clubhouse.

 “Candace is still checking you out, brother I’d get all over that before someone else does tonight.”

“I heard she left her old man,” Tank said in a low voice. “She’s probably looking for a revenge fuck. That’s probably why she’s really even here.”

“He cheat on her?” Hoss asked.

“I don’t know the details,” Tank said, walking around the bar. “Graham, what’s your poison? Beer? Cocktail? A shot of whiskey or tequila?”

“I’ll take a beer. Thanks,” I replied.

“Give him a shot of tequila. He deserves to get fucked up,” Hoss said before taking a drag of his e-cigarette.

 “You want one?” Tank asked me. “You can stay at the clubhouse tonight if you get too wasted.”

 “Sure,” I replied. “Why not?”

“Maybe Jessica should give him a ride home. If he doesn’t get with Candace, she can drop him off with Chloe,” Hoss said, staring across the room at her.

“I don’t need to get laid,” I said, a little amused by the conversation.

“You committed?” Hoss asked.

“Not anymore,” I said gruffly.

“Ah, we’ve all been there, brother. Just remember,” Hoss waved his fingers in the air and spoke in sing-song voice, “never underestimate the healing powers of the magical pussy.”

“Oh, here we go,” Tail said, chuckling. “Hoss giving advice again. Let’s hear it, ‘Oh, wise one’.”

“Damn right I’m wise. One thing I’ve learned over the years, it takes one pussy to get over another one.” He looked at me. “See, here is what you need to do. You need to bang your way through this town until you’ve forgotten all about her.”

“She’s already forgotten,” I lied.

His lips pursed as he scowled at me. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. If you haven’t fucked anyone else besides your ex yet, she still owns your dick.”

The guys laughed at him.

“You think it’s funny but it’s true. Tail, you used to be a real baller. Tell him,” Hoss said, waving his arm.

Tail looked at me and shrugged. “I mean, he kind of has a point. You won’t forget her… but if she’s done you wrong and you want to move on, fucking another chick can’t hurt.”

“See. I told you I was right,” Hoss said. “Just because I don’t look as pretty as some of you doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m talking about. Hell, I’ve had to work twice as hard to earn my pussy,” Hoss said.

“He’s lying,” Tank said, smirking. “Girls were always hanging on you because of the club. You never had to worry about getting laid.”

Hoss smiled. “Okay. That’s true. But, I’ve been hurt in the past. I got over it. Now you know how I did it.”

 

“I hate to say this, But Hoss might be onto something.” Tank slid me two shots of Tequila. “I also think that after the last couple of days, you could probably use both of these.”

“Oh, yeah,” I replied. “Thanks.”

He grabbed some lime slices and a salt shaker. He moved them toward me. “No problem. Anyone else want a shot?”

“I’ll take one,” Tail said.

“I’ll have one, too,” Cole said. “Terin’s picking me up so I’m not driving.”

Tank poured a few more shots of tequila and we shot them back together, toasting Hoss and his words of wisdom.

“It’s about time someone appreciated my advice,” he replied with a smug smile.

“We always appreciate you, Hoss,” Cole said, patting him on the back.

I could tell by the look on the old man’s face, he was touched by the sentiment.

“So, Graham, tell us a little about yourself,” Tank said to me. “What do you do?”

I told him that I was a master electrician. He then asked me where I’d gone to school and wanted to know about my adoptive parents.

“Sorry to hear they’ve passed on,” he said after I filled them in. “They sounded like good people.”

I nodded. “They really were.”

“I can’t believe that you lived in Jensen this entire time and nobody knew about you,” Cole said, who I learned was Tank’s brother-in-law.

“Yeah. Small world,” I replied, haphazardly peeling the label off of my beer.

“Did you know that you were adopted?” Tail asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. They told me early on.”

“Did you ever think about trying to search for your biological parents?” Hoss asked.

“Yes and no. I loved the people who raised me and figured the ones who gave me up had their reasons. I suppose I would have eventually tried tracking them down.”

“Seriously, though, I wonder who your old man is,” Hoss said, staring at me. “Maybe it’s Raptor’s? He looks a lot like him, just different hair color.”

“He looks like Jordan, too,” Tail said.

“He wouldn’t be Acid’s son,” Tank said.

“Who’s Acid?” I asked.

Tank told me that Acid had been Jordan’s father and one crazy son-of-a-bitch.

“He used to burn him,” Hoss said in a low voice, glancing over toward Jordan. “Poor kid was raised by one of the craziest fuckers alive and put up with a lot of abuse. He doesn’t talk about it, or anything else really for that after, but he’s damn lucky to be alive.”

“It made him who he is today, which is still kind of a mystery to most. I suppose it’s hard to trust anyone after that kind of life though,” Tank said, with a sad expression. “Anyway, he’s good to Jessica and the kids. We were kind of worried, considering his old man had been such a psychopath.”

Listening to them talk about Jordan was sobering. “What about… our mother?” I asked, the words feeling weird on my tongue.

“She was a drug addict,” Tank replied. “I didn’t know her very much. My old man did, which is why Mavis confided in him. Apparently, they were second or third cousins, too. Damn, I almost forgot about that.” Tank grinned. “I guess that makes us related, too.”

“I guess so,” I answered, smiling back.

“I miss Slammer,” Hoss said in a somber voice. “He was the shit.”

“A toast to Slammer,” Tank said, raising his beer. We all followed suit and drank the second shot.

“I wish I could have met him,” I said, the tequila making me warm. “Hell, I wish I could have met her.”

“Mavis had actually become clean before…,” Tank stopped and his face darkened. “Sorry, man. I shouldn’t talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” I asked, not understanding.

“Your birth mother’s death,” Hoss said. “She was murdered by the fucking Devil’s Rangers.”

I stared at him in shock. “I didn’t know that.”

“Now, we don’t know for sure,” Tank replied. “In fact, we finally have somewhat of a truce now, too. It’s wise if you don’t start bringing that shit up and causing trouble, Hoss.”

“The kid deserves to know,” he replied.

“Raptor and Jordan can talk to him about that,” Tank replied.

“I suppose. You want any more information, you’d better discuss it with them, Dodger,” Hoss said.

“It’s Dodge,” I replied.

Hoss grinned. “I kind of like Dodger. I might just call you that. You have a road name?””

“No,” I replied.

“You even ride?” Hoss asked.

I told him about my Hog. “I’m thinking about getting a sled now,” I added, hoping that I could get the money back for the ring. The fuck if I was going to marry Bonnie now. If I had to sell the damn thing on eBay, I would.

“Some of us have sleds,” Tank said. “Once you get one, we’ll have to take you out to Hoss’s cabin and go riding.”

“Yeah. That would be great,” I replied and then explained to him about the ring I’d purchased.

“Wow, what a fucking bitch,” Tail said.

“At least you found out now before you married her,” Hoss said.

“No shit,” I replied. “By the way, I’m going to pay you back for bailing me out of jail.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tank replied, waving his hand.

“Bullshit. I appreciate what you did, but I can’t let you pay for my fuckup,” I replied.

“It wasn’t a fuckup. The asshole deserved it,” Hoss said. “He’s lucky he got off as easy as he did. If that would have happened to me, he’d be buried in a cornfield right now. You went easy on the prick.”

The others nodded and agreed with him.

“Damn, look at that ass,” Hoss said staring at someone. “There you go, Dodger. Something to help you start the healing process.”

I glanced over and saw Chloe standing at the buffet. Her jeans fit her in all the right places and she was definitely gorgeous, but too sweet looking.  If I was going to fuck anyone tonight, it would have to be guilt-free and something told me that Chloe wasn’t into mindless sex. But, damn, the tequila had warmed me up all the way to my dick and the thought of bending Chloe over the buffet was making my jeans tight.

She caught me staring at her and I looked away. As hot as she was, I knew that it wasn’t what I needed. Or, hell, maybe it was. I really didn’t have a fucking clue anymore. 

“Could I get another shot?” I asked Tank, thinking I’d let the alcohol take over for a while. There was so much going on inside of me. I just wanted to forget everything for a while.

“Of course. Like I said, you can drink up and stay the night, brother.” He poured me another.

“Seriously, you should hook up with her before someone else does,” Hoss said, still ogling Chloe. “Fresh meat like that doesn’t walk into the clubhouse often.”

“Hoss…” Tank shook his head and looked at me. “Once he gets his mind on something, he can’t let it go.”

“I’m just trying to help the kid. You’re pouring tequila down his throat, fucking him up. I’ll get him fucked. A perfect end to a perfect night, if you ask me.”

I chuckled.

“I don’t know. She works with Jessica. It’s not like she’s here to get laid. Hell, for all we know she could have a husband waiting for her at home,” Tank said.

“I didn’t see a ring on her finger,” Hoss said.

“It’s probably a bad idea,” I replied as Tank slid over the shot of tequila. “Although, a few more of these, though, and I’ll forget why it’s a bad idea.”

“Speaking of bad ideas,” mumbled Tank, looking past me. 

“Hey,” said Candace, stopping next to us. She shook her dark brown bangs out of her face and gave Tank a pouty look. “You have any tequila left for me?”

“Sure, darlin’,” he replied, grabbing another shot glass from under the bar.

Smiling, she turned to me. “By the way, let me introduce myself.” She held out her hand. “The name is Candace. Some people call me Candi.”

I had to admit, she had a nice rack and was definitely a looker, but she also looked too made up and fake for my tastes. Especially with all of the caked-on makeup. Admittedly, her plum-colored glossy lips were a little intriguing to my dick.

I shook her hand. “Graham.”

“Here you go,” Tank said, sliding over the shot glass. “I imagine you want a lime and some salt?”

“Nah. I can take anything hard… straight,” she replied with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “

 The guys around us chuckled.

Candace raised the shot glass. “A toast to Graham. May we see a lot more of him.”

Nodding, I raised my shot and we tossed them back together.

“Whew,” she said, shuddering as she set the empty shot glass down. “Now that hit the spot.”

“What about your other spot, sweetheart?” Hoss asked with a lecherous grin.

She looked over at me and bit the lower corner of her lip. “Oh, Hossy baby, I’m working on filling that one, too.”