The dulcet tones of the jazz music that played echoed throughout the room. It had been three weeks since Rocco had publicly declared that Hailey would be his Old Lady. While he was still firmly against walking down the aisle, Meish insisted that a public ceremony would at least instill more faith in members of the club, and anyone else that came into contact with the Chasing Spirits crew.
Rocco tugged at the collar of his shirt, and fiddled with his tie. Beside him, Hailey grabbed champagne flute off of the table, and held it out to him.
“We should probably toast, right?” She leaned into him and whispered, “So, that it’s more believable.”
Rocco nodded and wrapped his fingers around the neck of his own glass of champagne. They clinked their glasses together, and Rocco tipped the glass back into his mouth. The sweet, expensive champagne sat on his tongue and he wrinkled his nose as he set his glass back onto the table. He turned towards Hailey and said, “What’s the fascination with this stuff? With any of this stuff? All of this pomp and ritz?”
Meish had gone out of his way to put together the best wedding that he could. Clyde, and two other riders that had been apart of Chasing Spirits for years, had served as Rocco’s groomsmen. This seems like a lot for a party. Rocco took in the high ceilings of the rented hall, and the cream colored accents around the room. Hailey wore an eggshell colored dress that spilled onto the floor. Her hair had been arranged into a complicated updo, and pieces of her strawberry blonde strands dangled in front of her cheeks.
Clyde moved towards the table with a glass of champagne in his hand. He grinned at Rocco and said, “How does it feel to be a groom?”
Hailey smiled and patted Rocco on the thigh. She pushed her chair out and offered it to Clyde, “Here, I’ll give you guys a chance to talk. I’m, going to stretch my legs.” She offered Rocco a sweet smile and moved into the center of the room. The glossy hardwood floors revealed the scene around her. Several round tables were scattered throughout the room, and bikers were dressed in some of their finest clothes.
Hailey shook her head. All of this for the VP’s fake big day. She picked up the edges of her dress and moved over to the other side of the room. Hailey smiled politely as she slid past chairs and tables, until she spotted Becca sitting at the edge of a table on the other end of the room.
She waved her hands at Becca, and approached her. Hailey stuck her hand out towards Becca and said, “Becca, how are you holding up?”
Becca grinned and said, “I’m alright. About as good as you can be when you’re attending a wedding against your will.”
Hailey nodded, “Yeah. However, I think that things could be worse. Rocco could have decided to have me killed to prove a point to my father.”
Becca tipped her champagne glass back until none of the liquid remained. She set her glass on the table and blinked, “Rocco isn’t like that, he isn’t like some of these animals, you can tell.”
She and Becca shared a laugh before Becca took an h'orderve off of the plate in front of her. Becca placed the hors d’oeuvre on her tongue and said, “He seems like a good guy, seriously.”
Hailey scanned the faces of the riders that sat at the table. While most of them men were peering about the hall or grabbing another glass of bourbon, there were a couple of riders at the end of the table that would occasionally raise their eyes towards Becca and Hailey.
I need to be careful about what I say here. If something comes off as a little too unflattering, Becca and I could find ourselves in more trouble than we bargained for. She smoothed the billowing skirts of her wedding dress. Then this whole Old Lady charade will have been for nothing. Unless Rocco was serious about everything.
Hailey smiled and said, “He’s great, I just wish that I’d had a bit more time to get to know him. I know that not every relationship is going to end up like the one that I had with Derek, but it’s hard to shake those memories sometimes.”
Becca nodded and pointed at Rocco and Clyde. “I get. But, look at him, he’s tall, toned, and sexy. Let yourself live a little, and give him a shot.” She set her hand on top of Hailey’s and said, “It’s better than the alternative.”
Hailey didn’t miss the desperate look in Becca’s eyes. Her heart sank into her stomach, and she pointed at the chilled bottle of champagne that sat in the center of the table. “Why don’t we have a drink?”
On the other side of the room, Rocco poured himself and Clyde another glass of champagne. The gold liquid splashed against the insides of the champagne flute, and he set the bottle in between them. Rocco grinned and said, “So, enjoying all of the festivities? I know that you don’t get out from behind that desk more than once a week.”
Clyde delivered a friendly tap to Rocco’s shoulder and rolled his eyes. “I get out, plenty. Besides, you should be one to talk. It’s not like you’re going to be getting out anymore now that you have an Old Lady again.”
Rocco waved his hand and took a long sip of champagne. He set the glass down and licked his lips. “Nah, all of this is just for Meish. It’s for show, for the rest of the riders. Once we’ve locked everything down with the Pythons, life’s going to go back to the way that it was.”
Clyde paused mid way into taking a sip of champagne. “Huh? You’re not going to go through with this after everything's said and done?”
Rocco rolled his eyes. “I told you—not interested.”
“So the bedroom eyes that you and Hailey have been giving each other have been completely fake? I’m pretty sure that no one told you to act like you couldn’t wait to get that wedding dress off of her.” With a smug grin on his lips, Clyde took a sip of champagne and frowned at Rocco’s expression. “What’s that look for?”
Rocco shook his head. “Nothing.”
Clyde’s eyes widened and he said, “Have you already fucked her? Is that why you’ve got that look on your face?” He pointed at Rocco, Clyde’s index finger hovered just an inch away from Rocco’s cheek.
Rocco glowered and wrapped one of his strong hands around Clyde’s finger. “Get that thing out of my face, Clyde.”
Clyde smirked and replied, “So, what’s this mean? You’re finally getting over Mariah?”
Rocco winced as if he’d been struck. “No, I don’t know what it means. I just know that I’m doing what I have to do for Chasing Spirits.” Rocco sighed and pushed his chair back.
“Where are you going?” Clyde asked. “We still have a whole bottle of champagne to finish off.”
Rocco chuckled and said, “Have at it. I’ve got some business to take care of.” Rocco strolled across the room and nodded at Meish and a couple of other riders. He approached the table where Becca and Hailey sat together while drinking and nibbling on the fresh round of hors d’oeuvres that had been sent to their table.
He placed his hand onto Hailey’s shoulder and bent down to whisper into her ear. “I have some business to take care of back at the club. Do you want to come with me?”
Hailey’s red painted lips formed a tight smile before she said, “Sure.” She turned back towards Becca and said, “Looks like we’ve got to get going. I’ve got Old Lady duties.” She winked and pushed out her chair. Rocco held out his hand towards her and she grabbed it before rising to her feet.
Becca’s lackluster smile was unconvincing, but she waved at her friend and Rocco as they headed towards the exit. “Have fun, you two!”
Hailey interlaced her fingers with Rocco, and inhaled the spring air as they stepped outside. The sun was setting over a couple of tall buildings in the horizon, and the last few rays of sunlight dyed her dress a golden color.
Rocco pointed ahead and said, “For all of my problems with Meish, I love that he was smart enough to book a dining hall that was just a block away from the club. I can climb out of this suit and get on my bike once we get back.”
Hailey nodded and said, “Yes, it seems pretty convenient.” She looked over her shoulder and at the door that they’d just left out of. She redirected her attention to Rocco and said, “Thank you for doing this to keep me safe.”
Rocco shrugged, “No problem.”
“My only worry now is that Becca might not be so safe.” Their feet moved down the sidewalk and Hailey said, “I don’t know what they’re doing to her in there. I’ve never seen her like that before.”
Rocco scoffed and said, “She seemed fine to me. She was drinking free booze and eating free food.” Rocco pulled his keys to the clubhouse out of his pocket.
Hailey frowned and said, “Seriously, Rocco. I don’t know how they’re treating her when you’re not around. You can’t just leave a pretty girl like Becca alone with all of those men. You saw how Meish was looking at her.”
Rocco sighed as they approached the clubhouse. He twisted his key into the lock and they stepped into the lobby. Hailey kicked off her shoes and collapsed into Clyde’s chair. She lifted one of her feet off of the ground and worked her fingertips into the underside of her foot.
Rocco set his keys on top of the receptionist’s desk and said, “I’m sure that Becca’s fine. We can’t get too far if anything especially bad happens to her.”
Hailey scowled and said, “You’re just going to let them decide what happens to her, Rocco? Why is it that you can play the hero with me but just throw her to the wolves?”
Rocco inhaled through his nostrils and bit down on his lower lip. “You’re awful mouthy for someone that doesn’t have to be right alongside her, Hailey. Why can’t you just appreciate that I’m doing everything that I can to keep you out of trouble?”
Hailey laughed but it was humorless. She brought her hands down on top of the desk and said, “Really? I’m supposed to be grateful that you’re doing the decent thing and keeping them from hurting me, or worse, making me into their little plaything like Becca?”
Rocco eyes snapped open and he balled his fists together before charging the receptionist’s desk. He moved until he hovered over Hailey, and she held her hands out in front of her.
“What the hell is your problem, Rocco? Do you have something to prove? Do you have to prove how big your balls are?” Hailey’s raised voice struck a chord in Rocco’s chest.
He snatched her face in between his hands and pressed his thumb and index finger into her cheeks until her face burned a bright red color. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Shut your fucking mouth. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Hailey dug her fingernails into his shoulders and said, “Yeah? Are you sure that you’re not just trying to prove yourself to Meish? Let him know that you’re a big boy?”
“Shut up!” Rocco commanded, and yanked her out of the chair. The black computer chair was sent toppling to the floor, and Rocco set Hailey on top of the desk.
“No, I won’t! I’m worried about her and-”
Rocco’s lips smothered the words that were about to come out of her mouth. He roughly smashed his lips on top of hers. He tugged the clasp that held her hair together, and the curled ends of her hair fell around her shoulders.
Rocco slipped his hand into the collar of her wedding dress, and tore it down the middle. Hailey gasped, but her lower belly and chest already felt as if they were on fire. She wrapped her legs around Rocco’s waist and he nibbled on her skin. His tongue swept over her porcelain skin, and he nudged her onto the desk until her back was nearly touching a stack of papers that Clyde had left for the next business day.
Hailey groaned and watched Rocco as he tore up the rest of the dress. He tossed a few of it’s tattered remains to the floor, before pushing what was left of the gown to the floor. Rocco circled his arms around her and undid the clasp on the plain white bra that pushed her breasts together. A jolt of pleasure shot through Hailey’s body as Rocco hooked his lips onto one of her nipples.
His teeth nibbled along the edge of it, and his tongue swept over her nipple, making it stiffen. Rocco reached down and roughly parted her legs. He pushed them open and said, “I’ll have to get creative when I’m thinking of ways to shut you up.”
“Shut up,” Hailey moaned, and brought her hand down on the top of his head. He tugged at her damp panties, and yanked them past her thighs.
Rocco’s wide tongue parted her lower lips, and a few seconds of nibbling on her clit sent Hailey into a frenzy. Her breasts were flushed bright red, and the collected expression that she usually wore had been tossed to the wayside. Hailey’s eyes were wild with lust, and she whispered. “Just do it.”
One of Rocco’s wide hands slapped her on the thigh, and he said, “I’m calling the shots, you bossy little bitch.” He undid his belt buckle and Hailey closed her eyes. They fluttered open a moment later, just as Rocco freed his hard cock from his tight fitting boxer briefs.
Hailey pressed her hand against the moist tip of his cock and said, “No, no.”
Rocco paused and said, “No? What the hell are you talking about?” He pressed his cock against Hailey’s thigh and another telling moan made it past her lips before she dropped her legs from around his waist. She gently pushed against his chest with her feet, and scooted backwards until she sent the stack of papers sailing to the floor.
Rocco grimaced and mumbled, “Shit.”
Hailey slid off of the desk and hurried into the restroom to the right of them. With trembling hands, she turned the lock to the right and sank to the floor. Her head fell against the door and she could make out the faint sound of Rocco’s footsteps bounding towards her.
The doorknob jiggled, and he brought his fist down onto the door. “Hailey? Hailey? What the hell are you up to?”
Her shoulders vibrated as she pulled her knees to her chest. Tears coursed freely down her cheeks as Rocco banged his fist against the door. The door frame shook with every push, each strike was more powerful than the last.
Hailey sighed, and dragged her hands through her hair. She slipped her fingers into one of the c-shaped curls and tugged on the end. Hailey rested her head against the cool surface of the bathroom wall until Rocco’s pounding faded into silence.