Gen was downtown a lot, though not necessarily close to the property the club had bought for their compound. She drove by the bar quite a bit, as they’d decided to put it on the main road. Wise decision, because people searched for the bike shop, but the heavier traffic would bring in more paying customers for the restaurant and bar. Within six weeks, the club was up and running, with the parking lot packed during the day. She could only imagine how busy they would be at night, because she stayed away from that part of town after dark.
One story hit the news about gunfire around the new “motorcycle gang” headquarters, with footage of what looked like a twelve foot wall completely around the block. They worked fast, apparently. She wondered what had changed inside the wall, but not enough to drive down there to take a look. A quick news search showed more had happened, she’d just missed seeing it on the morning news. She set up several Google alerts crafted to make sure she saw anything about them, and put it back out of her mind.
But one of the phrases Keith had said played over and over in her mind.
Beggin’ for an orgasm.
This single phrase gave her hours of enjoyment with her trusty vibrator. What would it be like to have someone get you right to it and then back off, withhold it, and make you beg?
The thought both pissed her off and made her go through all the ways it might be done. Over and over. She even started taking herself to the edge and then turning the vibrator down, counting backwards in her head from twenty, or fifty, and not turning it back up until she reached zero.
She dove into her work, made a ton of money, spent time with her family, but didn’t go out. She had dinner with her friends, but went home when they hit the bars. She was seriously done with men.
A little over six months after Rolling Thunder closed on their property, she landed her next huge paycheck. She’d had a lot of three to nine thousand dollar checks, but this one was for a little over forty thousand dollars and she wanted to celebrate.
She had dinner with Bethany Tuesday night and told her, “We close on Thursday. I want to go out on the town Friday night. Huge blowout. My treat. If you can get away from work during the day, I’ll pay for the two of us to get massages, facials, and mani-pedis.”
“I can pay my own way, but I’m game. My last appointment is at eleven so I should be out of there by twelve thirty.”
“Cool. All of us, and maybe my brother’s girlfriend? I like hanging out with Cassie, Sam, Kirsten, and Viv. I barge in on Cassie when I’m having a crisis, and she’s always sweet, and lets her guys hold me through my tears. We should invite her, too.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“It’s been so long since I’ve been out, I don’t even know where the most happenin’ places are anymore. You figure out where to take me. I’ll get us a limo so we don’t need a designated driver, and I’ll take care of the tabs. Ya’ll just make sure I have fun and don’t fall in love with an asshole.”
“I keep telling you, you’re supposed to fuck the assholes and leave them, then find a non-asshole for a relationship. You keep taking on the assholes as boyfriends.”
“I’ve never had a one night stand in my life, Bethany. More power to you for being able to do it, but it just isn’t me. I tried once and then felt bad for being a cock-tease when I couldn’t follow through. I need to know who they are, love them. It has to mean something.”
“It obviously doesn’t mean as much to them though, does it?”
“Uncool, Bethany.”
“Shit, it was. I’m sorry. Just, did you ever think maybe you’re putting too much emphasis on the romance, making sex more than it has to be? Sometimes, it can just be fucking. It doesn’t always have to be about making love.”
Gen shook her head but Bethany kept at it. “You dated Mike nearly two months before you put out. Do you think for one minute he said goodbye to you with a hard-on and went home? No, he went out and found pussy. He was cheatin’ on you before you were intimate with each other, so when you finally were, it wasn’t a huge leap for him to keep cheatin’ on you.”
“So, you’re saying it’s my fault the last three men I’ve dated cheated on me?”
“No, that’s on them, not you. Just saying that your mom put this idea of how things have to be to get a man, and it may have been true a long time ago but it’s counterproductive now. Guys want to know if you’re compatible, they aren’t interested in playing games.”
“Well, I’m off men for good, so it doesn’t matter. You gonna help me get shit-faced Friday night to celebrate, or not?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
For some reason, Bethany’s use of the ‘f’ word made Gen think of Keith, which made her think of him making Gen beg him for an orgasm, which made her wish she didn’t have her gun so she could order a rum and Coke.
* * * *
Gen called Cassie on the way home and invited her to Operation Shit-Face. Cassie congratulated her on the sale and said, “Tyler has arranged for us to have a limo through Drake a few times when we’ve gone out. Get with him and see if they charge much more than another service. They probably do, but he has this thing about Viv not going out without someone to protect her, so he may pay for the driver and then you’ll just have the limo charge.”
“I’ll call him if it means Viv can go, but I’m still paying for all of it. This is my treat.”
“God, you’re as stubborn as your brother. Call Tyler. I’m about to call Viv.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, now you’re being funny. Talk to you later.”
Tyler immediately said he’d handle the limo, to which Gen said, “No, this is my treat. Just tell me how much.”
“Here’s the thing, Gen. Because of my job, I have some enemies. Most of them know if they hurt someone who belongs to me, they’ll pay and it won’t be pleasant, so Viv’s probably safe. Her brother also has a dangerous job, and she’s felt the backlash from that once. We kept her safe but I had to take her out of town to do it. She doesn’t go out without her gun unless she’s with me or someone I approve of. If she’s drinking, she won’t have her gun, which means if she wants a girls’ night out without me, I have to provide protection. It’s fine.”
Gen’s eyes watered at his words. Cassie, Sam, Viv — all were so lucky to have found their true loves. “You’re a good guy, Tyler.”
“I’m actually another one of those good guys who has to do bad things, though my bad things are usually sanctioned by the government and not frowned upon. Still means I’m questionably a good guy.”
Gen wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she asked, “Have things calmed down with Rolling Thunder? Not much shows up on the news.”
“There are now days of peace interspersed with days of war. Things are better but I’m not sure they’re completely safe just yet. Probably safe for loved ones at this point, though — not like it would’ve been at the beginning.”
“What changed?” Gen hadn’t been exposed to that world, and was curious. Or, that’s what she kept telling herself.
“Someone the RTMC cared about got hurt. The MC made an example of the person responsible. It wasn’t pretty but it’s a lesson no one else wants to experience. Someone had to get hurt in order for them to make an example, though, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t you caught in the middle. Glad you followed my advice.”
“Actually, Keith told me Aaron had a talk with him after you talked with Aaron, and he was gonna think with his head instead of his… ummmm… yeah. And he said he expected a date once he was sure things were safe.”
Gen didn’t think she’d ever heard Tyler truly laugh, but he took a few seconds to do so now, and then said, with a chuckle still in his voice, “Like I said, he’s a good man. Glad he saw the light and kept you safe. I’ll get with you tomorrow to let you know the driver’s name, and get the addresses to pick everyone up and drop them off.”