I pulled away just enough to lower my head and kiss him. “Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be here.” He cradled my head and slammed his lips against mine.
“I’d get off you, but I need, ah…”
With one hand holding me, he sat up and took the shirt off his back. “Take this.”
“Thanks.” I climbed off him and stuck his shirt between my legs and awkwardly waddled toward the bathroom. I looked at him over my shoulder. “You want to shower?”
“Depends. You gonna be in it with me?”
“Of course.”
Duke rose from the couch and hoisted his jeans and boxers up but didn’t button his pants. “Yeah. I’ve been wanting to…”
“What?” I asked when he stopped.
“Been wanting to shower with you,” he rasped.
He followed me into the bathroom and stripped out of his clothes. I added mine to the pile. I got the water hot, and soon steam filled the small room.
I grabbed us two fresh towels and hung them on the towel rack on the wall. I pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. Duke was quick to follow.
We were both tall and the shower wasn’t very large to begin with. It was hard maneuvering around each other for the hot water. I nearly slipped, but he quickly steadied me.
“This was a bad idea,” I said with a sigh.
“Not a bad idea. The shower’s too small. You need a larger bathroom.”
“Hmm. Yeah, but this is all I’ve got.”
Water sluiced down his inked body. The Blue Angels club tattoo was over his heart and I traced it with my fingers. “You want to hear more about the bachelorette brunch?”
“Not really.”
“Let me tell you the best part at least,” I suggested.
“What was the best part?”
I told him about the showdown with Joni in the bathroom and how everyone else heard me yelling at her from the hallway.
He let out a booming laugh and I couldn’t help it, I laughed with him.
“Did you know they were all betting on who I’d wind up with? It was a fifty-fifty split that it would be you.”
“It’s like they were betting on horses,” Duke said with a shake of his head.
I brushed my hand along his jaw. “I want to go to the wedding with you. As your date.”
He’d been reaching for the bar of soap but stopped. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
“You know that means we’ve gotta tell Savage.”
“Yes.”
“Soon…”
“Yes.”
“Like, tomorrow.”
“Yes,” I agreed.
“You ready for whatever that brings?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
“At least you’re honest. Maybe a black eye will look good with my leather cut.”
“You think he’s gonna punch you?”
“It’s Savage. And we didn’t tell him first, you know? He’s gonna take that personally.”
“Yeah. He will,” I sighed.
“Won’t be the first time I’ve taken a shot from him,” Duke said and then grimaced. “God damn he’s strong…”
“If it comes to that I’ll comfort you in a very special way…”
I got out of the shower first and then handed him a towel.
“You know,” he said, tying the towel around his waist. “If we lived together, we could make sure to have our own bathroom. And then we’d have space.”
“I’m not opposed to living together,” I admitted slowly. “But we literally just moved in, and you and I aren’t even officially public yet…even though the girls know.”
“So what? You don’t have to stay here because you just got here. Everyone that moves in winds up leaving shortly after, anyway.”
I left the bathroom with Duke trailing behind me. I went into the bedroom I shared with Waverly, trying not to be seduced by Duke’s words. I’d love more space. I’d love to wake up with Duke next to me and not worry about one of us needing to sneak out.
Not to mention…daily sex with Duke? Yeah. I could totally get on board with that.
“Tell you what, let’s get through telling Savage and see how that goes, and then let’s get through Doc and Boxer’s wedding and after that we’ll revisit this conversation.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” he stated.
I opened the bottom drawer of the dresser, and it caught. I worked it out slowly. I picked up a T-shirt and a pair of leggings.
He raised his brows. “You’re not getting back into the lingerie?”
“It served its purpose,” I teased.
“Speaking of serving its purpose, you got my shirt all dirty.”
“Washer,” I explained. “You can hang out in your jeans and I can ogle your chest at my leisure. Though it might be a good idea to bring over a change of clothes or two for future use.”
“Where will I keep them?” he asked.
“I’ll make room for you in a drawer.”
“You barely have enough room as it is,” he pointed out.
“Do you want part of my drawer or not?” I asked, refusing to continue down this argumentative path.
“I do,” he admitted.
I gathered his shirt and a few other things and walked to the washing machine. He followed me.
“I know you, Duke,” I said, turning around to face him after I started the wash cycle. “This is more than just wanting us to live together. So, what is it?”
He went to the couch and grabbed his jeans, pulling them up and fastening them. Then he took a seat on the couch. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms on his thighs. “I don’t want to live at the clubhouse anymore. It’s fine for when you want to crash after a party. It’s fine if you’re not a family man…” He looked at me, his eyes dark and intense. “But I want to come home to you, Willa.”
“It won’t just be me,” I said slowly. “Waverly, too. We’re a package deal.”
“I know that. I’ve watched her grow up. She’s basically my kid sister. Of course I know that when I ask you to live with me, it means her too. That’s a given. And I’m happy about it.”
“You want stability? You want routine? You want normal?”
“Nah, I’ll never be normal. I’m a biker. But happy? Yeah. I could be happy. And I think if you let yourself, you could be happy too.”
“Happy,” I said. “What a novelty.”
“I think we’ve earned it. After all our years of hardship.”
“Most definitely,” I agreed. “I gotta ask…”
“Yeah?”
I tapped my finger against my lips. “You weren’t serious about Little Dukes, were you?”
He shrugged.
“No, I need a real answer here.”
“Eventually, I’d like a couple of Little Dukes or Little Willas.” He grinned.
I let out a sigh. “We tell Savage, we go to the wedding together, and then we re-evaluate.”
“Whatever you want.”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Say what like what?” he demanded.
“Like you’re placating me, but also like you’re already planning things in your head for our future.”
He shrugged again. “Can we order food? I’m starving. You can lecture me some more after that, if you want.”
I floated awake, coming slowly into consciousness, but I refused to open my eyes. After dinner, Duke and I had lain down on the couch, with me nestled between the couch cushions and him. My head was on his chest, his arm was around me, and a blanket was covering us both.
“You guys look cozy,” Waverly whispered.
“There’s leftovers on the counter,” Duke whispered back.
“What did you order?” she asked.
“Sushi.”
“Ew.”
“Try it before you say that,” I said, finally opening my eyes.
“Crap, did I wake you?” Waverly asked.
“Yeah, the door shutting did. Don’t worry about it. And seriously, the sushi is amazing.”
“Raw fish on rice? Not sure I can get behind that,” Waverly said.
“We got steamed dumplings, too,” I said, struggling to sit up, but it was challenging trying to move against Duke’s bulk.
“Is this how it’s going to be when Duke moves in here?” Waverly asked as she tromped toward the kitchen. “I come home to you guys spooning on the couch and leftovers on the counter?”
“He’s not moving in here,” I said immediately.
“It would be cramped if he did,” Waverly said. She reached for a dumpling and bit into it. “Okay, that’s amazing.”
“Amazing enough to attempt a dragon roll?” I asked.
“Why not, I’m suddenly feeling adventurous. Which one is it?”
I angled my leg over Duke and slid off the couch. “Let me make you a plate of the best stuff.”
“Did you guys order the entire menu?” she asked.
“Duke is big and he eats a lot,” I teased.
“Hey, you were keeping up with me,” Duke said, sitting up and scratching his chin. The dryer had beeped after we finished dinner and Duke was fully clothed by the time Waverly came home.
As I made her a plate, Duke asked her, “Would it bother you?”
“Would what bother me?” Waverly asked.
“Wasabi,” I explained, pointing to the mound of green. “It’s spicy, so be careful. And pickled ginger. It’ll change your life, I swear.”
She nodded, took the plate from me, and went to sit on the floor. She set the plate onto the coffee table and looked at Duke. “Would what bother me?” she asked again.
“If I lived here,” Duke said, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye.
I shot him a glare.
Waverly shook her head. “Aside from the space thing, nah. Just as long as I don’t hear you going at it with my sister, I think it’d be okay.”
Duke looked at me. “I wouldn’t move in here. There really isn’t enough space. Not with you needing a place to do your homework and Willa’s need for an office.”
“Homework,” Waverly said glumly. “School blows. It really does.”
“I didn’t care for school much either,” Duke said.
“Try your rolls,” I said.
“In a sec,” Waverly said. “How’d you stick it out? I mean, I’ve got two more years, plus summer school. Summer school, Duke. The best part about school is the freedom during the summer.”
“I stuck it out because I had Willa breathing down my neck. She’s the reason I graduated. She and Savage.” He leaned back against the couch. “Have you asked yourself why school is hard for you?”
“They just don’t get me,” Waverly said miserably.
“Is it a social thing?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I mean, the teachers. They gave me a tutor because I was failing some of my classes.”
“That’s usually what happens when you’re failing. You get a tutor,” I said.
“Yeah, okay, but did any of them ask why I was failing biology?”
“Why were you failing bio?” I asked.
“Because they care more about homework than they do the tests. They give out a bunch of busy work and it’s boring. I ace the tests. Every time,” she said. “But they don’t care about that. It took Dylan five seconds to realize I’d already read the entire bio book cover to cover. I didn’t need a tutor. I still don’t. I just don’t care.”
“You needed a challenge,” I said in sudden realization.
Waverly shoved a piece of sushi roll in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out. She chewed slowly and then finally swallowed. “Okay. I’m a convert.”