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“Camera crew leave?”
I nodded and cracked open my beer. “Yup. They said they’ll be back in the morning, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t being recorded.” I nodded to the corner. “Say cheese.”
Smoke flipped off the camera in the corner and climbed onto a stool next to me. “Eight weeks up yet?” he grunted.
“I thought I was the only one who wasn’t down with this show?” I asked.
Smoke shrugged. “I don’t really care either way, but if Yarder is going to keep riding my ass about not cussing and spitting, then I might disappear for the next few weeks.”
If only that were possible. I had mentioned doing just that to Yarder last week, but he nixed it. When he had signed the contracts with the production company, it had said there would be ten club members. If I vamoosed, the whole club would be fucked. “Just stick to the background, brother. I’m hoping once the newness of having a camera crew floating around the clubhouse and shop wears off, we won’t even notice them.” At least, that is what I kept telling myself.
“You up for a game of poker tonight?” he asked.
I shrugged. “You know I’m always up to take your money.”
The front door to the clubhouse opened, and Sloane walked in with Dove behind her.
“Aero actually let Sloane drive here?” Smoke chuckled.
“What is she doing here?” I grumbled.
“She’s Aero’s ol’ lady, Throttle. It would take an act of god to keep her away from the clubhouse.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Not her.” I tipped my chin toward Dove. “Her.”
“Her hot best friend?” Smoke brushed off his shoulder and winked. “Not sure, but I can go find out. Maybe she’ll want to play poker with us.”
“No,” I called, but Smoke was already halfway across the clubhouse, headed straight for Dove and Sloane.
I turned on my stool and watched Dove.
Sloane, I liked. Never for a second did I get an off vibe from her.
Dove though? Something had been off about her since the day she just reappeared after disappearing for two weeks.
Her story about visiting family was a bald-faced lie that everyone seemed to fall for except for me.
When I had mentioned to Aero about something being off with Dove, he had told me to chill and let it go. Apparently, everyone thought it was cool for us to search and search for the chick, only for her to show back up with a weak excuse of where she was, and we were supposed to be good with it.
Not me.
“She’s in!” Smoke called. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “Get the cards.”
“I hope you’re ready to get your ass beat,” Dove laughed. She tossed her head back, and I couldn’t help but notice the delicateness of her neck and the sparkle in her eyes. I couldn’t deny that she was easy on the eyes. Something I shouldn’t be noticing when I thought something was off about her.
Great.
And now she was here to play cards on a Friday night. Well, I guess this was one way to try to figure out just what she was up to.
Before she disappeared, she had only been to the clubhouse a time or two. Now she was here, and from the looks of the duffle bag over her shoulder, she would be here for the weekend.
Her black hair was piled on top of her head, with soft tendrils framing her face. She was wearing a pair of skin-tight black pants and a colorful baggy sweater over the top. She had tan boots on her feet and a huge smile on her lips.
If I weren’t suspicious as fuck about her, I would have said she was the hottest chick I had ever laid my eyes on.
You would have to be blind not to recognize her beauty.
Compass, Stretch, and Dice worked on setting up the poker table while Aero and Sloane headed down the hallway to the bedrooms, with Dove drifting behind them.
“You look pissed.” Yarder sat down next to me and nodded to Pirate behind the bar.
“Should I be?” I asked. I turned back to the bar and also nodded to Pirate. He refilled my glass and set a beer in front of Yarder.
“You were doing the right thing with that chick and the orca whale today.”
I glanced at Yarder. “You could have fooled me when you stepped in and shooed me back into the garage.”
Yarder shrugged. “I don’t want us to act differently with the cameras around, but that also doesn’t mean that we can’t try to be better.”
“You don’t make any sense,” I muttered.
“Her name was Poppy. Barely has two nickels to rub together, let alone enough to replace her whole rear end.”
I shrugged and took a drink. “I offered her a payment plan.” That had been before we even knew what was wrong with the car.
“And she took one, finally.”
“What about the loaner?” I asked. We didn’t have loaner cars.
Yarder shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, well, I gave her a ride to work, and I need to pick her up in an hour.”
“Shut up!” I bellowed. “Not only are you giving this chick a payment plan, but you’re also her chauffeur?” Yeah, that was way more than I would have offered her.
“It’s just until we get her car fixed,” Yarder grunted. “It doesn’t hurt to be nice every now and then.”
“I think you are going way above and beyond nice for a chick you don’t even know and who is probably going to default on the payment plan you set up for her.”
Yarder took a long drink. “Well, I guess I’ll deal with that if it happens. For now, she paid for the oil change, and her first payment for the new rear end isn’t due until the first.”
I was mid-drink and about to blow whiskey out of my nose. “It’s the fucking second,” I gasped. The longest I had ever seen Yarder give someone to make their first payment was however long it took to fix the car.
This chick just paid forty dollars for an oil change, and Yarder was going to let her drive out of the garage in a few days with a fixed car.
Fucking wild.
“You do this for the cameras?” I asked.
Yarder shrugged. “Sure.” He grabbed his beer and slipped off his stool. “I’m gonna hit the head, and then your ass better be at the poker table with me.”
I nodded and watched him head to the bathroom. Dove came out of the hallway and looked around the common room for a second. She pursed her lips as if she was analyzing everyone.
Dammit, if she wasn’t hot as hell.
“You in, Throttle?” Smoke called.
Dove jumped at his words and rushed over to the poker table.
Pirate set another drink in front of me with a shit-eating smile on his lips. “You gonna let that girl take everyone's money when you know that is your job?”
Did I want to spend my Friday night playing poker with Dove? No fucking way, but I also wasn’t going to let her be the one to win every hand.
I grabbed the second drink and made my way to the poker table. I plopped down into a chair and glared at Dove. “You sure you’re up for this, doll?”
Dove grabbed the deck of cards and shuffled them between her hands. “I was just about to ask you that same thing, Throttle,” she purred. “I’ve been known to be a kick-ass poker player.”
I twirled my finger in the air. “Deal me in.”
*
