"Is not impressed."
"Yeah. And considering what set me off? We didn't need to have our conversation after that. I should have told him about us. Finding out that way?" He shook his head.
"He's angry."
"Hurt, more like. Confused. It's always been just the two of us. Now here's this major change in my life that he knows nothing about, and if it was just some girl from school, he could figure I was working up to an introduction. With you? No such excuse. He knows why I kept it from him, too--because I thought he wouldn't like it. And he doesn't. He really, really doesn't." Ricky rubbed his mouth and paused before saying, "It's worse than I expected. He told me to end it. Not as my father. As the president of my club. He's . . . he's never done that before."
The look in Ricky's eyes told me Don wasn't the only one hurt and confused here.
"Okay," I said carefully. "So that means you have to end it, right?"
He shook his head. "He took that back. I think he was testing me. Seeing how serious I am about you. When I argued, he retreated, but . . ." He looked over at me. "My dad and I don't fight. We disagree, sure, but even that's rare. We've never had the usual parent-kid issues. This was an issue."
"Because of Gabriel."
Ricky nodded. "I know how bad this will sound, so bear with me. In a club, women aren't exactly equal citizens, as you've figured out. They can't be members. Even wives are kept out of club business. You're supposed to treat women well, and there's some serious old-school chivalry there, but that leads to a certain mind-set. Your woman is your . . ."
"Property?"
He winced. "I wouldn't use that word, but it's the gist. One thing you don't do is go after another guy's girl. Ever."
"I'm not Gabriel's girl."
"To my dad, you are. It doesn't matter if you're not sleeping with him. He brought you in. You're with him. Therefore you are off-limits."
"In case Gabriel ever decides he does want to sleep with me?"
Another wince. "In my world, you can be friends with a girl and not go there. Not for my dad, though. Either you are there or you're heading there."
"Otherwise, what's the point?"
"I know that makes him sound like a Neanderthal. He's not. When my mom got pregnant, he never expected her to drop out of med school and marry him. He offered to get married, of course, but he didn't expect a yes. He was just happy she was willing to go through with the pregnancy. He never asked for anything else from her. Never tried to deny her rights, either. A lot of the guys didn't get that, and he took some lumps for it. He lost a few members when he took over, because Mr. Mom wasn't their idea of a club president." He stopped and flushed. "I didn't mean to rant."
"You didn't. I understand, and as long as you don't consider me your property--"
He laughed. "I know how far I'd get with that. Booted out the door. With my ass kicked the whole way. No, I'm not my father. But as a club member, I have to follow his rules. After you came by that first time, and I knew I wanted to see you again, I made sure I wasn't overstepping. I talked to Gabriel."
"And said what? Hey, are you planning to hit that?"
He gave me a look. "Not in so many words, but yeah. That's not sexist, either. If you met a guy through a woman you respected, wouldn't you check to see if she was interested in him before making a move?"
"Point taken. So what exactly did you say?"
He shrugged. "I asked if you guys were together, and when he said no, I asked if he was heading that way. He said absolutely not. You're a client, and that's grounds for disbarment. So I asked if that would change when you weren't a client. He gave me that cold stare and said it was a professional relationship. End of conversation. Or so I thought."
"So you thought?"
Ricky rolled onto his stomach and propped up on his forearms. "Gabriel's . . . different."
"Really?"
"No shit, huh." He chuckled. "But he's different in a whole lotta ways. Our last lawyer used to come to the club, hang out with the girls, go home with the hangers-on. It was a perk of the job. Gabriel? Hell, no. My dad suggested it
once, and he got a very frosty no thank you. No girls. No drugs. Give him a drink, and he takes a few sips to be polite. Totally straight edge. He's driven and he's ambitious, and until he gets where he wants to be, nothing's getting in his way, including romantic entanglements. That means he's single-minded as hell. So when I ask about you, it takes a day or so for him to realize why I'm asking. He pops by the clubhouse on business. When I ask how you're doing, he pounces. He strongly advises against asking you out. We're both clients, and that would be problematic. Also, you're going through serious changes in your life and you don't need the disruption. I should steer clear."
"Bastard," I muttered.
Ricky seemed surprised by the venom in my voice. "Yeah, I'm sure you don't appreciate that, but on the other hand it means I may have overstepped after all. It gives ammunition to my dad's argument."