“Sophie, your mix was on point,” Rafa said.
“Thanks, I try to make it classy even though we’re in a strip joint.”
“And you smashed it. Can I ask you how you see the records? And how do you know where to lay the needle if you don’t mind me asking?” said Malik.
“Nope, that’s cool. I have a flashlight that helps me see the color tab system I’ve created. I use a lot of singles, but I’m married to my vinyl and I know what track most songs are in any given album. That’s why I play stuff I love. Put me in front of another DJ’s collection and you’d get some crazy compilations of random song combos.”
“That’s really fucking amazing. I’m surprised you didn’t transition to digital and touch screen. You’re courageous,” Rafa said to me.
“You guys are building me up too much,” I told them. Gabe made me a fresh margarita behind the bar while he closed out the registers.
“What do you study at school?” Malik asked me. Their voices were almost interchangeable and they all sounded like Gabriel.
“I’m in the nursing program,” I told them. Gabe turned around and cocked his head in interest. I hadn’t even told him yet what I was pursuing. “Eventually I want to do labor and delivery. I feel like when you’ve had a lot of tragedy in your life, it feels good to be around the miracle of birth. It reminds you of renewal and second chances and all the good things in life.”
The energy changed right then, like I’d said something taboo. The black cloud that followed Gabe around relentlessly suddenly was back and settling over the room.
“That’s true and a noble career to pursue,” Rafa said, but it sounded forced.
Gabe said nothing and had gone cold as ice.
I knew I wanted him. I knew I was falling in love with him, but what I didn’t know was if I could handle his ever changing moods. He went from magnanimous to completely shut down in a heartbeat. And I was left out in the cold when I didn’t understand what was going through that mercurial mind of his.
Rafa and Malik offered banter in an attempt to cover for their brother, but I think all three of them forgot that I couldn’t see pleasantries, the fake smiles went straight over my head, as did the poker faces. I could feel changes in the room and those energy readings that I did never lied—they only knew the truth. Gabe was a mess again and apparently it had something to do with me becoming an obstetrics nurse.
A few of the girls passed by and gave me tips. They tried to engage the Connors and penetrate our little circle, but the boys were impassive. It was painfully obvious that they had an aversion to women who took their clothes off for a living. They were not disrespectful, in fact quite the opposite. But they weren’t interested in the women as sex objects. Whereas most men drooled and flirted and couldn’t control themselves, the Connor brothers were too controlled, steely in their resolve to not engage in that way.
“Sophie, I’m taking these books back to Tommy and then we can go. Stay with Rafa and Malik until I get back, okay?” Gabe told me.
‘Roger that,” I said. Gabriel was over protective and I was sitting with the two other people in this world who were on the receiving end of it.
…
Maverick took me home that night on his bike and this time parked it behind my bungalow. Not only did Maverick feel right to me, but so did the motorcycle. After countless years of despising being inside moving vehicles, the bike gave me an unexpected sense of pleasure and freedom. I’d felt the opposite from transportation since my car accident. On the back of Maverick’s bike, soaring through the night, I felt a sense of power surge from between my legs. No wonder people liked riding these things and formed clubs and had conventions. I’d thought I hated speed and now I was quickly becoming addicted to it.
We ordered Chinese food and had it delivered. Shakespeare liked Maverick which was nothing short of a miracle. He’d been raised to fight and then discarded like trash when his breeders discovered his balance was off due to one of his back legs being longer than the rest. Usually he hated men, especially big intimidating ones like Gabriel was.
“Here, boy,” Gabriel said as he fed pieces of chicken to Shakespeare with his hand. The dog’s tail thumped hard against the couch as he ingratiated himself with my man. “Was this dog abused?” Gabe asked me. I nodded my head. “I can tell. Kindred soul,” he said as he patted Shakespeare’s head.
Gabriel helped me clean up, but we didn’t last through the dishes. He put his arms around me from behind and pressed his erection into my ass cheeks.