And Fallon was an outsider. No matter how curious she was, Whip needed to remember that.
“Maya has a crush on you,” Fallon announced with a smirk, finally settling in her seat. “That’s really cute.”
“She’s nine.”
“So? Nine-year-olds are probably just discovering boys. And you’re really cute. I could see it happening.”
You’re really cute.
Boys were cute, men were not cute. Fuck, did she consider him too young? “Prefer women who are older.”
Fallon laughed. “Well, of course. I would hope so. When I was a little girl I had puppy dog crushes on older men, like teachers and coaches.”
“Puppy dog crushes?” What the fuck was that?
“Yes, sort of like a mix between puppy love and a crush. A lot of girls have them, I’m sure boys do, too. You never had a crush on one of your teachers?”
“Probably,” he murmured.
Fuck yeah, he did. But by the time he hit fourteen, those crushes turned to fantasies that he used to relieve himself of random boners.
Now, if a woman like Chelle had been his school librarian back then…
Because he valued his life, he’d never say that out loud, especially around Shade.
The newly patched-in Woody brought their drinks and dropped off a bowl of pretzels, too.
“Brother,” Woody greeted as he set Whip’s draft beer in front of him.
“Brother,” Whip murmured back.
Woody’s gaze stuck on Fallon and stayed there as he put her vodka tonic in front of her. “Need anythin’ else?”
He wasn’t just looking at her, he was fucking checking her out. Dodge did it out of curiosity. He wouldn’t eye-fuck a woman in front of Syn. Hell, his eye-fucking days might even be over. But Woody was just being a horny shit.
Worse, Whip had no claim to the blonde sitting across from him.
Whip cleared his throat to catch his attention. “Nope. We’re good.”
Woody didn’t even bother to look at Whip when he said, “Was askin’ her.”
“And I fuckin’ answered you,” Whip said sharply. “We need anythin’, will let you know. For now, we don’t, so get lost.” He tipped his head toward the bar.
Woody stepped behind Fallon’s chair so she couldn’t see him, then made an expression that Whip wanted to wipe off his face. He waited for Fallon to glance toward the stage when Syn started her next song and mouthed, “Fuck off,” to his younger brother.
Woody’s mouth pulled up on one side and he flipped Whip the bird before heading back to the bar area. The man never would’ve gotten away with that kind of shit as a prospect, but the man’s balls must’ve dropped as soon as he received his full set of patches.
Whip picked up his beer and sucked down a few swallows to cool off the temptation to go have a few words with Woody. But he wasn’t stupid and didn’t want to fuck up his chances with her because of teaching the younger biker a lesson.
Fallon picked up her drink and took a sip. “Phew. That’s strong.” She took one more sip, grimacing a little before saying, “Wow. She’s really good. I never would’ve expected to hear that kind of talent…”
“In this kind of bar?” Whip finished for her.
“Well, yes. In this small of a town, too. She should be on a big stage.”
Whip and everyone else who heard Syn agreed with that. “What d’you know about music?”
Fallon shook her head. “I’m just an avid listener, but I know nothing about the actual business end of it. I’m sure, like a lot of businesses, it can be cutthroat.”
“Tell me about this business world you were a part of and are now runnin’ from.”
“I didn’t run. I walked away when I realized it wasn’t worth it.”
“None of it?” he asked.
“Some things were. For a while. The money was good. The life lessons were valuable, as well. I didn’t think so at the time but now that I look back on it, I realize those lessons kicked me in the ass and made me see what was really important to me.”
“Which is?”
“Myself. I learned I needed to take care of myself first since no one else would.”
“But you got no job now, right?”
“No,” she confirmed.
“No business, either.”
“Nope.”
“Tell me your secret.” How could a single woman not even close to retirement age just up and leave everything behind?
“What secret?”
“How you can just buy a sled and travel,” he answered. “No business, no job. Gotta cost scratch to do that. Gonna cost a good chunk of change just for that repair. How d’you do all that without goin’ broke?”
“You invest wisely.”
“You mean like the stock market?” Whip didn’t know anything about the market. He had a bank account that he dumped his paycheck into. That was it.
He deposited scratch and when he needed something, he withdrew it. Basics.
He didn’t have to spend a lot of dough on anything since the club covered a lot of shit. All he had to do was pay his monthly dues. They were a lot more now than they were when Trip first got the club back up and running, but they were worth every damn penny.