For a summer night, the air was strangely cold but still.
Emma decided to stay for a little longer and catch up with a few friends before Eagle came to get her at midnight. The couple of hours we’d spent chatting with the girls had been fun, and both Callie and Asha had fallen in love with Emma’s sweet nature and never once joked or picked on the way she sometimes struggled to read people’s emotional cues and jokes.
Us three girls cuddled closer helping to keep warm as well as keep our balance as we navigated the stairs, while Trent decided to take a chance on the banister, sliding half way before falling into the hedge on the other side. I couldn’t stop smiling, my cheeks were actually beginning to hurt.
“How far away is the party?” I asked curiously, wondering if I should text Uncle Leo and let him know where I was going.
“It’s at my place. It’s just a few blocks away,” Cab replied as he pulled Trent from the bushes. “My parents know I’m having some people over, so they’ll be there but scarce.”
“I’m driving,” Trent mumbled, holding up his keys.
My stomach instantly twisted, and I knew I needed to speak up, but I was struggling to find the right words.
“Like fuck, you’re driving anywhere.”
Both of the girls screamed grabbing my arms tighter while the boys twisted and turned, trying to figure out where the deep, ominous voice had come from. Suddenly, I seemed a lot more sober than a few moments ago.
The large parking lot had cars scattered throughout and a few lights brightening the area, but the darkness around the building was pitch black, and there were plenty of little places for someone to hide. They might as well have been standing under a spotlight, though, because I knew exactly who was out there.
“Nice of you to finally show up,” I sneered, my eyes searching the shadows, expecting to maybe to see the glare from the lights around us reflect off his leathers. “You’re a little fucking late.”
It was his eyes I saw first, the sharp blue cutting through the darkness, the concrete scratching underneath his shoes. When the light hit him, I froze, not expecting to see the rough and ready tattooed bad boy I’d grown to love dressed in black slacks with complimenting shiny shoes I knew he would have hated. His pressed white button-up shirt was unbuttoned at the top and tugged out of the side of his pants, the crimson tie hung loosely from his neck and even in this light, I could tell was a perfect match for the corset I had on. His sleeves were rolled up, and his arms folded across his chest, the take ‘no shit’ posture reinforcing the harsh and direct order he’d thrown out of the darkness.
“Uhh… friend of yours, Meyah?” Cab asked, looking back at me nervously.
I couldn’t blame him, Ham was intimidating as hell and not just because he talked a big game. No, he would back his shit up if he needed to, and I was finding it extremely hard at that moment to stay angry at him. Because all I wanted to do was run to him and feel those muscular, tattooed arms wrapped around me, his fingers in my hair, and his hand on my ass as he kissed the damn hell out of me.
He watched me, his face a mask waiting for my answer, daring me to sass him by telling them I had no idea who the hell he was.
The thought crossed my mind.
“Yeah, my date.” I clenched my teeth.
Asha and Callie held me a little tighter supporting me as my body shook, a mixture of the cold air and the anger building inside me.
“You don’t want to know what will happen if you get in that car,” Ham announced finally, looking over at the boys. “I’ve been watching you two sneak out the back every half hour with your friends to drink your vodka and that nasty ass bottle of cheap rum.”
I cringed. I knew the boys had had a couple of drinks. I could tell from the way they had slowly become a little looser over the night, but I hadn’t realized they’d drunk that much.
Cab held up his hands seeming to be the soberest of the two. “We didn’t mean no harm, my house is just a couple of blocks away.”
“Then fucking walk,” Ham growled, taking a few more steps forward.
“We will,” Callie agreed, turning and mouthing the word ‘sorry’ before letting me go and rushing over to her boyfriend. “You’re a fucking idiot, Trent. I told you to wait until we got to Cab’s place to start drinking,” she scolded as she helped Cab pull him to his feet.
It seemed almost like in the last five minutes since we decided to leave, he’d suddenly gone from slightly tipsy and happy to almost comatose.
“Do you still want to come, Meyah?” Asha asked cautiously while holding me close to her.
I couldn’t drag my eyes away from him. I was angry. Furious that not only had he stood me up, but now he was going to stand here and go all fucking alpha male on me in front of these people who had been my friends and helped make my night when he’d failed to do so.
Ham’s eyes burned holes through me. They were threatening but not scary like he was a predator hoping I would run, so he could hunt me down and punish me. I refused to back down, not for one second allowing him to think he could hurt me like he had tonight, and then come in here and force his way back in.
“I’m taking her home.”
My eyes were burning, and I was fighting hard to keep the tears contained but also not willing to throw down in front of my friends, friends who I’d like to keep if possible without the biker I’m in love with scaring them away. I just needed to keep my composure for a little longer.
Asha leaned in closely squeezing my hand in hers and lowering her voice. “I can see why you’d want to stick around and not move away,” she whispered playfully. “That boy is everything sexy and sinful, and he’s looking at you like there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to make you his.” Her soft laughter warmed me a little and made me think that just maybe this night wasn’t a complete and utter failure. We walked to the bottom of the stairs helping each other balance precariously until we reached the bottom, and Cab held out his hand for her.