“That was not foreplay.”
They all return, drinks in hand, Decker’s eyebrows rising as he catches the end of our conversation.
He and Cara start having their turn, which means that Natalie sits down next to me in the only other available seat.
Wonderful.
“So you’re a lawyer,” Aries says to her, breaking the tension.
She nods. “I am.”
“Is that what you always wanted to do?” he asks, while I stay quiet, listening in.
“Yeah, actually. My aunty Faye is a lawyer and I always looked up to her. And I guess it’s a way I can be of help to my family, because let’s face it, they’re all going to need me to save their asses at some point or another.”
“That’s very loyal of you,” Aries replies, apparently impressed with her explanation. I’m not easily dazzled. I think it’s her way of proving she is better than bikers. You can disguise a rat, but at the end of the day, it’s still a rat.
“Do you get many lawyer jokes?” I ask her, unable to help myself.
She turns to me and looks me in the eye. “What?”
“Yeah, you haven’t heard any? People have a lot to say about lawyers—”
“I guess no one has dared to say anything like that to my face.”
I ignore her warning. “How many lawyer jokes do you think are in existence?” I ask.
“I don’t know—”
“Only a few. The rest are all true stories.”
She studies me for a few seconds, and then expels a deep sigh. “You’ve been single a long time, haven’t you?”
“What’s the difference between a mosquito and a lawyer?” I don’t even wait for her to respond. “One is a blood-sucking parasite, and the other is an insect.”
“Did I tell you that I’m a black belt?”
I ignore Aries’s laughter.
She didn’t tell me that, but I’m not surprised in the least.
I hate that I find that attractive, too.
“I suppose you need to fight since you only date businessmen,” I reply, casually stretching my neck from side to side. “You’d be the one protecting them, I guess.”
She makes a sound of annoyance, almost a growl. “That’s what’s up your ass? You going to be angry because I have a preference?”
I lift my chin, staying calm. “I’m not angry about anything. I just didn’t peg you for someone so judgmental, considering you grew up in a clubhouse.”
“I am not judgmental,” she fires back, scowling. Aries’s head tilts between us, back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match.
“Really? Because that’s not what it looks like from over here.”
She glares at me like she wants to show me her black belt moves firsthand. “You don’t even know me. And you know what? At the start of the night I thought you were pretty nice, and kind of sexy, but now I think you’re an asshole. Don’t act like you know me, because you don’t.”
Cara turns to us as Natalie’s voice gets louder, likely wondering what her sister is getting so worked up over. Aries, the peacemaker, steps in. “Can I get you another drink, Natty?”
“I’d love one,” she replies, eyes on me. The two of them head to the bar together, while Decker comes over and eyes me with sympathy.