Smirking, I look back over at Atlas, who looks pissed, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.
I ignore the men, but fail to hide my amusement.
Two hours later, when we get to the clubhouse, he parks next to the bike and gets out of the car with a big sigh. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so jealous in my life.”
“You wanted to drive the car.”
“I did offer,” he grumbles, eying the bike. “She looked so sexy on the road.”
I arch my brow in amusement. “I know. Did you notice the bikers checking me out?”
He grits his teeth. “No, I did not. What bikers?”
I grin widely, knowing that he’s lying. He saw them, all right. “I need to buy my own bike. I think it’s time.”
“Or you can just get on the back of mine,” I think I hear him mutter.
“What did you say?” I ask, just as Rhett walks outside to greet me. “Hey. Dad’s not here yet, right?”
“Nope,” he replies, hugging me and then admiring the bike. “Fuck, he’s going to love it.”
“I know.” I beam.
He looks over at Atlas, his brow furrowing. “Atlas? What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you, too,” Atlas replies, unbothered. He nods toward the bike. “Came to make sure our product arrived in a good condition.”
Rhett smirks, and greets him with a handshake. “Well, if you’re here, you might as well come in and have a drink. I’ve been meaning to talk with you anyway.”
The two of them walk ahead of me, chatting and laughing, and suddenly I feel like the third wheel here. How are they so close? They are from different MCs, and really they shouldn’t trust each other one bit. But I can tell from their interaction and playfulness that they do. I seem to be the only one to find this bond between the MCs weird, so I must have missed the memo along the way.
When I step into the clubhouse I run into Dice, one of the members of the Wind Dragons MC. “Hey, Natty, how are you?”
“Good,” I reply with a smile. “How are you?”
“Not too bad. It’s nice to see you back. Is the bike here?” I nod. “I’ll polish it up and make sure it looks pretty,” he says, grinning.
“Thanks, Dice.”
“No problem,” he replies, heading out the front.
I join Atlas and Rhett in the backyard, where we all grab a beer and take a seat. I miss the clubhouse. I never thought I’d say that, but it really has always been my second home, and I feel like now, looking back, I’ve always taken that for granted.
“How was the ride?” Rhett asks, studying me. He then turns to Atlas. “And how did you get stuck babysitting?” He suddenly laughs. “She rode and you drove; that must have sucked.”
“Well—”
“He offered to drive my car so it wasn’t left behind, and I took him up on it,” I explain, cutting Atlas off.
Rhett runs his fingers across the blond stubble on his cheeks. “I see. Well, I want a new bike now, so I hope I’m provided the same service.”
Atlas’s lip twitches. “Of course.”
“What do you think of the clubhouse? Pretty flash, huh?” Rhett says proudly, glancing over his domain.
There’s no suspicion about letting Atlas in here; Rhett isn’t on edge at all. I’m getting the same relaxed, comfortable vibes I did watching Atlas interacting with Decker and Cara.
I leave the two of them to talk shit and head back inside, where Leah, Dice’s girlfriend, is in the kitchen helping get the food ready.