Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
I don’t hesitate. “I do.”
He nods once, turns in his seat and shifts into drive. We arrive at the clubhouse in no time, and it’s not until we’re walking in that I start to get nervous. The men are looking at me curiously, but Ben doesn’t stop and introduce me to anyone. He pulls me up to a stool at the bar and sets me down next to Alice, the woman that works at the shop. “Hey, Alice, do me a favor?”
She looks at me and then rolls her eyes at Ben. “We’re off the clock. I’m not babysitting.”
I turn away from Alice. “I don’t need someone to watch me.”
Ben smiles at me. “Alice likes to act like a badass, but trust me, she’s not going to let any of these guys mess with you.” He looks to Alice and just laughs. “Thanks, I need to talk to Pres.”
Alice’s whole face lights up, and she looks between Ben and me. I’m not sure what she’s smiling about, but it makes me feel a little less uneasy. She nods her head. “Fine. Make it quick.”
Ben laughs. “Why? You in a hurry? I know you’re waiting on Gunner.”
She flips him off. “I’m not waiting on anyone.”
“Right,” Ben says before kissing the side of my face and whispering in my ear, “I’ll be right back.”
I nod and try to seem unfazed by all this. When he disappears through the crowd, I turn to Alice. She points toward the bar. “You old enough to drink?”
Geez, how old does she think I am? “Yeah, I’m more than old enough.”
“What do you want?”
I have never let peer pressure bother me before, and I’m not going to now. “Nothing. I have to drive back to Jasper tonight.”
She doesn’t try to pressure me. I look around the club and try not to stare. There are people in the corner playing pool, people dancing across the room, and then a place set up like a living room with mismatched chairs and sofas, and the people there are all watching television.
I point at it. “Is that—?” No way. “Uh, is that The Big Idol?”
Alice laughs. “Yeah, they love that show and watch it every week. They usually make bets on who’s making it to the next round.”
I just shake my head. “I love that show.”
Alice leans toward me. “I bet you didn’t think you’d have something in common with these guys, huh?”
She’s not wrong. “I have something in common with Ben, so it wasn’t too farfetched that I’d have something in common with his friends.”
She smiles at me as if I passed some kind of test. She gestures in the direction where Ben disappeared. “What’s he meeting with Pres about? He making you his ol’ lady?”
I scrunch up my nose. “Ol’ lady? I don’t even know—”
Before I can get it all out, Ben is back. “Hey, princess, Alice playing nice?”
I nod, still trying to figure out what she meant by ‘ol’ lady.’
Ben helps me from the stool. “Come on, Pres wants to meet you.”
Alice’s smile gets even bigger, and I wave bye to her as I walk with Ben through the crowd. It’s too loud to be able to ask him anything until we’re going down a long hallway and it’s just the two of us. “Uh, why does he want to meet me?”
His hand tightens on mine. “You’ll see.”
He doesn’t knock on the door. He just pushes it open, and my eyes are drawn to the man sitting behind the desk. He stands up, a grim look on his face. Ben stops and puts a hand around my waist. “Pres, this is Lexi Payne. Princess, this is Pres.”
The man stares back at me, and I do my best not to fidget. My brother has always told me to not let them see you sweat, so I’m doing my best to appear like I’m feeling confident even though I’m anything but. I clear my throat. “Hello.”
Pres crosses his arms over his chest. “So you want to be an ol’ lady?”
I look over at Ben and then back at Pres. “Uh, I’m not sure exactly what that means.”
Ben’s hand goes to my waist. “It doesn’t matter if she wants to be or not. She’s my ol’ lady, and she deserves the protection of the club.”
I’m surprised by Ben saying it doesn’t matter what I want, and I can’t keep my mouth shut. “I think you should tell me what ol’ lady means because honestly, it doesn’t sound like anything good.”
Pres unfolds his arms and moves around his desk and sits on the end of it in front of me. “If you’re his ol’ lady… it means you’re his.” He’s pointing at Ben, and I look over at the man I just made love to. Was I a fool? I’m beginning to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.