“Ah, hi,” I stuttered, completely intimidated by his size and scowl. “Nice to meet you.”
He didn’t answer, his gaze lingering on Rebel. He pulled a small flashlight from the inside pocket of his cut and shined it around the back seat. “Pop the trunk.”
I pressed the little button on the dash, and Fang checked out the back. We waited quietly, and when he was done with his inspection, he slammed the trunk and tapped it twice.
“You’re good to go. Have a nice night, ladies.”
The gates opened with a shudder, letting out a creak of protest, but slowly swung inward. I inched the car forward, creeping inside. Once we were out of earshot, I turned big eyes on Rebel. “Well, he was kinda scary!”
Rebel glanced back over her shoulder where Fang had taken up his position in the dark again. “Fang? Nah, he’s a pussy cat.”
“More like a tiger. He’s huge.”
She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. “He’s huge everywhere.”
“You’ve slept with him?”
She nodded. “He’s an A-plus fuck too, Dis. If you want to take your frustrations out on him, I’d highly recommend it.”
I shook my head quickly.
She shrugged. “Maybe I will then. It’s been a while.”
“How many of these guys have you slept with?” There was no judgment in the question. I was literally just curious.
She shrugged. “No idea, to be honest. I don’t keep a little black book.” She winked at me. “It kept running out of pages.”
I laughed at her, envying her ease with her body and her sexuality. I wished I had half of her confidence. “My little black book would be more like a corner torn out of a page. Or however big you’d need to write down a whole three names.”
“Three? Seriously, Dis? I had three on my list the night I lost my virginity.”
My mouth dropped open. “You did not lose your virginity in a foursome!”
She laughed. “Okay, fine. It wasn’t quite that bad. But three guys? What the hell are you rich people doing over there? Live a little! Are you even allowed to say blow job on your side of town? Or do the heavens open so lightning can strike you down.”
“Not in polite company.”
“Well, there ain’t no polite company here tonight. You ready? ‘Cause that’s the clubhouse.”
A huge rectangular building loomed ahead of us. It wasn’t attractive and kind of reminded me of Psychos’ imposing exterior. But unlike Psychos, a large roller door took up the entire front of the building. They had it up, light and people and music all spilling from inside.
I parked my car beside a row of bikes, extremely careful not to get too close for fear of knocking one of them down.
But Rebel sprang out of the car, and I quickly turned the engine off to run after her, not wanting to be left behind in the dark.
“Hey, Rebel’s here,” someone yelled from the thick of the party.
She was a bigger woman with a round face and a wide smile. Her dark hair was braided into tight strands and then wound on top of her head in a huge bun. Her gold hoop earrings gave her a gypsy vibe.
“Queenie!” Rebel trotted to her side and gave the woman a hug. Then she waved me over. “Q, this is Disney.”
Queenie turned to me, a motherly smile on her face. “Disney? Your parents really dislike you or did you already pick yourself a road name?”
I wasn’t sure what a road name was exactly, but I could guess. I was pretty sure War and Hawk and Fang didn’t have those names on their birth certificates either. “I’m Bliss. Rebel’s the only one who calls me Disney.”
The woman nodded. “Nice to meet you. Is this your first time, sweetheart? War said Rebel was bringing someone. Didn’t tell us any more than that though.”
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Yes, ma’am.”
Queenie hooted. “Oh Lawd, she’s got manners. Where the hell did War and Rebel find you? No need to ma’am anyone around here, sweet thing. Ain’t nobody that formal. Come on, let me introduce you around before you turn tail and run back to your car. We don’t bite.”
“Unless you want us to!” a male voice called out.
“Shut up, you great lug,” Queenie said to the man sitting on an outdoor couch with a beer bottle balanced between his fingers.
He tilted his head up as we walked behind him. “You love me, my queen bee. Don’t pretend you don’t like it when I bite you.”
I went hot with awkwardness at their intimate talk.