The Prez nodded. We didn’t need his permission to keep a girl overnight, but even he could see this was something different. He knew my story and might be surprised by my request, but didn’t show 1.
The light was turned off, and then the screech of the door closing, a loud bang as metal met metal, and the bolt slid into place.
“I will get a padlock and give you the key; it’s not that we don’t trust others, but some might be tempted to give the machinery a try and break something. Drunken lads tend to do stupid things.” Prez answered the unspoken question: “I understood.” Given the opportunity and the liquor courage, men might want to give her a go.
Maxine allowed me to take her hand and led her inside and up the stairs. I have one of only four rooms on the top floor; that is more than a single bedroom and nothing else. My room was like a small apartment, with its own bathroom, a mini kitchen, and a balcony overlooking the backyard. The Prez has one, the master of arms has the other; the last was empty. We lost our VP a couple of months ago, and no one has wanted to take over his room since. However, I have heard a whisper that might change soon. Voting for who would take his place was about to start, and I had no clue whose names were on the list.
Maxine POV
The shed will be perfect. I can get all Grandpa’s machines set up, and it will be used again, just like
he would have wanted. Dad never wanted anything to do with what was in that shed, and when he got the house, he threatened to throw it all down the dump, even though it had been willed to me. The lawyer was the only saving grace, stopping him from doing something stupid, and my renting the storage shed was a solution to it. Now the gear will get used as it should be. It was wasting away in that shed.
“Stay, it’s late, and if you insist on going home, I will have to follow you to make sure you get home safely, and I really don’t want to get on my bike this late at night,” Tank said softly.
Like that was the real reason he didn’t want me to go, for my safety?
I bet they have been on their bikes, blind drunk, and late at night, not thinking of their safety. I know I have been out on my bike in the early hours of the morning, over-tired and not safe to be riding, but I needed the wind in my face and space to think.
“I agree, Tank has had a few beers, and it’s not safe, stay,” Prez added, slapping Tank on the back as he passed by us, lending his support in the argument, before entering the building before us.
Not that I was arguing, more like an internal debate.
I had held off giving myself to my boyfriend because I wasn’t ready yet, and he didn’t push. When I was ready, it was too late. So what am I waiting for?
Would the guy who takes the V card really care that it was him -something to brag about, maybe?
The girls all were pushing for me to be with Tank, and he did make me feel comfortable around him, like I was already his, and he treated me with care. More attention in one night from him than I had in ages from my own ex-boyfriend. But we only just officially met. Even the Prez was happy about me being with Tank.
I was coming out of the bathroom, down the hall, not the one for visitors, but one the patch members use, when I heard him tell Tank not to stuff it up and to treat me right; losing me would hurt the whole gang. To claim me before any of the others try to. You know it’s time to put the past behind you.
Why were they pushing Tank so hard?
What did he have in his past that made him shy away from women?
I was intrigued -now I wanted to know: was it like me -a cheating girlfriend? Or something else, but what?
“Please stay, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. I would feel better if you were in my arms tonight.” He pushed a little harder. As we entered the building, he was holding my hand, and once inside, he waited at the bottom of the stairs, hopeful for my answer.
“Okay,” I whispered, time to do something different -hoping for a romantic night with the one I love for the first time -was out the window for me. The smile that bloomed on his face was priceless; you would think I just gave him a new bike.
He led me up to the top floor and down a long, empty hallway. There was a window at each end of the hallway, and small ground-level night lights outside each door. He stopped at a door and placed his hand on a square on the wall. It lit up green, and the lock clicked open.
He pushed the door open and stood to one side to let me in.
Such a gentleman. I rarely got that with my ex, even in the early days of dating.
Damn, hope I am not going to keep comparing him to my ex all the time, that’s exhausting, and unproductive. Grandpa would be clipping me behind my ears if he heard me talking to myself like this.
His room, as he called it, was bigger than my flat above the shop.
It was comfortable, with all the mod cons, definitely all male, with the dark curtains, and bike doona cover and matching pillows. A carpet mat by the large king-size bed, of the ghost rider, one that was made popular after some movie, can’t remember the name, and it was not what I had expected to see. I wondered briefly if they were gifts from a girlfriend, as it would be something most girls might think a guy would like, but they pushed it away. Some guys might like this stuff.
Not for me, though, and I am a little shocked at it to be honest, thought men liked plain stuff on their beds, but then what do I know, I haven’t exactly been in a lot of men’s rooms, even my ex didn’t let me in his.
I walked to the window and moved the curtain to look out. You could see the car park and, in the distance, the main gate, which still had a guard nearby.
The door clicked shut, closing off the thump of the music that was still going on downstairs. I am told it will go all night. They had visiting members from another club staying the night, not that I paid that much attention to the visitors; they were polite to us at the table I sat at. No one would cause trouble around the Prez’s woman.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.