Page 13 of JoJo

Chapter 5

Before we boarded our flight, Quickshot asked me if it would be okay if he sat with Steel. They apparently had some club business to discuss. That was fine by me, because I needed to hear about what was going on with Legs back home. With that being said, Steel and I didn’t get a chance to speak during the entire flight. I had thought Quick just wanted to sit with him for a few minutes to discuss something that would only take a moment, but apparently not.

One of the prospects picked us up in a van when we got to Asheville, and we had a two hour drive back to Sierra High from there. Steel was once again spoken for by Quickshot during the trip, and everyone else seemed to be napping. I spent the better part of the two hours watching the scenery blow by the window as I thought about things like, did I have to change my last name now? How does one go about doing that? Would Steel and I have to live together in the same house? What if we did, and he decided to bring a woman home? How would I handle that? Maybe he planned on keeping his hookups out of sight at the clubhouse. I didn’t know. Hell, I didn’t know anything. I had so many questions and no way of getting any answers because we kept being interrupted and separated.

By the time we pulled up outside of the S.H.E. Clubhouse, I’d bitten my thumbnail to the quick and practically jumped out of the van before the prospect - Chief, as they called him - came to a full stop. I snatched my bag out of the trunk space and all but ran my ass to the clubhouse. “JoJo, wait up,” Keys called out to me.

I didn’t stop to wait until I was inside. Then I turned to find Tash and Keys watching me. “What’s up?” I asked as Tash rolled her eyes at my attempt to sound casually unaffected by everything. Keys wore a matching concerned look.

“You ran off like your panties were on fire, girl. Maybe you should tell us what’s up?” Tash commented and I just shrugged.

“Tash, can you go get the latest on Legs while JoJo and I get all our stuff put away?”

“Sure,” she said before walking away. Then Keys and I grabbed everyone’s bags and started hauling them toward the stairs. “So, what’s wrong? I thought you two were getting along. At least, according to what I walked in on this morning.”

“Yeah, and all of you interrupted a pretty important conversation this morning. One we needed to have. Then he wouldn’t even look at me, let alone speak to me, before we left the hotel for some reason, while Quickshot was throwing dodgy looks his way. And then he managed to hijack Steel for not only the entire flight, but the two hour ride back to Sierra High. I don’t know what the hell is going on. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe I sucked in bed, or he realized I’m not enough to give up five years of his life. I don’t know and everyone made damn sure I couldn’t find out. Hell, maybe he organized that too.” I opened the door to my room, the one I only used on occasion, and tossed my bag in. I would snag it again on my way out. I actually lived in a little cabin a couple miles from my garage. I bought it cheap as a fixer-upper in the hopes of fixing and flipping it one day. Hopefully, I’d be able to keep the garage long enough to make that happen.

“Crap!” Keys huffed, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I told him to wait.” Her grumbling had me spinning on my heel.

“Told who to wait on what?”

For the second time in two days I witnessed a guilty flush roll over my friend’s cheeks. “Sorry, Jo. Quick wanted to talk to Steel and make sure he knew what it was he was signing on for with you and your arrangement. It was supposed to be up to Sweet to do that, but since he ran off to try to fix shit with Angel it was left to Quickshot to do.”

“With me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?” I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance.

“No, not you, just the crazy situation you’re in. He’s trying to protect his guy, but also to protect you. He doesn’t know Steel well. Steel hasn’t even been patched over to the local chapter yet. He was just here trying them on for size to start. You know, making sure they were a good fit. I guess shit went sideways with his ex-girlfriend. She cheated with a brother from the Dakota chapter and all hell broke loose up there. They were together a long time, and apparently the woman he was seeing was pissed about not being made his old lady officially. Sweet wanted to make sure Steel wouldn’t head back once they cooled off, you know? Then it got left to Quick to take care of it.”

“Yeah, well don’t you think that’s a conversation I should have been able to have with my husband before anyone else? Now, I’m stuck in some weird limbo of not knowing anything because Sweet and Quickshot apparently thought it was their place to have the conversation I deserved to have.”

“He was just trying to look out for you,” Even she didn’t believe that was his motive. I could tell by the shiftiness in her voice. I didn’t blame her for wanting to stand up for her man, but I would absolutely call her out on trying to sugarcoat shit when it came to me.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it. He just doesn’t want drama between our clubs that could make his life harder. I remember how he butted in with you and Quickshot too at first. I would have thought Quickshot would be less inclined to put someone else through that same crap.”

“Okay, well whatever his reasons, club business supersedes everything else. You know that.”

“Funny, Steel’s still a part of the Dakota Chapter, so how is his marriage to me Sweet’s business exactly? And for that matter, if he objected so heartily, he should have said so last night when he was invited to the wedding. You know, before we got married. He couldn’t even be bothered to show up though.”

“He did though. I guess they talked about the option on the way here and he told Steel not to marry you right now.”

“He what?” That was it. I was done. I turned, shut and locked my door, and made my way back downstairs. I didn’t wait for Keys answer, nor did I want to hear her defend her man, his president, their club and the bullshit interference in my life anymore. She was supposed to have my back and it was blatantly obvious that wasn’t the case anymore. I marched my ass straight to our meeting room and rolled in like a tornado, ready to do damage.

“What can I help with?” I asked.

Three sets of wide eyes greeted me. “Um, I was just filling them in. I really only needed Keys to come back to hack a network for me. I told Angel Girl that when I got a hold of her and Sweet,” Legs explains. “I’m sorry to have made you cut the trip short.” She glanced between me and an upset Keys who had followed me into the room. “Angel and Sweet have their hands full though, so maybe they didn’t tell y’all.”

“Where are they?” I asked, ready to rip them both a new one.

“Cedar Falls. He got some emergency call when they landed in Asheville and they took off right away.” Legs smiled brightly at me then. “The girls told me one of Aces High crew stepped up to help you out. Congrats!”

“Yeah, apparently against their fearless leader’s wishes.” Legs, Tash, and MiMi looked shocked at that news. I waved away their concerned looks. “It’s whatever. I guess I’ll just go home and wait to see if an annulment is coming my way or whatever. It seems Sweet’s more interested in me losing my business. All that talk from Steel before about just buying the space when it reverts to my brother probably sounded too good for Sweet to pass up. Definitely makes shit easier on their club that way.”

“Now, you know that’s not true!” Keys’ voice raised from the doorway just behind me.

“Do I? He alienated me from Steel the entire trip back home. A trip that apparently we didn’t even need to make. I needed to talk to Steel. You said yourself he told Steel not to do it. If you honestly think I believe he was looking out for my heart, or my best interest, you’re delusional. Then you go along with that bullshit because your boyfriend has to step up when Sweet gets called away on some emergency, and still no one has a problem with the fact that my new husband is being warned away from me after we got married.”

Keys huffed, the anger that blazed across her features was tempered though. The truth of my statement couldn’t really be argued. “Jesus,” Tash muttered. “I was wondering why the newlyweds weren’t sitting together during any of our trip home. Even if I hadn’t walked in the honeymoon aftermath this morning, I still expected the two of you would have a lot to talk about.”

“We did have plenty to hash out, but I was basically cock blocked by Quickshot every step of the way. Sadly, I didn’t even want more cock anyway, the things we needed to work out seemed a bit more important. I was conversation blocked!”

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