Being his president, and more importantly his friend, hopefully he knows that both his brothers and I will always have his back, no matter. Whatever path he decides for the future I want what is best for him. Knowing Grace struggles with a prior club, if their relationship progresses he might decide to leave. It would be a huge loss to us as his skills have saved many brothers’ lives already. Brothers who have no idea how close they were to death and how much Stitch has done for them and the club. All I can do is wait, watch, and support him.
I reach for my go to bottle of Jack Daniels and a glass. I fuckin’ need a drink about now. All the shit is combining and starting to weigh on me heavy. Thinking this I realize I need to finish this shit up to get out of here and head home. I can hear the party revving up and don’t want to get stuck here with these assholes. My Emmie is probably getting dinner started and I definitely don’t want to fuck that up. My woman can definitely cook if the extra five to eight pounds I’m carrying around recently are evidence.
I reach for my drink, gulp it down, and get back to work. Time is a wastin’. Figure if I give this my all should be on the road in less than an hour. Gotta remember to give Emmie a call to let her know I’m on my way.
One of the few demands she has of me when I’m at the club.
CHAPTER NINE
Francis
Finishing off my shower, I open the curtain and grab a towel. As I start to dry off, it dawns on me that eventually Grace will see all of me without the barrier of clothes. Then again, she has already seen me without my shirt when she stitched my side. The thought still paralyzes me instantly. From my neck down, I'm a canvas of massive scars. Only thing on my body not cut is my dick. And I’m grateful ‘cause the thought of that pain almost brings me to my knees. Never thought I would find something from that time in my life to be thankful for.
My mind reminds me, in the time I’ve been around Grace, she has never had a negative thought about my body or me. In fact, in all of her thoughts, she seems to be physically attracted to me.
After drying, deodorizing, and putting on some cologne, I head to my bedroom to get dressed. I grab clean jeans and one of the few long-sleeved, distressed denim shirts from my closet. Then grab a colored T-shirt, putting it on first, and then slip my arms through the shirt and button up.
As I look in the mirror, I think to myself, not too bad. I add some more cologne to finish up. After I grab my keys, leather cuffs, and wallet, I head to the garage to get the SUV out. I’m not gonna take Grace out in the truck or on the bike our first time together. Brick told me women like flowers, so I have to get some before going to Grace's. Not sure what type, have no idea about that kind of shit, and forgot to ask Brick if one was better than the next. Also want to make a stop to get some books for Damien. I’ve learned he loves to read.
Again I’m nervous as a fuckin' fifteen-year-old kid on his first date. What the fuck is the matter with me? I'm a grown man for Christ’s sake, not to mention a badass biker and fireman. I push the garage door button and watch it open, thinking about Grace and our upcoming evening together. As usual, when I open my mind imagining her, I hear Grace’s crazy thoughts and finally I laugh. Yeah, this is gonna be fun. She is as nervous as I fuckin’ am. From the looks of her bedroom she might even be a bit more anxious than me. Great, it seems like we are two peas in a pod. I’m smiling as I head out for my date.
Grace
Across town, the chaos is continuing in my bedroom. After trying on so many outfits, they are literally all over my bed and beginning to cover the floor. Finally, both Damien and I settle on jeans with a shimmery black top. Adding some dangly earrings and a three-layered silver necklace, along with my watch and bracelet, I head to the family room. Damien has just come out here and is watching one of his shows. Seeing me, he gives me one of his cute, little boy smiles. God, I love his smiles.
"Momma, you look beautiful."
"Awe, thanks, kiddo. You will be okay with Donna, right?"
"I guess, just don't get why I can't come on this dinner thingy with Francis. He is my friend, too. Was mine first, before you even saw him. Why doesn't he want me with you and him tonight?"
Watching my little guy's eyes tear up, I quickly sit next to him, pulling him close. He is such a good boy. I am truly blessed. It has always been just Damien and me. And he did meet Francis first, so I can see why he is upset. Now I feel like an idiot, as it was me who told Francis we should go without Damien. Now it’s time to fix my blunder.
"Damien, let's see when Francis gets here. We can ask if maybe we can do a family date with all of us. He probably won't mind, but let’s give him the choice, okay?"
Nodding his head, he again is absorbed back into his kids’ show on the TV. I grab my Kindle and sit back, trying to read which is a waste of time as my nerves take over. What if he doesn't show, or worse, wants to go out with only me? That would really hurt Damien’s feelings. And if he hurt my kid, would I even want to go on this date? Probably not I’m thinking. Why did I agree to this at all? As anxiety and a million questions run through my head, I hear a knock on the door.
Before I can do anything, Damien is off the couch, running to the door, screaming at the top of his lungs, arms in the air, the whole nine yards.
"Francis is here, Francis is here!"
I actually feel it rise in my throat, and before I can contain it, my laughter bursts from me loudly. My kid is a frigging nut. Just like his mama.
Damien knows he isn't supposed to open the door without knowing who is there, and I can see him looking out the side glass, arms waving like a lunatic. I have the deadbolt engaged so he can't reach it. He gives, I assume Francis, the one finger, for I guess one minute.
"Come on, Momma, Francis is outside. Let's go, he’s waiting."
I ruffle his hair, laughing as I unlock the door and pull it open. Right outside the screen door is Francis with a huge bouquet of flowers and a bag from the local bookstore. I’m shocked. No man has ever bought me flowers.
"Francis, just push Momma out of the way. Come in, I'll show you around. Wow, those are some pretty flowers. Aren't they pretty, Momma? Guess those are for you. Come on, Francis."
Grabbing his fingers that are looped through the bag, Damien pulls the big man into our home. I wait until they are clear before closing and reengaging the lock. Before I can turn around, the huge bunch of flowers comes into my view.
"These are for you, darlin'. I hope you like them, tried to get a little of everything as I didn't know your favorites."
Leaning forward, I take a whiff of them, letting out a deep breath. I love how mixed bouquets smell. The bouquet is a mixture of all different kinds of flowers. And it is huge. I am speechless that Francis would even think to bring me flowers.
"Thanks, Francis, they’re beautiful. I'm just going to put them in a vase with some water. Be right back."