Page 44 of German

Sarah watched me in the mirror.“Are you his Old Lady or just casual?”

“More than casual, not yet Old Lady status,” I told her, not wanting to lie, but feeling it was mostly the truth.German hadn’t promised me anything, but I was certainly hoping for more between us.

Putting on some lip gloss, Chrissy added, “Just a little friendly advice, kid.If you want more from that fine man downstairs, hold his feet to the fire!Men never commit if you let them go endlessly whoring around.That’s what I did with Smoke.It took him a while to figure out what he wanted, but it was worth the wait in the end.”

Sarah nodded.“Our men are like wild animals,” she explained with a throaty laugh.“Hell, that’s partly why we love them so much.For how fucking untamed they are.But it’s also why we have to be careful.If we aren’t, they’ll maul our hearts, alongside our bodies, if we don’t protect them.”

I thought that was probably excellent advice and said as much.

“I can tell German’s into you,” Chrissy said.“Smoke told me he was willing to throw down with Mouse if the man didn’t back off when he was sniffing around your skirts earlier in the night.Not sure how that would have ended.Mouse is a fucking brute.But I’m impressed a biker who isn’t your Old Man would be willing to go toe to toe with a guy like that if he didn’t want you as his Old Lady.”

At the time, I’d just been grateful German was protecting me from Mouse.Now, I saw how truly meaningful his protection had been.

“How exactly did you both go about asking for more from your husbands?”I implored the women, wanting to know how these kinds of delicate negotiations were handled.

Sarah smiled.“We showed them our worth, then threatened to share it with someone else if they didn’t recognize it.Slade didn’t like that so much.That night, he offered me a place on the back of his bike and we haven’t been apart since.”

Damn!That was some boss babe shit if I’d ever heard it.But could I ever be that forward?I wasn’t so sure.

“Smoke was married when he was younger and he thought he’d never get married again,” Chrissy explained.“When I got pregnant with our first child, I gave him an ultimatum.If he wanted us in his life like family, then he was going to have to treat us like family.I left him for three months before he accepted he couldn’t live without us.And he must be happy because we’ve had three more babies in five years,” she said with a tinkling laugh.

“I struggle with asserting myself in relationships,” I confessed, the alcohol loosening my lips.“I wait for men to make all the moves because I’m afraid I’ll come across as too needy.”

I’d only ever admitted that truth in therapy.However, talking to these women now felt like a session all on its own.Plus, as Old Ladies, they knew what they were talking about and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to get their valuable insight.

Sarah turned me toward the mirror.“Take a look at yourself, kid.You’re beautiful.Sweet.And have caught the eye of a wild stallion like German.I’ll tell you what I’d tell my daughter, if I had one.Never settle for what the world offers you.Always counter.Always ask for more.Because if you don’t, this world and the people in it, will lowball you each and every time.”

I nodded my head solemnly.She was right.I needed to learn to ask for more, not just take the scraps people threw at me.People like Nathan, and some of the other unworthy men I’d known in the past.Men I’d foolishly been burned by and allowed into my space when they hadn’t earned the right.I might have walked into this Club tonight wrongly thinking I was the most educated person here.But I’d learned a valuable, and humbling, lesson about life after talking to these two beautiful women.And it was one I’d never forget.

When we were leaving the bathroom, I checked my phone.I saw that I had several missed calls from my father, and a text message to call him back.

I must have looked really concerned, because Sarah asked, “Everything okay, Lexi?”

“My father called,” I explained, reading and rereading the short message.“He never calls unless there’s a problem.”

In the hallway, the noise was already deafening from the party raging below.“Why don’t you go back into the bathroom and make the call,” Chrissy suggested.“We’ll leave Bruno here with you.Nobody is going to bother us.He’ll walk you back to your man when you’re done.”

“Thanks,” I said, grateful once more for their assistance.

Closing and locking the bathroom door, I hit redial and waited for my dad to pick up.To my frustration, it went straight to voicemail.The time stamp said he’d called me thirty-seven minutes ago.He must be having some after-dinner drinks with his colleagues now.

Texting, I asked,“Everything okay?”Then hit send.

After a minute of tense waiting, he replied,“Yes.Just got done with dinner and am having a scotch with friends.I wanted to check in on you and make sure all was well.It’s going to be another late night, but I’ll call in the morning.”

My heart rate instantly declined the moment I read his text.Ready to return to the party, I opened the door and walked toward the stairs.As soon as I got to the top flight, I was met by none other than Mouse.Glancing around for Bruno, my heart began to thud faster once more.

“Where’s Bruno?”I asked, dread beginning to bloom in my heart when I realized I was alone with the unstable, drugged-out biker.

Mouse’s vacant eyes crawled up and down my body as he stepped closer.“I sent him away.”

I shouldn’t ask, but I had to.“Why?”

“I wanted to be alone with you,” the man ominously stated, his hulking frame preventing any possible escape down this narrow hallway.

Glancing behind me, I noted there was only darkness and empty rooms beyond the bathroom door.This must be where the men slept.Not good.Not good at all.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” I told him, nervously taking a step backward.“German is waiting for me and I don’t want him to be upset if I take too long.”

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