Page 32 of Doozer

“Love you too.”

“Time to tell me what’s been buggin’ you,” he announced, sliding out of me, and rolling onto his back. He tugged me over his chest and patted my bottom. “All of it.”

“We have to get back to the party,” I said, hoping to avoid the conversation for as long as possible. Even though I knew we had to have it. “Cricket looked like she needed all the help she could get.”

“Nice try, blue eyes,” Doozer said, with a squeeze. “Come on. Spill.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “You know Taxi, right?” Starting off on the clumsiest of conversation foot possible?”

“Taxi? The FBI agent who saved both our lives? Yeah, I think I’m familiar,” Doozer teased.

Last year a rival club called the Gresham Spiders planned to kidnap and execute a member of the Burning Saints and Doozer had been selected. Wolf, their new chapter president, was looking to settle a score with Minus, and wanted to send our club a clear message that the Spiders were not to be fucked with. Taxi was working undercover as a member of the Spiders and intervened, saving Doozer’s life. He also stepped in when I went after Wolf with my father’s gun. I didn’t know Doozer was alive at the time, and had Taxi not stopped me, I wouldn’t be.

“Stop it,” I said, playfully smacking his bare, rock-hard, chest. “This is hard for me.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, babe,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m listening.”

“Well, you know we’ve been working together every day on my shooting—”

“Oh shit.”

Doozer sat up suddenly, taking me along for the ride.

“Are you gonna tell me that you and Taxi are fucking?” he asked, in a way that sounded more hurt than accusatory.

“What? Ew. Gross. No, you idiot,” I squealed and smacked his chest again, this time not so playfully. “He’s offered me a position on a team he’s putting together.”

“A team? What does that mean?”

“It means Taxi wants me to come work for him at the FBI as a tactical shooter.”

“Work for him… as in… like a job?”

“That’s the idea,” I replied.

Doozer broke into a wide smile. “That’s fuckin’ fantastic, baby! I’m so proud of you.”

“You’re not upset?”

“Upset? Hell, no. This is great news,” Doozer said excitedly. “Besides, a second ago I thought you were gonna leave me for Taxi.”

“Why do you always think I’m looking to shack up with an older man?”

“Maybe it’s because I still can’t believe you waste your time with a biker bum like me,” he replied.

“You are not a bum,” I scolded, before kissing his soft, full lips.

“Try telling that to my dad,” Doozer said.

“You could tell him yourself if you ever talked to him.”

“We talk,” Doozer replied, dismissively.

“You talked for a minute and a half on the phone over a month ago, and that was about RV parts.”

“Yeah. Like I said. We talk.”

“Did you really think I was hooking up with Taxi?”