Page 57 of Watercolor Skulls

“You don’t have to be like us to be one of us.” She shrugs her shoulders. “You’re the color, Lily.” She turns, taking a step off the porch. “See you on the road.”

I watch as she shoves a helmet over her long silky black hair. Dirk salutes me and they are off.

My eyes drop to the jacket in my hand. I hold it up, smiling at the patches on the back. There are two. One says Property of Big Dan, the other is the Rebel Skull logo. Dan pulls in as I’m standing there, squeezing the life out of it like an idiot. How embarrassing.

He laughs as he shuts the bike off. “You know I was supposed to give you that.” He points to my new prized possession. “Jesse said she found you, so it was her right.”

“You don’t agree?”

Climbing the steps slowly, he regards me. “This is a big deal in our club. It’s equivalent to a marriage.”

I swallow, staring at him. “But…”

He holds up his hand. “I don’t care about your past. We’ll get through all that eventually. Nothing you tell me will change anything.”

“Aren’t you supposed to get down on one knee or something?” I tease, shyly pulling the jacket up to cover my mouth.

He takes the last step and drops to one knee. Dan hugs me around the waist, pressing his face into my stomach. “Will you please wear my patch?” he mumbles into my t-shirt.

Sliding my arms through the sleeves of the jacket, I answer him. He gazes up at me, happiness swimming in the amber liquid of his eyes.

As I’m riding on the back of Dan’s bike I allow my mind to run through my life these past few weeks. I’m changing. I feel the shift. I’m on the other side of the glass, living, breathing, loving. I cut the last tie to my father yesterday.

I drove to a bank in a neighboring town and transferred every last penny into Jesse’s charity account. I didn’t want anyone to know it was from me. JD asked Jesse for the account information, promising me he wouldn’t tell anyone who made the anonymous donation. I didn’t tell him how much I was donating. I told him I had a little money left over from my previous life and I really wanted to help. I downplayed it as best I could. He seemed to accept I didn’t want the attention and that is true, so it wasn’t really a deception. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Being on the back of Dan’s bike is freeing. I let go of Dan for a second, spreading my arms out wide. I’m free yet secure in the fact I have Dan and his entire club at my back. I pull my arms in and grab him around the waist tightly. Insecurity takes over my thoughts.

Do I really have them? Is it an illusion? What if they knew who I was? What if they learned my secrets?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lily

???

The charity run ends at the warehouse. I’ve never seen this many bikes in one place before. Dan drapes his arm around my shoulder as we walk through the items that are up for auction. The whole day has been about having fun and raising as much money for Jesse’s charity as we can.

Dirk stands up on the back of a flatbed trailer. Before he starts the auction he invites any survivors of sexual assault up on stage. I blink back tears as people start forward, Dirk reaches down to help pull them up beside him. Raffe and Jesse go up right away. Then Jesse’s little sister, Katie, joins them.

Dan’s gaze rests heavily upon my face. I don’t dare turn towards him. My feet are frozen in place, my heart about to burst out of my chest. Dirk’s eyes graze the crowd, stopping on me. I lower my head. I know what he thinks, what Dan thinks, but no one hurt me.

I wait until the bidding starts before I excuse myself to use the restroom. Dan walks me up to the warehouse. It’s beautiful inside. “Is this where you live?” I ask him.

“Yep. Some of us live here. A few come and go. Dirk is the president, so he and Jesse are here most of the time.

I follow him upstairs. He opens the door to what I am assuming is his room. “The bathroom is right there.” He points to a door on the right.

Dan is so organized. Everything has a place. I stifle a giggle as I take in the skull toothbrush holder. When I walk out he is sitting on his bed, waiting for me. “Ready to go back down?” he asks, tipping his head. My gaze travels over the ink on the side of his neck. I want to lick him there.

He smirks as if he can read my mind. “You want to stay here with me tonight, honey?” He pats his bed.

My heart rejoices with the thought of staying here with him. I nod, smiling shyly.

He stands, taking a step towards me. He grabs my hand and squeezes it. “We better get back down there. I want to be first in line for the food.”

JD runs up to us as soon as we walk out onto the patio. “Lily, our lamps brought a hundred dollars each!” he exclaims.

“Awe, that’s great,” I tell him as he picks me up off my feet, hugging me tight. When he sets me down everyone is staring at us, but he doesn’t even notice he’s so excited.

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