Page 29 of Vex

“Hi, Petey. How’re you doing?” I ask walking up to the counter.

“Doing great, Taja. What’cha got there?” he asks indicating the cooler in my hand.

“We had some leftovers from a roast ,so I made some sandwiches for Tessie and you guys for lunch. Chips and water included. Also, some chocolate chip and bacon cookies…,” I say. I no more than say the word cookies and Petey is hustling out from behind the counter and waving his hands in the air at me.

Before I can ask what’s going on, he places a very large hand over my mouth and whispers, “Shhhh! Don’t say cookies out loud, or Chubs’ll be all over you before any of us get one!”

“Who’s got cookies?”

Petey rolls his eyes and removes his hand.

“See? Toss the cookies and run, girl! Save yourself,” Petey says laughing as Chubs appears next to him, smiling huge, hand lovingly rubbing the cooler.

“Hi, Chubs. You’ve been so nice to pick up Tessie, I thought I’d make lunch for you guys. And yes, I have cookies. They’re chocolate chip and bacon. Hope you like them.”

“Two of my favorite things! I’ll love them don’t you worry!” Chubs answers while starting to pull the cooler away from me.

“Not so fast, Chubs. Release the cooler and nobody gets hurt,” Petey tells him. “It’s for all of us, and I’ll hand it out because you’d grab and go leaving us not even a crumb. This isn’t my first rodeo with him,” Petey informs me with a wink.

I let out a laugh when I see the look of disappointment on Chubs’ face, but he complies with Petey’s demand. I hand the cooler over to Petey just as Trigger and Tessie walk through the door leading to the garage.

“Hey T! What’re you doing here?” Tessie asks as she rushes up and gives me a quick hug. I explain why I’m here again and then hand each of the guys their invitations.

I know in my heart that three bikers probably aren’t big on the idea of attending a sweet 16 birthday party, but I promised Tessie I’d invite them. I’m very pleasantly surprised when Trigger asks if he can bring his woman. The fact that he’s willing to spend his day off doing this for Tessie warms me toward him even more. Then Petey and Chubs ask the same thing.

“Of course, you can. We’d love to have them. It’s not going to be a fancy thing at all. Just a cookout with Tessie’s friends,” I tell them.

“Cake?” Chubs asks.

“Yes, there’ll be cake too.”

“Petey, please bring Bella! Can she come too?” Tessie asks excitedly.

“Absolutely, Tess. She’d love to come. She’s home schooled, so she doesn’t have a lot of friends outside of the club, so thank you for thinking about her,” Petey says aiming soft eyes at Tessie.

Turning to me, Tessie explains that she met Bella a few days ago and they hit it off right away. And that she’s Petey’s youngest daughter, Axel’s youngest sister.

“Yes, please bring her, Petey. If she ever wants to come hang out with Tessie and me, she’s welcome to. She’ll meet some of Tessie’s friends at the party, and they’re at our house quite a bit. It may help increase her girl gang,” I tell him.

“Thank you, Taja. That would be great for her to meet more people close to her age and have friends she can socialize with. We’ll be there for sure,” Petey responds.

Tessie squeals, the rest of us grin and then Trigger swears loudly.

“Where in the hell is Chubs and the cooler?”

On my way home, I stop at a pharmacy. I sit in the parking lot for a few minutes, nervous to go inside. Not knowing seems easier, but I have to do this so I can make a plan if needed. I go in and buy a few tests that will determine my future. Hard to believe that something that fits in a small plastic bag will have the ability to change my whole life. A condom’s even smaller. I’m such an idiot.

Pulling into my driveway, I see Vex’s bike parked there and the man himself sitting on the porch steps. I can’t catch a break. I need to take these tests and process whatever the results are, and I need to be alone to do that. I decide to get whatever Vex wants to talk about out of the way quickly. I leave my car and approach him.

“Why’re you here, Vex?” I ask.

“Why do you think, Taja?” he asks.

I roll my eyes and step around him to climb the steps. He follows me to the door and steps inside, shutting it behind him. I walk through the living room and into the kitchen with Vex on my heels. I set my purse and shopping bag on a counter before grabbing two waters out of the fridge. I hand one off to Vex and crack mine open. I take a seat at the table and indicate with my hand that he should too.

“You bought pregnancy tests. Can you take one this soon?” Vex asks in a low rumble.

“It’s best to wait and take one the day after a missed period. They can be taken one to two weeks after sex too. Not as accurate though as waiting,” I answer him.

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