Page 25 of Vex

“Nothing to talk about. Just irritated that my locker was locked for the first time in forever,” I answer.

Pooh stares me down for a long moment before turning for the door. When he reaches it, he turns back and says, “When you’re ready, I’ll listen. Love you, brother.”

I nod but don’t respond as Pooh waits a beat before opening the door and leaving.

Looking into the locker, I see a sealed envelope with my name on the front. I pick it up and stick it in my back pocket, not thinking much of it. It’s not uncommon for the dancers to leave me notes, naked pictures of themselves and lingerie in my locker. With that thought, I scoop up all the pieces of clothing and toss them across the room. It irritates me that they do this thinking it’ll bring me running to them. Jesus, there really is more to me than just my appearance, but they don’t take the time to see that. Still angry at the world, I stalk out of the break room and get to work.

Still in a pissy mood after my shift, I go for a long bike ride. It’s the wee hours of the morning, but the wind and the road calm me down. Not wanting to examine why, I cruise past Taja’s house on my way to the clubhouse. It’s dark and quiet as it should be at this hour. It looks like a home, cared for and loved, and I realize how empty my life is always going to be.

Reaching the end of her street, I make the turn and twist the throttle. As I do this, I notice a bike with a rider parked near the curb. I only get a glimpse, but there’s something familiar about him. Looking into my mirror as I release the throttle, I see his bike light up and pull away fast. He disappears at the first intersection, and I know I’ll never find him by the time I get turned around. I pull my bike to a stop in the exact place he was parked and look down the side street. I have a perfect view of Taja’s house. I leave, headed for the clubhouse, but I leave with a pit in my stomach.

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It’s late afternoon when I finally hit the main room of the clubhouse. Ava’s dog, Loki, is laying full out on his side near a couch. Her bird, Mac, is strutting his feathery ass up and down the bar singing the theme song to “The Big Bang Theory” TV show that’s playing on the flatscreen. Gotta give him props—I can’t sing it with how fast the words are said.

I amble my way into the kitchen, make a bowl of cereal and head back to the bar to eat it.

“Hey, Mac. How’re you doing, dickhead?” I ask him.

“Pretty boy has jokes!” he screeches at me as he stops singing.

“Don’t be a hater, Mac. If your head wasn’t so out of proportion to your body size, the females might like you just as much,” Axel says as he plops his ass down next to me.

“Ladies looooooove me!” Mac insists, loudly.

“Nobody looooooves you,” Axel replies.

“Mom does!” Mac comes back with.

“She has to. It’s the law. So shut it, birdbrain!” Axel continues to argue. These two argue anytime they’re in the same room together.

“You shut it!” Mac predictably says back.

“You!” shouts Axel.

“I’ve got to save more cashews,” Mac states mournfully before giving us a wing-wave (possibly trying to flip Axel off) and walks away.

“Hah! I think I just won against that feathered menace,” Axel laughs.

“You’re proud that you won an argument with a fucking bird? Axel, brother, you need some kind of deep therapy. Seriously,” I tell him while shaking my head sadly.

“I have no dignity. I’m counting it as a win,” Axel states proudly.

Axel’s a great club brother. He’s the VP and very loyal to his club, family and friends. The perfect person to have at your side when shit’s going down. You want to have a good time and a lot of laughs? You call Axel. You plan on kicking some ass? You better call Axel to help, or he’ll pout worse than any 13-year-old girl you’ve ever met. But I’m still convinced that he was oxygen deprived at birth. Petey, his dad, says no, but I don’t think any of us believe him.

Axel’s the one who brought me to the Devil’s Angels. I was in a bar, drunk off my ass, and wanting a fight. I wasn’t in the condition to win a fight, and Axel recognized that. He got me to go outside with him, with me thinking I was going to get the fight I wanted so badly. Instead, he tried talking me down. When I swung on him, he knocked me on my ass. He helped me back to my feet before clocking me again. While I was flat out on my back, he made a call. I’m stubborn as hell so while waiting for Petey to arrive in his truck, I got up and got knocked back down a few more times.

Next morning, I woke up in the Devil’s Angels clubhouse with a pounding head and face. On the nightstand next to me was a couple bottles of water and ibuprofen. It wasn’t long before Axel stuck his head in the door and told me to get my ass up and out to the main room. I started as a prospect that day and haven’t looked back since.

“Known you for several years now, Vex. You’ve always been silent about your past life and I’ve let you be on that. Your business unless you want to share. But you know if you need something—anything—you only need to ask, right? Not much I wouldn’t do for you. You haven’t been yourself lately and it’s been noticed. Is something wrong or going on with you?” Axel asks in a quiet, serious tone.

“Nothing serious, Axel. With everything happening with Pooh and Pippa, nothing going on in my life’s as important as that. I’ll deal,” I answer him.

“You’ve been there every step with, and for, Pooh and Pippa. But that doesn’t mean your shit isn’t important too, Vex. You need anything, call me. I’ll listen, kick some ass or just give you the best advice I can if that’s what you need. Just sayin’, I’m on your side.”

“Thanks, Ax. I mean that. Thanks.”

I get a backslap as he stands up and leaves the clubhouse. I finish my cereal thinking that I need a better poker face. I don’t like everyone knowing that I’ve been unsettled. Mostly because I can’t explain the reason for it even to myself. I know it involves Taja and this draw to her. But it’s more than that. Ever since Tessie asked if I had a brother, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family—my mom, my brother, even my dad though not in good terms when it concerns him. I miss Waianae, Hawaii where I spent the good times of my youth. It’s a rough part of the island, but that’s where Tutu, my grandmother, lived. I don’t miss my dad and the expectations he had for me, my brother and Mom. They were unattainable, but that never kept him from expecting them.

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