Page 6 of Rex

“Holy shit, Rex! Did a bomb go off in here? After seeing this, you can never bitch at me again about keeping my office neater, you hypocritical bastard,” Pigeon declares.

“Why are you here?” I ask while totally ignoring his statement.

“Church. You remember that thing we do as a club? Prez said to get your ass there before he comes himself. You don’t want Prez to have to retrieve you for Church, brother.”

“Fuck. Yeah, okay. I’ll be there as soon as I…” I start to say but go silent when a still naked, bleary-eyed Reeves walks out of the bathroom, through my bedroom, and out the door, one hand scratching his chest as the other hand scratches things south of it.

Silence is all I hear. Dead silence. I drop my head in defeat, knowing what’s coming next. Pigeon is nothing if not predictable. When he doesn’t start crowing loudly or shouting questions at me, I lift my head and look at his shocked face.

Without a word, Pigeon crosses to the door and walks through it. Turning back to face me, I brace, knowing his loud ways are going to hurt my head. Again, Pigeon surprises me.

“I didn’t know it was that way between you two, brother. I’m not judging, and I won’t tolerate any of the others doing it either. You have my support and my silence. It’s not my admission to make. It’s yours and only if you choose to,” Pigeon says in a quiet but firm tone before striding down the hallway, leaving me in stunned silence.

I shut the door, turn, and lean my back against it. Pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes, I sigh. What a clusterfuck today has become, and I haven’t even left my room yet.

Chapter 2

Aria

No. Just no. I did not just wake up naked in a Devil’s Angel’s bed. Nope, not going to process that at all. I’m going to focus by looking forward only. I’m so deep into that thought I don’t even acknowledge Lisa’s moaning in the backseat of Candy’s car. I stare straight out the windshield working to keep my mind blank and totally ignoring the blinding headache that’s crushing my soul.

“Love you like you’re my own blood sister, Lisa, but if you vomit in my car, I’ll drop your ass off on the side of the road,” Candy states in a calm voice, eyes remaining fixed on said road.

“You should stop then and quickly, please,” Lisa half whispers, then gags a few times.

Candy instantly swings the car to the shoulder and stops. Swinging out of her car door, Candy shuts it gently, then walks to the rear passenger door. Opening it, she pulls Lisa across the seat, far enough to have her head hanging outside. Surprisingly, Candy pulls Lisa’s hair back and supports her head during an agonizing round of purging her stomach of last night’s bad decisions. The sounds Lisa is making cause my own stomach to rebel, and I quickly open my door and lean out far enough to save me from Candy’s wrath.

“Fuck me,” Candy mutters, but then asks, “You okay, girl? This door is in my way, so I can’t help you out much.”

In between rounds of gagging, I nod, then say in a hoarse voice, “Yeah. I’m good.”

Candy patiently waits until we’ve finished. She then helps Lisa find a comfortable position before climbing back behind the wheel and putting the car in gear.

“We’re going to Lisa’s condo and staying there until I know you’re both going to be okay,” Candy says in a no-nonsense tone.

Not feeling up to arguing, I nod my head before resting it against the cool window.

“Thank you, Candy,” Lisa mumbles.

After helping Lisa and me into the condo, Candy walks to the kitchen. It’s not long, and I hear food preparation sounds. The thought of food makes my stomach bubble in a scary way, and by the sound Lisa makes, I’m thinking it did the same to her.

“Maybe a shower would help,” Lisa says in an incredibly soft voice. “You can use Lucy’s old room, and I’ll find you something to wear.”

“Yes, please,” I respond in the same tone while carefully standing up.

Stepping into the warm shower spray, I lean my aching head against the wall and sigh. I’m trying hard not to remember anything from last night. I refuse to acknowledge that my brain has retained images—images that cause heat to rush to my face and, unfortunately, other parts too. Nope, not going there.

I stand up straight and get busy showering away the prior night. I close my eyes briefly and try hard to ignore the feeling of my stomach doing a slow, painful flip when I realize my less than smart decision making also included the lack of condoms. Mybreath hitches, but I ruthlessly scrub away the evidence and push forward with my plan to pretend last night didn’t happen.

After my shower, I squeeze out as much water as I can from my hair, then wrap my body in a towel and exit the bathroom. Finding a robe lying on the bed, I pull it on and breathe a sigh of relief that it’s obviously not Lucy’s. It’s still small for my body frame, but it’s wearable. Tying the belt tightly, I find my way back to the kitchen. When Candy lifts her chin toward a stool at the large island, I take a seat.

Wordlessly, Candy slides a cup of black coffee, a glass of water, and three aspirins toward me before turning back to the stove. She repeats the same actions when Lisa enters the kitchen and takes the stool next to mine. Looking over at Lucy’s sister, I note the weariness on her face. She’s pale with dark purple smudges under her eyes. Feeling my eyes on her, she turns to face me.

In a quiet tone, she asks, “What the hell did we do last night? Like, I remember some of the night and some stuff, but there’s some huge blanks too.”

“Same for me. I’m almost afraid of filling in those blanks, though,” I respond just as quietly.

Candy sets a plate in front of each of us, and my first thought is to push it away. When my hand starts to do just that, Candy’s hand stops the movement. Looking up to her eyes, I see no judgment of any kind.

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