Page 18 of Rebel

“I’m tired of being the mousy little office manager who always counts her drinks, plays it safe, and never lets loose. Tonight I’m going to enjoy my drinks, flirt with every single brother I come across, shoot pool, dance, and maybe take a peek down in the basement. I’m going to do everything I was too scared to do before.”

Alison lifted up her drink in a salute. “You only live once, my friend. And life is meant to be enjoyed.”

Zoe, on the other hand, cautioned me, “Just remember if you want something to stop, you have to say it out loud. The men here can’t read your mind.”

Alison just stared at her sister. “I can’t believe any of the brothers would do something she didn’t want. They’re not like that.”

Turning to me she asked, “What’s driving this sudden need to be wild at a biker bar?”

Since I promised myself not to point fingers at Benny, I simply said, “Someone accused me of being cold and not caring about fellow human beings. I hate that I come across that way, so I decided to change it up.”

“And you’re intent on proving to yourself that you can open yourself up to exciting new experiences and engage with people, right?”

I nodded my head and just as I was about to reply, Rosie dropped off my margarita. I grinned up at her and said, “I plan to drink a million of these tonight.”

Rosie chuckled and responded cheerfully, “Along with the fifth or sixth drink I’ll be sure to include a barf bag.”

Glancing around again as Rosie walked off, I realized there were still no brothers, just a bunch of women hanging balloons and streamers. I gestured around the room. “I can’t really flirt or dance if there are no brothers. Are they all at a biker rally or something?”

“Nope. They’re having church in the back meeting room,” Zoe said, gesturing towards the back of the bar.

I guessed my confusion was apparent because she clarified, “Church is just what they call their club meetings.”

Alison chimed in, “I’m surprised you didn’t know they were having church this evening. Since Benny’s getting patched in tonight.”

“If he gets enough votes,” Zoe clarified. After studying my stunned expression, Zoe guessed, “You didn’t know, did you?”

I shook my head because I understood what a big deal it was for the prospects to finally be accepted by the brothers as a full-fledged member of the Dark Slayers MC. I just didn’t realize it was Benny’s turn to get voted in.

Alison’s expression turned worried. She ran her finger around the rim of her margarita glass, scooping up some of the salt and brought it to her lips. Then she asked, “I wonder why he didn’t tell you? I thought the two of you would be close, being partners for coming up on a month now.”

I closed my eyes and came clean with my friends. “We’re not close. He doesn’t even like me.”

Zoe gave me a knowing look. “Let me guess, he’s the one who said you were closed off and cold-hearted, right?”

“Yeah, all I said was that we shouldn’t socialize when I come to the clubhouse. He lost his mind and accused me of thinking he was just a worker and not someone worthy of socializing with.”

Zoe tilted her head to the right as her expression turned perplexed. “Well, do you? Do you see the brothers as just a bunch of low-class bikers, bad boys from the wrong side of the tracks?”

“No! Of course not. How could ask me something like that?”

“For two reasons. First, Benny isn’t stupid. If he said that, it’s because that’s the impression he got from you. And second, because I was really confused the first time I met Storm. Much like you, I’d lived an upper-middle-class life growing up. I honestly didn’t know what to make of the Dark Slayers or of him. He was so different to anything I’d ever known. I had a hard time trusting him. Does any of that ring a bell?”

I thought it over for a few minutes, really digging down deep to see if I had any of that going on. After considering it for a few moments, I shook my head. “No. I think Benny is smart, capable, and even handsome. Unfortunately, he also has a really difficult personality. I often find myself in conflict with him and don’t even know how I got there. I don’t think he’s being difficult intentionally. It just happens. To be honest, my bright idea of keeping our relationship strictly professional was mostly because I don’t trust myself not to end up in some huge fight that blows up our professional relationship.”

Zoe squinted her eyes as though she was trying to remember something. “I think I know what you’re talking about. I had a sit down with him after the meeting Storm arranged for the two of you. He made some comment about how the club president’s wife had never sat down and talked with him before, and he sounded like he was accusing me of snooping into the situation with you. He was convinced you were going to take on the role of queen bee and make him a worker bee.”

I almost choked on my margarita in my haste to point out, “He said something like that to me today too, insinuating that I only value him for the money he makes for my family business.”

Alison threw in her two cents’ worth. “This is coming from a woman who’s had a lot of experience with therapy. It sounds like he has a chip on shoulder.”

I snorted a laugh. “Why would that handsome, competent bastard doubt himself? He’s like the whole package, even with whatever this chip is.”

Zoe’s mouth snapped shut, almost like she knew, but wasn’t going to say. “We shouldn’t be gossiping about a club brother with you, Lacey. If you want to know what makes Benny tick, you should spend time getting to know him.”

Alison immediately agreed with her sister. “Zoe’s right. The way I see it, trying to play it safe by being standoffish in order to preserve your professional relationship might end up doing just the opposite. Even if he has a difficult personality at times, Benny is still Slayer material.”

Zoe added, “Storm calls that having the right stuff. It means he’s honest, loyal, dependable, and always willing to go the extra mile for a friend or a brother. He would be a good person to have in your corner, and pissing him off constantly might not lead to a good outcome for you.”

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