Page 17 of Trip

9

Trip

JJ was gone when he returned to get dressed. He could smell the reason and smiled. She was making him breakfast again. One he’d move around his plate and not really eat except for the toast because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

As he approached, Trip appreciated how right it felt. Just the two of them, doing domesticated shit like cooking and eating breakfast together.

“That smells amazing,” he lied. The smell didn’t impress him, but her smile at his words did. “But it was my turn to cook for you. Can I help at least?”

“Sure, grab the butter and OJ?” Yes. That meant he could grab the vegan butter and JJ wouldn’t even notice. He vowed to tell her he didn’t eat meat before they got back to Vegas.

It wasn’t a secret that most of the brothers were vegan or vegetarian, but he didn’t want to crush her happiness at cooking for him. As he spread the butter and poured the OJ, he slid his gaze to JJ, humming happily as she served up plates for them.

This is exactly what I’ve been missing.

Trip had buried that desire for so long, he’d almost forgotten it existed. That is, until Bullseye joined them with his old lady, Billie. Billie was the best. Trip was jealous. Not because he wanted Billie, but he wanted what they had.

He’d started avoiding them so he could shut out that revived desire, but then Thunder went and got snagged. His old lady was an absolute badass with a capital B. Andy had no problem going toe-to-toe with Granite to back her man. She would fight for him and with him, but she also knew when not to fight.

Trip realized as he sat down at the table that JJ was all that and then some. She would have his back, but also rub it when he needed. Fuck, he loved her.

Trip absentmindedly ate his toast and avoided the eggs and turkey bacon. He wanted to tell JJ she was coming home with him when he remembered he didn’t have a home anymore. He’d given up his house to Bullseye. Trip didn’t think twice about it at the time. He didn’t have a family and had no intentions of acquiring one at the time and Bullseye did. It was a no-brainer.

All the officers had homes on the property as well as their rooms in the officer wing of the clubhouse. But he couldn’t start a life with her there.

Now he had to figure out what to do, what to offer JJ to get her to be his. There was plenty of room to build a home, but that would take longer than he was willing to wait to claim her.

Trip smiled to himself as the solution smacked him in the head. A trailer. The Devil’s Handmaidens owned Red Rock Estates. It was a trailer park with a fancy name. They’d rent him a double-wide while their dream home was being built. He’d meet up with Sin, who ran the park for the Maidens, as soon as he hit town.

“Something wrong, Trip?”

Her voice ripped him from his thoughts. He had to wonder if he was smiling like a loon, and she’d noticed.

“What?”

“You aren’t eating. Is something wrong?”

“No, babe, everything is perfect.” Trip saluted her with a triangle of toast and took an exaggerated bite. Her laugh puffed his chest out a little.

Trip watched her eat her eggs and stare at him curiously. “You know…” She pointed her fork at him before taking another bite. “You only ate toast yesterday, too. Which means, either you have a very sensitive little belly.” Her baby talk was cute and kinda turning him on. “Or you don’t like my cooking. Which is it?”

“It’s not your cooking, I’m sure it’s fine—”

“Ah-ha, you just admitted you have eaten nothing I cooked.”

JJ stood and took her empty plate to the sink.

“It’s not that, babe. I just… didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.” She turned and interrupted him again.

“Well, you hating my cooking is a big deal.”

“Babe, it’s not that, I’m vegan.”

She dropped her arms and rolled her eyes. “Is that all?” JJ strolled over and snatched the slice of bacon from his plate and shoved it in her mouth. “As long as you don’t try to guilt me about the cute animal I’m eating, it’s not a big deal.” She snagged the other slice and ate it too before straddling his lap.

“Besides, that means more for me.” She washed it down with his OJ and dropped a kiss on his forehead before standing. “I’ll make you something else.” I wondered why Meri stocked the fridge with shit I’d never heard of before.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she didn’t have to make him anything, but he enjoyed being taken care of too much. Instead, he sat back and watched her make him vegan egg and sausage breakfast burritos.

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