Page 28 of Consequences

“I told him I needed him to slow down, and after he was done laughing, he jumped away from me like I suddenly had snakes for hair or something. He asked if I was a virgin, and the way he said it… He was so disgusted. But, let’s be honest. Who looks at me and thinks it’s surprising?”

Me, but I’m a fucking creep who can’t stop thinking about you naked now, baby doll.“You’re a virgin?”

“I was fine losing it tonight. I’m twenty-two, for God’s sake. It’s time, right? But I just needed him to slow down.”

“What’d he do?”

His blood pressure kicks up at least three notches, and his fists clench as he sees blood. Lots and lots of blood from the murder he’s about to commit.

“He laughed again, and he said it was either put out or get out. I can’t have sex with someone who laughs at me, and I was so humiliated. He’s friends with Ron, so it’s going to be the talk of the house, if not the town. I can’t go back there. I have nowhere else to go.”

“What’s the guy’s name?”

Jamie sniffles and shakes her head. “No, bringing the scary bikers around is how I got here in the first place. I don’t think it’ll fix much.”

“If I break his skinny fucking neck, it will. Plus, it’ll make me feel better.”

“I just… I didn’t know where else to go. And I don’t have your number. I don’t know if this was the kind of thing Lex meantwhen she told me to call if I needed anything. I just… I guess you’re kind of the closest thing I have to a friend. Which is pretty pathetic because you’re not really my friend. You just took pity on me,” she says and lets out a small sob.

Sighing, Undertaker rubs her back again. “It’s not pathetic. But… Hold that thought.” He hops down and opens the clubhouse door to whistle. “Lex, Mel, can you come out here?”

Jamie whips her head to the right to look at him. “What are you doing?” she hisses.

Lex, Melanie, and surprisingly, Felicity, walk out. Melanie scans the lot and looks confused. “Who are we fighting?”

“I could really use a good fight,” Felicity says with a nod.

“I’ve still got a few days before I’m back up to standard fighting state, but if it’s necessary, you know you can count on me, Undertaker,” Lex says. “As long as you promise to hold me and read me a bedtime story.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Sorry, ladies, but there’s no fighting. I needed old ladies to impart their wisdom.”

“Ah, fuck,” Felicity says. “Then again, you didn’t call my name, so I don’t really have a right to be upset.”

“I need you to talk to Jamie. She doesn’t have many friends here yet, and I can’t offer the support she needs right now. Not since she says breaking some dude’s neck will make the situation worse, not better.”

“I have a question, and this might be a stupid question,” Jamie says. “I don’t really understand why he’s calling you old ladies. Because, uh, you’re not… old? No offense… I think.”

Laughing, Felicity gives a small shrug. “It’s what we’re called once we’ve been claimed by a member of the club.”

“And the men who claim us are our old men,” Lex says. “Not to be confused with the fathers who also are called our old men. Now that I say it out loud, it was never really thought out much for multiple generations, was it?”

“What happened tonight, kiddo?” Melanie asks and takes a seat next to Jamie.

Shaking her head, she stares at her hands. “I can’t tell it again.”

“She went on a date with a dude who was going too fast. She asked him to slow down, and he fucking laughed at her. Then he realized she’s a virgin, and he laughed again. Said some bullshit thing he probably saw on a chick flick about putting out or getting out,” Undertaker recaps.

“How old are you?” Felicity asks.

“Twenty-two,” she says, her voice quiet. “Look, it’s not like I’m waiting for marriage or anything. I don’t have this grand idea of a fairy tale with a prince whisking me off and whatever. I’m just not the type of girl that guys go for, so I haven’t exactly had opportunities, if you know what I mean.”

“You masturbate a lot, don’t you?” Melanie asks, her eyes narrowed as she stares intently at Jamie.

Slapping her arm, Lex glares at her. “Mel, shut up. Ignore her. She’s a bit of a freak. And I mean that in all contexts, but mostly sexually.”

“And she’s not exaggerating,” Felicity adds with a smile.

“Why are you looking atmelike that?” Melanie asks and gasps. “It’s like finding a fucking unicorn in the wild! She’s twenty-two and a virgin. Sue me for being fascinated.”

---