Page 23 of In the Shadows

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Do I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend?” I played like I was offended, but when he blushed I knew all was good.

When we passed the million-dollar cocaine mountain heaped atop the dining table, I couldn’t help but glance nervously at Joey. This was the first time he’s been near this kind of situation since his incident that night.

“That was a one-time deal, Stoli,” he assured me. “Fucked up my life in more ways than one.”

I felt the anger inside me rise as I pictured the events that took place once again. “Yeah and some crazy fuckers were all over your junk.”

He wrapped his arm around my waist. “In hindsight, it would appear that while my mistake brought out the worst in me that in the long run it opened my eyes and brought us together.”

I couldn’t argue with that logic, while it took months after that to get to that point, it did indeed happen and I couldn’t be more content with the end result. “Come on, let’s get some air.”

We walked out to the balcony, finding a quiet corner to stand in. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pulled him against me and leaned back against the wall as we gazed out at the night sky. Albuquerque had one of the clearest skies I’d ever seen. In Seattle when there’s no cloud cover, you could see for miles. But those nights were few and far between. I swore, tonight, we could see every star in the galaxy with nothing blocking our view. I got the whole harmonious vibe the people there had going on, there was a calm, peaceful serenity to it, but give me the lush, green landscape back home and the minimal amount of wind we endure over the desert environment any day. But again, it was a beautiful night and I was elated to be sharing it with my man by my side.

Our time of tranquility was rapidly shattered as Diamond surfaced, flanked by two very pissed off guys. Fists were drawn back and threats were being made. This instantly put us into defensive mode.

“Whoa, man,” I said to the hot head rearing back to deck Diamond. “What the fuck is going on?”

“This fucker was hitting on my girl!” he yelled.

“Man I told you, I didn’t know it was your girl and she was all over my junk so I thought she was solo. As soon as you said she was yours I backed off,” Diamond told him, but was ready to retaliate if the guy so much as tried to punch him.

“She’s wearing a fucking wedding ring!” he said, stepping forward.

“Wait a second.” I put my hands up between them. “Sounds to me like your problem is with her and not with Diamond. Take a look around—”

He scanned the growing crowd of Maiden and Social Sinners team members.

“Any one of these guys will back Diamond in heartbeat. He told you he was sorry and he’s a man of his word. I know for a fact that he doesn’t fuck around with married women. So I’d highly recommend you get your shit together and back off before that decision is made for you.”

He stormed off, grabbing his wife by the arm and dragging her out of the party. His sidekick who stood silently by, followed behind them.Whew, crisis averted.

“Fucking women will be the death of me,” Diamond said, plopping down in a chair on the patio.

“I highly suggest you find a better way to screen your potential victims,” Joey said, laughing his ass off. “Seriously, dude, a fucking wedding ring? How did you miss that?”

“I was focused on the tits in my face and the hand on my dick.”

“Was that the hand with the ring on it?” I had to ask.

“Umm.”

“Exactly.”

“Man,” Ryder announced, emerging from the room, “it’s never a dull moment with you guys around.”

“No shit,” I had to agree with him.

Granted, neither event that had taken place by our hands at any of their after parties we’d gone to were positive by any means, but they were the entertainment we added to each event for sure.

“I’m ready to call it a night. Shit, shower and masturbation is all this night holds for me,” Diamond shared as he stood, ready to leave.

“I’m so fucking glad we aren’t sharing a room with you,” Joey told him.

“That feeling is mutual, my brother. If I had to hear another,ah, ah, Stoli, fuck me harder,” he grunted and thrust about like he was pounding someone, “I’m gonna lose my shit,” he said, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.

Everyone around us broke into a fit of laughter.

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