Page 86 of Next Level
Ray moves over my body, hovering on his forearms, letting the rest of his body envelop me. I close my eyes, loving everything about this man.
He caresses my face with both hands, moving all my wild curls away from my face.
“Blossom?”
“Hmm?” I moan
“You good?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Cherry?”
Hearing my name, I open my eyes and lock eyes with his ocean blues.
“Yeah, gorgeous?”
“Are you sure you want to go today? With all the girls and my ma? You can say no. Sammie wants to stay and get ready for Sunshine anyway. We can—”
“No, your mom is trying to make up. Let’s see if it’s for real. Tink, Cracker, and Siren will be with me. I don’t think she’ll try anything with Samantha with us either. Not after last night.”
Ray leans his face down, kissing me softly and sweetly.
“Whatever you want.”
“I want to go. We won’t be gone long. We have to be back to get ready for Sunday BBQ, right?”
“God, you already know the routine. That makes me so happy.”
“I need coffee.”
He kisses me on the nose. “I gotchu. Already brewing. I’ll be right back.”
I roll over, cuddling back into the pillows, as Ray shuffles off, exiting the room.
Two hours later, we’re walking into a restaurant in downtown Oakland. We’ve visited a couple of stores, and now we’re ready to eat. This place has bottomless mimosas, which makes me happy.
Vicki has apologized more than once. I feel like she’s genuinely sorry. I forgive her, knowing Ray’s never had a serious girlfriend, so I get it. She was testing us both to see how we would react.
I don’t condone it, but I understand it.
“Let’s sit outside,” Siren says to the group.
We take our seats at a table, and everyone grabs a menu. I decide on what I want to drink and look at everyone around the table. Cracker, Siren, Amanda, and Vicki are sitting across the table. Samantha is on my left, and Tink is on my right. Jay is next to her, and Zip is on the other side of Samantha. All day, the boys haven’t been but a few feet from us. I’m not too sure how they ended up with us…I guess they drew the small stick.
Yesterday, when I saw Cracker and Siren for the first time since the kitchen incident, I was worried it would be awkward. However, seeing Lazy and Tink after the Tamara thing, I felt like it would be okay. Lazy acted normal and didn’t make me feel weird. The other girls were the same way. It was like nothing had happened, and I certainly didn’t want to bring it up.
Ray and the guys are down at the ports dealing with business. We’re all supposed to meet back at the clubhouse in two hours. Sunshine’s plane just landed, and she was going home first to freshen up.
I’m excited to see my friend. It’s different when you have a girlfriend who’s your friend. I like these girls, and I know I’m safe, but I don’t trust any of them. All their loyalty is to the Bastards, which it should be, but I’ll feel better when Sunshine is here. It’s just different when it’s your girl.
Our waitress finishes with our drink orders when Samantha asks, “Where is your bathroom?”
The waitress gives her directions, and I tell her I’ll go with her. When the boys stand up, I say, “Relax, we’re just going pee.”
Sam links arms with me, laughing. “You’ll get used to it. I’ve had men following me since I was born. Pops doesn’t let me out of his sight.”
“That’s a good thing.”
