Page 18 of Hounds Ascend
Cass’s voice is distant, and I can tell that no matter how long ago it may have been, the pain isn’t as far away as he made it out to be. I decide that’s enough questions for the day, and I won’t pry into his family history any further. For now, at least. I make a mental note to call my mom. She’s called and texted a few times over the past few days, but I have been reading the texts and putting it off. I feel like an ass for not calling her back yet, but things were so hectic in my head most of the time, and everything with the club is just now calming down.
The silence is deafening while thoughts race through my mind. From my mother to being worried about whether or now I ruined our day and worried about how Cass feels. My mind is all over the place. Cass sits up quickly, startling me. Hewalks to his suitcase and I take that time to admire the view. His shoulders are broad and as my eyes look down his body, he gets slimmer mid-way down his back to his waist. Cass in his naked glory is one sexy man, but Cass sliding into a pair of blue jeans? That’s downright fucking dirty and all I want to do is throw him on the bed and fuck him until he sees stars. Or until I do.
But that doesn’t happen because that damned contraption that he always has on him rings. Linc is calling to check on us and invites us to have breakfast with him at the Waffle House down the street from the hotel.
Here it is thirty minutes later and we’re sitting in a booth, ordering cheesy eggs and talking to Linc. Or, Cass is. I’m simply listening. Linc’s asking questions about the Highway Sinners and their relationship with the Hounds and Cass is filling him in. Evidently, they became a brother club of the Hounds a few years after the first charter expanded down south, close to the time that Cass moved down here after losing mom.
“We were on a drug run to the East Coast and had to stop off on the Gulfport exit when the weather got so damn bad, we couldn’t see two feet in front of us. We pulled in at a gas station and a Highway Sinner just happened to be there. We had heard of them but hadn’t ever seen them around anywhere.”
“The more we got to talking, the more we realized that they were a whole hell of a lot like us with a lot of the same goals and morals. They opened their home to us that night, feeding us, giving us a place to get a hot shower and a place to lay our heads. Since then, I guess you can say we’ve been known as thetwo best friends in the club world.”
“I love club history lessons,” Linc says, his face serious. He has a genuine interest in learning how things are done.
“Good thing, ‘cause I love givin’ ‘em.” Cass takes a sip of his sweet tea just as the waitress brings our food. She’s an older lady with salt and pepper hair and a sweet voice. I’m surprised how quickly we get our food considering the restaurant is jam-packed for breakfast.
I wonder why there are so many people in here on a Monday morning, but the more I think about it, I realize that we are right next to a ton of casinos and nowadays everyone is doing some sort of work from home job where they don’t have ‘normal’ working hours.
The guy’s scarf down their food like they haven’t eaten in a week. Once we’re all done eating, they determine that Linc is going to the Sinners’ clubhouse to help clean up after the party last night. That was Linc’s idea, too.
“Ready?” Cass asks as we stop next to the bike.
“Yep! Wait...ready for what? What are we doing?”
“Just hop on and you’ll see.” He winks at me and taps the seat behind him, like he’s done so many times before.
I latch my helmet and hop on the back. The bike thunders to life beneath us right before Cass takes off. My stomach flips as we swerve in and out of the cars on the highway. The sun is warm on my face and the views are beautiful. The day is going to be a pretty one. Cass turns off the main strip onto what appears to be a random side street. I’ve never explored this town before,but I’m eager to see what Cass has in store for us.
I quickly realize that the supposed side street isn’t a side street after all. A sign on the side of the road states that we are in Downtown Gulfport. It’s a small road that connects Beach Boulevard to the main highway that runs through Gulfport. On either side of the road are tall, old, brick buildings that look like they were once a courthouse or other important government building.
Our trip down the short road is over in a flash and Cass turns onto the main highway. We go through several red lights before Cass guides us into a turning lane. We turn and instantly make a right into a parking lot. There’s an older shopping center in front of us. I can tell it’s been here for a while due to the faded color on the bricks and the roof doesn’t look as up to date as the ones on the newer shopping centers around here.
In the corner is a small ice cream shop. After we step off the bike, Cass grabs my hand and all but drags me toward the door.
“This is the best ice cream shop in town.” Cass opens the door for me.
Inside, the walls are hand painted with tons of Disney characters. The floor reminds me of an old-time diner, and there is one man behind the counter. For being a small shop, they have a large variety of ice cream.
“Hi! Welcome to Corner of Ice Cream.” The old man behind the counter is cheerful and welcoming.
We stand at the counter looking through the various flavors before we figure out which one to try. Although there aretraditional flavors, there are many others that I haven’t heard of. Moose Tracks and Blueberry Cheesecake. And that’s exactly what we get.
The old man spoons the ice cream into bowls for us. I pick a seat in the empty room while Cass pays. I watch him as he’s kind to the old man, asking questions about why he works here, showing genuine interest. Turns out, the old man is retired, and he lost his wife a few years ago and got tired of being at home alone all the time, so he started working here. He said it gives him a purpose, and he gets to be the highlight of little kids’ days by serving them ice cream. I smile as Cass walks my way and sets my ice cream cup down on the table.
“You’ve never met a stranger, have you?” I ask.
“Nope. My mom used to say that I’d be the kid that ended up kidnapped because even when I was little, I’d walk up to anyone and start talking to them.”
The thought of a little kid Cass makes me smile but my heart hurts a little at the mention of his mom. It doesn’t seem to phase him, though.
“I can see that.”
I take a bite of the blueberry cheesecake ice cream and let out a sigh of approval.
“Holy shit. This might be the best flavor of ice cream I’ve ever tasted.”
“Yeah? Let me try it.”
I take a spoonful and feed it to Cass. His eyes bulge and he nods his head enthusiastically, letting the ice cream sit for amoment on his tongue before swallowing.
