Page 33 of Brandishing Beginnings

“Just like that?” I shot back, annoyed. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“You didn’t say no, though,” Nico smirked. “So we can work with that.”

“You don’t know about us,” Jason added. “That’s fine. We can change your mind.”

I huffed out a breath of annoyance. “Just like that?” I asked again.

“Yep,” Marcos said.

I narrowed my eyes on them, not trusting them entirely, but also intrigued as to what they might to do toconvinceme.

“We’ll be seeing you, Darlin’.” Jason smirked and turned away from me.

“See you, Little Dreamer,” Nico said.

“Be safe tonight,” Marcos said.

I nodded mutely, watching as they turned and walked away from me.

“Hot damn,” Jenna crooned as she walked over to me.

I was startled out of my thoughts as my sister and friends surrounded me. “So, what’s the verdict?” Stephanie asked.

“I told them I didn’t know.” I shrugged a shoulder. “They didn’t give me a moment to speak. The second I said I didn’t know, they pounced, basically. Said they could work with that.”

“What does that even mean?” Jenna asked.

“You didn’t say no, so it gave them an opening,” Kara explained. “Not an outrightno, means they have room to try to convince you.”

“They could try to convince me any day,” Jenna laughed.

I groaned and shook my head. “Let’s get out of here. I’m dying of heat exhaustion.”

“So dramatic,” Jenna shot back.

Maya

“Yeah,I’moutfront.I’ll be in a few.” I hung up with Terri just as the rideshare pulled up in front of the bar, Satan’s Palace.

Graduation night had finally come. It had been a long day of celebrating with friends and Jenna, and now it was time to party it up. I was officially done with nursing school and already had a job offer. I started my new nursing job a week from Monday.

All of that was the furthest thing from my mind as I stepped out of the car. Dressed in a skintight red sequin dress that dipped low in the front, showing my ample cleavage, with skinny strings that held the dress up. It laced down my back in a crisscross pattern, displaying miles of smooth skin. Ending at midthigh, I had to becareful not to flash anyone my thong when I slid from the back of the car.

I rocked a pair of matching red sky-high heels that were sure to kill my feet after a couple hours of dancing, but I didn’t care—I didn’t care about anything tonight.

I showed my ID to the bouncer, a tall man wearing a black leather cut with a patch of a devil on the left, the name Devil’s Psychos patched on the right. I had a feeling this was a biker bar that Terri had chosen. Scantily clad women serving drinks to women dressed in even less—my dress was conservative in comparison. The place was packed, music bumped from the speakers, and people yelled over the music. The dance floor was hopping and I couldn’t wait to grab a drink and let loose.

In the corner, near the bar, a group of leather clad bikers congregated around a table, surveying the busy bar around them. In the center of them all, three all too familiar faces had their eyes glued on me. It was almost comical the way Jason’s gray eyes widen as they roamed over my body, or the way Nico licked his lips as his bright blue eyes hungrily checked me out, and even Marcos’s mouth dropping open when he saw me standing there.

My heart pounded in my chest.What the fuck are they doing here?I had no idea.

“Maya!” My name was screamed across the noisy bar turned dance club.

I smiled broadly and headed for my friends, ignoring the three bikers at the table full of leather clad brothers.

“They keep watching you,” Terri grinned at me as we washed our hands in the bathroom.

I blushed slightly and shrugged. “Let them.”

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