Page 2 of Fast Lane

The entire table erupts into laughter. Bowie’s phone rings and he steps away to answer it. “Yeah, you were but I’m not sure how the two of you thought that was going to work when sneaking into our tiny house. I mean come on!” Ace slaps a hand on the table. Jaxx starts to choke on the sip of water he just took.

“I’m sure the two of you and Pierce have some stories too. Let’s hear those,” I tell Ace and Jaxx.

Jaxx shakes his head. “Oh we do. Plenty of them, but we were smart enough not to get caught doing the dumb shit we came up with.”

Ace and Jaxx exchange a look. Ace shrugs his shoulders. “Well most of the time anyways.”

Lane nods from her seat next to me. “I think it’s time I call it a night boys.”

“I’ll follow you.” I start to stand up. The idea of Lane being out this late in a town the size of Los Angeles just doesn’t make me feel too great, but she places her hands on my shoulders before my ass barely makes it off the chair.

“No, you won’t. I’m a big girl and I don’t need a chaperone.” Lane turns to leave.

“Well, at least let me know you made it home safely?” I ask to her retreating figure.

Lane stops and spins around, her copper chin length bob hair cut shimmers under the dim lights of the bar. Lane has gone through a lot of phases in her life. However, being a biker babe stuck. The Poisionly Perfects is an all-female biker gang that Lane leads. Lane is tall and slender, with short hair that is constantly changing colors, striking autumn brown eyes and high cheekbones. She always wears jeans and usually leather and lace. Her ears are lined in diamond studs. “You know my grampy would send out a search party if I didn’t show up.” Lane has been raised by her grandfather ever since her parents got killed in a house fire. Lane still lives with him and they help take care of each other.

I nod because there is absolutely no sense in arguing with her over this. If you look up the definition of independence I promise her picture is next to it. She can take care of herself but I will always see her like the little sister I never had. Bowie returns to the table. “I should head home too. That was Hollis.”

“Everything okay?” Ace asks.

Bowie nods. My brother from another mother is in desperate need of a haircut. His brown hair has fallen down and covers his blue eyes. Ace and Bowie look similar to one another except that Ace is covered in colorful ink from the neck down, sports some snakebite piercings, as well as gaged ears and occasionally wears eyeliner. Ace owns a string of Inkredible tattoo shops along the coast of California and won his season on the tattoo competition show Inked Up. Bowie has a few tattoos, but nothing compared to Ace, and both of them are tall, lean, and have dark hair with blue eyes. “Yeah she just woke up and realized I wasn’t home yet and wanted to make sure I was okay.” I make a whipping sound and the guys all laugh. Bowie wraps an arm around my neck and rubs his knuckles into my scalp. Once he’s done he stands back up. “One of these days you’re going to find the one that makes it worth being whipped.”

I smirk. “Doubtful.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Ace adds.

Jaxx shakes his head. “Let’s face it I was ready to get married the moment I laid eyes on Kenndrix so I can’t understand what took you all so long to join that club.”

“I’m a lone wolf and I like it that way. I get to do what I want, when I want, and how I want. There’s no one to answer to but Mushu.” I stand up. “I need a release before we head out.” I make my way down the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. The brothers just had JamesTown redone. Drake James, Axell’s son, had his company do the remodel. The original distressed cement flooring now looks like it matches the rest of the place. Charcoal gray washed bricks make up the walls. The bar is along the back wall with every kind of alcohol you can imagine. The bar is long with charcoal gray brick on the bottom, a wooden top with a glass overlay to protect the wood. The stools are silver and black metal with charcoal gray seating. All of the tables are also silver and black iron with a wood top and the glass top to protect the wood, and the chairs match the bar stools. The jukebox was restored and pushed into the same corner, next to the stage where local bands still come and play a few nights a week. The recessed lighting gives it the typical bar feel without it being too dark. Drake and his company really did a great job. After I’m done I head back out, but the guys are already gone so I head out the door. Bowie is leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette waiting for me.

“Are you good?” he asks, and I nod my head in reply. Ace is standing next to his Dodge Challenger Hellcat and Jaxx is sitting on his Energica Ego 45 Limited Edition which makes my heart race. I’d almost kill to get on the back of that baby.

After Bowie locks up, we make our way across the parking lot to his 67 Ford Mustang Fastback Pro Street. Another car I wouldn’t mind slipping behind the wheel of. Although I do love my modified Chevy Camaro SS. Aside from Mushu, it’s my favorite thing in the world and the only girl I need. For whatever reason I drop my head back and howl into the dark and quiet night. The guys laugh as we all head our separate ways for the night.

Five Finger Death Punchcomes blaring through my speakers as I pull out onto the street. Traffic is light as I make my way towards my apartment. My fingers drum to the rhythm of the music and my head bangs when it gets heavier. My dirty blonde hair flying all over the place. It’s just me, myself, and I, exactly how I like it.

I pull into the parking lot and grab the first parking spot I find and head up to the third floor where my apartment is. It’s not much but it’s all mine. When I enter, the silence hits me. I lock up and make my way to my bedroom. Mushu is curled up on the end of the bed, sound asleep. After a quick shower I crawl into my cold bed. Just before my eyes fall shut I have a moment where I think it might not be so bad to have someone to come home to.

Two

Kosi

My bedroom door is thrown open, slamming against the wall. If I wasn’t already awake I might be a little pissed. Instead, I’ve been awake for hours watching the ceiling fan make lazy rotations around and around. I had been lying on my back, awake, for hours now. Counting the rotations, watching as the light from the rising sun started to peek through the room, creating shadows on the cream colored walls. No matter how tired I felt, I could never fall asleep, at least not for more than a couple of hours. It was frustrating to say the least but I guess given the state of my life it made sense.

It’s only been six months since I let Colby walk away and out of my life. Six months changed everything. I haven’t seen or spoken to Colby since that night. The next day, when I had gotten home from work close to ten o’clock that night, he was gone. Every last trace of him in the house was gone. The garage was clear, the backyard was absent of everything that belonged to him. Our bedroom had been changed to my bedroom. His closet was empty. Nothing was stacked up around his sink in our bathroom. All of it wiped away as if he never existed. As if we never existed in the same place. It made me sad. I probably would have cried but I was stressed and exhausted and didn’t have it in me so I had ignored all of it.

After that, the hits just kept coming. The company I worked for took a nosedive and plummeted straight into drowning. Stocks crashed, and before we knew it, the entire company was in the fast lane of a free fall. There was no saving it. Cuts started happening and to my surprise I was on the chopping block—after everything I had done for the company.

That’s how I found myself here. Living as a roommate with Baylor Anderson. Baylor is best friends to Summer Beckham James. Summer married the youngest James brother, Jovi. Since my brother Jaxx has always been like part of their family, Baylor was quick to offer up the spare bedroom she had in her apartment when my house went into foreclosure. It was a blessing, but it was a hard hit to my pride, that’s for sure.

Giving up my career was the hardest thing for me to do. For as long as I can remember my career defined me as a person. I worked double time to graduate early and to get where I was within the company just to lose it all. Now, I’m a waitress at a local restaurant. Not exactly what I had in mind.

Baylor stands in the doorway with a look of shock on her face. Her long red hair piled high on top of her head in a ponytail that makes her look like a cheerleader. Baylor is tall and lean with hazel eyes and fiery red hair. Freckles dance across the bridge of her nose. She’s quick witted, sarcastic, and smart as a whip. “Have you seen this shit?” she asks.

Considering I haven’t got out of bed yet I would think the answer to her question would be obvious. “No. What is it?” I ask her as I sit up in bed, leaning back against the headboard.

“This,” she says, pointing to something in the newspaper and stalking into my room like a woman on a mission.

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