Page 66 of Baiting Kong

Scout sighed but did as he was told. “Man, I took that last pain pill over an hour ago.”

“Which means it will be in your system for at least five hours more,” Carl declared. “There will be no mixing pain pills with alcohol of any kind. That’s for your safety, okay?”

“Yeah,” Scout said, but his tone wasn’t grumpy or even moody, just accepting.

He seemed to forget all about wanting a beer when they reached the corner store and got a look at the new flavors of sparkling lemonade Axel had stocked earlier in the week. Scout grabbed three, while Axel headed for the pop, waving at Mrs. Martinez when she spotted them.

“Couldn’t stay away, even on your day off? I can put you to work if you’re bored.” She teased with a little wink.

“Just grabbing provisions on the way to the beach,” he called back.

“It’s a beautiful day to be out there,” she said. “You enjoy some of that sunshine for me.”

“Will do.”

A short time later they made it to the register, he and Scout falling in line behind Carl like little ducks, waiting to pay for the things they’d picked up. The big man had grabbed three steaks and a container of potato salad, in addition to two packs of hotdogs and a bag of marshmallows. He’d even picked up paper plates and a roll of paper towels, along with graham crackers and several chocolate bars, as well as some peanut butter cups.

“Put your stuff up here,” Creature told them, stepping aside so they could add their things to the counter.

“I can get…” Scout began, only to pause, blink, and then do as he was told without another word of protest.

Axel didn’t even try to protest after seeing the look Carl gave Scout. He just placed the three lemonades and a big bag of white cheddar popcorn on the counter and stepped back so Carl could pay for everything once it had been rung up. It was a little weird, after how long he’d been taking care of things for him and his old man, but it felt good too. Despite being new to the club, he’d already come to have a base level of understanding about the type of relationship Carl was looking for and what it meant to the man to be able to take care of them. Scout seemed to already know that, though Axel wondered how and planned to ask tonight when they were alone in their room.

For now, he was ready to enjoy time with them on the beach. Who knew what that would reveal about them, though he was damned eager to find out.

Chapter 20

(Creature)

“Who taught you about bikes?” Scout asked, tongue poking out from between his lips, his chin resting on Axel’s shoulder, hands covering Axel’s as they turned the stick to roast Axel’s hotdog.

Seeing the way they fit together and the relaxed ease with which they interacted left Carl eager to learn how else they matched up.

“My folks,” Carl explained. “They both rode. My grandparents did too. Gram had the sweetest sparkling green Volkswagen trike she called 7-Up, ‘cause it looked just like those old glass bottles the soda came in when she was young."

“Oh man, those are hard to find,” Scout declared. “I’ve only seen a handful. One was painted that old-school cherry cola hue, with sparkles in the paint that shimmered when the sun hit. I loved digging for parts for that thing.”

“I know the color,” Carl admitted. “Hard to find these days, unfortunately, but you’ll have the chance to work on a few once you start at the shop.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup, we’ve got a few we service regularly, including a restoration project I did a few years back out of the garage here. That was before we decided to open the shop,” Carl explained. “Might have played a factor in opening it too, considering how paranoid outsiders make some of my club brothers.”

“Yeah, I get the feeling customers wouldn’t really be welcome at the compound, especially with that security system,” Axel pointed out. “Just trying to bring Saint’s patch back was scary as fuck.”

“But you did it,” Scout pointed out as they rotated the hot dog again.

“Had to. It was important.”

“Yeah,” Scout replied. “I’d have done it too.”

“And probably swaggered up like the barbed wire at the top of the gate was dental floss or something.”

“Naa, man, I was fuckin’ terrified when Teddy brought me here, even after spending a year hanging with the Hounds,” Scout admitted.

“Wait, what?”

“Dude, we rolled up, I took one look and told Teddy that I was good. Didn’t need a job, didn’t need a place to crash, was just gonna slink on back to the campground while the getting was good.”

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