Page 28 of Deception
Lex studies the redhead as she tries to piece together where this all went so wrong. “I never said I was better than anyone. Except maybe the club bunnies, but I just really hate them. Well, not the ones in Summerville. I liked them.”
“What?”
“You haven’t heard? Summerville’s bunnies are the greatest. They don’t move in on taken men, and they’re only with them when the men make the move. Plus, I didn’t feel like I lost brain cells talking to them. Then I come back and… Kandi. I think that says enough.”
The annoying club bunny who came into the clubhouse thinking she could run things has always rubbed Lex the wrong way. Pick me woman thinking she can make it to old lady status.
“I hate her,” Autumn agrees.
“See… We have things in common still. I don’t really mind Bambi, but she’s always up Kandi’s ass.”
“Summerville’s bunnies are really that much better?”
Laughing, Lex nods. “You need to go out there and see for yourself. I asked them to teach a course to ours, but they opted against it. Snake’s old lady, Everlee, is Goldie’s cousin, and she’s shared a few things. They said they didn’t want to risk catching something that can’t be cured. Same concern we all have, really.”
“Yeah, they’ve given a few of the guys a trip to the free clinic. Rocco included.”
Gaping, she juts her chin forward. “What now?”
“Yeah. This club just ruins everyone.”
“I knew he had an issue with the strip club because of some comment made about stripper glitter, which… no idea, but I didn’t know he spent time with bunnies. Gross.”
“What should I expect, I guess? I don’t have a say in what he does. Or who.”
This surprises Lex, especially when Autumn just takes a swig from the beer bottle she pulled from the fridge. “Uh, yeah, you do. Lay your foot down, and tell him it’s not acceptable. If he doesn’t stop, you’re out.”
“Because that’s worked out for me so far?”
“Is this why you hate the club?”
Licking her lips, she refuses to meet Lex’s eyes. “I don’t hate the club. I hate certain people in it.”
She stands and gives Autumn a small smile. “I hope you decide to join us tonight. If not, I understand.”
Who are we waiting on?” Felicity asks.
Looking around the large table, Lex sighs. “No one, I guess.”
“Autumn’s not coming then?” Lily asks.
Lex only shared her plan with a few of the women because she knew she’d need backup if Autumn showed. People to not give her the cold shoulder and help integrate her back into the fold of things. They don’t really understand Lex’s motivations, but they’re willing to help. That’s all she can really ask for.
“I guess not.”
It hurts that her friend of over twenty years continues to push against them rather than suck it up and show up for Lane’s daughter. For Lane.
“Why are we even trying to include her?” Heidi asks. “Doesn’t she basically hate every one of us?”
“I thought she’d want to be part of this.”
“Maybe we can plan something with a smaller group, first,” Lily says. “She might feel pretty pushed away with things lately, and starting smaller might be easier for her.”
“That’s kind of my fault,” Felicity says. “I outed her as someone who wanted to leave the men.”
Melanie holds a hand up. “I have you beat. I threatened to kill her.”
“I backed you up because I was sick of her victim mentality with the kidnapping,” Lex says with a sigh.
