Page 25 of Absinthe Dreams
Hex and LaCroix joined us at the table, taking their ladies’ seats and pulling their women into their laps.
I made the introductions…
“Genesis Bordelon, meet our club president, LaCroix.” LaCroix gave her a nod. “And our VP Hex,” I finished.
“Well, howdy.” Hex gave her a wink.
“Discuss back at the club,” LaCroix said simply, and I gave a nod even as Genesis murmured, “It’s nice to meet y’all.”
“You and LaCroix want anything?” Bennie asked, jerking his head to inside the café.
“Naw, not for me,” Hex said. LaCroix didn’t answer. He was too busy boring a hole through Genesis with his dark gaze.
To her credit, she didn’t do anything to give her thoughts away, just sat in her place and sipped her coffee with the most neutral expression on her face that to outsiders probably gave boredom, but to me? It just read as careful.
We all sat at the table, locked into that careful silence, finishing up our coffee and beignets, the girls silently gathering up the mess of cardboard boats and empty cups.
Things were getting palpably awkward now. The polite chatter about the shop had come to a halt, and everyone had become stiff with LaCroix’s silent interest, but clear signals that Genesis was anoutsiderwho needed to be vetted. To do that meant church and having a conversation that was a little out of our ordinary to set the ground rules and clear the air.
To her credit, the good doctor clearly saw it coming and knew the structure, if not the precise procedure, that was pretty much unique to every club.
“Good day for a ride,” I commented dryly. There was a mix of silent nods, murmurs of agreement, and a couple of brighter smiles and a rise in enthusiasm at the thought of getting our knees in the warm green breeze coming off the mighty Mississippi.
“Clear blue skies, not so very hot, and relatively low humidity. It won’t stay that way for long, so we best enjoy it while it lasts,” Hex agreed, stretching luxuriously now that Cor was off his lap. He stood up to complete his stretch and openedhis arms for her return, as she slid her arm beneath his cut to hug nice and close to her man’s body.
I felt a deep, fractured ache of longing for something like that. I couldn’t lie about that. I was jealous of the brothers in our club who’d found themselves women of worth. I longed to have something like it for myself. Someone who was smart, shrewd, and who I didn’t have to babysit or police her behavior in exchange for the use of her pussy, like the girls who came around to party and for a thrill ride.
I was getting to an age and set of life circumstances that my thoughts were turning toward a lasting legacy and living comfortably, rather than the desire for a cheap thrill.
Shit, us having to be on our toes constantly lately was more than enough thrill for me – and that thrill was getting fucking old,fast.
“You look thoughtful all of a sudden.”
Genesis’s words hit me like a bucket of ice water, snapping me out of my reverie.
“Sorry,” I grunted, and she shook her blonde head, her sheathed ponytail swishing leather on leather against the back of her wine-red jacket.
“Don’t be,” she said. “Seems there’s more than a lot to consider, everything going on.” She sounded a mix between rueful and guarded, which telegraphed a deep fear that things weren’t going to get better for her. That she was once again facing a roadblock to any aid in getting the shit stain who’d left a bunch of dead cats on her fence out of her life for good.
Only way he’s sticking around is over my literal dead body,I thought to myself.
I owed her, but I also knew how most citizens, and yeah, even biker men, acted. All talk and no actual game or follow-through.
That wasn’t me. That wasn’t the Voodoo Bastards. We didn’t write checks with our mouths that our asses couldn’t cash. Wejust needed to figure out how things were going to go. I just needed to figure out how to balance my duties and my debts. The timing was shit, but then again, when it came to shit like this? When was the timing evergood?
We got up, moving for the bikes, and piled on. La Croix and Hex passed us, and I fell in behind as we swept up the block. Bennie and Sandy slipped out of their spot and joined the core group beside me and Gen.
Bennie signaled, and I dropped back. He slid over in front of me, and I slid to the side and back up next to him so we were in proper formation befitting our positions within the club.
I was just a member, while Bennie was an officer as club secretary, so it was his privilege to ride behind LaCroix, while I followed up Hex. It was a respect thing, and while I’d passed on holding any kind of officer position due to my job and not wanting the responsibility at the time, I handed the respect owed to Bennie for the position he held and moved the fuck over.
If we weren’t in the middle of the huge beef that we were with the Bayou Brethren, it probably wouldn’t have mattered to either of us. Considering the internal conflict within the Voodoo Bastards had begun over not sticking to the club’s charter and a lack of respect, we all agreed that following protocol to the letter in public, especially, was a must.
It was a small thing, but important to the lot of us.
I liked the way Genesis held on to me as we wound our way through NOLA’s streets, avoiding potholes and dangerous warps in the blacktop and asphalt laid around town.
The majority of our ride was spent flowing down St. Claude Avenue, moving back toward the club in the Ninth Ward. It was a good ride, slow, but slow wasn’t bad. Genesis fidgeted behind me, and I put my hand to her knee at my hip, giving it a reassuring squeeze without thinking about it. She froze,stiffening up a bit behind me, and I caught a glimpse of her shocked Pikachu face in my side-view mirror.
