Page 78 of Exile & Lula
We watched each other while our bikes idled under us. I’d never imagined having a woman ride at my side rather than behind me. The sight of her in control of her motorcycle made my dick hard.
Sensing my reaction, Lula shook her head. “Holster that thing for now. We should get going so we can meet your bros when they hit the city limits.”
I chuckled at the way she winked at my crotch. Lula rolled out of the garage and past Nova’s idling SUV. Soon, the three of us rode to a street corner, where Clint sat on his bike with Ivy riding bitch. Elle joined us before we headed out of the Sleepy Eye Community.
Within minutes, we met a dozen Crimson Guard members on the highway. Our group lingered in the slow lane until Zodiac and my club came racing down the road. We surrounded the Black Rainbow, keeping pace as we guided them toward the Crimson Guard’s clubhouse in downtown Little Memphis.
The Fire Hooch was located at the corner of two busy streets. A winking pinup girl sign flashed over the front red awning. Lula said the place used to house a strip club. Tonight, we arrived to find the parking lot packed with motorcycles.
The club’s VP, Rock Savo, stood outside with Ben Tooker. The two men were the sons of the top guys in the Rawlins Heretics Motorcycle Club. Their moms were members of the Everything Nice Crew. I was starting to understand how, evenif I lived around here for the next few years, I’d always be an outsider. Most of these people had known each other since they were in diapers.
Rock strolled over to Zodiac and me. His gaze never fell on Lula until she poked him in the belly.
“Don’t ignore me.”
“Hush. Can’t you see I’m trying to intimidate these men?” he asked her while sizing me up with his hazy green eyes.
Rock was a larger guy, built like a wall of muscle. His nearly black hair was cut short, revealing the menacing face of a man unwilling to view us as allies.
Despite Rock’s current aggressive stance, Zodiac claimed the Crimson Guard’s VP showed up at Rowdy’s place with pizza the night before. The three men watched a movie and talked about women. None of that friendliness was on display as we stood in the parking lot.
Around us, members of both clubs warily eyed each other. York had texted me several times over the last week to gently inquire if I’d lost my mind over a woman. No matter how many times I replied with “yes,” he couldn’t accept my new situation.
After taking Ivy inside, Clint poked his head out of the clubhouse’s front doors and gestured at us. “Let’s not stand in the open,” he said as if we were behaving recklessly.
I instantly stood behind Lula, feeling paranoid that someone might take a shot from the road. As the group moved toward the red double doors, I spotted Zodiac zeroing in on Elle as usual.
“Oh, my God, leave me alone!” she cried, spawning laughter from the people around her.
Zodiac, of course, remained undaunted. The man hadn’t gotten to where he was in life by giving up easily. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.
Elle glared at him and muttered, “weirdo” before getting marshaled away from him by Sabrina and other club girls.
“Foxes,” Lula corrected when I mentioned what I noticed. “We’re calledfoxes.”
“I’m not calling you or them that.”
“Weirdo.”
Chuckling at her taunt, I followed her inside the bar. A few minutes later, the place was filled with people.
The clubhouse hummed with raw energy. Behind the long bar top were several bright neon signs with more pinup girls smiling seductively.
The black walls and glossy red tabletops were likely left over from the place’s stripper days. A half dozen pool tables stretched out to the right of the bar top.
At the far end of the wide space, a raised stage waited for the band with a drum kit, keyboard, and several guitars set up.
To the left of the bar top was a wall of red leather booths nearly blocked by dozens of smaller tables. Ceiling fans swirled furiously to cool the large space. The walls were covered in a mix of quirky artwork and black and white photos of club members. Between the stage and booths was a hallway leading to the back office and bathroom.
The Crimson Guard members stuck close to that end of the clubhouse, while my guys wouldn’t budge from the pool tables.
“It’s like a school dance,” Sabrina muttered, joining us at the bar top. “Exile, dance with Lula, so your people will stop acting like little bitches.”
“Why can’tyoudance with your girlfriends?”
“Because it’ll just give your boys raging hard-ons, and no one wants to dance when they’re sporting boners.”
Lula shook her head and sipped her spiked iced tea. “The band will play soon. Just settle down until then.”
