Page 49 of What Is Love
“She does look hot,” Mac said, and hooked arms with me. “Now that I’ve seen your tits, I feel like we’ve bonded.”
“I haven’t seen yours,” I pointed out as I walked with her toward the back entrance to Noble’s Pub.
“Do you want me to show you them right now?” she asked.
“No!” Wyatt and Roe said at the same time.
Mac chuckled and winked at me, which gave me the impression that she’d offered just to mess with them.
Roe got the door for us. The music inside was a lot louder than it had been when we’d come to play pool after school nearly a week ago. Wyatt walked in first, then Mac and I, followed by Roe. The back entrance brought us in by the restrooms. Even the short hall there was packed. Mac had to let go of my arm as she moved around people, following Wyatt. A warm hand went to my lower back and a body pressed close as I tried to follow Mac and Wyatt. I glanced back to see it was Roe. I knew he was just trying not to get separated, but that hand touching my bare skin was doing things to my head.
The hall to the restrooms led out into the main area of the pub, where the bar, tables, and booths were. The music was even louder there. I noticed right away that some of the tables by the steps leading up to the pool-table area were gone and people were dancing there. As we moved farther into the main room, heading for the bar, I saw that the pool tables were also gone. That entire space had been changed to look like a stage, and a live band was playing there.
Wyatt and Mac squeezed their way up to the bar. Reid was behind it taking drink orders. He saw Mac and Wyatt and went right over to them. Roe and I hung back because there wasn’t any room. As I looked around, taking everything in, I realized Wyatt had been right to insist I change. I would have stood out like a sore thumb. There were men wearing cuts everywhere. I didn’t know how many members the Haven’s Rebels had, but if I’d had to guess how many were here, I would’ve said all of them. Mixed in with all the bikers were what looked to be regular patrons and a lot of women. Some looked like wives or girlfriends of some of the MC members. Other ladies looked likethey’d come here with the intent to snag someone single or just to dance.
As I looked around, I got bumped by someone trying to squeeze by. I fell sideways against Roe. His hand that was on my back slid around to my stomach and he turned and pulled my back flush against his chest, as if to prevent me from being bumped into again. It was foreign to feel protected.
“Sorry!” the older, long-bearded Rebel man who had bumped into me yelled back as he kept going.
I put my hand on top of Roe’s on my bare stomach. I liked the way my hand looked with his.
Roe brought his mouth to my ear. “You okay?”
I nodded.
Wyatt and Mac found and rejoined us. Wyatt was carrying three beers. Mac had a shot glass in each hand.
“I brought us shots!” Mac said, handing one to me.
The glass held a golden liquid. I had a hunch what was in it, but still brought the shot up my nose to smell. It was whiskey. A very spicy whiskey.
“It’s Fireball. You’ll love it!” Mac told me just before throwing back her shot.
Tequila, vodka, and now whiskey. I was so going to have a headache tomorrow. I brought the little glass to my lips and swallowed the whole shot of whiskey. It burned like crazy going down, making my nose scrunch.
Mac took my empty shot glass and set it with hers on a table nearby, not caring about the bikers sitting there. She then took two beers from Wyatt and handed one to me.
“I can’t drink this,” I said loudly over the music. Currently, there was a guitar solo playing.
“Sure, you can,” Mac said as she clanked her beer bottle with mine.
Roe got close to my ear again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Mac leaned close. “At least try it. I used to not like beer, but this one is good.”
Why the hell not?I’d already broken way worse rules.I took a sip and scrunched my nose at how bitter it was. I didn’t like it.
Roe took the bottle from my hands and swigged from it.
“You’re supposed to be DD,” Wyatt said before drinking from his own beer.
“I’ll nurse it,” Roe said. “You know one beer won’t do shit to me.”
Wyatt nodded.
“Your dad is okay with you drinking here?” I asked Roe. “Won’t he get into trouble for serving to underage people?”
Overhearing, Mac responded, “You’re smack dab in the middle of Rebel territory. Police aren’t coming here unless there’s a dead body. So don’t worry about Noble.”
