Page 5 of Stitch
“Hey, gorgeous. Are they behaving out there? I’m itching to kick someone’s ass, and Has is always asking for it.”
She swatted his chest.
“You guys don’t do that anymore, remember?”
“I’m Cammy,” I butted in, because it was starting to get embarrassing,not being introduced, while they pawed each other like I wasn’t even there.
“Hi Cammy. I’m Ice, but you probably guessed that. She doesn’t do this with everyone who walks in, I hope.”
Lissa giggled, and I bit back another sigh. Why did I suddenly feel so terminally single that I wanted to cry?
Four
Imade it asfar as the door, and then I didn’t think I had the courage to step inside and see everyone. They’d all be wondering, staring at me like they could see what was wrong, and they’d have questions. They’d want to prod and pry, and I just wanted to fade into the background, like the elaborately carved phoenix on the door. My fingers traced over the textures of the design, and then a hand slammed against my shoulder.
“Brother! Fucking good to see you again!” I turned to catch a glimpse of Torch, before he dragged me into one of probably many man hugs.
“Hey, man, still a scary fucker, I see.”
He laughed, backing up to look me over.
“You look good, man. Let’s go in and get this done, yeah? Got a bird waiting in my room, and I got holes to fill. It’s a job I take very seriously.”
Jesus. I found myself laughing as we walked in together, and suddenly it wasn’t the daunting prospect, pun intended, that I’d imagined. I was surrounded by the men I knew and loved, accepting hugs and pats on the back, and declarations of being missed, and I hadn’t realised how much it’d boost my mood. I felt almost buoyant as I took my seat beside Reacher, who looked like a proud fucking father.
“Alright, you smug bastard.” My words were only for him, and gained me a smirk in response.
“Okay guys, settle down, I’m not gonna drag this out. We’re here for a few reasons today, and we’ll start with the most important one. Our brother, our VP,is back with us, and it’s about fucking time. We’ve missed you, man, and we’re behind you one hundred percent. Anything you need, we’re here, yeah?”
I nodded, feeling embarrassingly choked up again.
“Thanks, Reacher, my brothers. Bear with me while I get settled again, it’s been a weird few weeks.”
Ryder patted my shoulder. “We got you, man. Welcome home.” Cue another round of cheers and stuff, which honestly made me blush like a total pussy, and then Reacher got to the real reason we were together, no matter what he said.
“Okay, brothers, in light of various recent events and the future of this club, we’re making a few changes to the bylaws. I don’t expect everyone to love them, but I’ll say this now. We built this club from the ashes of another, and we made a fucking family out of it. We made a set of rules back then that were always gonna be subject to change as the club evolved, and as the President and Vice President of the club, we’re within our rights to do so. We’re changing two rules right now, and any issues you have, of course we’re gonna listen, but we’ll do that privately outside of here. Take time to absorb them, and think about how they may or may not affect you.”
He was rambling, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed, so I cleared my throat, and he turned to nod at me. He probably needed a minute to catch his breath anyway.
“Okay, rule change number one; from now on, any issue we choose to vote on, is no longer going to need a unanimous vote. We’ll be going with the majority, and yeah, this is precisely to prevent one or two naysayers from ruining something that could make another person in this family happy, and yes, this applies to old ladies. I’m stunned to be a member of a club who could even consider voting against the happiness of a brother, much less their President, and so it’s not happening again. Not on my fucking watch.”
The room stayed uncomfortably quiet, and I exchanged a worried glance with Reacher. He took a deep breath.
“The second rule under development, and we’re calling it that, because it’s not gonna be a strict set-in-stone rule anymore, uh… the ‘no ride, no club’ rule. There are any number of reasons that a member of the club might not be able to ride, temporarily or otherwise, and I don’t want any member of this club, who relies on us as his family, to be in fear of losing everything if he’s injured or ill.”
“Who apart from Stitch is affected by that though?” That was Micro, and he practically flinched from the glares he received from many of us.
“I’m not trying to be an asshole, man. I get it, there are always reasons, but I was just curious if it’s a widespread thing.”
Ice opened his mouth, and Reacher shot him a glare, silencing him.
“That’s enough of this bullshit. It’s nobody’s business who can or can’t ride. The only people who ever need to know if there’s an issue are the two of us. And we need to know as soon as there’s a problem, so we don’t end up relying on you when you can’t step up.”
They probably couldn’t see it, but I could see how incredibly uncomfortable Reacher was right now. Changing the rules was something he’d rebelled against, because he didn’t want to be a dictator, but these were good changes.
“Brothers, neither of these changes are being made to screw anyone, or favour anyone. We’re a fucking family, and when one of us has a problem, he needs to be able to rely on his brothers to accept and support whatever the fuck he’s going through. Hell… look, I’m one of the people who can’t ride right now, but I’m not the only one. I miss it so fucking much I could scream. But right now, I don’t know how much longer I have, so I’ll get back on a fucking bike somehow, and reclaim that glory before I die. Don’t go thinking that anyone who temporarily can’t ride isn’t feeling exactly the same fucking thing.”
Cammy
