Authors note: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I haven't had much time to write lately and I've been trying to jot down my ideas whenever they come to me. Hopefully they translated well into a chapter. Please let me know what you think. I'll try to continue writing over the next few days and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Hope you enjoy!
I own only my OC :-)
"Come on, let me see!" Gemma called through the door. Aubrey smiled and shook her head.
"You just saw me!" Aubrey replied with a chuckle.
"But not all put together. Now get out here!" Gemma yelled out louder.
Aubrey stood in front of the mirror in the guest room, analyzing her reflection. Gemma had taken her shopping for an outfit for the patch in party at the clubhouse that night. She wanted to look her best, especially if she was going to be surrounded by crow eaters. Gemma helped Aubrey pick out items that she knew would look great on her. Aubrey thought that Gemma had a great sense of style so she trusted her judgement.
Aubrey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, looking at herself carefully. She wore a hip length, black satin top with cap sleeves and a wide sweetheart neckline. Aubrey rarely ever wore lower cut tops because she didn't like to show off her larger chest. However, under these circumstances, she really didn't mind. Gemma told her that the top gave her "tasteful cleavage," whatever that meant. She just knew that it looked sexy but not at all slutty, which was what she was going for. The top also nipped in at her waist and gently floated away from her stomach, giving her the illusion of a tiny waist. Aubrey pared the top with a dark wash, skinny jean that she tucked into knee high leather boots. She finished off the outfit with silver chandelier earrings and left her chest bare, leaving her chest to draw its own attention.
Aubrey was thankful that Gemma had also helped her with her hair and makeup. She told Gemma that she was still self conscious about her cuts and bruises, but Gemma assured her that she knew just how to hide them. Looking at herself now, Aubrey could hardly see any traces of her accident. Gemma had curled Aubrey's hair then combed out the curls once they had set, leaving her with soft, shiny, defined, auburn waves. She parted her hair on the far right side then swept her bangs over to the left, covering the cut on Aubrey's forehead and most of the bruise around her eye. Gemma then did Aubrey's makeup, giving her a soft cat eye and deep red lips. Aubrey was shocked at the results and hardly recognized herself. She kept looking at her reflection thinking, "old Hollywood biker chick."
"Get the hell out here!" she heard Gemma's voice call out again.
Aubrey took a deep breath and opened the door of her room, taking a second before walking out. She saw Gemma standing at the end of the hallway and gave her a timid look when she saw her. Does it look okay? Aubrey's eyes asked. Gemma's mouth dropped when she saw Aubrey.
"Oh my god," she said quietly, holding her hands up to her mouth. "You look so fucking good!" she then added loudly. Aubrey giggled at Gemma's reaction and felt more at ease with her outfit and new look.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "It's not too much?" Aubrey wasn't used to getting looked at, but she knew that the way she looked right now would cause a lot of heads to turn. She fidgeted with her top, trying to cover up her chest.
"Will you stop that?"she said, swatting Aubrey's hand down. "You're wearing more clothes than all of the crow eaters combined." Gemma assured her.
Aubrey sighed then felt her stomach sinking. She was getting nervous about going to the party at the clubhouse. She didn't have a specific plan for the night, she just knew that by the end of the night, no matter what, Chibs would know how she felt about him. And she hoped she was right in assuming that he felt the same way.
"Are you okay?" Gemma asked, drawing Aubrey's attention.
"Yeah," Aubrey answered quickly, looking nervously at Gemma. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready."
"Honey, when it comes to love, you'll never truly be ready," Gemma said, pinching Aubrey's chin. "Now, let's get going."
Just after 9:30, Gemma drove to the clubhouse, sensing how nervous Aubrey was. She was constantly rubbing her hands together and smoothing out her hair. Gemma was proud of Aubrey though, for taking matters into her own hands. When they arrived at the lot, Aubrey began to breath heavily and adjust her position in her seat. She saw a lot of unfamiliar people walking around and drinking near the entrance of the clubhouse when they got out of the car.
"Members from other chapters," Gemma said after seeing the confused look on Aubrey's face. Aubrey nodded and picked at her shirt again. Gemma rolled her eyes and grabbed Aubrey's arm, leading her towards the clubhouse.
"No, wait. I need a few more minutes," Aubrey said, pulling her arm away from Gemma when they were only a few steps away from the clubhouse door.
"Aubrey ..." Gemma started.
"No, I'll be okay. I just need a few more minutes," she said, backing away from Gemma. "I'll be in in a few minutes," she added then walked quickly towards the garage.
Gemma rolled her eyes and turned to go into the clubhouse, and ran into juice.
"Gemma ... who was that?" he asked Gemma, without actually looking at her. He had just seen Gemma watching a woman that he didn't recognize walk away. He couldn't stop staring at her.
"It's Aubrey," she answered with a grin, proud of her makeover, then walked past him into the clubhouse.
Aubrey got to the office door and wasn't surprised when she grabbed the handle and it didn't move. She decided to sit outside on the stairs for a moment before going into the clubhouse. She didn't know why she had become so nervous all of a sudden, she just just didn't feel ready to go inside yet.
She sat on the stairs taking deep breaths, trying to imagine what was going on inside the clubhouse at that moment. She rubbed her hands together, trying to come up with what she might say to Chibs and worrying about how he might react. All scenarios seemed either too perfect or too painful and it just made her feel more nervous. She let out a groan when a chiming sound grabbed her attention. Aubrey grabbed for her purse, then after realizing she didn't bring one, reached into her back pocket for her phone to check her new text message. She fumbled with the phone. Relax, she tried to calm herself. "Read in the Eugene paper that they are planning to hire 5 new teachers." It was her cousin Sarah. She shook her head then turned off her phone.
"Aubrey?" she heard in front of her. Aubrey looked up quickly to her name and saw Juice standing a few feet away with wide eyes.
"Yeah?" she answered with a smile, waiting for his question. Juice stood frozen for a few seconds just staring at Aubrey. Wow, he thought to himself.
"Something wrong?" Aubrey asked when Juice took his time answering her. Juice slowly shook his head and walked closer to Aubrey.
"Holy shit, Aubrey," he said with raised eyebrows, before taking a few seconds to continue. "You look hot," he added, leaning up against the wall to the garage. Aubrey blushed. Gemma must be right, she laughed to herself.
"Thanks," she answered with a snicker.
"Why are you over here?" he asked, carefully looking at Aubrey. For the first time since meeting Aubrey, Juice finally realized how stunning she was. He felt bad thinking that it was just her new look that made him think this, but he couldn't help it. Aubrey's eyes were more striking than usual and he noticed how full her lips were. He then felt guilty for looking at her this way.
"Just getting some air before I go in," Aubrey answered, putting her phone away. "Don't know what to expect in there," she continued. Juice nodded, knowing that a patch in party would most likely shock Aubrey. They could run a little wild.
"Want me to wait out here with you?" Juice offered.
"No, thanks. I'll be okay. You should get back in there, I'm going to be a few more minutes," Aubrey encouraged.
"Yeah?" Juice asked, making sure. Aubrey nodded. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit," Juice said, then stood up and gave Aubrey a big smile.
Aubrey watched as Juice walked away, then started to appreciate the quiet for a few more minutes. Okay, Aubrey, get up, she chanted to herself, then stood up, fixing her jeans. She took a deep breath and started towards the clubhouse.
"I gotta take a leak," Chibs exclaimed to Happy, walking away from their game of pool. The patch in party was going nuts and he laughed at how crazy everyone seemed to be getting as they continued to drink. He made his way towards the bathroom and noticed a long line of crow eaters, waiting to use it. Normally, he would appreciate the sight of crow eaters lined up in front of him but he laughed when he compared them to Aubrey. Chibs decided to just use the bathroom in his dorm room instead of cutting in front of the ladies, creating a chorus of whining and pouting. Chibs was having a good time but he kept thinking about Aubrey. About how happy he had been after seeing her earlier that day, and how he couldn't control himself when he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. He wondered what she was doing right now and he wanted to see her again soon. He was feeling more at ease with his decision to tell her how he felt.
Chibs finished up in the washroom and made his way out to the bar, where he found Tig tossing back a shot.
"How are ya Tig?" he asked conversationally, taking a seat beside him.
"Fannntastic," Tig answered with a slur and a grin. Chibs then asked a crow eater behind the bar for a beer and looked around the room, not really at anything in particular. He turned back to the bar when he heard his beer being placed in front of him, then took a sip. From near the entrance of the clubhouse, Chibs could hear cat calls and whistling all of a sudden. He looked around but couldn't see anything that could be causing that reaction. He turned back to his beer.
"Ohhh, damn. Dibs... Dibs, dibs, dibs, I call dibs," Chibs heard Tig say enthusiastically. He turned to look at Tig and found the back of his head bobbing up and down, trying to get a better view of something. Confused, Chibs moved his head to the right to try to figure out what Tig was looking at. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman talking to Lyla. She wore a black shirt and dark jeans and Chibs noticed how curvy she was. He turned away, feeling almost guilty at finding this woman attractive when he had been so focused on Aubrey. But, he realized, he was just appreciating the sight of a beautiful woman, nothing else. He turned back to look at her but couldn't get a look at her face from the side because her hair was partially covering it. Something about her seemed familiar.
Chibs watched as she looked down at the ground and tucked her hair behind her ear, then quickly reversed the action. Chibs' heart swelled when he realized it was Aubrey. It was his Aubrey. Tig made to stand up but was stopped by Chibs' hand on his arm.
"No Tiggy. That's my girl," Chibs said with a proud smirk. He stood up and felt the need to be near her.
Aubrey walked into the clubhouse and instantly felt her heart begin to race. She was surrounded by club members that she didn't recognize and there were crow eaters scattered everywhere. She saw the looks that a few of them were giving her and felt like turning around and leaving, at one point actually stopping and pivoting back to the door. But she stopped herself, repeating to herself that she was there for Chibs, not to make friends with everyone. Aubrey continued farther into the clubhouse and heard men shouting cat calls and whistling. Unsure of what they were excited about she didn't bother to look at any of them, she just scanned the room, hoping to recognize someone. She finally spotted Lyla talking to who she could only assume was someone's old lady. She made her way over to Lyla with a sense of relief.
"Hi," she said quietly, feeling bad for interrupting their conversation. Lyla turned to Aubrey and her mouth dropped. She looked Aubrey up and down and was speechless for a moment.
"Aubrey?" she asked tentatively. "Oh my god, I didn't recognize you. You look great!" Lyla continued, still looking over Aubrey's outfit and hair.
"Thanks," Aubrey said timidly, looking down at the ground. She heard someone from beside her call out "Bitch!" and turned to find a crow eater glaring at her with her arms crossed. Lyla laughed
"You've made some enemies," she joked, then added in a whisper "They're not used to sharing the attention with someone wearing clothes." Aubrey laughed, looking down and tucking her hair behind her left ear. She quickly untucked it after remembering it was hiding her cuts and bruises.
"Um, have you seen Chibs?" Aubrey asked, trying to blow off Lyla's compliment.
"Yeah, I saw him a little while ago playing pool. But I don't know where he went," Lyla answered, looking towards the pool tables then shifting her gaze around the rest of the room.
"Okay. I'm sorry for interrupting," Aubrey apologized with a smile, looking at the woman that Lyla was speaking to. The woman waved her hand, letting Aubrey know that it wasn't a problem.
Aubrey was just about to turn to her left when she felt a hand placed gently on her lower back and someones chest pressed against her shoulder.
Please let me know what you think. I'm worried that I might be going a little too slow with the stories progression.