October, 2017:

Three:

Was my idea crazy? Yes.

Could it get me killed? Possibly.

Would it be my father doing the killing if he found out what I'd done? Most definitely.

But I hadn't seen Happy since the day that he'd come to my rescue for the second time in the diner, and I was desperate to see him. He was like a drug, and I needed a hit before the feeling left my veins completely. So, even though I knew it was overstepping and could bite me in the ass, I'd decided a plan and I'd stuck to it.

"Hey, sweetheart."

My head snapped away from the clubhouse and towards the blonde man who was leaning casually against the side of my car, cigarette hanging between his lips. Even though he was obviously part of the Sons of Anarchy, his eyes were kind and his smile was warm. "Anything I can help you with?"

There was something about him that seemed so familiar, like finding someone that you'd met in a past life, and I pushed the door open so that I could get to my feet and stand in front of him.

His eyes raked me from head to toe to try and grasp the situation. I wasn't dressed like the Crow Eaters that I knew hung around their parties and the clubhouse to please the other members, in my skin-tight jeans and oversized jumper that went down to mid-thigh. "I'm looking for Happy."

Blue eyes finally met my own. "One night stand gone wrong?"

"I just came to let him know that I'm pregnant, okay?" I deadpanned. "And my daddy says he's going to call the sheriff for having sex with a sixteen year old, I thought I should warn him."

His face dropped at my brutal honesty and he looked at me with wide eyes before he looked back at the clubhouse, sputtering like a fish.

When he finally met my face, I couldn't hold the charade up any longer and I grinned. "Just kidding. I'm Jasmine."

"You almost gave me a fucking heart attack." He groaned when he ran his hand over his face, then held his palm out towards me to shake my hand. "Kozik."

"Nice to meet you, Koz." I dropped my hands back to my sides and tilted my head towards the door that would lead me into the clubhouse. "Hap in there?"

His smile was beautiful. The kind of smile that would leave most girls swooning, with that boy-next-door mixed with the bad-boy thing that he had going on. But he was nothing compared to the man who'd haunted my dreams and thoughts since the first night that I'd met him. "Yep. You want me to go and get him?"

The question was straightforward, but I head the underlying one: Was I too scared to go into the clubhouse?

A mixture of my height, thin frame and soft voice always had people second guessing the size of my confidence and what I'd been willing to do, so I never took offence. And admittedly, the clubhouse was slightly intimidating with all of the motorcycles parked out the front and the dark decor, but I felt the need to prove myself. I felt the need to show Happy that I didn't need him to rescue me all the time, that I could do things that put me outside of my comfort zone by myself. "Is there whiskey in there?"

Kozik hummed in agreement.

"Then no need to bring him out here. Lead me to the whiskey, then lead me to the man who needs anger management classes." I smiled.

Kozik let out a loud laugh and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Oh, this is priceless. We're going to get along just fine, I think, Jasmine."

I stole the cigarette out of his fingertips and pressed it to my lips to take a long drag, thankful for the nicotine to ease the nervousness that I was feeling about seeing Happy again. "Glad to hear it, Koz. I'd like to have some friends that aren't fucking assholes all the time."

"No, we're all assholes." He muttered when he pushed the door open and held it for me to go ahead. "But we're the kind of assholes that will leave you laughing instead of crying."

"My favourite." I replied and stepped inside.

The room was exactly what I'd expected it to be: Basically just a more expensive version of a man-cave. There were tables mixed with odd chairs all throughout the room, and they all had stains on them that made me question exactly what bodily fluid it was. In the corner there was a large set of double doors that led to another room, with the Reaper painted largely which instantly gave off the impression that you should leave before you even bothered to knock.

At the other end of the room was a bar, long and made out of deep lacquered wood that made my mouth dry and salivate all at once when I saw the stock that they held. I wondered why they would ever leave that bar and go to Billy's.

"Hap."

The man in question looked away from one of his brothers and over to Kozik with a blank face, then followed the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders down to me and I watched his eyes widen ever so slightly. He was surprised to see me, but he didn't look pissed off, and I took that as a win.

He left the conversation without saying another word and walked over to us, stopping right in front of me so that the toes of his boots hit the toes of my Doc Martens. "Free Bird. What you doing here, little girl?"

"Hey Hap." I didn't disentangle myself from Koz, just gave the best small wave I could. "I've got something in the car for you."

Happy's brows furrowed in confusion and he jutted his head out towards the door that we'd just walked through. "What is it?"

"Surprise." I smiled and grabbed his hand, tugging on it. "Come on."

Kozik followed us back outside and only let me go when Happy grunted 'get your fucking hands off her' under his breath, so low that I doubted I was supposed to overhear it.

When we got to my car I unlocked the doors and leant into the backseat, then brought out the large box that I'd had stored safely on the floor.

"Muffins." He smirked when he looked at the contents.

"We said third time I'd buy you a muffin basket." I explained with a smile. "But I'm hoping that there isn't a third time, so this is to say thank you for two. Sorry it's not an actual basket, I couldn't find anybody who was willing to deliver to the clubhouse, so I had to make it myself."

Happy's lips tugged up into what one could consider an actual smile, then looked back up at me. "Thank you, Free Bird."

Kozik called loudly off to the side, interrupting the soft moment that we'd been sharing, and I watched as Happy's back stiffened. "I love muffins! What kind are they?"

"The kind that if you touch one, you'll be shitting out your teeth for weeks." Happy snarled at him.

I could see that he meant it, that he was actually furious over being interrupted and had taken the gift slightly more seriously than I would have expected. Without thinking about it, I reached out and put my hand on his arm to try and get him to focus on me. "I'll buy you your own muffins, Koz. You probably wouldn't want these ones, anyway. I baked them last night and I'm not a very good cook."

"You baked me muffins?" Happy was staring down at where our skin touched.

I lowered my voice so that only he could hear me. "I couldn't get you out of my head last night, so I drank whiskey and baked muffins. They have a shit-ton of whiskey in the icing, so don't eat before you ride."

There was a softness on his face that I'd never seen on anybody before, and I squeezed his arm once before I dropped my hand and let it rest by my side. I knew that he didn't like to be touched, hated any contact that he didn't initiate, and I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by putting my hands on him.

"What are you doing right now?" He asked.

I looked over at Koz who'd lighten another smoke and was watching us with lazy interest. "No plans."

"You want to come and have a drink with me?" Happy's voice was slightly timid and it shook me to my bones. It was definitely not a date offering, but I felt like it meant more to him than a simple drink.

I smiled. "Definitely."

He carried the box underneath one arm and had the other placed strategically on the small of my back, high enough that he wasn't touching anything he shouldn't be, but low enough that it made my hormones surge into overdrive.

When we got back to the bar, I caught glimpse of who he'd been in conversation with and grinned. "Donut!"

"Jasmine!" Donut pushed off the wall to come and greet me with a friendly hug, pulling me out of Happy's grip to hit him in the chest.

After Happy had come to my rescue, I'd been partaking in shots with the other members more regularly at Billy's, and had managed to strike up a friendship with the three regulars. "What are you doing here, sweetheart?"

"She came to tell Happy he'd gotten her pregnant." Kozik called over our shoulders.

Donut stiffened in my arms and I pulled back laughing. "Just a joke, Donut, don't worry."

"I would fucking hope so." Donut's brown eyes were alive with a mixture of alcohol and laughter.

Bowie and Lorca came around the corner and locked eyes with me, then pushed Donut out of the way to pull me into their own hugs. "Hey, Jas, what are you doing here, honey?"

"She came to tell Happy that he got her pregnant." Donut deadpanned.

Just like his reaction, the two men in front of me stiffened and then started blubbering confused sentences at me until I put them out of their misery.

They joined us at the bar for a drink and I could feel Happy's penetrating gaze on the side of my face. I did my best to ignore it while I downed two shots, but then it got the best of me and I tilted my head to look at him. "What?"

"How do you know my brothers?" There was intrigue but also a hint of ... jealousy?

"Billy's." I explained and laid my hand on his forearm. "We drink together almost every afternoon."

Donut ruffled my hair. "This little lady has drunk me under the table twice without batting an eyelid. She's a card shark, too. Got your hands full with this one, Hap, better keep an eye out."

"Better take your hand off her if you want to keep it." Happy quipped.

Donut only laughed as he withdrew his hands from me and held them up in mock surrender, but he moved on to a conversation with the rest of the members who'd filed into the room.

I couldn't help the smile from gracing my lips when I looked up at the bald headed man, years my senior. He was fucking stunning in an unconventional kind of way. "Caveman."

He made sure nobody was looking before he returned my smile. "Only when it comes to you, Free Bird."