Chapter Six:

"You're still coming?"

I looked over myself in the mirror and tossed the dress that I'd picked out to the side. "Yes, I'm findin' somethin' to wear right now and then I'm headin' over."

"Good." There was music pouring through her side of the phone. "I'll have a bottle of whiskey waiting for when you get here."

"Make sure you save me a beer, too." I hung up the phone to her chuckle.

In the end I settled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a plain white singlet with the only pair of heels that I owned. Gemma had said to dress in something sexy but comfortable, so I shrugged on my leather jacket and then painted my lips the colour red that begged for trouble.

It was the first time that I was going to attend a Friday night party at the clubhouse. More than that, it was the first time that I was going to see Jax apart from the times that I'd seen him at his or Gemma's house in passing or when I'd been babysitting for him.

Over the month and half that I'd known him and through our very limited interactions, I'd realised that I'd grown a pathetic crush on the bad-boy. I was a walking, talking cliche: The girl who went to church every Sunday and grew up in a good home had gotten giddy for the bad boy outlaw who did things for a living that should have sent me screaming in the opposite direction.

I wasn't sure if Jesus or daddy would be more ashamed of me.

Gemma had promised that if I drove to the clubhouse she would drive me back the next morning to retrieve my car since, as she had so happily pointed out, there was no going to the Sons clubhouse on a Friday night and not getting drunk enough that driving was no longer an option.

"There's my girl!"

Kozik's voice found me as soon as I stepped out of my car and onto the concrete, like Gemma had informed him of my plans and he'd been waiting for me. I appreciated it because, if that was how it had worked out, the man had been looking out for me. We'd spoken about how bad my anxiety could get when he was in the chair, and he knew that I wasn't comfortable walking into crowds of people that I didn't know by myself.

Standing in front of them or off to the side? I was fine. I'd been on stage singing enough times that I was used to the spotlight.

Walking into them, though? I was quite quickly met with the possibility that I would turn into a hyperventilating mess.

I'd just had enough time to slide my phone into the back pocket of my jeans before he swept me off the ground and spun me around once. "Hey, Koz."

When he'd placed me back on the concrete I ran my hand over his arm and poked the tattoo I'd done the week before. "You been takin' care of this?"

"Always, baby." His face tugged up in a smirk before he put his palm on the small of my back and lead me towards the group of Sons that were hanging around, enjoying themselves. "I'm glad you came. Jax said you've been kidnapping Abel?"

I took the bottle of beer that he'd been drinking and drained it. "I haven't been kidnappin' anyone, I've just been helpin' Gemma out when she needed me-"

"And making us dinner." Jax's voice made a shiver go down my spine, but I ignored it as I looked into his bright blue eyes and grinned at him. "And then came over and cleaned my whole damned house and stocked my freezer and fridge with enough food to last us a fucking month."

Kozik looked between his President and I with confusion. "Wha-"

"Abel wants to know if you could bring Larry over tomorrow." Jax cut him off like he hadn't spoken. "I promised that I'd ask tonight."

"Of course I can." I grinned again, happy that my dog was making Abel happy.

"It's freaky how well you've got that thing trained." Kozik muttered under his breath.

My head snapped towards him, eyes narrowed into slits and ready to berate him when Happy joined us, and he did it for me. "He's not an it, Kozik. He's a he. And she's trained him because she's a good ma and he's a good boy."

Happy pushed space between Koz and I so that he could lean down and kiss my cheek. "Hey, little girl. Glad you came."

Jax was obviously shocked by the gesture if his face was anything to go by, because he looked back and forth between Happy and I like there was something going on that he didn't understand.

I cupped his cheek. "I'm glad I came, too, I haven't seen you in weeks. Where the hell have you been? It's gettin' borin' drinkin' by myself at three-a.m while I'm waitin' for you to show up on my door."

Happy shrugged and rolled his toothpick to the other side of his mouth. "Nobody's been pissing me off lately."

"My floorboards are thankful for the lack of red paint." I said pointedly and gave him a wink.

Happy shook his head in amusement, then followed Kozik's lead to wander off and find someone to keep him entertained for the night. Out of the corner of my eye I watched him disappear with a short redhead who had next-to-nothing on, and I silently cheered for my best friend getting the girl with a click of his fingers. Or possibly a death glare and her fear that he'd kill her if she said no.

"What?" I asked Jax when I found him staring at the side of my face.

"You're good with everybody." Jax commented lightly. "It's weird that you haven't been around here before."

I shook my head. "No, it's weird that I've been standin' here for fifteen minutes with an empty bottle and you ain't offered me another beer. What's goin' on with the Charmin' hospitality?"

"Not all of us go around kidnapping children and redoing houses for the sake of it, darlin'." He chuckled, but led me over to the door of the clubhouse with his hand on the small of my back. "You've got to ask for what you want around here."

"Should have stayed in Georgia." I teased lightly after I'd stepped inside and looked around.

The clubhouse was just as I'd expected it to be: A mess of spilt alcohol, intoxicated members and what could be considered an orgy off to the side. The air smelt like cigarettes, weed and sex. But, surprisingly, none of it bothered me. If anything, it intrigued me.

"And who are you?"

My eyes were ripped away from a larger man who was sitting on one of the couches with a woman's face to his naked pelvis, to face to a mess of black, curly hair that was sticking in a million different directions. I was wrong, Jax's eyes weren't the bluest that I had ever seen, the strange man who was looking at me like I was something to eat's were. And they looked slightly insane.

"I hardly know, Sir, just at present. At least, I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since than." I whipped.

My answer had not been one that he'd expected, because he frowned at me like I was insane. "What?"

"Alice in Wonderland, you moron." A Scottish accent washed over me and I looked at the newcomer, who's face was pulled up into a grin.

His hair was mostly black with large flicks of grey to prove that he was ageing and on the longish side so that it fell to his ears, but his eyes were kind and warm. The only thing that one could consider 'off' about him was the large scars on either of his cheeks that started at the sides of his mouth, but I thought they added to his charm. "Chibs, luv."

"Ellie." I took his outstretched hand and shook it. "It's nice to know that there's a fellow Lewis Carol fan among this unruly bunch."

Chibs' eyes lit up with humour. "It's nice ta hear an accent."

"Even though it's not Scottish?" I laughed.

"Aye, luv." He nodded. "I've always had a thing for a lass from Georgia."

Whether he'd known what he was doing or not, Jax's hand suddenly found my waist again and he tugged lightly so that I stepped into his personal space and was pressed tightly against his side.

Chibs watched the action with wide eyes before he looked at his President and the two seemed to have a conversation without having to open their mouths. He nodded once. "Aye, Jackie-boy."

He wrapped his arm around the blue-eyed man's shoulders and pulled him away with the promise that he'd come back to find me later to speak more about Lewis Carol, and I frowned at his retreating figure before I looked up at Jax. "Is he not as nice as he comes across?"

Jax frowned down at me. "Chibs? He's great, why?"

"Just wonderin' why you got all cave-man on me, I thought maybe he was a serial rapist or somethin'." I smiled when he burst into laughter.

"No, El, he's just your friendly neighbourhood Scot." He didn't offer me anymore information as to why he'd suddenly gotten possessive of me so I didn't ask. I didn't want to push for an answer when I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it, I just leaned heavier into his side and looked around the packed room of his brothers.

"Fucking finally!" Gemma stepped out of the packed space to stand in front of us, a bottle of whiskey and a beer in either of her hands. "I was worried you'd gotten fucking murdered. Jesus, baby, warn me next time you decide you're going to be an hour."

I felt like I was the kid who'd been caught with her hand in a cookie jar when her eyes narrowed at Jax's hand on my waist and her lips pulled up into a knowing smirk.

Gemma had pointed out, quite bluntly as usual, that she thought Jax and I would be a good couple and I needed to, 'grow a pair of balls and go for it'. I'd all but choked on the glass of wine that I'd been drinking as I stared at her over my table and told her that I wasn't discussing my love life with her when it involved her son, whether hell had frozen over or not.

The look on her eyes told me that she was gloating that she thought she'd been right when she told me Jax was interested in me, but I wasn't sure.

He'd gotten possessive over me with Chibs, sure. But that didn't mean that he wanted to be in a relationship or that he saw me as anything more than a friend of his mother's and son that he needed to protect. And he'd shortened down my name to 'El', but everybody gave their friend nicknames.

"Thanks." I stole the bottle of whiskey and skulled a few chugs, winced when the liquor hit my chest, and then stared blankly back at her. "What?"

"What are you, a secret alcoholic?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at the bottle of whiskey that had been full when I'd taken it from her, and had been drained by a quarter.

"It's no secret." Happy muttered when he walked past us towards the bar, finished with his woman and back into the party atmosphere. "Don't let her drink too much whiskey, little girl likes to get naked. And get me naked."

Jax's had tightened on my waist and I could feel the wave of fury that poured out of him. Without really thinking through my actions, I put my hand on his cheek and tilted his head down so that he had to look away from my best friend's back and to me. "He's just playin', honey. We've played strip poker a couple times after too much to drink, and he's bein' a sore loser because I haven't lost a single piece of clothin'."

His blue eyes swung back and forth between mine rapidly until he was convinced that I was telling them truth, then his body seemed to sag in relief.

As if he didn't remember his mother was listening to his every word and watching his every movement, he leant down, kissed my forehead and pulled me tighter against his side. "No more strip poker, darlin."

"Okay."