Raven woke up in her bed the next morning hungover as hell. Not sure of how to feel. But disappointment and despair nipped at her heart. She thought shed wake up to a snoring juice but she was alone. She couldn't remember if she felt him next to her during the night because of her obvious intoxication. Her head felt like she smashed it through a wall.
She went to her bathroom to splash water on her face then wash her mouth out. She collapsed to her elbow on the counter top and cradled her aching head in her hand. She was feeling woozy and nauseous. She thought about eating and physically gagged. She was thirsty and had an awful taste in her mouth.
She stumbled out of her bathroom across her room and into the hall. She moved her hand across the wall trying to keep her balance. When she entered the living room. She was suddenly stunned at the light pouring in threw the windows and stumbled backwards slightly. She was too small to drink nearly an entire bottle of whiskey. Juice felt bad for letting her drink that much. But he knew better then anybody what it was like to try and find your worth at the bottom of a bottle. Raven ambled past the back of her couch, right to her fridge and grabbed her pitcher of iced tea and a water bottle. She grabbed a glass from her cupboard and poured herself a glass of ice tea with shaky hands. She chugged it desperately trying to get the taste of stale liquor out of her mouth. Juice was looking at her over the back of her love seat. "You good?" she nodded her head as she put her glass in the sink. She needed to sleep off her hangover. "Im going back to bed" raven said as she started making her way back to her room.
A few hours later she woke up feeling a little better. Her head ache was at an annoying dull pulse and there was no more threat of her head splitting open. She looked over to her night stand and saw the water bottle. She sat up, grabbed it and drank the entire thing. She let her eyes adjust to the light streaking in through her blinds before she looked at the clock. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. She got out of bed and hopped in the shower trying to wash away the smell of stale liquor from her body. She sat down in the shower an cupped her knees with her hands letting the water fall on her back. She sat there as long as she could before the heat of the shower made her uncomfortable. She turned the cold water on and finished her shower. When she got out and dried off she went to her drawer and threw on a clean tshirt and sleep shorts.
She went into her living room and plopped herself down next to juice on her couch. "I didn't say anything too embarrassing last night did i?" raven smiled at juice weekly. "Nothing that I didn't already know." juice said as he bumbed into her teasing. " whats your plan today? I know youre off but do you need to go run any errands?" juice asked. "Even if I did I cant drive this hungover, and no offense to you but I doubt you could get that needy bitch to start up " she joked about her screaming metal death trap of a car. "Well they need me at the clubhouse. Jax called church in about an hour. Im not gonna leave you here by yourself." He tried to sound as nice as possible but this was not up for negotiation. "I just told you juice I cant drive…." She said confused. "Youll have to ride with me then" he smiled. He'd spent plenty of nights fantasizing about getting raven on the back of his bike. This was his chance. "Youre joking….. You don't even have a helmet for me." She said trying to get out of it. She had worked on her fair share or motorcycles but had never been on the back of one before. Raven didn't know if her weak stomach could take it let alone her bones rattling. The pain in her ribs wasn't as bad as it had once been but it still ached through out the day. Or if she brushed up against it to hard. "Theres a spare in my saddle bag" juice said matter of factly. "Do I have a choice?" raven shot with a glare. "Not really" juice smiled and shook his head. She was annoyed but too weak to fight back.
Raven rolled her eyes and walked away to her bedroom to put her make up on. A little pissy she had to be at the clubhouse on her day off but on the upside her bruises were starting to fade. They still hurt but didn't look so awful. She dabbed the color corrector on and did the rest of her make up. Once her powder was set she brushed her hair and let it fall into long wavy locks. She didn't have the strength to do anything but brush it. She went to her closet and put her clothes on. She pulled a navy blue short sleeve shirt over her body and it hugged her frame well. She shimmied into a pair of light denim skinny jeans and threw her blacked out vans on. This was as good as it was going to get.
She emerged from her bedroom 45 minutes later looking totally unamused. "Lets go" was all she said as she grabbed a black zip up sweater and her purse And walked out the door. She locked it and walked over to juices bike where he was waiting. He outstretched his hand with the extra helmet for her. She handed her purse over and he put it in the saddle bag. He got on his bike and she got on right after him. Juice turned his head to the side and said "hold tight" before starting the bike up. She could feel the rumble through her entire body and her ribs rattled slightly in pain. Raven hoped to god it wouldn't be like this the whole ride. Once they pulled out of her driveway much to her surprise the ride was smooth. The wind on her face felt exhilarating. Just when she decided she liked being on the back of a bike they pulled into t.m. lot.
He pulled into his parking spot and killed the engine. Raven hoped off and juice did the same. She was unstrapping her helmet when juice asked "was that your first time on the back of a bike?". "yea" She replied. "How was it?" juice asked back. Raven raised her eyebrow and said "pretty incredible".
They walked into the clubhouse together. it was full of familiar sons. A few croweaters stalking their prey. Raven took a seat at the bar as she watched samcro file into the chapel. She hoped whatever they were talking about they got it sorted out quickly.
She folded her arms up on the bar and layed her head down on them. She was still tired and felt like a raisin that had been left in the sun too long. She was deep into her self wallowing pitty when she heard a voice ask "can I get you anything?". She looked up to see half sak smiling at her. "do you have any gatorade back there kip?" She asked as she sat up. "No I don't think so. We have water? I might be able to find some 7up somewhere.." he let out shyly. "waters fine thanks". She took the water from him and sipped on it contemplating never drinking liquor again.
She sat at the bar for about 30 minutes before everybody came out of the chapel and made a b line for the door and before she could even blink were walking out to their bikes. She followed the hoard of bikers to see what was going on. She really didn't want to spend her whole day off here and it was looking like juice was going to leave her high and dry. She went to go find him and ask him what was going on. When she found him she was a little pissed. "Whats going on? Are you just gonna leave me here?!!" she snapped grabing his sholder so he faced her. "Uhhhh. Something happened at the warehouse we have to go check it out. I shouldn't be gone long. Stay in the compound til I get back". He said. she looked at him dissapointed. He moved tword her and put his left hand on small of her back and cupped her cheek with his other hand. She was frozen in shock for 2.2 seconds before she gave in and leaned into the touch of his hand on her cheek. He closed what little gap was between them and kissed her like she was the most delicate flower on earth. Like she would crumble if he breathed too hard. Her body was on fire. She heard the whoops and hollars from the entire MC fade away as her world crumbled and was simultaneously pieced back together in juices hands. He broke the kiss and put his hand on her sholder "stay in the compound til I get back" and got on his bike and just rode away. Leaving her there dumbfounded.
What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened…. She thought. Her eyes got big. Did that make her his old lady? "oh god I aint cut from the same cloth as……... I cant be an old lady…." She thought. She stood there long after the rumbling of the bikes had died down. Dumbstruck.
When her shell shock wore off she skulked across the lot into the office hoping to find gemma. She opened the door to find her right where raven hoped she would be. Sitting at the computer. "hey gem, got a sec" she spoke quietly. She pulled her glasses down and said "Sure baby, whats going on?" and motioning for the small couch in the corner.
Raven sat down and took a breath and let it out. "Don't act like you werent watching" she laughed. Raven understood that gemma knew everything that went down in charming. "so you've got a hot little puerto rican on your ass, whats the problem" gemma raised an eyebrow up. "fuck where do I start gem? Was I claimed? The fuck am I supposed to do with thatl? Im not cut out to be an old Lady!! Gemma I have no idea what im doing with juice and how much of this is even real and how much is him just going along with another one of jaxs crazy schemes. I haven't dated since dinosaurs roamed the earth. and I have no idea how to navigate the MC world as anything other then a mechanic." raven said exasperated. Gemma sat there with a knowing smile. "sweetheart in this life there no testing the water. Head first is the only way we learn. Youre not his old lady yet. He was staking his claim when he kissed you. Its what they do. was probably trying to piss off the sick fuck whos been stalking you like prey Too. And as far as his feelings you, baby that boy hasn't even looked in the crow eaters direction since you were in the hospital. That's almost 2 months with no pussy. sweetheart I knew you were gonna be an old lady the day I met you. Your strong, smart, decisive, and loyal. That aint something that you see in a woman around here everyday. it was only a matter of time before one of these shit for brains figured it out. " gemma said as she laid everything down for raven. Raven paused for a moment steeping in the queens advice."This is gonna be a rough ride huh gem?" raven said and got up to hug her. "yea baby. It is but im right here when you need me" gemma said hugging raven tightly.
Gemma had been the closest thing she had to a mom for a long time. Ravens own mom pawned her off on her grandparents to raise. She never knew her dad. Her grandparents were strict traditional religious folk. Imagine their surprise when she told them she was going to trade school to become a mechanic. They degraded her and told her it wasn't a woman place to be under the hood of a car. She left for trade school and never looked back. She didn't have a family of her own anymore. Gemma always made sure she was taken care of. When raven got home from the hospital gemma had stocked her fridge with frozen casseroles and groceries, and came by every few days to check on her and have a cup of coffee. to make sure she wasn't completely isolating herself from the world. Gemma was like a teddy bear covered in razor wire. But if you could get through that, she loved fiercely and protected those she loved. When raven reached the door of the office she looked back "Can I bum a smoke gemma??". She rifled through her purse and handed raven a whole pack. "take em sugar, you need em more then me". "Thanks" raven said.
She walked out to the picnic tables and grabbed the lighter that was sitting there and lit up her cigarette before pocketing it. "Finders keepers" she said to herself. She got onto the edge of the picnic table and let her legs swing. She took a long slow drag of her cigarette. She enjoyed the way the smoke made her throat burn when she inhaled. She liked some forms of pain to a certain extent. It was her brains fucked up, self deprecating way of making her feel like she was real. When her whole life felt like a bad horror movie. She took another drag of the cigarette and thought about her life and time in charming. She loved this little shit town, with its dinky little fairs and its stupid cheesy festivals. She loved working in the bays and she'd gotten the respect here shes been working her whole life to gain. now that she though about it, without even trying she had built a whole life here for herself in charming. She had friends and people that gave a shit about her. She wondered whether charming and the sons in general had a magnetic effect on runaway strays and wayward souls. Maybe this is the real beginning of my life she thought. That made her stomach turn. She had come to terms with the fact that she would never have a real life and could never be happy. You cant exactly establish roots when everywhere you go is your temporary home. She had indeed established actual roots in charming without even trying. This was do or die now. She decided she couldn't ever leave charming. She loved it here. she was going to stay or leave in a body bag. She wanted this life and everything that came with it. She was all in. Raven hoped off the table and put her cigarette out. She made her way back into the clubhouse and right back to her seat on the bar. She figured she was hydrated enough and she needed a drink to celebrate her epiphany.
She looked over at the crow eaters snickering in the corners. They looked unsure of what to do when there was no dick around. Raven looked at half sak cleaning the bar and asked in a low tone "whats the chance that they actually turn into old ladies at midnight? Like some shitty biker cinderella story". He walked closer while wiping the bar and laughed. "Its not something that ive ever seen happen. Cant turn a hoe into a house wife is something ive heard around here plenty of times. You cant claim something your brothers all had a piece of. most of us don't want anybody else to know what its like to sleep with our old lady. Its possessive as fuck but that's just the way shit go's ya know?" He shrugged at her then continued to clean the bar. "im starting to find out" raven said with a raised eyebrow and took a long drink of her beer.
She made crappy small talk with half sak trying to keep herself entertained. They talked about cars and his bike and how she was keeping her death trap to keep rolling on. She had three bottles lined up in front of her and was working on her forth when she heard the rumble of the SONS and their bikes. She continued to nurse her beer while the MC poured into the clubhouse keeping an eye out for a certain mohawaked tattooed biker. When she saw him stroll in with blood on the collar of his white t shirt she fought the urge to freak out. She walked up behind him talking to bobby and tapped him on the sholder. "are you alright?" she asked as calm as she could. "Yea im fine why?" juice said with an eyebrow raised. Raven motioned to the blood on his collar. "As long as its not yours... can we go? Id like to spend the rest of my day off at home." Raven asked trying to process the fact that juice had someone elses blood on his shirt. "oh, no its not mine…… let me change real quick and make sure all this shits handled then we can leave" juice said with a stern face. He was wondering how raven was so calm looking at the evidence of violence on his body. "Alright" she said with a nod and headed back to the beer shed been neglecting since she heard the bikes roll in.
She chugged the rest of it and asked half sak to take the bottles away. She wasn't drunk, but she definitely wasn't sober. her hangover was something that felt like a distant memory. She was contemplating the fact that juice might be a killer. Werent they all on some level. Shit she didn't doubt gemma had killed before. And she heard the story about tara shooting that porn whores car up. She had no doubt tara would kill for her family as well. Would she eventually kill for the sons?? She pondered when juice walked up beside her and leaned up against the bar. He was in a tight black t shirt, dark denim and his kutte. He looked like a tall glass of water and raven was suddenly parched. She laughed nervously, taken aback at the stud standing in front of her. "ready?" juiced asked raven through a raised eyebrow. "As Ill ever be". Raven answered through a giggle.
When they walked out of the clubhouse it was dusk. Raven wobbled a little on the way to juices bike. "I thought you were hungover raven. Are you drunk again?" juiced asked mocking her. "I was hungover almost 3 hours ago when you left. You left me with a free bar. Im not responsible for my actions." Raven hiccuped and then laughed. Juice just looked at her and ran his hand through his mohawk. "jesus christ" he muttered to himself as he handed raven his spare helmet and hoped on to his bike. Raven strapped up her helmet and got on after him. She scooted as close as she could get to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He started his bike up and like that they were on the way to her home. She ran her hand up from juices waist and over his toned abs to rest on his pecks. She inhaled the scent of leather and the faint trace of juices cologne. It felt so good to have the wind whip through her hair. And to be holding onto if she had to admit it a very fine specimen of a man. They were at her house ten minutes later.
They were walking up to her door when she noticed juice smirking. When they entered the house raven went to the freezer looking for something to eat. She was starving and it was nearly dinner. She pulled outa frozen pasta for two and tossed it in the microwave.
When she turned around juice was standing right in front of her. He grabbed her face gently and kissed her. She melted and threw her arms around him. he deepend the kiss. his tounge dancing with hers in a smooth rhythm. He moved his hand down her body searchingly and brushed up against ravens rib harder then he had intended. she was already tender from the ride to and from the clubhouse. she winced and broke the kiss shoving him away hard. "FUCK god dammit juice." She paused doubled over in pain almost panting. Her ribs were on fire and not in a good way. "im….. Im sorry juice." She said panting in pain. " I thought maybe I could uhm… after we rode on your bike and it didn't hurt too bad but…. I…" she trailed off. Tears in her eyes "Shit. Im so sorry raven… I just…..thought . You were giving me the green light on the ride over here and I just wanted to kiss you again ." Juice said as approached raven slowly. He was thinking how much alike raven and a wounded wild animal were. The words 'no sudden movements' kept flashing through his mind. The harder juiced tried it felt like the more he fucked up. "maybe I should leave this poor girl alone, im doing more damage then helping" juice thought to himself silently.
After the pain subsided Ravens spoke. "Juice…. Im not going to be able to do all of the things youre used to other girls doing for you.." she trailed off. "fuck them!" he scoffed. He got a big goofy grin on his face and looked raven up and down. "youre hot as fuck! Youre smart, youre not afraid to get dirty, you dont ask a lot of questions. Youre like the ideal old lady." juice's eyes got wide realizing what he just said that out loud. To raven. He visably started to sweat. Raven was frozen in shock. They stared at eachother for what felt like an eternity just waiting for the other to do something. Say something.
"Can we start over??" Juice blurted out. Raven started to laugh hysterically. This guy really had no brain to mouth filter. She wiped her eyes and said " juice…. Relax.I came to the realization today. Up until last night I was still thinking about just leaving. Everything. taking my car my tools and leaving in the middle of the night. But I love charming and I love teller morrow and I love the sons. I cant leave the only thing ive ever been good at and you guys have showed me more love and respect here then ive ever gotten in my whole life. I saw the blood on your collar when you walked back in tonight and the only thing I thought about was how mad at you I was before you left. What if something had happened to you and I was mad at you. It scared me. This is where I wanna be and ill fight with all I got to keep it." Juice just nodded in understanding. There was nothing to say. He knew raven wanted this life even if she didn't outright say it. And that was good enough for him. For now anyway.
