Thanks to ks, Angel897, Robin.D, wheredidallthedreamersgo, and Hannah for the reviews. Also a thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed. I hope you're all still enjoying this story. Finally a Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!
Enjoy.
Chibs wakes up the next morning and he really was getting too old to drink like this. He drags his 44-year-old ass out of bed and it's not until he's three steps to the attached bathroom that he realizes River should have been in the bed next to him. He spins on his heel to confirm the bed is now empty, the sheets pulled back. Franticly his eyes scan the room and he finds her boots and jeans missing but the leather jacket is still thrown over the foot board.
He rubs a hand over his face with a groan and snatches his jeans off the floor, pulling them on. He doesn't bother with the button as he slams out of the dorm room and down the hall into the clubhouse in bare feet. The sight of the clubhouse after a Friday night party is familiar. Brothers are still asleep around the room. Chibs makes out Bobby face down on the worn couch by the pool table, a half-naked woman draped across his back. Happy is spread across the felt of the pool table, a croweater's head on each shoulder. Kozik, that blond bastard, is asleep sitting up a redhead curled into his lap. Chibs lets his eyes drift taking stock of the rest of the room's occupants and only finds one clear missing person, River.
"Mother fucking christ." He lets the words out on a breath and starts to pick his way across the room towards the door, dodging broken glass and sticky looking spots as he goes. He swears to god if that damn woman chose now to try and make some sort of escape he's going to find her and then wring her little neck promises or no. He honestly thought they'd reached a bit of an agreement the night before.
She'd scared him with that shit at the poker table. Watching Clay get more and more worked up as she won hand after hand had put Chibs on edge. Walking the neutral line with the MC president was getting harder and harder. Chibs can feel the moment coming up quick where he'd be forced to pick a side. He'd made things more dangerous for himself with the promises made the night before but he hadn't been able to resist.
He likes River. He can't help it. Three days holed up with her in his house, only the occasional visitor to break up the time, is more time than he thinks he's spent with a woman in years. It helps that she's funny, seemingly intelligent, and calm under pressure. In fact, her generally cool head is what made the night before so shocking.
He'd sensed the outburst brewing but the sight of her so worked up had been impressive. He can still see her, hands flying, a flush climbing her chest to her cheeks. If she'd had a voice she would have been yelling. He has no idea what she'd signed in the little tirade but he could tell by her face some of had probably been cathartic. He'd let her rant it out knowing she needed the release but his mind had been racing ahead.
If any of his suspicions about her were correct then she was caught in the midst of a dangerous game. One more likely to get her killed than out whole and Chibs has played dangerous games like this before. Calm was good, calm kept you alive. He liked her calm and controlled, it created a little spark of hope that she would get out of everything fine. Angry though, angry made people do stupid things and the last thing the lass needed was to do something stupid.
He hadn't recognized the fuck you when she'd signed, but it didn't take a genius to get that it was something rude, and he'd reacted on instinct. He's still not sure where the promises he'd made came from though. It was just the feel of her too thin body pressed up against his and her too big eyes staring him down almost completely unguarded. God, he had a serious white knight syndrome. He'd never been able to help himself when a fiery damsel in distress turned up. He'd meant what he said though.
He meant it so hard and, then, after. When she'd done her little relaxation magic trick. The feel of her smooth skin under his hand and the weed had hit him, everything about her had looked so soft and so lost and so vulnerable. She'd let him pull her in tight and it had felt like permission to care about her. He'd let himself take the moment, he'd needed it. Now he stands barefoot the next morning and the little witch might have run off on him. Christ he's a lost cause.
He pushes open the door to the clubhouse and the morning light hits his face like a mac-truck. He squints momentarily blinded and shuffles out, turning blindly towards the picnic tables. As his vision clears he looks around, scanning over discarded beer bottles and leftover plates from the night before. His eyes finally hit the last table outside the overhang and his shoulders sag in relief.
River is sitting at the table, a cigarette between her lips, watching Jax talk while Opie and Tig laugh. Jax must be telling a funny story because he's gesturing with his hands as he speaks. He clearly hits the punchline as Chibs approaches as Tig and Opie let out loud full laughs and River huffs out her last drag on the fag, a smile on her face.
"Yeh all having a nice brunch then?" He keeps his tone light and steps up to the table as he talks.
"Just reliving last night brother." Jax smiles as he speaks and Chibs can't find anything insincere in the younger man's face.
"Tig and River were filling us in on the end of the game. Tig was also filling us in on the sweetbutt he finally convinced to give him a good night." Opie speaks with his face turned to River and Chibs can see her eyes watching the move of his lips. He glances down at the table and sees she's snagged his smokes for the morning. Cheeky bitch.
"That so Tiggy? Found a woman who can put up that firehose yeh call a dick?" They all laugh again and Chibs drops into the seat next to River as he speaks, snatching his smokes off the table. "These," he waves his hand to get her attention, "are mine, yeh hear me?" She rolls her eyes and holds up her middle finger.
"Someone has gotten comfortable." Opie's voice is teasing.
"Aye, fucking prisoner my arse. Clearly no one told the bint she's on lockdown." Chibs growls the words and lights a smoke, cutting his eyes over to River's. She's calm and collected her eyes drifting lazily from man to man.
"Sometimes the ladies are into that man." Tig has a faraway look in his eyes as he speaks. "You know, the fantasy. They just want you to sneak up on them one day and bam," he slams his palm on the table for emphasis, "fuck em right in the ass." Chibs snorts in laughter and he doesn't miss how River's eyes go wide.
"Jesus you're a sick fuck." Opie wipes a hand down his smiling face as he speaks.
River waves her hand to get their attention and pushes the notepad towards Tig, her neat writing clear on the page. Tig snatches up the pad and from the easy way he starts to read out loud Chibs realizes this isn't the first note she's passed this morning.
"Better be careful, someone may turn the tables on you one day." Tig shakes his head while Opie and Jax laugh.
"Woman has yeh there Tigger." Chibs teases.
"Yea," Jax adds, "I mean one minute you're working on your bike and then bam," he mimics Tig's earlier palm slap, "fucked right up the ass."
"You're all assholes." Tig is miming hurt, almost pouting and Jax and Opie start in on him again.
Chibs lets their conversation fade away and stares at River until she looks over meeting his eyes. He tilts his head just enough and he hopes she understands he's asking if she's okay. She nods just enough and then smiles big letting out a small laugh and he realizes she's acting along with the conversation of the other men even as she looks at him. It's a skill he knows takes practice and he wonders why the hell she has it.
"Shit, we have to move on that bullet run. Chibs, you guys good here." All three men stand as Tig speaks.
"Aye, I'll have the prepay if yeh need me." Jax nods and claps a hand to his shoulder as he moves past.
"River, a pleasure." She meets Jax's words with a nod and smile.
Chibs watches as they move towards bikes. He waits until they're past the gate out of the lot before he shifting to straddle the bench so he's facing River. She's just lit another cigarette, staring out into the morning sun, one hand tapping out a random pattern on the old wood table. He pokes a finger into her thigh to get her attention.
"What do yeh think yer doing?" His accent is thick on the question. She exhales smoke through her nose and reaches for the pen.
Keeping my head in the game.
He cocks and eyebrow. "Are yeh, aye?" She nods and starts to write again. He waits while she writes out what seems to be a long message, taking a drag from his own smoke. She pushes the pad towards him.
It's harder to kill someone you've laughed with.
He feels like she's underestimating his brothers but he keeps reading.
They don't like Clay. Every time his name comes up Jax goes tense and runs his hand through his hair. Opie tugs his beard. Tig isn't sure but he's lost.
Chibs shakes his head and snatches the pen scratching through the words until they can't be seen. If she's going to write shite like that they need to find a medium that leaves less evidence.
"Tig is not lost." Even as he says the words Chibs knows they're not true. The Sergeant at Arms had been drifting recently and Chibs knows the divide created by the Cartel deal is just getting wider. River is pushing the notepad back towards him.
He thinks the bullet run is beneath him.
Chibs again starts to scratch the words out but River makes an annoyed noise and snatches back the pad, ripping off the top page he watches as she sets it on fire holding it between two fingers until the flames lick close to her hand before dropping it to smear the ash under a booted foot. She writes clean on a fresh sheet of paper.
We wouldn't have to talk like this if you'd get me a phone.
He tilts his head to the side not sure what she means. "Yeh can talk on the phone?"
There's an app. Speaks for me. Need an air-gapped Android smartphone.
She underlines the "air-gapped" part and Chibs has no idea what that means but he rips the page off the pad and tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans with a nod. "I'll ask Juice later." She shrugs in response and stands, she's turning to go inside when he puts his hand on her thigh.
"Yeh should go get some more sleep. I'll wake yeh when it's time to head back to the house." She stares down at him for a long moment and then signs thank you. He is surprised when instead of dropping her hand afterward she slides the fingers through his hair, tugging gently at his shaggy locks. It's the move of one lover comforting another and he gets the message loud and clear. It's all going to be okay. He wonders what it is that makes her strong enough to offer him comfort.
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