Chapter 15: A Party Ain't A Party Till…

Jax slammed a bottle of Jack down on the table with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Let's burn it down, boys!" he yelled. Tig and Opie immediately pulled out a chair and plopped down, pounding the table along with Chibs. Tara threw up her hands exiting her chair, "Oh no! I'm not doing that again!"

"Come on, Tara!" Jax grinned reaching for her.

"No way!" she giggled, scooting out of reach and heading for the bar. "Some of us have to work tomorrow!"

"Grab a glass, kiddies!" Tig grinned leaning over the table to be heard, "Show her what you're fuckin' made of Juicy!"

Raniyah watched as more bodies crowded the table, banging their fists down making more of a commotion by the second. "What are they doing?!"

"Shots!" Juice yelled back.

Somebody started the chant…Shots! Shots! Shots!…which was apparently the call of the wild because Happy dragged a chair over and Kip appeared like magic with more glasses and another bottle of Jack Daniel's that Chibs grabbed and opened.

"You in, sweetheart?" Jax asked, pausing.

Raniyah looked at Juice who shrugged and grabbed a glass. "Yep!" And just like that Raniyah abandoned her vodka concoction for the bottle of whiskey that Jax was pouring.

"Yeah!" Jax hollered and finished pouring. He held up his glass, "To the rubber!" he started. And they all picked up the next line in a roar."To the leather! May we all ride together!" Everyone who could reach it landed two hard slaps on the table and tossed back their shots.

Juice watched Raniyah swallow her shot in one gulp impressed, drinking together was something that they had never done. As Jax began another sloppy pour, the hard drumming on the table bounced the glasses, making him slosh alcohol all over the place. Scooping them up, everyone raised their glass and Chibs yelled, "For my brothers!"

"For my brothers!" the gathering roared back and drank again.

After Raniyah swallowed the fourth round of shots, she shook her head wincing, falling back in her chair, "Woo!"

Juice leaned toward her, "Had enough?"

Raniyah could feel the warmth that the vodka had spread through her body being chased by the whiskey, loosening her joints and making her head heavy. In a few minutes, walking straight was going to be a problem. Nodding her head, she crossed her eyes, laughing, "The vodka says I need some air and the whiskey agrees!"

Standing, Juice motioned for her to get up, "Come on."

Stepping outside was exactly what she needed. The night air was crisp and clear, a welcome change from the smoke-laden air in the clubhouse. Wobbly, she tried to climb up on the table. On her second try, Juice tried to help her, cracking up at war with imbalance. "What are you doing?"

Fanning herself, she smiled wide and laid down on the picnic table with her ankles crossed. Closing her eyes, she sighed, weakly holding up two fingers, "Taking a break. Two minutes!"

Plopping down on the bench, he sat with his back to her, and leaned back on his elbows. Remembering her morning, he asked, "How did the call go with your boss?"

"Ugh! You were right, I'm not fired but can we do business talk tomorrow? I no thinky-thinky."

Juice chuckled, "Didn't figure you for a lightweight."

"I'm not!" She flopped her arm across her eyes, "You guys just drink like you're tryin' to die!"

"You know they got beds in the back, baby girl. I could take you if you want."

Raniyah's eyes snapped open at hearing a deep voice that didn't belong to Juice. Standing at her feet was a younger vested man, with a vine tattoo running down the side of his face to his neck and a smile that told her he wasn't interested in helping her out so much as helping himself.

Juice's response was immediate and sharp, "I got her."

His eyes trailed up her body to her face. "Come on, brother. I was just asking her."

Juice stood up, "And I answered you."

"Nope! No beds!" Raniyah jerked herself up, holding on to Juice's arm, not wanting to look as intoxicated as she really was. Ooooh boy…getting up that fast was not a smart move. Wrapping her arms around Juice's waist, she held on for dear life and gave the guy a weak smile. "This guy is all I need."

"There's your answer," Juice snapped, resting his hand on the back of her neck.

Mr. Face Tattoo stepped backward away from the table with a smirk, "Just offering, man. See you around, gorgeous."

Whatever look he and Juice shared before he ambled off, Raniyah missed because she had buried her face in his side to stop the sky from spinning. Thank god he had a black shirt on because at this point it had more of her lipstick on it than her lips did.

"Shit," she muttered, releasing him and sitting up straight.

"Alright girl, feet on the floor. Let's go shoot some pool."

"Water first?"

Juice chuckled at his inebriated friend, letting her use his arm to get down from the table. "Water first, come on."

0.o.0.o.0.

Walking back inside, Juice's hands on her were possessive. He stayed a finger's length away at all times, guiding her through the crowd by her hips or shoulders. He leaned against her back with his arm wrapped around her neck and shoulders or pulled her to lean on him every time they stood still. When they sat, he kept his arm on the back of her chair. Since he had no claim on her, he figured he would settle for making it damn uncomfortable for anyone to approach her.

All of the physical closeness was second nature to Raniyah. Without giving it a thought she curled into his chest at the pool table until it was time for him to take his shot. She held full conversations with other people with his chin resting on her shoulder or his hand on her back. She had her finger hooked in one of his belt loops or her hand gripping the bottom of his cut for every trip to the bar or outside. Both of them were more than a little loose from drinking, enjoying inside jokes from their youth and the new connection fully taking root between the grown-up versions of themselves.

At the pool table, Juice's body language was closed off and prickly with every croweater that stepped to him. However, in time, the two that he hoped would find themselves a new target with all the extra men in the house that night, found him. Slipping in between the bodies of the group crowding the pool table, Zoe walked up to him quickly, seizing her moment while Juice was away from Raniyah's side lining up his shot. She put her hand on his chest, "What can I get you?" Lowering her voice to an intimate volume, she murmured, "I miss you."

He swiftly brushed her hand from his chest with quick glance Raniyah's way, finding her laughing with Jax and Tara at the end of the table - thankfully not looking at him. His ears were blazing thinking Zoe was too new for this kind of bullshit. Purposely not addressing her 'I miss you' statement, his tone was cold when he answered.

"I don't want nothing." Turning back to his game, he pointedly gave her his back.

Just minutes later, while he was sitting down in the middle of listening to one of Tig's wildly embellished stories, Trina bent down draping herself around his shoulders. Deliberately looking Raniyah in the face, she licked her lips and in a voice dripping with sexual overtones she said, "Hey cuteness, miss me yet?"

Juice was immediately reactive, sitting forward and shoving her arm off. Trina held up her hands in a mock apology, giggling and standing up straight. Amused by the way she had jolted the smile off of his new 'not-a-mexican' friend's face, she ignored the fire in his eyes and the set of his jaw, cooing, "Call me soon, baby…a week without is far too long for us."

Winking at Raniyah, she turned around and disappeared into the crowd, her ass barely contained in the fabric swatch of a skirt she was wearing. Wow. Okay, bitch.

Juice's fury at not being in control of what just happened and the added embarrassment of Raniyah witnessing it, had his ears flaming. His eyes blazed as they followed Trina crossing the room to Zoe. Smiling at something Trina said, Zoe looked back his way. Her smile faltered when she saw the unfamiliar hard look of disdain on Juice's face. Next to him, Raniyah had recovered quickly, at least on the outside and the table picked up their conversation again as if nothing had happened. What had just happened was a shot at her and she was pissed. Her smile seemed easy but inside she didn't know how to feel about the obvious challenge and to her annoyance, Trina and Zoe moved to the bar to watch their table. Who the hell do these bitches think they are? Their combined stare-down burned into her while Juice had his back to them both. Their overplayed attempt at being menacing raised her hackles up and she was sick of them. Fuck playing nice, these hoes are doing too much. Raniyah stood up and turned her chair toward them making it so her entire body faced them when she sat back down. She glared back until Juice caught it and looked over his shoulder. The look of contempt he gave them caused both Trina and Zoe to abandon their posturing and find something else to do.

Swiveling his head back to Raniyah, whose eyes were still following their movement, he leaned close to her ear, "You okay?"

Her smile didn't have anywhere near its normal brilliance when she answered him, adjusting her chair back to face the table, "Yeah. Don't worry about it." But he did worry about it.

To add to Juice's discomfort, a nomad he only knew by the name of Whip was watching Raniyah reapply her lipstick with his mouth slightly open and a dazed look in his eyes. He had been watching her intently for a while. Juice first noticed while they were still at the pool tables that he had settled with his chair against the wall to give himself a clear view of the room, his gaze was guarded but noticeable since Juice was constantly standing or sitting next to her. He had pointed him out to Chibs earlier, who also took note of his overt looks their way. Juice couldn't really make a big deal out of it as long as he made no move. The fact was he wasn't the only one looking, it was just the way he was doing it that was touching a nerve. Whip's stares were longer and more obvious as the night wore on. To Juice, it felt like he was memorizing every inch of her. He tried to ignore it, but he was itching to make it stop with a hard drive of his fist right into one of Whip's ogling eyes.

"Hey! Juice!" Clay whistled and motioned him over to where he was huddled with Happy and Tig. Shit! He couldn't bring Raniyah with him for that.

Raniyah's eyes had already followed his to Clay, "Hey, Clay needs me for a second."

Juice hated seeing alarm cross her face. He had sworn to stick with her for the whole party and they weren't supposed to handle any business tonight, but whatever it was apparently couldn't wait. "Stick with Chibs, okay? I'll be right back, I promise…don't leave."

Knowing he had to move quickly, his eyes were pleading with her not to argue. She knew it wasn't his fault but hated it all the same. Looking around for Chibs, she sighed with relief at spotting him. "Okay."

Juice noticed how Whip sat up straighter out of the corner of his eye with dread. This motherfucker. Motioning to Chibs who was standing at the pool table, Juice gave him a head tilt indicating that he had to go to Clay. Chibs gave a nod and Juice nudged Raniyah in his direction hurrying over to Clay's table with one eye on the nomad. Juice was away from Raniyah's side for less than thirty seconds before Whip boldly got up to cross the room. Chibs fixed his eyes on him tracking his progress and demanded another brother get up to offer her his seat but coming up behind her Whip was cut off by Opie.

The determined man approached where she stood near the pool table and the watchful giant put his arm around her. Tossing his rumbling voice over his shoulder, he tucked her into his side, "Keep walking."

Startled, Raniyah turned her head to see who he was talking to and froze at seeing the dark lust in the man's blue eyes. She had, in fact, noticed him across the room earlier, his gaze made her skin crawl then - up close it was downright disturbing. Chibs noted it, too, his watchful expression went tense waiting for the man to walk away but he stayed. This time Opie turned all the way around to look at him, forcing the game to a halt with his arm still around Raniyah. Dropping his head to kiss her on her temple, he never broke eye contact with Whip. "How you doin' tonight, man?"

"You know, Op. Alright." His voice was a higher pitch than his looks prepared her for. He was barely an inch taller than she was, barrel-chested, muscular, and his short brown hair was shaven low.

"Ain't seen you in a while."

"Yeah. Spent some time Vegas."

Juice was coming out of his skin watching it unfold with quick glances over while Clay was running down what he needed him to dig up on one of the businesses in Lodi that was attacked. It was an easy request but Clay had had just enough to drink to begin repeating himself. Jesus Christ! Juice's leg bounced under the table, his anxiety going through the roof for wanting to get back over to Raniyah.

Chibs edged over, picking up on how Opie was choosing to handle the Nomad. "Jail or with the club?" he asked.

Whip's eyes flashed annoyance at the question, but smirked with a quick chuckle, "Both."

Chibs called out for a crow eater to get the man a drink. Raniyah put her arms around Opie's waist fully, trying to find somewhere to look besides at the man in front of her - aware that their words were fashioned to be friendly but the atmosphere was anything but.

"Who's your friend?" Whip asked, his eyes raking over Raniyah in a way that made her nostrils flare in disgust.

Opie's face was neutral, his posture casual but his tone - a warning. "Not important…but she is a friend."

Whip blinked at the emphasis within the answer. Accepting the beer that was handed to him, he lifted it to his lips with a hand covered in tattoos. His narrowing eyes locked in on Raniyah's wide ones as he swallowed. "I see."

Chibs shifted his weight to one foot, "I hope ya do, brotha."

Whip held up his beer, tipping it in thanks and gave Raniyah one more lecherous once over before heading back to his table. Juice saw the last look he gave Raniyah and forced himself to breathe slower. Maybe this is going to be an even earlier night for her.

Being released from his talk with Clay, Juice hustled back to Raniyah, walking into her hug first thing. She didn't care that he might think it was silly that she was hugging him so tight or that he might be annoyed that she was gripping his cut in her sweaty palms, creasing it. Without thinking about the eyes of his brothers, Juice impulsively dropped a warm kiss on her forehead. Without releasing her, he clasped hands with Opie over her shoulder. "Thanks, man."

Opie dismissed his gratitude for handling the nomad with a head shake and bent down for his next shot. Needing to hear her say it out loud, he asked "You good?"

Looking up into his concerned face, she pressed her lips together in a dimpled smile, "Yep…but don't do that again."

Juice's face transformed slowly into a lopsided, affectionate smile once he was sure she wasn't putting on a brave face. "You wanna leave?"

"No," she stepped back and giggled lightly. "But I could use another drink right about now."

0.o.0.o.0.

As the night set in and so did the drunkenness and club rivalry. From the pool table, Juice didn't see who kicked it off but a fight broke out and total chaos engulfed the room.

"Aw, shit!" he groaned. Chairs and tables were being knocked around, and bodies everywhere were either on the receiving end or doling out nasty punches and swinging elbows. Juice snatched Raniyah around to the other side of the pool table to get her out of harm's way but the ruckus seemed to have ignited all over the room in one spontaneous burst. He couldn't get to the hallway to put her in a room or out the entrance door. No newbie to bar fights, Raniyah grabbed a pool cue just before he shoved her into the corner nearest to them.

Every time a body got flung his way he sent it flying back into the wild flurry of leather, tattooed-covered arms and fists fortified with sizable rings. Juice swung on the first guy that came for him in the corner where he was covering Raniyah, clearing him off of his feet.

"Here!" Raniyah yelled from behind him. Juice snatched the pool cue from her and swung it at the next man that charged their way. Spotting Chibs, Juice yelled for him and hit the man again, shoving him hard in his brother's direction. Chibs grabbed him with a smile loving the mayhem and yanked him over the pool table back into the fray. Clay's three whistles were loud and piercing enough to be heard over the music and the fracas, breaking the men's concentration on wrecking each other. It was over as fast as it had begun.

With eyes on the bodies in the room, wanting to see if anyone was going to initiate a part two, he turned his head slightly to yell, "You okay?!"

"Yeah!" Raniyah had a disbelieving smile on her lips, peeking over his shoulder at the guys getting up from the floor and putting the room back in order. "Holy shit! You guys are extra!"

While Juice wasn't surprised by it, it wasn't the impression he wanted her to have of his family or his club. With the melee over, Gemma caught sight of them in the corner. Observing Juice and Raniyah's interactions from behind the bar where she stood with Tara. Her eyes took in the pool cue and the way he held his position in front of her. She smirked, wiping the glass pieces from the bar top into the trash. Friends my ass.

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A/N: Heeeeeey new readers or repeat readers...I can't tell which but I appreciate you! Is this party not giving the Friday-est Friday vibes ever? The final piece of the party is coming next week. For the record, IT IS KILLING ME not to dump it on you right now. KILLING ME! My suffering is for you, luvs. It's all for you. *kjx*