2: Long Lost Uncle

Zeke was running through a checklist in his mind, trying to remember if he forgot anything important for the party. It's been so long since he'd been a host, he was worried he was going to ruin the night by forgetting something major. He just hoped he could scrape by and make it a decent event for his friends to attend.

A wide grin formed on his lips when he saw Jay arrive. He had offered her his room so she could change for the party and he was expecting her to accept since the pair acted like a married couple now, but she declined. One of the main reasons was because she didn't want to draw too much attention to their relationship, what with Rodney's condom joke.

"Hey, you look beautiful," he greeted her with a quick peck.

Regardless of their time together and the countless times he had complimented her, Jay smiled and bowed her head shyly. "I kind of feel like I overdressed, but thank you."

"You kidding? You look good in stripes."

"As would you, hon."

Zeke took a swig of his beer and shook his head. "Naaah. I'll leave the looking good part to you."

"Too late." Jay tippy toed and kissed his cheek before scanning the party. "So how is it? You need anything? Everything good?"

"I hope so."

"I take it you're drinking because you're trying to relax then?" Jay pointed to Zeke's beer. Although he was just shy a year, Zeke drank occasionally at home which was better than drinking out in a club. Or a bar.

He shrugged. "What? I'm at home and I'm not planning to go anywhere."

"What if I were to need a ride back home?"

Grinning playfully, Zeke slouched over her and placed a finger under her chin. "About that—"

The front door opened again and Virgil Fox popped his head in. He smiled and waved once he saw Zeke. "Hey!"

Cracking the door open even more, Virgil was followed by Stephanie Jameson, Charlie Tuttle and Jeanette Pachelewski.

"Guys, nice to see that you made it." Zeke greeted each one of his friends with a quick handshake and a hug. Virgil and Charlie luckily grew since high school, but they still didn't reach Zeke's towering height. However out of the three of them, Charlie had changed the most. His two friends were glad to see that he was at least taller than Jeanette now.

"Here, we all pitched in to buy this for your dad." Virgil handed Zeke a decent sized birthday bag. As the tall teen led his group of friends through his small house, he lifted his beer bottle.

"You guys can have some and spend the night if you want. My father won't really care."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Do you know what alcohol does to your brain cells?"

"Okay, well Charlie's obviously out."

Virgil raised his hand, being the only one that was actually of age to consume alcohol. "I'll take one."

Everyone else politely declined the offer. Jay was the only other one who snuck sips from Zeke's bottle here and there. The group found Rodney amongst his own friends and wished him a Happy Birthday before going off and enjoying the food. They sat in a circle out on the porch, laughing and sharing stories when the front door opened and a man came stumbling in. Curious as to who the late party guest was, Zeke gently prompted Jay off his lap and went to check it out. The closer he got, the more familiar the man seemed and Zeke's blood froze before he made it past the kitchen.

It was Earl Thompson, his good-for-nothing uncle.

The way Zeke saw it, Uncle Earl had been responsible for the crappy parts of his life. He was the one that got his father addicted to smoking and drinking, he got involved with bad people, he almost put their motorcycle shop out of business and he never gave any support when Rodney and Zeke needed it. As far as Zeke knew, Earl wasn't around to give Rodney emotional stability when his wife (Zeke's mother) passed. In the past years of his absence, things slowly started getting better. Earl hadn't passed through the Thompsons' mind once and now that he was back, Zeke wished he had stayed gone.

The tall biker approached his uncle with a scowl. "What are you doing here?"

The man slightly resembled his father, but he was worse for wear. He smiled, showing his yellowed teeth. "Look at you, Zeke Thompson! You're even taller than your pop!"

He opened his arms for an embrace, but Zeke stayed where he was.

"I repeat. What. Are you doing here?"

Earl looked confused. "Well…It's Rod's birthday today, isn't it? Or did I forget AGAIN?"

Like you forgot for the past six years?

Zeke felt a hand on his arm.

"Is everything okay?" Jay muttered, keeping a careful eye on the newcomer in response to Zeke's hostility towards him.

"I'm disgusted to say he's my uncle."

"Well, considerin' the banners and the food and all these party guests, I say I'm not mistakin'," Earl said with a drunkenly smug smile.

Zeke glared at him while he thought of courses of action. Since it was Rodney's special day Zeke figured the final say should be left to him. Looking back, he saw his father already making his way up to the front towards them. Rodney's eyes didn't gleam in joy at seeing his brother after his six-year absence; his expression remained stern. "Earl, what do you need after all this time?"

Earl shrugged. "What, I can't come and say Happy Birthday to my younger brother?"

Zeke gritted his teeth, despising his uncle's voice. Aside from that, he felt Earl had an ulterior motive and he wished he knew what it was. Rodney remained distant and serious.

"Well, if that's the case, thank you. You're welcome to stay until the party ends, but that's it you hear? Don't start any problems."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

The way he said it made ants crawl down Zeke's spine and he turned tail to head back to the porch, Jay following him closely. He leaned on the wooden rails and took a big gulp of beer.

I'm going to need a lot more than I thought.

Sensing her significant other was uneasy, Jay rubbed circles in his back without saying a word, figuring he'd start talking when he was ready.

"Dude, are you okay?" Virgil asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

The biker didn't like having an audience when it came to having personal conversations, Jay knew that. To leave Virgil and Zeke alone, she turned and asked their friends if they had tried all the food, leading them inside to the kitchen.

It took another minute before Zeke started talking. He ran a hand up and down his face in frustration. "I don't understand what he's doing here."

"What do you mean?"

"Virg, this guy's a dick," Zeke said bluntly, jabbing a finger behind him to indicate Earl. "He's only coming around because he needs something from us, like my father said, and it bothers the shit out of me that I can't figure out what it could be."

"Do you really think he'd do that on your dad's birthday?"

"He's done worse before."

"Well…I don't know your uncle as well as you do but today IS your father's birthday. It's been a while since you guys have done something like this for anything," he glanced back at the guests in the house. "We should just try to enjoy it, figure out the rest of this stuff later."

Zeke sighed. Virgil did have a point…as usual. "All right."

The pair rejoined their friends and went back to relaxing on the porch, although Zeke snuck glances of Earl occasionally. The tension soon eased and the group was back to joking like before. After finishing her second beer, Jay asked Virgil and Zeke if they wanted another one, heading to the kitchen to check the fridge for any drinks. After she rinsed her hands she leaned on the sink for a while, acknowledging the buzzed feeling the alcohol was starting to bring.

I'm such a light weight.

She felt a body lean against her and a hand trail up her leg, lifting her skirt as it snaked up her thigh. For a split second, she thought it was Zeke and she turned to confront him. Her heart froze when she turned to face Uncle Earl.

"So yer one of Zeekie's friends are ya?" Uncle Earl asked with a slur in his words. "Yer very pretty."

Even though Jay's heart hammered in fear, she pushed Earl's hand away. He had a glass full of alcohol and he took a gulp, stumbling closer and forcing her against the side of the fridge. "And you do know how to pick out a dress."

He was uncomfortably close, running his hand down her waist and reaching the edge of her skirt. The second his hand started lifting it, she gasped and shoved him away on pure instinct. Her throat was beginning to well up so it was getting hard to breathe properly, but she glared at him and found a stern voice. "Get away."

Earl was relentless. He broke the personal bubble bounds again, placing his free hand on her shoulder and running it down her arm. "You know what stripes are good fer?"

He looked down at her chest with a sly smile and used a finger to start pulling the collar of her top down. It made Jay feel dirty and she was about to hit him in the face with the back of her hand when suddenly, Zeke grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him away. The biker forced his uncle to turn and he punched him in the face, sending Earl stumbling over his feet.

"You sick son of a bitch," Zeke snarled before turning his attention to Jay, who was beginning to go into shock. While Virgil and Charlie jumped in front of their friends to block them in case Earl wanted to attack, the biker grabbed Jay's head and forced her to look at him. "Babe, baby are you okay? Did he touch you?"

Jay gulped and shook her head quickly, relieved that he was there to help her.

Zeke quickly embraced her and stroked the back of her head. "It's okay. I'm here."

Jay closed her eyes and clung onto his shirt, trying to get the knot in her throat to loosen. While he comforted her, Zeke glared daggers at Earl, wishing he could give him a few more punches. Earl merely sat up, grabbing the side of his face while exclaiming, "What the hell happened?!"

Upon hearing his voice, Jay's fear was replaced with disgust and anger. She pulled away from the hug, reached down to take off a heel and threw it at Earl's head. "You fucking pervert!"

"Ouch! Fuck!"

Unaware that she was starting to shake (either out of anger or fear, she didn't know), Zeke grabbed her and kissed her forehead before handing her off to Stephanie and Jeanette. The guests had gathered around to see the commotion, but the friends didn't pay any attention to them. Zeke pushed past Virgil and Charlie and gabbed the back of Earl's jacket, practically dragging him to the front door.

"You're going to get up and get the hell out of here," he snarled, ignoring Earl's struggles to get to his feet.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rodney called above all the commotion. He rushed to his son and brother, stepping between them and separating them. "What's going on? Why are you kicking him out of the house?"

Zeke jabbed a finger at Uncle Earl, who was on the floor gasping for air. "That ANIMAL was on the verge of groping Jay, Father."

Rodney looked at Jay-who was in between Stephanie and Jeanette-with a worried expression. They held eye contact for a second before Rodney asked if it was true.

Jay nodded. "He was going up my skirt and pulling my collar down."

Rodney's expression hardened when he looked back at Earl and he bent down to yank him to his feet. "That girl is more a part of this family than you ever will be, Earl. You're lucky she's not deciding to call the cops."

He led him to the door with as much force as Zeke was in fact, he almost made him trip over his own feet again. "I don't care where you go, but don't even think about coming back here again."

With that, he kicked his brother out of his birthday party and slammed the door behind him.