"A family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we'd give blood." ~Charles Dickens
As soon as we crossed over the threshold I was assailed by the smell of cigarette smoke, alcohol and the faintest smell of pussy. There were crow eaters everywhere, clinging to the closest guy with a kutt on. People lined the walkway, I was grateful I had a member with me, it made me feel more secure.
"Hi Juicy." One the crow eaters touched him on the arm a little too intimately, running her hand which was donned with long acrylic, red nails under Juice's kutt. He smirked at her before moving her hand from his chest. She looked like she was ready to be in a porn. She was dressed in a short, short school girl skirts and white button up shirt that was tied just under her too large boobs.
"Those aren't real." I said to Juice as we passed by noticing that his eyes had lingered a little too long on her chest.
"Are you jealous?" He jested, letting his eyes drift lazily down to my chest.
"Of those boobs?" looking down at my own. They were large enough for me, and ample handful is all I needed. "No! Mine are just fine, thank you very much." Juice laughed at me as we stopped at a table that was full of women. I recognized one of them from the funeral, she was the one that was dressed like a housewife…now she was not. She had her dark hair tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing a tight black tank top that showed off a bit of cleavage.
"Ladies, this is Half-Sacks little sister, Kylee." Shite, they were the old ladies of the club. I felt my nerves rise; how were they going to treat me? The old ladies in Belfast were not very nice women, it was hard to get in with them. Well, other than Maureen, she had taken me under her wing and treated me as if I were her own.
"Kylee, this is Gemma, Tara and Donna." Juice introduced me. I looked at each of them, Gemma was obviously the matriarch of the club. I could tell by way she held herself. Tara was younger, she was probably in her thirties. She smiled at me warmly. Donna was the woman I had seen at Kip's funeral.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Donna said and offered me a seat with them.
"Thank you." I said as I sat in the chair she offered.
Juice touched me on the back, "Do you want anything to drink?"
"Aye, I'll have a Jameson on the rocks." I said without skipping a beat. Jameson had been my drink of choice for a few years going. I had many a fond memory while drinking it with Trinity and Kerrianne and it had also helped blur away some bad ones.
"That's a big drink for such a little girl." Juice teased as he walked away. I felt the urge to stick my tongue out at him but refrained. Truth was I didn't care for American beer and I needed something strong to take the edge off my frayed nerves.
"He likes you." Gemma said matter of factly. I looked at her with a confused look. "He's attentive to you."
"I just figured he was like that with everyone." I looked at him, he was laughing with a heavy set man with a beard and long curly hair.
Gemma shook her head, "No sweetheart. Just you."
"Will you be staying a while?" Tara asked, it was more out of curiosity then grilling me.
"A week or so, I have to clean out Kip's house and sell the place. Then I'll be heading back to Belfast." I thought of all the stuff in the house it would take me months to really go through it all. I would take it one day at a time and head back to Belfast when I was done. The longer I was away the more wrath I was sure to face with Liam when I got back but I didn't care.
"Let us know if you need any help. We'd be more than happy to do anything you need." Tara smiled, it was a genuine smile.
"I'll do that." I said as a Jameson was placed in front of me. "Thanks, Juice." I turned to him, I saw he had a light beer in his hand. "Are you serious? You make fun of me for drinking a Jameson on the rocks and you drink this shite?" I lightly push his hand with the beer.
"What?" He looked at his beer then takes a drink. "Taste fine to me." He smiled and walked to talk to Jax.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the ladies of SAMCRO; just as a large group of scantily clad women in hooker looking heels walked in. They fanned out across the room, to pretty much each one of the SAMCRO members.
"Whores walking." Gemma said, I frowned but knew that she was talking about the women who had just walked through the door. She continued on, "Those, my dear, are the porn whores from Cara Cara." I watched them. One of them walked up to Juice and put her hand under his kutt running it up and down his chest. She was a blonde, skinny, big boobs. "That's Ima. She has a thing for Juice."
"…And Jax, and Opie and Happy and…" Tara trailed off with an annoyed laugh and a list of names that didn't make sense to me. "Let's just face it she is a porn slut who likes to eat crow." I looked back over at Juice who was talking with Ima but then glanced over at me. I quickly turned away. I wanted to go up to her and punch her in the face. Why did I feel such violence towards her, when I staked no claim to Juice. Maybe it was because I wanted to be doing what she was doing, I wanted to be the center of his attention. I shook off the thought.
"Different country same crow eating bitches. They are all the same aren't they? No matter what charter you go to." I mumbled.
"They are." Donna said, "They will fuck anything with a reaper on it." Looking at the Cara Cara girls with disgust. I took a big drink of my whiskey.
"If you'd excuse me I need some air. All this pussy is making me sick." I said finishing off my Jameson. I heard them laugh joyfully and I thought I heard Gemma say something about me fitting in just fine.
I walked out the door and over to the boxing ring, I ran my hand over the mat and smiled at the fact that I was touching a ring where Kip had been only several days before. To the left of the ring there was a punching bag hanging from the rafters. I punched it softly at first but then I let loose and took out everything that had been pent up in me for months. It felt so good to get my aggression out. I could have stayed there all night knocking the bag around, however I knew I was being rude to my hosts. The party after all was in my brother's memory. I don't know how long they were watching me but when I turned around there were some guys standing there and they all started clapping. I saw him, Juice had been watching me too. It was strange I could pick him out of the crowd. I curtsied a few time before walking away from the bag.
"That's one hell of a right hook you have, darlin'" A man with scars on either side of his face; he had a Scottish accent said. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"My brother." I said as I walked up to them.
"Aye, your Half Sack's sister. I'm Chibs." As soon as he said his name I knew who he was. My friend, Kerrianne's father.
"You're Kerrianne's da." I looked at him, I could see her in him. She looked more like her mother, Fiona but there was a small bit of Chibs in her. It was the eyes.
"Aye, you know my Kerri?" He smiled as he came up and took me in his arms and embraced me tightly. I was sure it was because he wanted to have a small piece of her near him.
"That I do. She's one of my closest friends." I returned his embrace.
"Then you're okay with me love." He kissed me on the lips. Something that I was used to. The Irish would do that when the accepted people. It wasn't as sign of attraction but more a sign of approval. I smiled as we back away from each other. "Tell her that I love her."
"Better yet, why don't you..." I pulled out my mobile phone and dialed Kerri's number. I knew it was close to 10 pm in California so it would be close to 6 am in Belfast. She picked up.
"It's early here you know." Kerrianne's voice on the other line sounded tired.
"Aye, I know that. I have someone who wants to talk to you." I handed the phone to Chibs and walked away, giving him some time to talk to Kerri.
"That was nice of you." Jax walked up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. He was an attractive man. "Sounds like the ladies like you."
"Nice is my middle name." I joked. "I like the ladies too. They are all very nice, which is very unlike the old ladies in Belfast. They protect their club and their spots in the club. I don't understand because I have never been a threat. I have always been Liam's girl, which according to Mo, is held in a much higher standard." I rolled my eyes. "Higher, ah it's good to be queen," I said sarcastically. "What's not love about armored cars, armed escorts and constantly being watched and controlled?" I stepped back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so down."
"It's okay darlin'" He said as we started walking back towards the clubhouse. Juice joined us.
"I got you another drink." He handed me another Jameson.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" He smiled at me and shrugged. "You should know that I have lived in Ireland for 8 years. It is going to take a LOT more than two Jameson whiskeys to get me drunk." I smirked. "By the way what happened to you friend?" I asked as I shoved him lightly.
"Oh you saw that?" He sounded concerned. How could I have missed it?
"Yes, I did. She's quite a hooker…oh I mean looker." He laughed at me.
The rest of the evening flew by quickly. I got to know Tara, Gemma and Donna better. It was like we were old friends by the end of the evening. Gemma had even invited me over for dinner the following night, which was pretty much reserved for club members and their old ladies. I felt so accepted. It felt like home. I knew why my brother loved his other family so much. Juice took me home and the ride was just as exhilarating at the first time. Juice wanted to make sure I made it into the house without a hassle, so he walked me to the door. That was a first for me.
"Thanks for bringing me this evening. I had a really good time." I smiled, as a warm feeling flushed through me. I was slightly tipsy from all the drinks I had been fed. I was surprised how much I drank by the end of the night; it's funny how much you can drink when you are having a good time with people you like.
"You're welcome." Juice smiled as he leaned towards me so his face was just inches from me. I looked at him, he was so close, I could smell the liquor on his breath. His eyes were a warm chocolate brown and they oozed passion and want. Then he kissed me. His kiss was soft and passionate. How could something so wrong, feel so right? I thought to myself. I pushed him away.
"I can't. I'm sorry." I fumbled as I tried to get my keys out of my bag. He looked at me with a confused look on his face. "I have a boyfriend, Liam. I can't." I thought about what he would do to me if he had found out I had kissed another man. "I'm so sorry Juice." He nodded.
"It's okay. I just assumed that you were into me." Oh I was. I was.
He deserved my honestly, "Believe me, if it wasn't for Liam…." I trailed off, then through all my good sense to the wind and kissed him fervently. When we finally parted I felt fevered and warm. I could still feel where his lips were on mine, my skin burned where he touched me. "You should go before I do anything else I might regret."
"Yeah." He smiled slyly at me. I watched as he walked down the sidewalk and got on his Harley and drive away. It was then I realized was falling; I only prayed that I wouldn't fall too hard.