CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. HGHRfan: Chapter 23 you gave me this idea and I didn't have somewhere to put it till now.

The seven of us stay up on the roof for hours talking about the things D and I had gotten up to when we were younger, Al and Cam share a few stories of our time in New York and I feel a pang of sorrow knowing that Cam has to leave in a few hours but her bright laughter at Jax's retelling of the first time I got roped into clean up duty at the clubhouse has the feeling vanishing.

The first bottles are long gone and the second almost halfway down when Opie, Jax and Juice share a look and then order us all down, Donna, Al and I having just started shivering. Cam looks comfortably snug with Jax's hoodie wrapped around her, something I'd had to insist on after I brushed her hand and felt how cold it was. But even with the added layer around her fingers had still been frozen when she'd handed me the last shot.

The four of us reach the ground and wait for the guys to come down. Juice waves us towards the tables when he hits the concrete "Go defrost before you all turn into a peoplesicles."

Al laughs and slides her arm through Cam's pulling her towards the drums. Holding her hands over the flames she sighs "Sorry guys didn't realise how cold it was up there."

I shrug and wrap my arms around her from one side while Al copies me from the other side "We forgot about you and your icicle fingers."

Standing there for a few minutes Cam eventually sighs and smiles at us "I'm good now."

We walk slowly inside, even with the defrosted limbs it's still a bit cold for us being outside. Claiming one of the tables with nothing but a gesture from Opie which has the hang around scrambling to clear it off.

With the guys switching to beer I decide it's best to move to water, having drunk enough vodka in already to have kept several Russian's happy the alcohol is making my brain swim. Jax grins at Cam "So shall we have a replay of our pool game?"

Cam gets to her feet, swaying slightly "Sure."

Most of the extra bodies that appear around the clubhouse have disappeared, along with a good portion of the Sons that were present. Happy and Tig sitting on one of the leather sofa's watching an incredibly busty woman gyrating on the pole and Piney in his normal position at the bar are the only Sons still up apart from the two now heading for the table and Juice who's enthralled with Al's chest moving as she laughs and talks.

Shaking my head wryly I raise an eyebrow at Al "Might wanna take him to bed before he makes a puddle on the table."

Al looks over and chuckles "Sounds like a plan. Cam, make sure you come say bye before you leave tomorrow. What time do you fly out?"

Cam looks up from where she's standing by the pool table "Flight leaves at 1pm."

Al hugs Cam tightly "In case I don't see you before you leave have a good flight back and we'll see you in a week?"

Cam nods as she returns the hug "I'll come back next Friday and we'll fly to New York on Saturday morning, it takes about 8 hours Daddy wants to have a relaxed day on Sunday at home then then the wedding's Monday."

Al nods and pulls Juice up from the chair, pushing him down the hall with a wave over her shoulder.

Cam turns back to the pool table and raises her eyebrow "So who's breaking?"

Opie gestures towards her "We broke last time so it should be your turn this time."

Cam laughs and steps towards the table "May as well put your cues away now then."

The following few minutes are ones I will never forget as long as I live, Cam's initial shot sent three balls into pockets with ricochets that couldn't have been planned better. Her second shot set another two down. The third and fourth shots sunk single balls and the fifth sunk her last ball. Stepping back from the table she picks up her shot glass tips it into her mouth and swallows before grinning "Told you." Barely tapping the cue ball it rolls across the table slowly, brushing against the 8-ball and sending it over the edge of the pocket it was sitting on with an almost anti-climactic clink.

Leaning her cue against the table she comes back to her seat and sits down "I thought if we left here about 1pm we should land 6pm New York time, then we can meet Daddy and Trish for dinner before going to the house."

I clap my hands like a little kid "Keens, please!"

Cam rolls her eyes "I knew you'd say that. I'll get Daddy to ring them and see if they can fit us in."

I poke my tongue out at her "Course they'll fit us in."

Jax and Opie finally regain their ability to move and come back to the table "What the fuck is keens?" Opie asks, picking up his beer.

I groan and lean back into my chair "It's just the best steakhouse in the whole of New York."

Jax chuckles "You in a steakhouse?"

Poking my tongue out at him "Fuck yeah! That place is amazing. You just wait and see."

Cam nods her agreement and rests her elbows on the table "We went there for dinner on Tuesday; Daddy thought he'd be able to eat the entire thing of their mutton chop."

I giggle having seen the huge slab they call a chop "Bet he felt sick afterward?"

Cam drops her head into hands her shoulders shaking with laugher "He didn't even get through a third of it before he gave up."

I look over the table at Donna and Opie who are talking quietly with Jax having left us to our conversation about an unknown restaurant "You know I bet that Ope could."

Opie looks past Jax at me at the sound of his name and frowns "Could what?"

"Get me another drink." I smile at him and hold up my empty water bottle. He shakes his head and turns back to Donna and Jax.

Before I can even think about getting up to do it myself the empty bottle is pulled from my hand and a fresh one is put in its place. Looking up I meet Lyla's crystal blue eyes she smiles at me "That's it though; we're done for the night. The place is almost empty."

Looking around I see she's right, the few people that were still up have vanished. Tig and Happy are the only ones still in the room, Tig's got the pole dancer in his lap and is trying to examine her tonsils with his tongue.

My slight fake gagging has Jax looks over "Tig! What would Clay say if he could see you now?"

Tig chuckles and gets to his feet, pulling the redhead with him "Shut up. I'm goin'."

Happy stands up and heads towards the door but right before he can open it the door I call his name and he turns "What's up cupcake?"

I smile "Well, it seems that the night has ended quicker than I expected and Cam still owes me a pool challenge. Wanna see if you can beat her?"

Happy glances over at Cam where she's sitting beside me, obviously assessing the tiny brunette as no threat he lets go of the door "Sure, but I'll feel bad beating her."

Cam snorts and practically bounces to her feet "We'll see."

Waiting till they're flipping the coin to decide who breaks I lean over and whisper to Donna "This could be the most interesting game of the night."

Donna raises an eyebrow in confusion "Why? Won't she just wipe the floor with him like she did with Jax and Ope?"

I shake my head slightly giggling "She thinks he's sexy, she'll draw this out as long as possible. And by the looks of it Hap didn't see the earlier games cause he's about to fall for the oldest trick in her book."

Cam leans over the table to break and hits the ball hard enough for it to break the triangle and send a few balls bouncing but nothing sinks. Sighing slightly she looks over at Happy "I think I did it wrong."

Jax's shoulders start shaking beside me "What on earth is she doing?"

I lean into his side "She wants him."

Leaning his mouth closer to my ear he speaks quietly "Why doesn't she just say so then?"

I shrug slightly, my shoulder brushing his chin "She's not like that, not the first time anyway."

Opie and Donna get to their feet and Donna comes around the table to give me a hug "As interesting as this could be we've taking the twins out for a picnic lunch tomorrow so we better get to bed."

I hug her shoulders tightly and nod "Okay. Hey, how bout Jax and I come with you and bring Doj?"

Donna nods "That'd be good. Have a day away from Gem and Clay. I love them both, really I do, but she's a bit overbearing at times."

A burst of laughter bubbles out Jax's mouth "Tell me about it. She's my mother. Least you'll be out of there as soon as our new place is finished."

Donna nods and slides her arm through Opie's "See you tomorrow then."

Disappearing down the hall the room seems eerily quiet with only four of us left from the normal crowd, it seems even the people who normally pass out on the floor have managed to find their way home tonight.

Leaning back into Jax's arms again I sigh contentedly as he presses a kiss on the top of my head "You okay Darlin'?"

Twisting my neck so I can look up at him I smile "Yeah I am. I think the last few weeks of nonstop stuff have finally caught up with me and I feel shattered."

Jax chuckles as he sits me up and gets to his feet "Stay there a second."

Walking over to the pool table he and Happy share a few sentences with the dark eyed enforcer's gaze brushing over me before he nods once and turns back to his game.

Jax comes back to the table and holds out his hand "Hap's gonna make sure Cam gets home okay, let's get you out of those clothes and into bed."

I put my hand in his and get to my feet slowly, my other hand grabbing the water bottle off the table before I sag into his side "Okay baby." I barely get the words out before a huge yawn creeps up on me.

Waving at Cam and Happy Jax pulls me down the hall, the faint goodnight calls from the main room barely reaching my ears.