Incandescent

“Sorry, brother, am I stepping on some toes here?” Jesse pulls back from Holly. I slightly shift in my stool, the temptation too much for me not to watch this play out. Sy looks more pissed off. Whether at himself or at Jesse, I’m not sure, but if I have to guess, I will say he doesn't like seeing Jesse talking up Holly.

“No toes,” Holly pipes up, her manicured hand reaching out and grabbing onto Jesse’s massive bicep. The little vixen knows what she’s doing. If I didn’t know her so well, I would say she’s playing it totally cool.

“Fuck me,” Sy grunts out under his breath.

“Wa

“Have you seen, Nix?” I ask Sy after sitting with him for a few minutes in an uncomfortable silence. Shit, I have no idea what to say to him, and I’m nowhere near stupid enough to ask him what that whole scene with Holly was about.

“Out the back with Z,” he supplies, taking a pull of his beer.

“Thanks, Sy.” I smile awkwardly, leaving him alone. I’m not sure how his moods work, but I’d rather be out with Nix facing Z, then sitting with him. The guy is one scary man. Walking through the club, I look around at the men and women here today. Most of the men have been around the last few times I’ve been here. I smile and wave as I pass them. Walking outside, I spot Nix and Z with a ball and mitt throwing back and forth between them near a large metal shed. There are a few kids ru

Jesus, if that isn’t a turn on I don’t know what is.

Unsure what to do, I hang back and wait for them to finish up. I spot Jesse and Holly talking to Brooks and a woman who must be his wife; their daughter, a spitting image of her mom, bounces up and down on his lap.

“Hello,” a woman with big hair and even bigger tits comes up to me before I can make my way over to them. The sway in her hips telling me she’s not shy at all. “You’re new around here,” she remarks, clearly not caught up on who I am. I nod and smile before discreetly looking her up and down. I have no doubt in my mind that this piece of work is Chrissie. The guys have warned me of her.

“Miss Turner,” Z calls out spotting me from his game. Dropping his mitt, he runs toward me. The woman narrows her eyes at me; I’m sure assessing me like I was just doing to her. I don’t react, just step around her to greet Z.

“Hey, Z,” I say, feeling less awkward than I thought I would. Z looks a lot older for his age. His tall frame stands a foot shorter than me. He seems happy to see me, and I can only hope today goes well.

"Hey, Miss Turner," he smiles.

“Hey, Nix,” Big Tits behind me calls out as he makes his way to us. She walks past me to him as he gets closer. I’m somewhat dreading how I will react if she touches him.

“You know the fuckin’ rules, Chrissie. It’s a family get-together. Leave now.” He steps out of her way, reaching out to grab me around the back of my neck to pull me into him. Bending at the neck, his lips seek mine in an act of dominance that I don’t fight, but take it for what it is. A claiming in front of his club, letting them all know that I’m his. I open up. A soft sigh comes from my mouth earning me a growl. His hands come to my loose hair, fisting and then pulling my head back to give him more control.

The kiss takes over, and I get completely lost to everyone and everything around us. Nix consumes me, surrounds me while taking everything from me. The sound of cheering breaks through the haze of our passion. Pulling back, Nix brings his forehead to mine, our breathing heavy as each other’s.

“Hey, honey,” I say, smiling at his smile. The gentleness of his features melts me when he shows me his soft side.

“You came,” he simply replies, no teasing; more disbelief.

“Of course I came. You told me to.”

“You’ve been known not to do as you’re told,” he reminds me before quickly kissing me again and then pulling back, his smile this time teasing me. The cheers calm down, and I come to my senses remembering Z is standing next to me. Shit!

I pull out of Nix’s arms and turn to face him, but he’s gone. For a second, I worry we’ve embarrassed him or upset him at our public display of affection.

“It's okay. He’s over by Brooks,” Nix calms me, sensing my panic. I turn, looking for him. His eyes find mine before he’s smiling over at me. I smile back, relieved that he isn’t freaked out by me being here.

“Had a word with him before you got here.” Nix leans down to my ear again so only I can hear. “He’s fine with this,” he tells me. A weight of worry lifts from my shoulders, relieved that he spoke to him.

“Want something to eat?” he offers, standing back from me. I nod, ready to move past the attention Nix just gathered us. “Come on. Beau is grilling today.” He takes my hand, walking me over to Beau. I’m still not sure about Beau. I wonder if his issue with me is more than me escaping.

“Hey, Beau,” I smile, hoping he warms up to me soon. He's Nix’s best friend and things could get awkward, fast.

“Kadence,” he replies in his way of greeting. Okay, so maybe not today. I grab a plate ready to move on.

“You speak with T?” Nix asks Beau.

“Yeah, he can’t get a hold on him. Thinks he’s gone underground.” Nix nods, looking deep in thought.

“Still think they’re pla

“You okay?” I ask after a few moments of awkward silence. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but whatever it is has Nix worried.

“Yeah, just some club shit. Let's go find Z.” He takes my hand and leads me over to where he’s sitting with Brooks. After introducing me to Kelly, Brooks’ beautiful wife, and their adorable little girl, Mia, I start to relax.

“What did she say to you?” Kelly asks, bouncing Mia on her lap. Kelly is the only old lady around my age. After eating, Nix had to go off and deal with some ‘shit’ so he left me with Kelly. She let me in on the gossip regarding me putting Tina in her place and filled me in on the woman known as Chrissie, aka big hair and bigger tits. Apparently, I missed the words Nix gave her before I got there. Skanks like her aren’t allowed on family days, only on club nights. Why she even tried, Kelly doesn’t know.

“Just observed I was new around here,” I tell her, not concerned about the woman.

Kelly nods her head. “I don’t trust her,” she shakes her head. “You should have seen her storm off after she saw that kiss. The woman is delusional. Really close with Addi too,” she adds. “Which reminds me, how is Z doing?”

“Better. Since seeing the school counselor, I’ve noticed small changes in him. This morning, Nix and I talked about what could be bothering him and it all comes back to his mom,” I admit before I remember she was her best friend.

“Yeah, I think so too,” she agrees, making me feel less bad that I just blamed his mom.

Addison is one subject I don’t like to get into, especially with Nix. Letting Z know about our relationship is a big step for me. I wanted to wait until the end of next month, when school is out and he moves up a grade. I feel bad that Nix feels like he’s been hiding us from him, but the situation we are in can go either way. I’m Z’s teacher and the school doesn’t know about our relationship; I hope that if they do find out before the school year ends, they don’t make too much of a deal about it.

As the afternoon progresses, Holly continues to piss Sy off, ignoring him while teasing him at the same time. They’ve got this kind of sexual tension that seems like they are familiar with each other, yet they've barely held a conversation. Even Nix notices that something is up. I try to talk to her about it, but she just keeps blowing me off.