Page 81 of Loyal
Rounding the clubhouse, I move silently as I listen to the chatter.
“So what is an old lady anyway? Is that what my mom is?” I hear Farrah ask.
“Nah. Not yet, at least. There will be a party when he claims her. It’s a big thing. It’s basically biker marriage. A lot of them get married on paper too, but being an old lady means something more,” Abel, Toker’s boy, tells her.
“Oh, so like you don’t have an old lady?” she asks.
The group laughs, but it’s Jackie who answers her.
“No, we are too young. They won’t let you claim one until you are in the club. In order to do that, you have to prospect. Abel here can’t prospect until he turns eighteen.”
“Oh? Why the rules?” Farrah questions.
“They have their own way of doing things. Years ago, you could join as young as you wanted, but they started cleaning themselves up and becoming more legitimate. As the times changed, the club needed to adapt so they didn’t die out. Now, they have morals. Things they won’t do that a previous president might have done. It makes the club safer,” Abel tells her.
“That is good…right?” Farrah looks around the group.
“It is. Means the brothers are safer and so are the families. It’s why you see more young kids here today. There’s a reason there are only the six of us. Not a lot of teens because it wasn’tsmart to have something that could be used against you back in the day,” Ryder adds.
“I hadn’t really realized. Sorry, am I asking too many questions? I’m being a buzzkill, aren’t I?” Farrah asks, already starting to stand to leave.
“Not at all. Why don’t you stay a while longer? Ryder here snuck a few beers from his dad’s stash. We could drink and play spin the bottle,” Able offers.
I know I need to make myself known sooner rather than later, so I back away a bit and then head around the corner, making more noise.
“Shh. Hide them,” I hear as I round the corner.
“There you are. Can I borrow Farrah real quick? I want to introduce her to someone.”
Abel looks up at me, meeting my eyes. At least the kid has balls.
“Farrah, we will be here when you are done,” Abel promises her.
I don’t miss the blush on her cheeks as she follows me back to the party. Instead of going where anyone is gathered, I stop at an empty picnic table and take a seat. She moves to sit next to me.
“I thought you wanted to introduce me to someone,” she says.
“I lied. I didn’t want to ruin your street cred,” I joke. “I wanted to check in. You doing okay with all of this?”
She nods. “I am. My dad has this place all wrong. They…” She looks back to where we came from. “Welcomed me in without question. I keep waiting for them to decide I don’t fit in, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
I shake my head. “It won’t. This is a family. They will protect you because you are part of this now by extension of me. I mean, if that is what you want.”
She is quiet a moment. “You know I’ve seen them at school. Well, not them personally, but biker kids. They are always hanging out and having a good time. I looked down on them like the rest of the school. Thought they were trash. Yet they are actually a lot better than the so-called friends I had who dropped me when the rumor mill started being about me.”
I sigh. “I don’t know much about teenage drama. I’ll admit I didn’t stick around school long. It wasn’t my thing, but I know about the Lotus MC. We are loyal to one another. We might fight or bicker, but at the end of the day, we would take a bullet for each other. Those kids? They were raised with those values. It’s not too late for you to adopt them too.”
She looks over at me. “You think so?”
I nod. “I know so.”
“Thanks, Loyal,” she says. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you. You didn’t deserve that.”
I chuckle, “I deserved it a little. I mean, you should protect your mother. I never blamed you for it.”
“I know, but I don’t think I have to worry about that anymore because you are going to protect her now, right?”
“Yeah.” I bump her shoulder with mine. “I am. I’m going to protect you too.”
