Page 41 of Diesel's Perseverance
“Take care of yourself,” Diesel said as he walked to the front door.
“You too, man.”
Zach stood smoking on the porch as Diesel mounted his bike.
“I gotta get me one of those someday,” Zach said.
“You’ve been telling me that for years.” He laughed.
He switched on the ignition, gave his buddy a chin lift, and rode into the night.
Chapter Nine
Myla sat atone of the tables in the far corner of the clubhouse, eating a ham sandwich on rye. The club girls whispered and giggled while throwing her an occasional smirk or death stare. Nina favored the death stare, along with Melanie and Charlotte, while the other women just smirked or rolled their eyes at her. No one said anything to her, and she supposed that was because of Diesel telling them to back the hell off.
A chair scraped back. “Don’t let them bother you,” Kristy said as she sat down and put a beer bottle on the table. “They’re pissed because you’re staying here.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s like being back in high school all over again.” She popped a Cheeto in her mouth and chewed.
“We club girls are territorial of our men and our space.”
“You don’t seem that way.”
Kristy laughed. “I got that shit out of my system when Hawk hitched up with his ol’ lady. I had a real thing for him.” Sadness tinged her voice, and she stared into the distance for a long moment.
“That must’ve been tough,” Myla said.
“The worst thing a club girl can do is fall for one of these guys. It causes nothing but heartache.” A smile whispered across her mouth.
“So no one ever falls for each other?”
“Sometimes it happens, but not very often. A friend of mine was a club girl in Wichita, Kansas, at one of the Insurgents’ chapters. Now she’s Skull’s ol’ lady. They’ve been together for a couple of years. They seem happy, but she gets that he still likes to party. I wouldn’t be able to handle that. If I hitch up with a man, he’s gonna be all mine. I don’t go for this club partying and fucking, you know?”
“I wouldn’t want that either. Do you ever get to meet men outside the club?”
“The club is protective of their girls. They don’t want any citizens to know what the hell goes on behind the walls. I get it. I’ve thought about going out on my own, but I wouldn’t know what to do. I’ve been a club girl for over fifteen years. But I’m still popular. Nina and Charlotte think they’re ‘all that,’ but I still give the best blow jobs of all of them.” A note of pride echoed in Kristy’s voice and showed in the way she held her chin high.
Myla supposed it was a big deal for an older club girl to be desired by the bikers. At a loss for words, she merely smiled and clinked her tumbler against the beer bottle.
“You’re all right. At first, I wasn’t sure if you’d be snooty and think you’re better than us, but you’re nothing like that, and”—Kristy tipped her head toward the women on the couch—“those jealous bitches are so fucking cliquish.”
“You don’t like any of them?”
“Lola and Brandi are cool. They’ve been here a long time. We all started together. They can’t stand those bitches either, but enough about that.” She locked eyes with her. “What’s the story between you and Diesel? I never thought he’d settle for one chick.”
Myla shook her head vehemently. “We’re just friends.”
“I bet. There’s no fuckin’ way one of these guys can just be ‘friends’”—she said using air quotes—“with any woman, especially one as pretty as you.”
“But it’s true. Diesel’s brother is my boyfriend… or at least, he was.”
Kristy stretched out her hand and put it on Myla’s. “I heard he’s missing. I’m sorry. It must be tough. I… well, we all just figured you and Diesel were a thing.”
“No, we’re not. We’re helping each other during this hard time, that’s all.”
“Do you think your old man’s dead?”
“No, why would you ask that?”
