Page 7 of Lick

I hear Jenni cooing, and the sound breaks me from my trip down memory lane or more like skid row. “Thank fuck,” I tell myself, thankful for the reprieve. I watch from the corner of the yard as Jenni fawns over Savannah holding the baby. Jenni smiles down at the sleeping child. Dipping her nose into the crook of Grace’s neck, taking in the unique smell of a baby.

I feel a nudge on my lower calf and look down to see Goober poking his face into the leg of my jeans. He’s a black and white hairball that Jenni insists on calling a dog. He’s more of a rat, but he’s pretty good, I guess, for a small dog. I know I give her a lot of shit for having such a pansy ass dog, but I like him. I’ll never tell her that, though.

“What’s up little man?” I ask as I bend over to pick him up. He licks my face. “No licking my face, dude. Not when that tongue touches your ass.”

I push his face away so he can’t lick me again, and scratch behind his ear as he rasps out his normal pant. Poor guy has a smashed face so sometimes he has a hard time breathing. I’m not gonna lie, the first time I heard him have one of his attacks my heart actually dropped. I was ready to rush this little fucker to the all-night emergency vet, just to make sure he was all right. Jenni, although looked concerned, said it was normal when he got excited…

“Don’t tell your mama, but I brought you something.” I hold out a small rib bone. I’ve heard that pork ribs aren’t good for animals since they’re easier to break, so when I saw Cut cueing up some beef ribs, I knew it’ll be perfect for the little man.

The little fur ball’s tail is wagging so hard that his entire ass is swinging from side to side, his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth as he pants. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was actually smiling. Dropping the bone to the floor, he jumps at it.

“What are you doing here?”

Jenni comes out from the hallway, donning a tank top with the letters WWJD, and some crazy ass leggings. I know the initials stand for ‘What would Jenni Do’ a little inside joke between her and Savannah. If you ask me, Jenni would be doing me, morning noon, and night. When a chuckle leaves my lips, her eyes cut to mine. She’s not amused that I’m here, but that’s all right. Her hair’s wet as she rubs the towel through it, and her face is free of makeup. No other woman has ever looked sexier to me. For years, I’ve gotten off on bitches with their red lips and dark eyes. But now, after spending the past month with Jenni walking around here, fresh faced, all those other chicks are nothing but painted up whores.

“Nothing.” Looking down, little man has the bone between his two front paws while he gnaws on the bone.

“Son of a nutcracker, what did you give him?” She bends down and takes the bone from little man’s mouth. “He can’t have this!” She points the bone at me. “I don’t allow him to have human food, Tylan. He’ll start to beg.”

When she stands with the bone in her hand, it happens. The wheezing starts. Panting, and wheezing. Looking down, I see the fluff ball frozen in place. His chest heaves, eyes bugged out more than normal.

Jenni bends down, petting him as she coos, “Oh, baby, settle down.”

My stomach drops. Fuck, I hope I didn’t do this. “What’s wrong?”

“He can’t breathe,” she says as she continues to pet and rub his throat. “It’s normal for this breed. His nose and stuff. It happens sometimes when he gets excited.”

“Then give him the fucking bone back, and he’ll settle down.”

“I don’t need to give him the bone. He’ll calm down in a minute.”

“Fuck that.” Squatting, I rip the bone from her grip and place it back at the dog’s paw. His breathing starts to even out, and his tail begins to wag as he chomps down on the bone. “See.” I stand back up.

“You’re unbelievable. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you actually like my dog.”

“Hey, I may be a heartless bastard, but I’m not fucking cruel.”

She stands, taking a step towards me. When I feel her hands on my chest, my stomach drops. She raises herself to her toes and brushes a kiss up on my cheek. “That’s where you’re wrong, Tylan,” she whispers into my ear. “There is a heart under that mass of muscle.”

She drops from her toes and turns away. Looking over her shoulder, she says, “I’ll just let you boys have your time. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your bromance and all.”

With a quick wink, she leaves me with the dog, and with a fucking lump in my throat.

Taking my eyes from the little man, they land on Jenni who’s currently talking to Cruise. The hackles rise on the back of my neck as I clench my jaw.

I’m not sure about the new guys. Tiny seems fine, but a little too squirrely for my taste. He’s a little man, who suffers from small man syndrome, and I honestly don’t know how he can control his bike because of his size. But he wears his cut with pride, so there really isn’t anything for me to complain about.

I get the same feeling from Cruise that I did when Bubba was strung up on smack. I can’t trust the fucker. There’s this air about him, like his shit don’t stink. I wasn’t on board with bringing him into the fold, but I’m not gonna go against my Prez. I trust Cut with my life, and there aren’t a lot of guys I can say that about.

Jenni’s arms stay crossed across her stomach which is something I don’t like because all she’s doing is pushing her tits closer together, giving Cruise a better view. This is what I’m talking about. She’s completely fucking clueless when it comes to men. She doesn’t realize that she’s like a lamb surrounded by fucking wolves. She sees all of us as friends, family even, but there are some of us who wouldn’t need more than two seconds to rip those barely there shorts off her fine ass and slide tongue first right into her fucking pussy—me being one of those guys. It’s fucked up, but it’s fucking nature at its finest.

I watch as he puts his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes flick to me then back to Cruise as she nods. He smirks at her actions and then takes a step forward, whispering something in her ear before continuing on his way. Her shoulders drop as she relaxes. I watch as she takes a few moments to herself, before taking a deep breath as she turns her body in my direction. The smile that’s pointed at me, isn’t real, it barely reaches her eyes and I know right then that Cruise’s proximity bothers her. She tries to hide her discomfort by putting a little bit more swing to her hips to distract me from the little exchange I just witnessed.

I wonder if she’s attempting to play it off for her benefit or for mine.

“You looked really good with that baby,” Cruise tells me.

He’s only been around the club for about a month and I haven’t spent that much time with him. He has nice blue eyes and dirty blond hair that he wears shaved on the sides with a long Mohawk that’s typically pulled back in the hair tie. Today, though, it’s loose, hanging to the side. His features are sharp with high cheekbones and a straight nose. His lips are thin, and nothing to gawk over, but his smile will blow just about anyone out of the water. I shake my head at the thought. I refuse to be a part of his harem. That’s not who I am or what I’m looking for.