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“Have you asked?”
“Yes,” I lied.
“Ask her with more charm or something because Elle wants one of her people living locally. I tried to get Ojai to hook up with one of those chicks, but the fucking baby says they scare him. Now that I know about you and Goldie, I’m planning to beat the commitment drum until I get my way.”
“Beat it all you want, boss,” I replied, giving Exile an annoyed look. “Goldie is stubborn, and I don’t bully women.”
“I didn’t bully Elle to get her to move here.”
Elle laughed loudly in the background. “What a crock of shit!”
Zodiac adjusted his phone and told her, “Just watch the boys and let me do my man business over here.”
“No one made you have this conversation where I could hear and judge!” Elle hollered.
Eight-year-old Sutter added, “You have an office!”
Zodiac clearly walked to that office and slammed shut the door. “I’m training Trent to take my side in arguments. It’s too late to win over Sutter.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, making Exile laugh.
“Whatever. Just marry that chick and move her here. You saved her ass. She owes you. The end.”
“Sure,” I replied, knowing Zodiac would dismiss my most logical excuses.
Once Exile hung up, he shook his head. “How long has this thing with Goldie been going on?”
“It’s fucking,” I grumbled. “It’s not like we were meeting in secret to do satanic rituals. Having a fuck buddy isn’t a new concept.”
“Is that all it is?”
“No, but we’re stubborn people. I don’t want to move here.”
Exile tipped back his hat and grunted. “I didn’t want to move here, either.”
“If you want to make this a competition, fine, you win. I’ve had a long day, so keep your lecture short.”
Exile exhaled deeply. “You’re a good guy, and you deserve to have a good life. I thought you moving into the house and adopting Junior meant you wanted more. That’s good. You’ve been in a holding pattern for years.”
“You read the old me wrong. I kept my responsibilities thin, so I could travel when I wanted. But, yeah, meeting Goldie made me realize there was more to life than the club and seeing the world.”
Exile considered my words and decided they made sense to him. He turned toward the house, where we found Hazard Swanson stepping off the porch. He gestured for us to join him and explained Goldie was worried about me.
For the faintest fucking second, I could picture her living in my Baton Rouge house. Junior might like having a little buddy to play with every day. We could visit Zodiac and Elle. The visual felt so damn real that I could almost reach out and touch the smiling Goldie in my mind.
The real one, though, felt like a woman with very specific goals for her future and none of them involved moving to Louisiana.
GOLDIE
By seven in the evening, I wanted to go to bed. I was nauseous, my right foot felt like dead weight, the rest of my body hurt with even the slightest movement, and the pain medication left me lightheaded. Yet, I didn’t ask to go to my room because I was afraid York wouldn’t stay with me.
Hours earlier, he returned from outside, found a seat across from me, and remained in it. When Sabrina finished cooking shrimp and dirty rice, he ate in the chair. No matter how loud the room got, York didn’t move from his spot.
I assumed he was bored or maybe tired, but I was happy to have him nearby.
On a normal evening, people would be outside in the Sorority House’s large yard. Even with the front gate locked and the additional security cameras around the property, my friends remained on edge about standing in the open.
As I struggled to stay awake, Yarrow appeared over me. I smiled up at my mom. She stroked my bruised face and seemed ready to cry.
