Owned (5 page)

“Cool, we can make it a threesome,” he laughed from behind my back.

“Fuck off. It’s a guy, asshole. I am meeting a
guy
. Just leave me alone,” I snapped as I turned around to face him.

“I don’t give a shit if you’re
meetin’ someone. All I’m trying to do is talk to you,” he argued.

“Look,
I’m sorry
. I haven’t seen you in years. I am with someone now. It’s nice to see you again, but I just want left alone,” I begged in a soft tone, facing him again.

I wanted him to be gone before Erik got to the table. I didn’t want Erik to be mad because I was talking to another guy. And I sure didn’t want him to be mad because I had talked to
this douchebag.
  I didn’t even want Erik to see him near me. I turned to the parking lot and watched as Erik and the other guys got off of their bikes.

“Fuck it. Whatever,” he said as he turned and walked away.

Thank God. What a creep.

As Erik and the rest of the guys entered the patio area, Heather came from inside the restaurant onto the patio.

“Was that Tommy?” Heather had a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, be quiet. I told him I was with Erik, and asked him to leave. I don’t want Erik to know, so be quiet,” I whispered.

As the guys were walking across the patio she mouthed the word, “Okay”.

“Easter,
Shakey, this is Kelli and Heather. Ladies, this is Easter and Shakey,” Erik said as they walked up to the table.

Each of the new guys held their hands out and politely shook our hands. It was easy to remember their names, because it was on the front of their vests. Easter was about as tall as Erik, but not as big. He had a shaved head and tattoos all over his arms.
Shakey was older, maybe in his early forties, and had short salt and pepper hair and no visible tattoos. He was average size, and several inches shorter than Erik.

Both were wearing jeans, boots, black tee shirts, and leather vests like Erik and Teddy’s.

Teddy hugged me, and turned to Heather, and hugged her. As he embraced Heather, Erik put his arms around me and hugged me as he kissed my lips lightly.

“How was your day, baby girl?” Erik asked as he pulled away from my lips.

“It was okay. We were eating across the street when you texted me,” I responded, then wished I would have said something else.

“You really like that place, don’t you?” he said as he turned toward the waitress.

As Erik got the attention of the waitress, I pointed at Heather, “She picked it,” I whispered.

“Never again,” Heather blurted out.

“What can I get you guys,” the waitress asked.

“Bud Light?” Erik asked as he looked around the table.

Everyone nodded.

“Four Bud Light’s and two waters?”
Erik looked at me as he said ‘water’.

I nodded toward him proudly.

“Two waters and four Bud Light’s,” he reassured the waitress.

As she walked away, Erik turned to me and smiled. I hoped he was proud of me for not drinking. Teddy stood behind Heather, with his arms around her waist. She leaned into his body, and laid her head on his shoulder. She was almost as tall as he was, and Teddy was tall. She appeared to be as happy as I have ever seen her. I smiled at them both and turned to Erik.

“Shakey, Easter, what do you think?” Erik asked.

“Good scenery,” Easter said as he lit a cigarette.

Shakey nodded, “Yeah, good scenery, Doc.”

“Hell, this is where I met Heather,” Teddy bragged as he turned his head to the side and kissed her.

“So, what did you think of Bone’s new bike?” Teddy asked.

“I liked it. Paint was pretty wild, but it was a nice bike,” Erik answered.

“Nice sled,” Shakey commented.

“Wild paint,” Easter agreed as he took a drag off of his cigarette. He hand shook as he smoked.

“Fuck, Bunny. You’re shaking like a dog shittin’ peach pits,” Teddy laughed.

“That fuckin’ Slick, Crash. He’s got me pretty shook up,” Easter admitted.

“Hey!” Erik said sternly as he motioned toward Easter.

“Well, fuck, he’s a piece of shit...Oh, yeah. Gotcha, Doc. My bad,” Easter said as he took another drag off of what was left of his cigarette.

I immediately knew what had happened. Easter had mentioned
club business
in our presence. The business of the club was never discussed around outsiders. Big things or small things – it didn’t matter. Unlike on the television shows, it was never discussed. Erik said it protected everyone. Things that
weren’t
club business were discussed freely.

I quickly changed the subject.

“I wish I wasn’t dressed like this, it’s a great night for a ride,” I mentioned as I looked up at Erik.

“Fine with me, you can ride in slacks and heels, I don’t care,” Erik smiled when he answered me.

From him, a smile was a form of reassurance. It was proof he was satisfied to some degree with what I was doing or what I had done. He didn’t smile freely, and his smile was never fake. If Erik smiled, he was happy. If he wasn’t happy, he didn’t smile. Most of the time, his mouth was closed and his lips were pursed.

“Here you go,” the waitress said as she began to pull the beers from the tray she was carrying.

“I’ve gotta pee, you need to go, Heather?” I asked as the waitress placed my water on the table.

“No, I went when I was inside,” Heather responded, Teddy’s arms still around her waist.

“I’ll go with you. I could use the bathroom,” Erik said.

When I came out of the bathroom, Erik wasn’t done yet. As I waited, I looked around the bar. As always, it was packed. It was a huge open restaurant full of wooden tables with wooden stools. In the center was a large square bar surrounded by stools. The bar was covered in large screen televisions, and people often sat there and watched sports events.

Looking at the bar, I saw Tommy standing and talking to someone.

Oh God, no. I don’t want to walk past this idiot.

“Come on, baby girl,” Erik said as he walked past me.

I stood frozen, and stared at Tommy, who was facing the bar and had not noticed me yet.

“Baby Girl,” Erik said over his shoulder as he approached the bar.

I ran toward him to catch up as he started to walk beside Tommy. He faced forward toward the exit to the patio. As he walked up to Tommy, he turned to me.

“Baby girl, on my
left
,” he demanded.

Tommy turned around and looked at Erik as he spoke.

Oh God. I hate it when he thinks I am fucking up.
On my left
. Always on his
left.

I ran to Erik and grabbed his left arm as he was passing Tommy. I stood between Erik and Tommy as we walked past.

“What is she, your fucking
dog
?” Tommy asked.

Oh my God, please, please, please shut up.

“Excuse me?” Erik said as he stopped.

Tommy turned around and faced Erik.

“Nothin’. Never mind,” Tommy said as he turned around.

“No, there isn’t a
never mind
option, you called her a dog,” Erik said as he rolled his shoulders slowly.

The people beside Tommy moved out of their barstools.

“I didn’t call her a
dog
,” Tommy said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I held Erik’s arm.
As he started to move his right foot slowly toward Tommy. I watched his feet. As Tommy talked, Erik inched his right foot forward and his left backward. He raised and lowered his shoulders slowly.

“You asked if she was
my dog
, which would be indicative of her being
a dog
,” Erik corrected him.

“
Indicative
? Who talks like that? Are you a biker or a school teacher?” Tommy laughed as he looked around the bar.

“I’m the guy that’s going to teach you some manners, that’s who
I
am. You need to learn how to be respectful around people. Primarily
women,
” Erik said, his tone becoming more authoritative.

“Respectful? ‘
On my left’
is respectful? I heard that shit. Hey,
bitch
, on my left,” Tommy laughed, and made funny face when he said
bitch.

Obviously, Tommy was stupid, brave, or drunk.

“I’m done arguing with you, you little cock sucker,” Erik took a deep breath.

“Life is about opportunities and options. I’m going to give you both.
An option to apologize and an opportunity to walk away. Now, apologize to the
lady
, and because you’re a mouthy prick you can apologize to
me
,” The tone of Erik’s voice was
different
. This wasn’t going to be good.

Everything happened so fast.

Tommy, as soon as Erik said
prick
, thrust his hands out toward Erik’s chest like he was going to shove him. Erik’s left arm swept me forcefully behind him, and he stepped to the right, positioning me behind his left side. Tommy’s right arm fell short as Erik twisted his body.

Erik’s right arm shot straight up in the air, and as Tommy’s left arm almost hit Erik’s chest, Erik’s arm came back down and circled around Tommy’s arm. Tommy’s right arm was now stuck in Erik’s armpit, and Erik held it there.

Erik’s left hand hit Tommy in the face several times. Much faster than I could count. Tommy started to stumble backward, and as he did, Erik’s right foot swung in a circle, sweeping Tommy’s legs out from under him.

Erik’s left hand immediately reached to his left and behind him, and touched me - as if to conform I was there. His head twisted to me and back toward Tommy instantly.

Tommy’s feet came up, and he fell, lifeless – until the back of his head hit the bar.

Several people sitting closely, and now watching said a uniform, “Oh shit” or “God damn” as his head hit the bar. Tommy ended up in a pile on the floor.

Erik immediately turned to his left, and held his arm out.

“Get ahold of my arm, baby girl,” he demanded.

I grabbed his left arm and held it tight.

Some people came to look at Tommy, and knelt down on the floor beside him.

“Somebody needs to call an ambulance, he’s missing teeth, and he’s bleeding bad!” someone screamed from the floor in front of Tommy.

“I really wish that kid would have apologized,” Erik said sincerely.

“Hey, call the owner over here. Tell him
Doc
got in a fight,” Erik said to the girl behind the bar.

I squeezed Erik’s arm as Tommy started to groan.

Tommy looked up, and seemed confused.

Within a matter of what seemed like seconds, a man in dark jeans and a dress shirt came walking up to us.

“God damn, Doc, you paying for the stain on my floor?” the man asked as he stuck his hand out toward Erik.

Erik shook his hand.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Well, as we were walking by, the kid …”

“I already know what happened,” the man laughed, “the manager saw everything from the other side of the bar. I was leaving and he called me to come back. Said you gave the kid the option to cut out, and he hit you. Smart kid,” he said as he shook his head, looking down at Tommy.

As Tommy was being helped up, the man turned back to Erik, “You’re good to go, Doc. I sent a round out to the fella’s. We’ve got an ambulance coming.
Self-defense, no worries. We’ve got dozens of witnesses and cameras too.”

“Appreciate it,” Erik said as he shook his hand.

As we walked toward the door, I held Erik’s left arm tight.

And as we walked, I realized.

That my pussy was
soaked.

We got to the door, and Erik stepped beside it.

“
Now
, do you understand why you walk on my left?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“My right side is my strong side. My dominant side. I have an unorthodox fighting style. I use my left side to
protect
you. To keep you from harm,” he said as he looked into my eyes.

“
Uhhmm, yeah. Yes sir. You moved me behind you with your left arm,” I remembered.

“Correct. And I made sure you
stayed
there,” he reminded me.

I nodded.

“It may not seem like it, Kelli, but for the most part, everything I do has a reason. You may not understand now, but it does, okay? You will
always
be on my left. Always. Never anywhere else. There’s not one place on this earth, outside of your home, that you will ever be
anywhere
but on my left, is that understood? It’s for your protection,” he nodded and opened his eyes wide as he spoke.