“Dish soap?” I ask, making sure I heard her right.
“Yeah,” she huffs. That explains why it’s so dry and tangled.
“Hang on a minute.” I get in my car and dig out my keratin spray and brush. I spray her hair and brush it over and over before it finally falls into silky waves.
“You know, Cherry, we have the same color hair,” Piper observes. My eyes widen, and my hand stops mid-brush.
“Yeah. Yeah, we do,” I reply softly. The yellow school bus pulls up, the brakes squeaking as it comes to a full stop. Thankful for its arrival, I lean down and give Piper a big kiss on the head, taking in the smell of her.
“You have a good day, Piper,” I whisper into her hair.
“See you tomorrow?” She tilts her head back and looks up at me. Her eyes are the same color as mine.
“Yeah. I’ll be here,” I mumble.
LIP
“First order of business. The drop went smoothly, but the drugs seemed to be of low quality,” Bull announces, lighting a cigarette.
“Should we find a different supplier?” Tom Cat asks. He slides his hands back and forth through his hair and looks around the table for a reply.
“This will do for now, but yes, we need someone who isn’t growing weed out of their ditch,” Bull replies, blowing cigarette smoke into the air.
“Kids today can’t be happy with what they get,” Hawk grumbles from the back of the table. He rubs at his white mustache that matches his old-ass hair. He’s older than dirt and pretty much just says what he’s thinking, whether or not it makes sense. I just nod and agree with him half the time, because I never know what the fuck he’s talking about.
I could tell the club about my brother and their club in Vegas, but I’m not sure if it’s something I want to get wrapped up in. I don’t think it’s a good idea. People could get hurt, and I would be to blame for introducing them.
“Tonight, we’re having a party. Got some girls coming from the Wicked Birds, and The Ghost Riders are going to be here. It should be a fun night,” Bull informs, slamming his cigarette into the ashtray. Wicked Birds is a strip club we take profit in, a cover for our illegal expenses. My uncle on my mother’s side runs the place. He’s a tool, but safe. He wouldn’t fuck us; in fact, he hated my father when my mother introduced them.
“Why are we having the Ghost Riders here?” Shadow questions. Bull sighs and lowers his head.
“Because, they are a big club. Their president has connections with some men from the Cartel, and I want those connections,” Bull explains. “Maybe they can replace our skunk weed dealer we got.”
The Ghost Riders are disloyal. I’ve seen them turn against their own, and rumor has it they have no rules in their club. They are rapists, murders, all of it. But Bull’s right; given their dubious rep, they have respect and connections with every outlaw organization you can think of. Getting them on our good side would benefit the club.
Bull slams the gavel down, dismissing everyone.
CHERRY
I stir my cup with my straw and wait for Dani to show up. She’s an ol’ lady I have grown to love over the years. She is the president’s daughter and one of my best friends. She met Shadow, fell deeply in love with him and got married. I hate her sometimes. She has the perfect life. Sexy, caring husband. Two adorable children. Big house. Loving father. All that’s missing is the pink corvette.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. Did you already order?” She sits down on the opposite side of the table and tosses her dark hair over her shoulder. You can’t even tell she’s had two kids, she barely gained over ten lbs the whole time she carried Shadow’s children.
“I did, I got us burgers,” I inform.
“Sounds good.” She pins me with her vibrant green eyes and smiles. “How have you been?”
I shrug. I always tell her I’m doing great and that Lip is amazing, but it’s always a lie. I mean, how do you tell someone who has the perfect everything that your life is falling apart?
“Are you okay, Cherry?” She pulls her brows together and gives a concerning look. I want to lie like usual, but I need someone to talk to, someone to tell me what the hell to do. I close my eyes and look down at my glass of Coke. I’m always the one giving love advice. Hell, life advice. Yet here I am at the end of my rope.
“No, I’m not okay. In fact, I haven’t been okay for a while.” I sit back in my seat, and cross my arms.
“What happened, what’s wrong?” The waiter sets our plates down on our table and asks if we’d like anything else. Dani shoos him away.
“Lip.” I shrug, the smell of the burgers consuming my thoughts.
“What about him?”
“He’s just different. I noticed the changes while visiting him in prison. I didn’t think anything of it, because I thought being locked up he was just depressed or something. When he got out of prison, it was worse, and I thought it would go away, but it’s not.” I shove my plate away, not hungry anymore.