Britta pointed at him.“You’re just jealous because you’re not invited.”
“I absolutely am.This is our damn club, woman,” Hodge laughed.
Tempi walked over and hooked one arm through mine.Before I could react, Britta slipped through my other arm.“Come on,” Tempi said.
“We’re stealing you,” Britta finished.
“I don’t know if stealing is the right-”
“It is,” Britta interrupted cheerfully.
Tempi looked over her shoulder at Wheels.“We’re taking her.”
He crossed his arms.“I figured.”
“You’re welcome to come along.”She smiled sweetly.“But you’re not stopping the fun.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“We’ll see.”
They started leading me toward the clubhouse, and I glanced over my shoulder.Every one of the guys still sat or stood around the table watching us.
Most of them looked amused.Twister looked resigned.Swift looked like he was already questioning Britta’s definition of “one or two drinks.”Hodge wore the kind of grin that suggested he couldn’t wait to see how this ended.
Only one face stayed locked on mine.Wheels.He hadn’t taken his eyes off me since Tempi grabbed my arm.Something warm fluttered low in my stomach, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d defended me with Twister or because he’d held my hand a little longer than necessary.Or because I knew, if I asked him to follow us inside, he probably would.
The clubhouse door swung open, and Tempi tugged me through first with Britta, followed close behind.
Just before the door shut, I looked back one last time, and Wheels was still standing exactly where I’d left him.
Watching.
The door clicked closed, and for reasons I wasn’t quite ready to examine, I found myself hoping he’d come inside.
Chapter Nine
Wheels
Tempi was a liar.She’d said one drink, maybe two.
That had been an hour ago, and if I counted right, Goldie was halfway through her third, Britta had just waved an empty glass at Tempi like she was flagging down rescue, and Tempi herself had switched from bartender to full participant about twenty minutes in.
Not that anyone was surprised.
I stood near the front door with my shoulder against the wall and my arms crossed.Twister was posted up on the other side of the door, looking just as unimpressed as I felt.Swift stood between us, his eyes locked on Britta like she was a lit match dancing too close to gasoline.
The rest of the clubhouse had settled into a weird kind of calm.
Nugget, Method, Sully, and Cord had disappeared to their rooms, probably pretending to rest while doing absolutely nothing useful.Chewy and Plug were out back keeping watch.Hodge and Podge were at the pool table, though calling what Podge was doing “playing pool” felt generous.Gramps was in the recliner by the far wall, passed out cold with his boots crossed at the ankles and his mouth open.The man snored like a chainsaw with a grudge.
Every few seconds, his snore would catch, sputter, and then roar back to life.The first time it happened, Goldie had looked over with genuine concern.By the fifth time, she’d accepted that nobody was going to check if he was dying.
“Does he always sound like that?”she asked, leaning an elbow on the bar.
Tempi glanced toward Gramps and shrugged.“Only when he’s breathing.”
Britta nodded seriously.“If he stops snoring, then we worry.”
