Page 8 of Hawk

Hailey gives him a nasty look while Joker leans against the wall with his arms folded, with nothing but mischief in his eyes. “Must you always do that, BFG?”

His smile gets wider as he looks at us. “Yes. Yes, I do. It brings me so much joy.”

“Hey Joker. What’s the difference between a clown and a tall person?”

“Well, I don't know, little munchkin, why don’t you tell me.” I can see the pride in his eyes that I’m engaging with him.

“Their shoe store.” Hailey cracks up as Joker narrows his eyes at me. Honestly, I know it was a childish joke, but I love this banter. I can see why all the ladies consider him a brother.

“All of you don’t appreciate me. I am too tall for this small talk.” He cracks up at his own joke, making me laugh. Today has been an amazing day. Everyone has made me feel so welcome. Just then Hawk and Blade walk into the office, and Hawk looks right at me with a smile on his face.

Joker pouts, looking ridiculous for a man of his size. “Hawk, your woman is mean just like the rest of the ole ladies.”

Hawk laughs as he continues to give me this look that I don’t understand. It’s as if he’s seeing everything I can’t say out loud. Heck, I don’t even really know everything I’m feeling. It’s all so new and terrifying at the same time. What if he decides that once everything with my uncle is over, he doesn’t want me anymore, that I’m not what he wants? Just the thought of that hurts me to my core. I never thought I would be with someone, let alone a man like Hawk.

Hawk looks over at Joker and lifts his chin. “Yeah, well, if you didn’t piss off all the ladies in your life, they wouldn’t be mean.”

“Whatever, I’m going to see my wife; at least she appreciates me.” With that, Joker turns to me, winks, and walks out the door, whistling.

“I swear Madison banned him from the bakery yesterday.” Hailey says as she stands up and Blade pulls her into his arms, rubbing her stomach.

“Does she really ban him from the bakery?” I asked, looking at all of them.

Hailey laughs and shakes her head. “Yup, at least at first she did because Joker was, well, Joker, and now it’s just a running joke at this point. We were all convinced she was going to put Ex-lax in his cupcakes. Joker is the big brother we ladies never had, and now you're included in that as well.”

My heart warms ‌at the thought. All these people may not be blood-related, but treat each other as family, and for them to include me truly warms my heart.

I smile a genuine one, feeling nothing but happiness despite what is going on in my life right now. “I’ve always wanted a sibling.”

Hailey walks forward and pulls me into a hug. I hold on tightly, trying to fight my tears from falling. “You have more than a brother now; you have a family, and we all take care of each other.”

“Thank you, Hailey, for everything.” I whisper as a tear falls.

She pulls back and winks at me. “You're welcome, girl. The other ole ladies and I are going to have a movie night on the weekend before this little one gets here. I will text you the details. Nothing too crazy, but we will have lots of food and drinks, and we expect you to be there. You're one of us now.”

I don’t even remember when I actually had friends, and these ladies are genuine, that's for sure. They hardly know me, but are opening their arms to me. “I will be there. Let me know if I can bring anything.” An idea forms in my head. I think I want to make some baskets for the women, especially the ones who are expecting. A pamper basket just for them.

Hawk puts his hand on the small of my back, and I look up at him. “Are you ready to go, darlin?”

“Yeah, I’m ready. Thank you again, Hailey, for everything. I will see you guys tomorrow.” I wave as Hawk takes my handand leads me outside towards his bike. The sun is starting to set, painting a pretty picture in the sky.

Hawk helps me into my helmet. “Did you have a good day, darlin?”

“It was the first time in a long while that I felt true happiness. I finally feel like I belong somewhere despite what’s happening in my life right now; it just feels right.”

Hawk steps forward, lifting my chin. “That makes me so fucking happy, darlin. You should only feel happiness, and I will make sure of that.” He leans down and places a quick kiss on my lips, making me feel weak. Pulling back, he smiles at me. “Come on, ass on the bike, I have a surprise at home for you.”

I laugh as he helps me onto the bike and gets on in front and pulls out of the parking lot. As I wrap myself around him, you couldn’t take the smile off my face right now. The wind whips around me as I lean my chin on Hawk’s shoulder and close my eyes, just basking in what a 360 my life has done in such a short amount of time. It all still feels like a dream that I’m going to wake up from. It takes no time for Hawk to pull into the compound and drive to the back of the property towards his house. He kills the engine and helps me off the bike. I pull my helmet off and shake out my hair. I look up to see him watching me.

I start to get self-conscious with how hard he’s looking at me. “Is there something on my face?”

He smiles at me and pushes a piece of hair behind my ear. “Naw darlin, you’re beautiful, and I’m just the lucky fucker who gets to have you.”

His words hit me, making me choke up. He is the first person who’s ever told me how beautiful I am, and every time he says it, it hits me hard. My uncle sure never said it; he would tell me how ugly I was. I think the last time was when my parents were alive. “Hawk.” I whisper his name, at a loss for words.

He lifts my hand, kissing my knuckles. “I know. Come, I have my surprise for you.”

I smile at him as he helps me up the stairs and unlocks the door. “You know you don’t have to do anything, right?” I feel like I have to keep repeating it because it still seems surreal that this is my life now. Someone who actually cares about me.