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“You too,” I said, smiling back at her.
“Don’t listen to anything this man says,” she ordered, pointing at me. “He’ll get you into trouble.”
“Look at her,” Poet said, watching as Amy walked away. “That woman has still got it. Don’t you think?”
I choked a little on my own spit and panicked. Did he expect a response? Should I say she was hot? I held back a shudder. Would he kill me if I said I didn’t see it? Would he kill me if I said I did?
“I’m fuckin’ with you,” he said, after watching me squirm. “Too easy. These fuckers will eat you alive.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I mumbled, standing up.
“Go find the young ones,” Poet said with a laugh. “They’ll protect you.”
I walked toward the building, greeting people as I went. I’d been to some of the rowdier parties at the clubhouse and this one was tame in comparison. Kids ran around, stealing shit off of people’s plates and generally causing chaos and the adults sat in clusters bullshitting and trying to ignore them. If it hadn’t been for the sea of Harleys and the leather vests on nearly every male in attendance, it would’ve seemed like any middle-class family barbeque.
“Hi Bishop!” Rebel said as I rounded the side of the clubhouse.
“Hey Reb,” I replied, stopping abruptly so I didn’t run her over. “Whatcha doin?”
“I’m looking for little Mick,” she said, peeking around me. “He put a piece of pie on Charlie’s chair trying to get her to sit on it and ruin her dress so we’re gonna get him.”
“What’ll you do when you find him?” I asked. I glanced around, but I wasn’t sure I could even tell Tommy’s kids apart.
“Bring him straight to Charlie,” Reb replied. “They’re in the back.”
She left without another word and I made my way to the grassy area out back, where Charlie and Kara were talking with Charlie’s mom and her aunt Callie.
“I was wondering where you were,” Callie said as I reached them. “Draco said you all rode together but you disappeared.”
“I was out front talking to Poet,” I said, accepting the hug she gave me. “What are you guys doing back here?”
“We’re gonna have a softball game,” Charlie replied, smiling huge.
“I don’t know how you’re gonna get them all out here,” Farrah said uncertainly.
“It’s my fucking party,” Charlie said, putting her hands on her hips.
I felt my lips twitch and I scratched my jaw to hide it. I’d seen her mom stand in the exact same pose when she was irritated.
“If you build it,” I said dryly, letting the sentence hang in the air as I nodded toward the pile of baseball plates at her feet.
“Did you just quote a movie?” Charlie asked, staring at me.
“Did I?” I asked easily.
Kara laughed. “You get the field ready and we’ll start rounding everyone up.”
“I’ll grab all the mitts you asked me to bring,” Callie said. “You’re lucky that I kept them. No one’s used them in the last decade.”
“We had about a million in the house,” Farrah complained as the women walked away. “Stupid fucking forest fire.”
“You gonna play in that?” I asked Charlie, looking at the short dress she was wearing. It wasn’t super tight, but it was small, only covering her ass by a few inches.
“I came prepared,” she said, bending over to grab the plates. As she started pacing out the bases, she flicked the back of her skirt up, showing off a tiny pair of spandex shorts.
“Not sure that’s gonna cut it,” I said as I straightened out the plate she’d left behind.
“Stop messing with my home plate,” she called over her shoulder. “And I’ll still kick your ass.”
“You think I’m playing?” I asked in amusement.
“Everyone plays,” she said stubbornly. “The only people who get a pass are Poet and Amy—because they’re too old and I don’t want them to break a hip.”
“You better not let Poet hear you say that,” I called to her as she set down second base and glanced toward me.
“Ha,” she said, moving on. “It’s Amy you have to watch out for. Poet’s a big softy.”
I wasn’t sure that I agreed with her assessment, but we didn’t have a chance to continue with the conversation because people started making their way around the back of the building.
“Captain,” Tommy yelled, raising his fists in the air. “I call captain.”
“Sure,” Charlie replied. “I didn’t want you on my team anyway.”
“You’re going to be the other captain?” Tommy asked in mock confusion. “But you’re a girl.”
“It’s going to be really fun making you cry like a baby,” Charlie replied easily.
As more people came out back, lawn chairs were set up along the edges of the makeshift field. Kids tried to convince Charlie to pick them and the adults ranged from good natured grumbling to trash talking, even though the teams hadn’t even been picked yet. By the time everything was organized, we stood around, waiting to be chosen. It reminded me of PE when I was a kid, hoping I wasn’t the last person picked.
