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I didn’t realize that everyone had gone quiet so they could hear too.
And neither did Savannah.
Not when she smiled and nodded, “It means a lot that you want to know. And then do things to keep those feelings away from being unwanted and a bother.”
I brought my hand up and placed it on her thigh, then muttered, “Those two words should never enter your vocabulary.”
She smiled sadly at me, “When your own father is a free spirit and spends his time on his Harley on the open road and doesn’t come back for years, maybe sends a postcard or two. When your mother would rather have you sit at home alone when you’re eight because you ruin her mood while she’s getting her hair done and wants to go out to bars and get drunk.”
“When my dad came home for the last and final time, he didn’t look well. He was of the mindset that if you were knocking on death’s door there was no reason you should visit a doctor. You wouldn’t believe what I had to do to get him to go see one.” I stayed where I was, even though I wanted to lean forward and kiss the trail of tears away. But something in my gut told me not to move.
So, instead, I asked, “Tell me?”
Then, in a broken whisper, she told me, “I had to bring up the fact that he missed every birthday but three of them. Three.”
And right there on one knee, I made a silent promise that no matter what was taking place in our lives, I would never miss her fucking birthday.
To that, I asked, “Tell me when your birthday is, Angel?”
“September twenty-fifth,” she said quietly.
I smirked, “Year?”
“Two thousand and three.” Again, there was a quiet tone.
I nodded, letting her know that I got it.
“Thank you for telling me. Now, I want to know why you told me it was okay when I asked them to turn the music down,” I asked her.
She sighed, “One thing that they did was that if you wanted them to turn down the music if you had a headache, they wouldn’t do it. It didn’t matter who asked. And the kicker in all of this, it was Deck that would turn the volume up louder. I lost count of the women that would look my way and sneer at me for his actions.”
Then she took a deep breath and continued on, and I wanted to hop on my bike and drive my fist through Deck’s face.
“If you’re an ol’ lady, they don’t get a say if their men want to screw a club whore right in front of them. Gaston told the brothers it was up to them. It's why I didn’t say anything when that club girl got in your lap. I tried it once with Deck, and well, I found out real quick that I wasn’t allowed to tell him what he could or couldn’t do. The only ol’ lady that could do that was Felicia, Gaston’s woman.”
I dropped my head in shame. Fuck me.
The shit this woman has had to deal with, and I had the fucking wherewithall to have a fucking pity party earlier? Yeah. No. Fuck. That.
I lifted my head, and made sure I had her eyes, and there I said, “Angel, with me, you had every right to walk over there and jerk Ginger by the hair and get her off my lap. But you shouldn’t have had to do that. I should have done that. I shouldn’t have allowed her to touch me to begin with.”
Then I dropped my voice so only she could hear. “Ginger and I have been friends for years, and I thought nothing of doing that with her. I’ve never been inside of her, and she’s never gotten any part of me.” I made sure I still had her eyes and then continued talking to her softly. But ensuring she could hear the honesty in my words.
“And for the record, I know what I’m saying isn’t going to make you believe me, but I fully intend to prove to you with my actions that I’m yours. I won’t allow another woman to touch me. I swear to you.”
And Ginger being Ginger showed the side to Savannah that she’s only shown to me. She dropped into the chair beside her and apologized, “I’m sorry. I’ve known Zeke for a long time. He stepped in and stopped my dad from beating the hell out of me because I wouldn’t do something. And that something would have ruined the rest of my life.”
Ginger shook her head and smiled an apologizing smile, “I honestly didn’t think anything of it. We’ve been doing that for years now. I would pretend to be his woman to keep gold-digging bitches off of him that come to the club with the sole purpose of landing a brother.”
Savannah gave her anI know how you feellook, then Ginger continued, “And I can only imagine what you’re thinking. I know he’s claimed, and I shouldn’t have sat down in his lap knowing that. Especially knowing that. Because he’s never claimed a woman before. Again. I’m sorry. I’d like to get to know you. And FYI, if that little punk shows his face around here, I’ll be happy to ram my size nine foot up his ass. Okay?”
Savannah looked at her, then at me, and seeing whatever she needed to in my eyes, she looked at Ginger and asked, “Thank you for telling me all of that. But that doesn’t explain your attitude toward me at the table earlier.”
Ginger’s head dropped, then she locked eyes with Savannah, “I know. Sometimes I let my temper get the best of me, and I really have no filter. I need to work on that. I’m just protective over Zeke. And the other ladies, well, they don’t really like me. I guess I was just using my words as a protective barrier around myself.”
Savannah sat there, soaking in Ginger’s words, and she sighed, “I can understand wanting words to be used as a protective barrier. I definitely know how that feels.”
“But be warned, apparently Zeke has claimed me as his, even though I haven’t claimed him back because I have a lot of issues I need to work through first before I do. But if you do it again, I will grab you by the hair and jerk you out of his lap.”
