8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ivy

A familiar face filled my phone screen as I heard the annoying ringing sound. Looking down, I sighed as my mom's face lit up my screen.

Hitting ignore, I refused to answer the call. As much as I hated to do it, I just had to distance myself from my family. They knew my plan when I left home. They knew I needed time. One day, hopefully, I would find a way to talk to my mom without constantly feeling guilty, but today is not that day.

"Was that your mom?" Lacy asked, already knowing the answer by my sorrowful face.

"Yeah. I will talk to her eventually," I said, throwing my phone down on the couch next to me.

After sitting in awkward silence for a few minutes, Lacy finally leaned over and gained my attention.

"Don't be mad, ok?" Lacy said as we sat on the couch watching a movie on Netflix.

Whenever Lacy began a sentence like that, I knew I was about to get upset with her. Pausing the movie, I turned to face her. "Oh, what now?" I asked.

Sighing, Lacy tried to give me her best pathetic smile, but I wasn't buying it today. "Well…"

She lingered on and I couldn't stand the anticipation of what she had to tell me. "Just spit it out, Lacy," I yelled.

"Fine. I might have told Drake something about you," she began.

My stomach dropped and I could feel my face grow pale. Oh no, what could she have told Drake? I had told Lacy personal information about my past, surely she wouldn't have betrayed my trust.

"What did you say?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"I told him that you might like Axel and that you didn't understand why he wasn't calling you," she said, moving herself a little bit farther away from me on the couch.

"You did what?" I screamed.

"I'm sorry. I gave Axel your number and I thought he would have called. I can tell he likes you, Drake thinks so too. I guess…well, I thought if he thought you liked him, maybe that would put a spark under his ass and get him to ask you out," she said, her eyes pleading for me to understand.

I shook my head, anger filling my entire body. I couldn't believe she had done that. She knew I wasn't interested in dating anyone. She knew my plans.

"Lacy, you went too far," I began. "This can't happen."

"Don't be mad at me. I swear, I really thought you and Axel might have a shot together," Lacy said.

As much as I wanted to be angry with her, I just couldn't. I knew her madness came from a good place.

"Look, I get what you were trying to do. But, I can handle myself. Please just drop it now."

Nodding her head, Lacy seemed to understand. "I promise to drop it."

We went back to watching our movie in awkward silence. Even though I forgave her, I was still hurt by what she had done and the idea Axel had never called.

***

A week later, I still hadn't heard from Axel, but Lacy had dragged me back to the Twisted Kingdom Clubhouse bar.

"You have no idea the things that man did to my body," Lacy said a little too loudly, as she sipped on a fruity cocktail.

Lacy and Drake were full on hot and heavy now and I had the horrific pleasure of hearing her moan night after night when he would venture to our apartment after the bar closed. The sounds of her bed shaking and the screams of pleasure ignited a desire inside of me for that same touch, but I had no idea if Axel was really interested in me that way. Lacy had stopped pressuring me about Axel, but now I wasn't sure if that was what I really wanted. Sure, I could probably head to any campus bar or go online to one of those dating websites, but what I craved was a dark haired man and an engine that roared my heart to life.

We were waiting at the bar where Drake had told Lacy to meet up with him. He had some surprise to show us.

Spotting Lacy, Drake walked over and kissed her before introducing her to a few of his biker friends. Even though they were dressed in leather vests, black boots, and had more tattoos than I could count, they were all very friendly to me. I stood by the door, noticeably out of place. Drake walked us to a table near the bar and we all sat down.

"Order whatever you want, drinks are on me," Drake stated with a smile.

"Awesome, I'm going to order everything!" a cheery voice rang out behind us.

I turned to see a beautiful woman bouncing up to the bar. She had bright red lipstick on.

"In your dreams, Red," Drake laughed. "Hey, meet Lacy and Ivy. is Blaze's girlfriend."

Drake introduced us and we all smiled and said hello.

was stunning and when she smiled, it seemed to light up the room. "Don't worry about these guys," said, leaning in close to me and Lacy. "They are all a bunch of teddy bears. Hey, I work at a cute boutique in town. You all should stop by sometime. "

"That sounds great," I replied.

Drake watched us with a big grin on his bearded face. Maybe and Lacy were right about these guys.

I did feel bad about judging him before, he did seem like a really nice guy and from the way he was looking at Lacy, I could tell he was into her.

I couldn't help but glance around the bar every chance I got. Whenever the front door would open, my heart would skip a beat only to be let down when it was just another bar patron and not the hot Raven Boy I was interested in seeing. Even though I would never admit that aloud. After two hours, I had finished my second drink and was ready to leave.

"Hey, it's about to start," Drake said, looking at the clock on his phone.

"What is starting?" I asked, as everyone began to get up and rush toward the back exit. I was too stunned and confused to do anything but follow them.

When we got outside, we were facing a long alleyway. There were two cars parked side by side. I spotted one of the Twisted Kingdom Clubhouse members, Ryder. He was getting into a souped-up Camaro. He revved the engine as I heard bets being made behind me. Is this some weird ultimate universe? I was literally just sitting inside a biker bar and now I am standing outside in the dark watching people gamble?

"What are they doing?" I asked aloud.

"Drag racing," Drake replied, as he threw his arm around Lacy's shoulders.

"Let's go watch," Lacy said, as she tugged on my arm .

"No way. That sounds dangerous and illegal," I replied.

"Oh, it is," Drake laughed beside us. "My baby brother here thinks he is some Nascar driver. He loves to fix up these cars and race behind the bar. He even races the bikes too," Drake said proudly. "He is constantly touring, but when he comes into town, he acts like he did in high school."

Pulling my arm, Lacy wasn't giving up.

"I will watch for ten minutes, then I'm leaving with or without you."

Lacy just rolled her eyes at my threat. We both knew I wasn't leaving without her.

"Are you leaving already?" A familiar voice asked me. I looked up to see Axel standing in front of me, smiling. He had on a pair of baggy jeans and a tight white tee shirt. He looked amazing.

"No, I am just observing this dangerous act about to take place," I stated, watching the people in front of us.

Looking up, I noticed how wild his black curly hair looked right now. It was screaming for me to run my hands through each strand, but I kept my hands to my side instead. I wanted to explore his body like my own personal wonderland, but I knew better than to act out my fantasies.

"You don't walk on the wild side very much do you?" he laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, my hands resting on my hips. I loved when he teased me, even though I would never admit that to him. It only built up the foreplay I wished would take place .

"You just look really uncomfortable being here," Axel laughed.

"I am glad you were amused," I added.

"You know, people pay a lot of money to watch Ryder race," he said, nodding toward the car.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" I asked.

"Nah, just letting you know how lucky you are," he chuckled.

Rolling my eyes, I let out a huff.

Just then, the cars began to rev their loud engines and everyone took a step back. I watched in wild fascination as the cars began to race at lightning speed past us. My hair blew around my face and I had to stop and catch my breath from the wind.

Axel reached down and took my small hand in his. The moment our fingers laced together, a wild spark was ignited in me. I sensed the heat from Axel, but it was the dark lust penetrating from his eyes that told me whatever was happening between us at this moment, was about to get wild. Turning his head, Axel licked his lips as he spoke. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

I could only nod my yes. Words had escaped me.

At that moment, I had never felt more alive. The rush of watching those cars drive past me outside of a bar I had no business being in, next to the hottest guy I had ever seen, was the most exhilarating moment of my life.