10. Manny

10

MANNY

His words shouldn’t mean anything. Who is he to me, anyway? Yet, for some reason, my sensitivity chip is on high alert. We’re supposed to be brothers, and while the guys rag on one another and sometimes Tag even throws a few punches when he’s in a really bad mood, but I thought we were a brotherhood. To him, I’m just the cook, and that’s fine. I don’t give a shit if he likes me or not, but to insult that I’m just a cook, like he’s better than me just because he wears a dirty patch on his cut? Asshole. I need to toughen up.

It also hits home that Bandit hasn’t been in the club that long, plus he skipped prospecting for the most part because he was in an MC previously, and he and Indi’s dad was an ex MC prez who’s now six feet under. But to have him rub it in my face? It shouldn’t hurt me this much, but it does. To think I’d even checked him out on more than one occasion, and admired his skills as a single Dad. I can’t say many would be cut out for the job with little to no help.

Now I take all of that back, well, aside from the Eli part because he looks up at me with his little chef’s hat on and all the annoyance melts away. He’s a sweet kid. God knows how Bandit managed to produce such a well-mannered, thoughtful child, but somehow he did, and I can’t take that away from him. As much as he is a dick right now, it isn’t Eli’s fault.

“Like this, Uncle Manny?”

I look at his floured board as he rolls the dough out. “Yep, exactly like that, a little thinner, then we can add the chocolate chips and fold the pastry over.”

He smiles, clearly more excited than I am right now, but that’s a given because he loves to get his hands in the mixing bowl.

Cami was supposed to join us, but Indi texted to say they got held up after school and wouldn’t be too far away. She can help with the second batch.

He does as I say and we work together to make an entire tray. Eli beams from ear to ear, and I can’t help but feel his enthusiasm. I even let him put the oven gloves on and place the tray in the middle rack. Go to Hell, Bandit. Eli can open a goddamn oven door, for heaven’s sake.

He shuts the oven door and I set the timer. “This is gonna be epic.”

It kills me to say it, but I remind myself this is about Eli, not about me and his dick father. “I’ll take some pics and film them baking. We can send them to your dad if you like.” Eli doesn’t have a phone, thank God. Kids are getting phones way too young these days, in my opinion.

“Cool!” He wipes his hands on his apron and looks up at me expectantly.

I laugh. “We gotta wait for Cami.” I check my phone, then I see a text from Bandit. “She shouldn’t be too far away. How about I make us a hot chocolate while we wait?”

He nods enthusiastically. “I can help clean up.”

“That’d be good,” I say, glancing around. “Looks like there was a chocolate explosion in here.”

He giggles, filling the sink as I flick to the text from Bandit.

Bandit

Listen man, I was outta line

Huh. I guess that’s his shitty way of apologizing for being so rude.

I can’t help myself…

Me

It’s amazing to me how you produced such a well-mannered, adorable child

The gray bubble appears, then disappears, then starts again. Then…

Bandit

He takes after his mom

Guilt hits my chest, even though I’ve nothing to feel guilty about. I know all about his wife, Jill, who died following an accident before Eli was born. Indi still gets choked up about it and one night, she poured her heart out. I know from being around Bandit that he’s a completely closed book. He never talks about anything to anyone, except maybe his sister, but that’s understandable. I also know they both had a brutal upbringing that included violence to the extreme. Maybe I should’ve been a little more thoughtful in my reply about Eli. The son shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of the Father.

Me

Now I feel like a dick

Bandit

He’s all I got

Wow. For him to even admit that kinda shocks me. I’m not one to hold grudges. Life’s too short.

Me

No he isn’t. You have the club. Even those of us not patched in

Bandit

I feel like a dick for saying that. I have anger issues

Me

It’s fine. I don’t need a patch to know I belong to this club

Bandit

So, we’re good?

Me

You owe me a drink, but yeah, we’re good

Bandit

How’s my kid doin’? Made a mess of the kitchen already?

I glance up at Eli, singing away to himself as he washes dishes. He’s not one bit of trouble. Unlike his old man.

Me

He’s an angel. Guess he definitely doesn’t take after you

Bandit

I can be an angel, just not in the bedroom

My heart rate accelerates at his words, not that they’re meant for me. Tough guys like him love bragging about all the pussy they get. Not that I’ve seen Bandit around the clubhouse much lately, or with sweet butts, but they sure as fuck like him. He fits the bill with his body covered in tattoos and those piercing, pretty eyes and perfect face. He’s a stripper, for Christ's sake.

Me

Ok. Good to know. Though, a little TMI

Bandit

Maybe we should hang out sometime. You still like pussy, right?

And there we have it. I was waiting for Beefcake to appear and it didn’t take long. I make a mental note to update his nickname in my phone contacts.

Me

I don’t like to objectify women

I smirk to myself. That isn’t entirely true, as I still call it pussy in my head, but I wouldn’t be saying that out loud to any of the women. They expect more from me.

Me

If we’re really gonna get into the nitty gritty, I have to have a connection. Male or female. If I don’t feel that, then I’m not into it

The gray bubble appears, then disappears again. What is he playing at?

I never get much more than a one word grunt, but it feels like we’re making a little progress.

Bandit

Maybe I’m getting old, but I feel exactly the same way

Me

Haven’t seen you around any of the sweet butts lately. You all good?

Bandit

Just been busy

Also a lie. The brothers make time to fuck, that much is for certain. But I feel like there’s something I’m missing. Like maybe he’s seeing someone but doesn’t want to say.

I think about him being over at my house with Lace. He had an awfully big smug smile for me that day. My mind wanders… she said she was seeing someone casually at Vault XL, and I just assumed she meant one of the security or bar staff. It never entered my head that she could mean one of the entertainment. Wait. Could he really be the guy she’s been seeing? My intuition isn’t that rusty, and this is starting to make more sense. She told me things had heated up recently, but I don’t know if they went all the way. Then I think about her admission that night on my couch… She also told me I didn’t know the guy, but she could be saving face, or protecting him.

He likes to watch.

At Club After Dark. They have rooms there where people fuck and you can watch.

Jesus, that was so hot. I can’t even imagine fucking Lace while some other guy, Bandit , watched. But the idea of him watching us makes me dizzy. The idea of me touching him, even though deep down I think he’s still a douchebag, makes my skin prickle with heat.

I don’t like how I have feelings like that for him, especially when he’s straight. I admit, the man is hot as fuck, but he was quick to be a dick the second he got the chance. Is Bandit the guy she’s seeing who wants to watch? The guy who wants to share her?

Me

You sure that’s all it is? Not losing your magic touch?

Bandit

The last chick I banged a few nights ago didn’t seem to think so

My heart hammers in my chest. Lace? My mind goes into overdrive… Did he bang Lace? I don’t feel as jealous as I did the first time I thought about him flirting with her. Now it feels… kinda hot.

Thinking about me watching Bandit fuck Lace makes me grip the counter. It’s too much. They’re both too much. I don’t know if I could handle it, and I’ve seen and done a lot of shit in my time.

Me

Lucky you

We need to get off this subject…

Me

Here’s your child making croissants

I send him the pics I took earlier of Eli holding the tray out. Then I crouch down and take a pic through the oven. I’ll send more when they’re cooked.

Bandit

Thanks, Manny. He really looks up to you

Fine. He may not be as much of a douchebag as I thought.

“Your dad likes the pics,” I say as Eli dries his hands. “We’ll have to make sure we save him a couple to try.”

Eli high fives me. “Are they done yet?” He peers through the glass door.

“Another ten minutes or so.” The waft fills the bakery, and it smells amazing.

I tap out another message. The fight that never was is over, life’s too short to hold grudges.

Me

Any time

“Oh, my God!” Lace covers her eyes as she spills popcorn everywhere. We’re having a midweek movie night since Shep interrupted Sunday plans. This is the second time we’ve got together on the couch in a week, and I have to say, it’s nice having her around. Even if my feelings are clouding my vision. There’s something about having Lace in my personal space that feels right. She’s tidy, just like she promised, quiet, and it appears that — at the moment — she doesn’t have any bad habits. I know she can’t be perfect, but she’s pretty close to it.

I glance at her as she snuggles closer to me. “You chose this dumb movie,” I chuckle. “You can’t blame me when I’m the rom-com queen.”

She tips her head into the crook of my arm and buries her face. “Fast forward, please!”

I shake my head, enjoying her warmth. She smells like cinnamon donuts. “Nope. You have to sit it out.”

“You’re so mean!” She playfully thumps my chest with one fist, then raises her head.

I look down at her, our bodies pressed together. I hope to God she can’t feel the wood going on between my legs right now, but I am wearing sweats. She has on this tiny tank that barely covers her tits and little sleep shorts that have me praying to the heavens above that I can keep it in my pants. I can’t fuck my roommate, or a club sister. Then again, there’s a high chance I’ve put the little mystery of her and Bandit together. I’m either really goddamn smart, or I’m clutching at straws because it’s a fantasy that I wouldn’t mind recreating.

“I just drizzled caramel over your popcorn and I made us hot chocolates with whipped cream and peppermint syrup, how is that mean?”

She pushes up, her tits press against my side and I hold in a groan. “Because you won’t let me tap out.”

I smirk. “Tap out? Really?”

Her eyes drop to my lips and my heart rate kicks up a notch. What the fuck?

I’ve watched tons of movies with the girls over the years, none of them cuddle up to me like this. Of course, the ol’ ladies wouldn’t do that anyway, but even the single women of the club sit on their side of the couch. We don’t snuggle. We hug because I’m that kinda guy, but we don’t cuddle on the couch under blankets with barely anything between us. My dick is so painfully hard, especially after thinking about her and Bandit a few days ago.

“Yes, it’s mean.” She presses a hand to her heart and my eyes drop. I can clearly see her hard nipples through the thin fabric of her tank. “You’re not a nice landlord.”

I smirk. “Really?”

“You’re fantastic,” she giggles.

“Lace?”

“Mmm?”

“Are you flirtin’ with me?”

She swallows hard, her hand moves to my bicep and clutches it. “I know when I kissed you it got awkward, and I’m sorry for that?—”

“It wasn’t awkward.” I stop there. I don’t want to add anything more because I’ll be a goddamn liar. I bite the inside of my cheek to save from blurting anything out I can’t take back.

“But I can’t stop thinking about it,” she whispers.

I swallow hard. “Me either. I shouldn’t be admitting that. We both know this is a bad idea. We live together now. You’re Riot’s sister…”

“I know.” Her lips hover dangerously close. Too close. “But you’re just so… delicious.”

My heart feels like it might burst out of my chest at her admission. “You just sayin’ that ‘cause I come home smellin’ like chocolate croissants.”

She smiles. “Bandit told me you cooked with Eli. That was sweet of you.”

Bandit told her?

“Bandit?” I pretend I’m dumb. I think I’m piecing this together, and I’m weirdly not mad about it.

“I ran into him at the club.”

I press my lips together. “That reminds me. You said you’re pretty heavy with the guy you’re seein’. Anything happen with him?”

A flush stains her cheeks and my dick jerks. It has. Oh, brother. Do I really want to know if the girl I’m crushing on fucked another dude?

“Uh.”

I bump her with my hips. “It’s okay, you can tell me. I won’t say anything to anyone.” I make a cross motion over my heart.

“It feels weird, telling you this when I’m…”

I wait, trying not to groan at every touch of her hot little hands. I don’t know if she has any idea that her hands are roaming my body idly.

“When you’re?”

She steels herself, her eyes flicking up to mine again. “When I like you, too.”

“Lace.”

“Don’t Lace me. I’m just being honest. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you.” Her lips part. “Are you attracted to me?”

There’s no point in lying. “Yes, but that isn’t the reason I asked you to move in, and I need you to know that.”

Her smile is sincere. “I know that.” She narrows her eyes. “What’s your real name?”

I smirk. “You really want to know?”

She nods. “Yep.” She pops the ‘P’, making me laugh.

“Emmanuel.”

Her eyes soften. “That suits you. I like it.”

I snort. “Well, my junkie mom got one thing right, but nobody has called me that in years, except my grandma, but she died.” I think about my Maw-Maw every day and how much I miss her. How much I wish I could go back in time and spend every single day with her. She taught me so much and loved me with every inch of my being.

“I’m so sorry.”

“We’re getting off topic.”

“The topic of?”

“Did you have sex with him?”

Her lips part as her eyes dart away. “Yes.” Her soft reply is filled with trepidation.

“Was it good?”

She bites her lip. I’m amazed when she doesn’t tell me to mind my own fucking business. “Manny, it was so good.”

“That’s great, I mean, if it’s what you want…”

Her lips press against mine and I groan, one hand reaching into her hair to pull her closer. Her lips are so fucking soft. She’s all breathy when we pull apart, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“It was great, but I can’t stop thinking about what I told you. About us, and him. Watching us. Joining us. It’s all I can think about.”

“So he’s really okay with another man being with you?”

She nods. “He said he’s up for it, in the right situation. It’s not like he’s my boyfriend. We’re fooling around.”

“So did he mention After Dark?”

“No, I did. So, you’d still be up for that?”

Hell, yeah. I could grab my keys right now and drive on down there. Not that they’re likely to be open on a Wednesday night. My sad, pathetic life flashes in front of my eyes.

“Lace, you know I like you. I just don’t want things to get weird with us. We’re under the same roof now, and we’re friends, not to mention all the other stuff I just laid out.”

“We could be friends with benefits.” She presses a kiss to my lips again and she melts into my touch. I play with the ends of her hair. When she lifts back, I glance down and one of her nipples is peaking out of her tank.

I can’t help myself. I brush it with my thumb and she shivers, glancing down. She doesn’t try to adjust herself. She just lets me play. I know I shouldn’t. I should pull her tank back up, tell her that this is too close for comfort and we should stop. Instead, I pull the fabric of her tank down a little more, revealing more of her juicy tit. My throat thickens and feels dry at the sight of her. She lifts, straddling over me as I fondle her. Palming the other one still hidden under her top. I can’t get her naked. I can’t get her naked…

“Lace, if we fuck…”

“We can just play,” she breathes. “If you don’t want to...”

“I want to.” I lean up, closing the distance as I close my lips over her nipple, then pull back. “But it’s gonna get complicated with another guy involved.”

“He’s okay with it, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t a little possessive. There’s meant to be no complications between us, as long as we’re honest. But I’m overthinking it…”

Knowing it’s an open situation makes me feel better. I wouldn’t want to be ‘the other guy’. And I’ve never been a cheater, but this way I’m off the hook. I mean, I’ve fantasized, but having Bandit in the room while we get busy is so goddamn hot. So is doing Lace with him at the same time. My balls tighten at the very idea.

“It’ll change things.” I blow on her nipple as her hands reach into my hair and she grinds her pussy on my dick over my sweats. I move one hand down to her hip, gripping it as I shift her hips back and forth, enjoying the friction.

“That doesn’t matter.” She drops the other strap of her tank, her tit falling out. I reach for it, and she keeps grinding against me. I want to feel between her legs, but before I even shift my hands, she does it for me. As I watch, she slides my hand down her body and into her sleep shorts. I groan when I feel her heat.

“Fuck!” She’s so slick, and she’s not wearing any panties. I suck her other nipple, pulling it with my teeth as my fingers brush her clit.

“Manny!”

Fuck yeah.

“Rub your pussy on me, Chantilly. Make yourself come.”

The friction is making me leak and I know I’m gonna come in my pants if she keeps this up.

“Right there,” she moans. I suckle harder, circling her little bud, and then she squeezes her eyes shut and fuck me if she doesn’t throw her head back groaning, then she’s coming all over my fingers. Watching her unravel is like sweet, sweet heaven.

Before I can even blink, she’s sliding her hand into the inside of my sweats and into my underwear. I’m rock hard and wet, desperate for her touch.

“God, you’re big,” she breathes.

I stare up at her. Our hands in each other’s pants, her tits wet from my sloppy kisses, the peaks painfully hard and bouncing in my face. She keeps rubbing against me, fisting my cock now as my eyes roll into the back of my head.

“I’m average,” I manage. “Nothing that great.”

She shakes her head. “Always so humble.” Her words hum in her throat. “I want you to get off all over me.”

I want to flip her over and slide my cock into her wet heat, but with Lace, it has to be her decision. If we cross that line for real, it changes the dynamics. I know what I want. The question is, does she really want the same thing? It’s one thing to be doing this, but it’s quite another after we go there to be able to go back to what we were. To being friends. Roommates.

I’m losing my head, that’s all I know. And right now? Right now, I want to keep what’s mine.