Phoenix

M ost people were excited about their twenty-first birthday, but wasn’t. She felt as though she had lived a lifetime already, but she was still going to try to enjoy herself. Aggie had planned a whole special night for her. She was going to stay home with Lydia and was going into Savage Hell, for the first time, with some of her old high school girlfriends.

wasn’t sure how they would all respond to her being back home, but her three closest friends had welcomed her back to town with open arms. Juno, Rebel, and Vixen were all a part of the Royal Harlots, and they asked her to come down to the clubhouse to celebrate on her twenty-first. They promised to introduce her to some hot bikers, but she was only thinking about one biker she wanted for her birthday, and he didn’t want her. She agreed to their plans, but all she wanted to do was stay home and pout about the fact that Riggs had turned her down flat.

She was just about dressed when she noticed that a light turned on in Rigg’s home on the second floor. She had seen him in there a few times, and from what she could tell, it was his bedroom. Sure, watching him through her bedroom window made her a Peeping Tom, but she just couldn’t seem to be able to help herself. Every night, she sat in the darkness of her room and watched Riggs strip out of his clothes and crawl into bed in just his boxer briefs. At first, she felt dirty watching him and after he took off his T-shirt, she looked away, but she quickly forgot her shyness and started to watch the whole show. Hell, if he didn’t want her watching him, he should close the blinds to his bedroom window. At least, that was how she was justifying her actions.

A part of her wondered if maybe he wanted her to watch him. She’d fantasize about him knowing that she was there in the darkness, looking at him and longing that he’d finally give in to her and take her out. She’d even be willing to skip the date part and jump right to the sex if that was what he wanted. There was just something about Riggs that drove her half-crazy with lust and there was nothing that she could do about it. didn’t care that he was almost ten years older than her. None of that ever mattered to her—she just wished she could convince him that age was just a number, but from the way that he turned her down when she asked him out, that was going to be tough to do.

“,” Aggie called up to her from downstairs, “the girls are here.” She looked back over at Riggs’ house and sighed. Tonight wasn’t about him—it was about her and her girlfriends. She was going to meet the rest of the Royal Harlots and with any luck, she’d have some new friends in town.

She checked herself in the mirror one last time, turned off her light, and headed downstairs to where everyone was waiting for her. “You all are making me feel like I’m going to the school dance with the way you’re watching me walk down the staircase. Cut it the fuck out.” Her friends laughed and by the time she got to the second step, they were pulling her in for hugs, one at a time. She had to admit, it was good to know that her old friends still had her back, even after not seeing them for four years. Seeing them again felt like old times, and with any luck, tonight she’d be able to let her hair down and have some fun. It had been so long since she had fun, and knew that it was overdue.

“You ready to hit the road?” Rebel asked.

Before she could answer, Vixen grabbed ’s hand into her own and started tugging her to the front door. “She’s ready,” Vixen insisted.

“Hold up, I need to say goodnight to my daughter,” said.

“We met her,” Juno chimed in, “and she’s super cute.”

“Thanks,” said, “I think she’s super cute too. Where is she, Aggie?” she asked her grandmother.

“I hate to tell you this, but she’s already down for the night,” Aggie said. checked the clock on the wall and realized that it was an hour past Lydia’s bedtime. She had missed saying goodnight to her baby because she was busy staring at a half-naked man who didn’t seem to want anything to do with her.

“Ugg, I feel awful that I missed kissing her goodnight,” groaned.

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” her grandmother insisted. “You will be here to kiss her good morning.”

“With any luck, she won’t be here in the morning,” Juno teased, giving them all an exaggerated wink.

“I’ll be here,” insisted, “but don’t wait up for me Aggie. I might get home late.”

“Don’t worry about me, dear,” her grandmother said. “I can still stay up late and party with the best of them. You just go have fun.” wanted to point out that Lydia was not a partier yet, and that Aggie should get some rest, but she knew not to waste her breath on her grandmother.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Aggie,” Vixen said, “we’ll make sure has a good time. And the next time we go to Savage Hell, hopefully, we’ll see you there too.” Her grandmother winked and smiled at them and wanted to protest that Aggie shouldn’t be going to biker bars. She should be staying home and knitting or something, not chasing after bikers at a bar.

“Let’s go,” Rebel ordered. “I told the girls that we would be there at eight and it's quarter after. You know that I hate being late.” Rebel was always a little rough around the edges except for when it came to her appearance and punctuality. That was the thing that remembered most about her friend.

“Dear Lord, if you start lecturing us about how important it is to be on time, I’m going to scream bloody murder,” Vixen grumbled.

“Go ahead and scream to your heart’s content,” Rebel said. “If you are late to meet someone, that just shows that—”

“You think you are more important than they are,” Vixen and Juno finished for her, making giggle. They all got into Juno’s car since she was the only one who had an actual car with room for the four of them. Rebel only had a bike, and Vixen had a pickup truck, like . Juno offered to drive, saying that she was pretty sure that two of them having to sit in the truck bed wasn’t going to fly with any of them.

Rebel slid into the backseat, next to and leaned over to her. “I’d love to tell you that Juno is a good driver, but I can’t. She’s just the only one of us with an actual car.”

“Hey,” Juno shouted from the driver’s seat. “I’m not that bad of a driver.”

“From what I remember about you driving us all to school every morning, you were a pretty crazy driver. Has it gotten any better?” asked. Every morning before school, Rebel would make the rounds and pick them all up. was the youngest of the group by two years, and at just fourteen years old, she learned a lot from her three older friends—maybe too much.

“If the two backseat drivers don’t pipe down, I’m going to pull the school bus over and you two can walk,” Juno said. She used to say that every morning on their way to high school after they each criticized her driving. They all giggled at Juno and had to admit, it felt good to be a part of their group again.

After she took off, she never really found a group of friends. She was too busy trying to survive on the streets and after Lydia came along, she knew that her days and nights would belong to her daughter, so she never even tried to make friends with anyone.

“I’ve missed you weirdos,” almost whispered. She wasn’t sure if any of them had even heard her until they all stopped laughing and gave her an “Aww”.

“Okay, enough mushy stuff,” Rebel insisted. “Tell us what you’ve been doing for the past few weeks since you got back to town. Were you just too busy to call and let the three of us know that you were living at Aggie’s? Hearing it from her hurt our feelings.” Rebel was always a shoot-from-the-hip kind of girl, and honestly, she had no explanation for why she had been hiding away from the rest of the world once she got to Aggie’s. Maybe she hid because she didn’t want to run into Riggs after he turned her down and she made a fool of herself by running over to his house.

“I’ve just been sleeping a lot and catching up with Aggie,” she said. That was the truth, even if it felt as though she was lying to them. “Plus, Lydia takes up most of my time. I’ve also been looking for a job,” she quickly added. Both of those things were also true, even though she was unsuccessful at even landing an interview. She couldn’t put down any of her prior job experience on an application, so she just left that part blank.

“They are hiring waitresses at Savage Hell,” Vixen offered. “I’m friends with Savage’s wife, Dallas, and can get you an interview if you want.”

“Hey, that would be a good birthday present,” Juno chimed in. She was right, it would be a sweet birthday present, being able to tell Aggie that she had found a job and was going to be able to pay for herself and her daughter.

“Um, as long as you don’t think he’d mind talking to me, I’m game,” said.

“Do you have any experience at waitressing?” Vixen asked. She did, but how did she explain to her friends or Savage that it was at a strip club that she also danced at? Would he even give her a chance if she did admit it?

“Yes,” she said, although she didn’t sound convincing even to her own ears.

“Okay, I’m sure that you’ll fit right in. The only thing is, you’ll be waitressing for the Royal Bastards and not the Harlots,” Vixen said.

“They both meet at the bar, but on alternate nights. Tonight is a special night because both clubs are using the bar tonight for a joint party. It’s going to be so much fun,” Juno squealed. She pulled into the same parking lot that had been stranded in just weeks ago when Riggs rode into her rescue. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t do the same for her again, given the circumstances.

They parked in the back of the lot, and all got out of the car. could feel her friends’ excitement and all she could feel were butterflies in the pit of her stomach because she was suddenly so nervous. They walked into the back door of the bar and felt about ready to throw up. She wasn’t usually this nervous to go to a bar, but for some reason, tonight she was.

“I’ll go find Savage, and you stay here,” Vixen ordered.

“We’re doing that now?” asked.

“Yep, because we planned on getting you shit-faced and you won’t be able to interview for anything then,” Vixen said. They were going to be the death of her, but needed a job and if Savage had one to give, she’d do as Vixen ordered. She waited in the back hallway until Vixen appeared with a giant man covered in tattoos. “Savage,” he said, holding out his large hand to her. She slipped hers into his and it looked as though it had completely disappeared.

“Um, I’m ,” she squeaked.

“I hear you are Aggie’s granddaughter,” Savage said, “and that it’s your birthday.” She glared at Vixen who just shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal to tell a total stranger ’s personal business.

“Yes, and it is,” said.

“Well, happy birthday. Your drinks are on me tonight,” Savage said.

“Oh, I couldn’t let you do that,” insisted.

“Sure, you can—it’s already done. And I hear that you have waitressing experience. Would you like to work here?” he asked.

tried to look around him and Vixen but had no luck. “Um, I think that I would, but I haven’t seen the place yet.”

Savage’s deep baritone laugh filled the hallway, and he led the way out to the bar. The place was packed and rowdy as hell. She knew that it would keep her on her toes, being a waitress there, but it seemed like a pretty fun place to work.

“You have a great place,” she shouted over the music.

“Does that mean you’ll take the job then?” Savage asked. She nodded her agreement, and he shook her hand. “You can start tomorrow,” he said, “be here at seven and wear comfortable shoes.” He looked down at her heels and shook his head. “Not those.” She smiled up at him and nodded again.

“Thank you,” she shouted.

“Go have fun, but not too much fun. You have to work tomorrow night,” he ordered. gave him a mock salute and he laughed again. “I like her,” he said to Vixen. They talked for a few minutes and stood there feeling like a third wheel. She looked around the bar, noting that everyone there seemed to be having fun, and she wondered if it was always that way. At her old job, they had a lot of fights, usually between rival gangs. Savage Hell seemed like a great place to work.

decided to venture to the bar on her own while Vixen finished her conversation with Savage. That was when she saw him—Riggs. He was sitting at the end of the bar, staring her down, and from the scowl on his handsome face, he wasn’t too happy to see her. Well, two could play that game. was just fine drinking at the other end of the bar with her friends. She didn’t need Riggs to pay her one bit of attention—and yeah, that was a total lie.