Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

OMARI

"Here are the insurance papers you need," Big Raf says behind me as I'm getting Little Raf dressed a few days later. I look over my shoulder and see him holding a manilla envelope. "For Baby Rafael to see a doctor."

"Oh," I say, surprised. I told him I needed them, but didn't think he'd actually do it. He didn't seem real keen on doing anything for Little Raf. "Did you add me as his guardian as well? Not that I'm his guardian, but you know."

"Shane gave you medical proxy for Little Raf." I grin at his use of the nickname. "You can make all medical decisions. Just run them by me first, yeah?"

"Of course." I stand the baby up, letting him bounce a few times before I take him in my arms. "Looks like we can make some appointments, big man. How does that sound?" Little Raf babbles and I smile. I look up at Big Raf and decide to try again. "Want to hold him?" I hold my breath, hoping he'll at least try. He asked me the other day how he was, so maybe he's making strides to be better.

To my surprise, he dips his head quickly and holds his arms out. I stifle my smile as I hand him the baby, watching how he arranges him in his arms awkwardly.

Big Raf looks at me with wide eyes. "Am I doing this right?"

"You are. Well, here." I adjust the baby in his arms so he's not holding him as he would a newborn. "There. That's it."

He looks down at Little Raf in awe, like he can't believe he's holding him or that the baby is quiet while he's doing it. I step back, allowing them a moment.

A minute or two later, he hands him back to me, looking almost relieved. "I'll be back late. Will you be up?"

"Umm," I stammer, stunned. Raf has never asked me anything like that. I didn't think he really paid me any attention. Well, not until … that night. "Probably. I usually stick to Little Raf's schedule."

"Okay." He stares at me for a brief moment, his eyes trailing down my body like they did when we were in the kitchen. Then he leaves, taking my breath with him.

With shaky hands, I pull out my phone and shoot Shane a text, needing some adult interaction. And someone that knows Big Raf.

Me: I have to run an errand today, but do you think Little Raf and I can take you up on the offer to hang out?

Shane texts back immediately.

Shane: Yes. I'd love to hang out. I'll be off by three. You can come over at any time after .

I smile, sliding my phone in my pocket and putting on Little Raf's shoes. I really need to sit with an adult today. The only friend I had was Kit and he's no longer talking to me. I need to talk to someone that can expression themselves in words, not raspberries. And I need help untangling what happened with Big Raf.

The way he touched me the other night, how his fingers ghosted over my skin. How those dark eyes bored into me, fiery with need as he stared down at me. That can't be right though. Big Raf is so fucking hot, and I'm this chubby guy that someone like him doesn't usually look at twice. I'm just … I'm so confused. I need to talk to someone about it or I'll go fucking crazy.

But first, I have to go pay Brock his money. As soon as Big Raf gave me the money, I sent Brock a text, telling him I had his money and would meet him to pay him back. He didn't reply. I blew his phone up with calls and texts but got nothing. I even drove past Kit's house, thinking if I saw Brocks's car, I'd march up to the door and give him the cash so he could leave me the fuck alone. But there was no sign of him. The day that I was to repay him came and went with no word from him. I was hoping he let me off the hook and wouldn't want the money back.

My luck isn't that good, apparently.

Today is the first day he's messaged me back, saying I can come over to Kit's and give him the money. Even though the three days passed, it's his fault he didn't get paid on time. I called and texted and he blew me off. That's on him. Once he has this money, we're fucking done.

I get Little Raf's bag packed after I feed him some carrots—which he loves—and we head out to get our day started.

This is probably one of the best gigs I've ever had. Not only is there a cute baby, but I get to sit around and play with him for most of the day. He's so chill, only crying or whining when he's hungry or overly tired. Two weeks in and we already have a schedule, one that's reasonable and easy to follow. Little Raf wakes up at eight, we hang out for a few hours after I feed him, have lunch at noon where he goes down for a nap right after until around two, then I do whatever needs doing while he plays with any of the toys I have for him. Or he sits in his highchair and watches me move around. Then we hang out until dinner time and he goes down for the night.

Super cushy job.

And I've grown to love him. He's such a joy to be around. He makes me happy every time he laughs and when he falls asleep in my arms.

Like now, he's blowing spit bubbles, laughing when they pop across his lips. "You're a jokester, aren't you?" I ask him rhetorically. "Having all kinds of fun."

He meets my eyes, as if he knows what I just said and blows another bubble. "That would be gross if you weren't so cute," I tell him as I boop him on the nose.

After I strap him into his car seat, I climb into the driver's seat and blow out a long breath. I wish I could have waited until someone could sit with Little Raf while I went to repay Brock. Brock is really fucking unpredictable. I'm not sure if he'll try to hurt Little Raf just to hurt me. I'll just drop the money and leave, not putting the baby in any danger.

If Shane were off, I'd ask him to keep the baby, but Brock told me to come now, and I don't want to prolong any of this.

"Won't take long," I tell Little Raf as we head to Kit's place. "We'll be in and out. Then we can go shopping and see Shane. How does that sound?"

Of course, Little Raf doesn't answer. Not like I expect him to. I sigh long and hard as I turn onto Kit's street. This is why I need to talk to an adult. I've grown used to conversing with an infant.

When I pull up to the townhouse, I steel myself and get out, grabbing the baby and making sure the money is still in my pocket.

I march to the house and knock on the door, adjusting the baby on my hip. Brock pulls the door open, smiling lecherously when he sees me. A disgusted shudder runs down my spine as I eye him.

"Hey, Omari. You're looking good."

"Spare me, Brock. Here's your money," I say, reaching into my pocket and forcing the wad of bills into his hand. "We're square."

He looks down at the cash in his hand. "You left a bag here. Kit told me to make sure you take it with you."

"Bring it to me," I say, not wanting to step foot into the house.

Brock has other plans. He lashes his hand out and wraps it around my bicep, pulling me inside before I can dig my heels in. If I didn't have Little Raf in my arms, I would have tried to fight against him, but I don't want to jostle the baby.

When the door is closed behind me, I pull away from him, moving further into the room to put space between us. I search quickly with my eyes for a bag I left, but I see nothing.

"Where is it?" I ask, pulling Little Raf closer to me. He wraps his little arms around my neck and I take comfort from his small touch. "Where's the bag?"

"Aw, come on now," Brock purrs, making my skin crawl. "Put that baby down and get on your knees. Then I'll forgive that thousand dollars you owe me."

"Thousand dollars? Brock, you have two grand in your hand right now. I don't owe you anything else."

"You do. You owe me interest," he says, backing me into the wall. I turn my body so I'm shielding Little Raf, but don't take my eyes off Brock. "I gave you three days. Today is day five. Every day you were late a five-hundred-dollar fee."

I glare at him, putting my hand on the baby's back when he starts to whimper and fuss. "You son of a bitch. You crooked son of a bitch. I tried to pay you, Brock! I called and texted the past few days and you were nowhere to be found!" It hits me quickly why he didn't answer when I tried to reach out. "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You wanted to add some bullshit interest that you knew I couldn't pay off."

He smiles like a cat that caught the canary and reaches for me. I shrink against the wall, curling my shoulders around the baby. Fuck, I wish I had waited and asked Big Raf to come with me. It was stupid to put the baby in this position. He could get hurt because of my bullshit.

Brock's hand trails down my arm and I allow it since both hands are around Little Raf. "You can work it off, you know?"

"We've been through this," I say through gritted teeth. "I already fucking said no. You made me lose my best friend because of your lies. Let me leave."

"You'll leave when—" He stops talking when the sound of keys in the lock catches our attention.

Kit might not want to see me, but I'm glad he's here. I'm not sure how I would have gotten away if he didn't show up.

He pushes through the door, head down as he pulls the key from the lock. "Forgot my lunch so I thought I'd—" Kit stops talking when he looks up and sees me pressed against the wall, Brock standing in front of me. "What the fuck, Omari? You came back while I was working to steal my man?"

"Yeah fucking right," I say, easing around Brock, who hasn't moved much. "I'm only here to give him the money I owe him, that's it. I told you I don't want him and never did. Besides, you think I'd fuck him with a baby in my arms? I thought you were smarter than that, Kit." He scowls at me.

As I get closer to Kit, I see a faint bruise under his right eye. I may not like him in this moment, but he's been my best friend for almost my entire life. I can't turn off the love and protectiveness I feel for him.

Stopping in front of him, I grip his chin and twist his face so I can see better. He slaps my hand away, but he averts his gaze. I sigh, patting Little Raf's back as he squirms. "Are you okay?" I whisper.

"Fine," he says in a hard voice. "We're happy. You need to leave."

I step closer so Brock can't hear. "Please, Kit. If he's hurting you, you can come to me. I'll help you get away."

Brock walks over to us, pulling Kit against him. "Make sure you have that thousand dollars you owe me in two weeks."

"Fuck you, Brock. I've paid you the money I owed you. No pills are worth three thousand dollars. Hell, two grand was too much. Consider yourself fucking lucky you have that. I won't pay you another penny." I look down at Little Raf, mumbling an apology for my language. "Stay the fuck away from me."

Brock smiles, but it's not a happy one. It promises retribution and pain. "We'll see, Omari."

With one last look at Kit's bruised face, I throw the door open and storm out. Hopefully, Kit realizes he deserves better than fucking Brock and will reach out to me. I don't know what I can do, but I can at least ask for some help. Shane is a lawyer; he may be able to give me some insight.

"Hey! Glad you found the place okay," Shane says, blocking the door with his body. "Let me get Zeus into the room and you can come in. Every time we open the front door, he thinks it's time to go out for a walk." Shane shuts the door and there's shuffling for a moment, then he opens it wide for us to enter. "Sorry about that."

"No worries." I step inside and look around the clean and well-kept home. It's nice. Homey. The complete opposite of Big Raf's house. I put the potted plant up, but it's the only color in the place. I'm putting up those fucking pictures today. "Nice place."

"I would say thanks, but I only contributed the couch. This is Zeke's childhood home."

Shane lets his dog out of the bedroom by the time we're in the living room and I smile at the beautiful dog. He's mostly black, with white patches on his paws and chest. He can't be more than three or four.

He trots over to us, sniffing at me, then at Little Raf. Then he circles at the spot on the floor just beside me and lies down, resting his head on my feet.

Shane grins as he sits down. "He likes you. Then again, the little traitor likes everyone. At the dog park, he tries to leave with at least three other families."

I laugh, reaching down to pet him. "He's a beautiful little pup. I like him too." Zeus turns his head to lick my hand, then lies back down.

"So what's up?" Shane asks. "How are you settling in?"

"Good. Big Raf is?—"

"Oh my god, he lets you call him that?" Shane interrupts with wide eyes.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "Well, yeah. I call the baby Little Raf. It only makes sense."

"Zeke will not let him live that down." Shane pulls out his phone and starts texting, a wide grin on his face. When he's done, he looks at me and his smile drops. "Oh shit, that was rude, I didn't let you answer. I'm sorry. How are things going?"

I smile at him. "It's fine. As I was saying, things are going well. We had a few bumps, but I think we're good now."

My face heats as I think about just how good we might be.

After Big Raf went into his room, I heard his moans and grunts as he got himself off. Was it because of me? Because he touched me and felt my hardening cock against his leg? That couldn't be, right?

I was up the whole night trying to figure out if he was touching himself because of me or he was just horny and needed a release. Half of my brain kept telling me that it was because of me, but the other half told me he would never want someone like me and I was imagining things. It made for a long night of wrestling with myself.

Shane catches the blush on my face. "Did something … happen?"

I rub my hands over my curls, trying to figure out just what I should tell him. Shane and I aren't friends. He's with Zeke, who's in the motorcycle club. He has more loyalty to Big Raf than he does to me. But fuck, I just need to talk to someone. My heart clenches because the first person I wanted to call to sort things out was Kit.

Deciding to go for it, I say, "I think so." I run through exactly what happened that night, from Big Raf coming into the kitchen and scaring the shit out of me, to how his large, hard dick poked me in the belly when he told me he thought I looked good.

Shane smiles. "He's not wrong, you know?" I raise an eyebrow. "You're hot, Omari." I scoff but feel my face heat at the compliment. "Prez isn't a liar. If he said it, he meant it. I've known him for almost ten years and this is the first time I've heard him do anything like this."

"Like what?"

"Have interest in a man. Or anyone for that matter. Prez is a really private person. He lets people in, but not easily. I didn't think he would drop his guard enough to be with someone in such a personal way."

"Is that bad?" I ask, unsure of what I'm getting into here. Nothing really happened between the two of us, but I'd like it to. I need to know what to expect.

Shane shrugs. "I'm not sure. I hope not. I like you and so does Little Raf," he says, indicating the baby that's dozing off on my shoulder.

I look down at him and kiss his forehead. I like Little Raf a lot. And Big Raf. I like them both. I don't know what's going on with me and Big Raf, but I'd like to find out. He said he isn't a liar and Shane agrees. He proved it today when he said he'd try and actually held Little Raf. Maybe I should believe it.

"Is he a good guy?" I chance asking. I'm not sure what Shane can tell me, but I want to know more about Big Raf. Maybe I can get some insight from someone that's known him for almost a decade.

"He's loyal to his club and his brothers," Shane says carefully. "He's not a bad guy. But he's not innocent. That's all I can say."

A grin crosses my face. "Aren't you a lawyer?"

He barks a laugh. "I am, but I'm not innocent either." He winks at me.

At that moment, the door opens and Zeke walks in, smiling when his eyes land on Shane. He walks over and kisses him soundly. Almost too soundly, his tongue gliding into Shane's mouth and they both moan.

Smiling, I clear my throat obnoxiously. Zeke pulls away from Shane, chuckling against his lips. "Omari. Great to see you again."

"You too, Zeke."

"You really call Prez Big Raf? To his face?" Zeke asks, his perfect teeth flashing as he smiles down at me. "And you're still alive?" I give him a dry look, but nod. "Holy fuck, Prez likes you."

"Likes me?" I squeak.

Zeke smirks, sitting on the arm of the couch beside Shane. Zeus trots over and rests his head on Zeke's leg. Zeke pets him absentmindedly. "Yeah. I mean, we call him Prez because we respect him and it's his position. But if someone doesn't know him in that capacity, he makes them call him Rafael."

My heart leaps. Does he like me? Maybe not how I'm thinking, but I'll take it any way I can get it. "It's because of the baby," I say lamely. "Because he's Little Raf."

"Nah, it's not that. He still would have told you to call him Rafael." Zeke chuckles and stands, stretching his hand over his head. Zeus gives one of his hands a lick, then comes back over to me and Little Raf, sitting by my feet and leaning heavily against my leg. "Let me find out Prez likes dick now."

Shane slaps Zeke against his leg. "Don't go teasing Prez or he'll put you on your ass."

I'm not quite sure. Prez is in great shape, but Zeke is massive. I'm not sure who would win in a fight between the two.

I stay for a little while longer, talking and getting to know Zeke and Shane. I nearly swooned when they told me they were best friends for eight years before they confessed their feelings. I'm not sure what they were like before, but their feelings for each other are palpable. If they felt like this before they started dating, there's no way no one else suspected they were head over heels in love .

Before we leave—Raf having taken a nap, woken up and had dinner during our visit—I ask Shane about Kit's situation. I don't know the full extent of it, but I know it's nothing good. "I think my best friend's partner may be abusing him. Well, he's not my best friend anymore, I don't think." I have to clear my throat so I don't break down. It still hurts that Kit took Brock's word over mine, but there's nothing I can do about it now. "What are his options?"

Shane blows out a long breath. "He can report his attacker and get a restraining order. Or he could leave and enter a domestic violence shelter. Or?—"

"Or the brothers can go kick his door in and find the piece of shit that's hurting him," Zeke says on a rumble, his face set in a hard mask. "Any of those options work."

I sigh. I thought about asking someone like Zeke to do just that, but I'm afraid Kit will go back to Brock and Brock will take that out on him. "Legal options only," I say, though I wish I could do something more … immediate and maybe permanent to Brock.

"That's about it," Shane answers sadly. "Domestic violence situations are the worst. Leaving is the hardest part and some don't make it far before they're attacked again, even killed."

"If your friend wants out," Zeke says, rubbing under Zeus's neck as the dog's tail beats frantically against the floor, "let me know. I'll talk to Prez and we'll make sure he's safe. No one fucks with Devil's Mayhem."

"Yeah," I say as I stand up and adjust the baby and his bag. "I found that out the hard way."

He grins at me. "Did you really? You're here now without broken bones or lasting damage. And you're not afraid of me or Prez. I don't think you've learned at all."

I wink at him as I head to the door. "Maybe. Or maybe you all just aren't that scary. "

The sound of Zeke's laughter washes over me as I make my way to the car, smiling from ear to ear.