Page 28 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

Chapter seventeen

More Over the Top

Alexandra

I opened the door to Aunt Jackie and Mom coming up the walk to Rafferty’s house.

Aunt Jackie practically bounded up the steps. “This is so exciting! You might actually transfer to JU and I get to see Rafferty’s handiwork on this house. I only saw it when it was… still a pit.”

I gave her a light hug and a cheek kiss.

Mom came inside and I gave her a longer hug and she looked me in the eye when we were done. “Be sure to ask all the questions you can think of, sweetie. There are probably transfer fees, and make sure all your courses count for the same number of credits.”

I shut the door. “I know, Mom. If there’s a way for a university to make money, they’ll find it.”

“That’s for sure,” Aunt Jackie said, wandering to the kitchen. “Well… this isn’t as spiffy as the outside.”

I chuckled. “Rafferty has cabinets in the guest bedroom, and plans to put in new appliances. Apparently, the kitchen was the last thing he planned to renovate.”

“Okay, well, show me the rest.”

Mom stood in the middle of the living room. “I can’t believe he has that piece you had your eye on for so long.”

“Don’t read too much into that, Mom. He did it out of spite.”

Mom laughed. “What?”

“It’s a long story.”

I gave them a tour of the house.

We meandered back to the kitchen and Aunt Jackie leaned against the counter. “Okay, we can hit Carmine’s for lunch, then drive to the campus and—”

I held up my hands. “Aunt Jackie, I already called the registration office and then the head of the dental program.”

“Oh. What’d they say?”

I pressed my lips together. “Their deadline to apply for a transfer is in three days, but that’s for a winter start.” I looked at Mom. “I’ll still have to be in Gainesville through the fall semester.”

Mom's eyes turned sharp. “Would all of your credits carry over?”

“I’m waiting to hear from the dean of the dental department about that.”

“Let’s go to the living room. You two seem tense,” Aunt Jackie suggested.

Mom sat on the sofa with Jackie and I perched on a nearby chair.

“Your father’s told me a little of what’s going on, but are you safe in Gainesville?”

“I should be.”

That earned me a pointed look. “This isn’t the time for ‘should be’ to enter the chat, as you say.”

I fought off a cringe and an eye-roll. “Right. Rafferty is going back to Gainesville with me for a day or two to make sure everything’s good.”

“I’ll just bet he is,” Aunt Jackie said.

I turned wide eyes to her.

She grinned. “What? Now you know how I felt last year when you were being so snarky about Simone and Steel.”

Mom sighed. “Have you put out feelers for a new roommate?”

I tilted my head. “No. Ines just passed this week, Mom.”

She did a long blink and nodded once. “I know, but it’d be better if you stayed in that place if it’s still safe. That way you don’t have to put up another deposit or get tied to a nine- or twelve-month lease.”

“I wouldn’t agree to that anyway,” I said.

Mom shrugged a shoulder. “The other thing is that it gives you time to save money for a place here, though given that we help with your rent already, I guess we’d be helping with that too.”

I took a deep breath and debated saying nothing, but I knew better. “I won’t have to worry about finding a place here.”

Aunt Jackie smiled. “Of course not. By then, I’m sure Jasmine would be more than willing to room with you.”

“No, Rafferty offered for me to stay here.”

Mom’s head reared back, and I swore she paled. “ Here . You’re going to move in with him?”

I hadn’t realized how much tension I held in my shoulders until they drooped with disappointment. “Yeah, and there’s no need to sound so judgey. We were best friends growing up until we weren’t, and now… we’re older and—”

“And not much wiser,” Mom muttered.

I widened my eyes. “Not only is that not fair, you know it isn’t true.

Both of us recognize that we’ve matured, and for once the timing is right.

I hate to break it to you, but until this accident, Raff planned to move to Memphis to get away from memories of me…

no, of us . There’s an entire stack of moving boxes just waiting to be folded into shape, but I know it’s always been him, and as he put it, he’s as much mine as I am his. ”

Aunt Jackie leaned forward and leveled a calm look at me. “I believe you, sweetie. However, that is not the tune you were singing just a few months ago. The two of you avoided one another, and you didn’t want a biker in your life.”

I shook my head. “You’re right. To a degree.

I didn’t want to say this in front of Mom, but if I hadn’t been wearing my seatbelt…

Well, the doctor made it clear things could have been much worse.

A near-death experience opens people’s eyes.

Rafferty said the same thing - hearing that I was in an accident woke him up.

Life’s too damned short to conform to what other people think I should do. ”

Aunt Jackie lifted a finger and opened her mouth to speak, but I kept talking.

“I know what I said before. I did a bang-up job of convincing myself that I wanted to be free of the MC world. But that was the only way to be free of Raff. I tried that, and I failed. Epically.”

Mom’s eyes were full of patience. The same patience she always showed me.

“Honey, that’s the thing, are you sure you’re good with the club?

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve asked questions and Cal tells me it’s club business.

I’d like to take that trite phrase and shatter it like a beer bottle, I’m so tired of hearing it. ”

I couldn’t help but huff out a chuckle.

“What’s that for?” Mom asked.

I hesitated because I didn’t want to share too much. “Let’s just say I’ve heard my fair share of that phrase in the past week. Especially from Beast and Tundra.”

Mom nodded. “Okay…” She paused and bit her lip for a second. “Are you sure you can deal with that response from Rafferty in the months, and God willing, years to come?”

“Yes.”

Mom’s head twisted. “That was a little too fast, sweetheart.”

I shook my head. “No, because Raff already shared club business with me… but I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself.”

“My lips are sealed,” Aunt Jackie said.

Mom nodded.

“He told me he’d always share with me unless it would incriminate me. He didn’t have to share about the crap going on in Gainesville, but he did, so yeah, I can deal with him telling me it’s club business. He’s proven that he’ll share later, and that works for me.”

Aunt Jackie shot me a knowing stare. “Not all the brothers are the same… but they tend to have some similarities. Are you sure you can deal with the… What did you call it a few months ago? The overbearing protectiveness?”

I lowered my chin in a slow nod. “I think so. I mean, the way he’s being right now is because this situation is extreme. But, I don’t think he’s going to be overbearing once things get back to normal.”

Aunt Jackie smiled. “That’s true. Until you get pregnant.”

“Jackie!” Mom cried, giving her a playful shove.

Aunt Jackie laughed. “Hey, be happy Abby isn’t here. She’d be all about her getting knocked up, the sooner the better.”

I shook my head. “Are we going to lunch or what? I’m starving.”

Mom stood and looked at Aunt Jackie. “These kids. You always gotta feed ‘em.”

Rather than take me back to Rafferty’s after lunch, Mom took me back to her house on the other side of town. I caught a quick nap and woke up to my cell phone ringing.

Rafferty’s name lit up the screen.

I smiled and took the call. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. Where are you?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m at Mom’s. I thought you’d be at the clubhouse all day.”

“Yeah, but I get an hour break, and thought I’d have a late lunch with you at my place.”

I pressed my lips together. “Sorry. Mom and Jackie took me out to eat, and then…it made sense to bring me back here.”

He went silent for a beat. “How are you planning to get back here?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Worst case scenario, I can catch an Uber. It almost sounds like you have plans for us tonight, but we never really discussed that, other than hitting the bar on Saturday.”

He blew out a breath. “Yeah. I thought we’d hang at the clubhouse tonight.”

My brows furrowed. “Prospects don’t get to just hang at the clubhouse.”

He chuckled. “You’re right, but you can hang at the clubhouse.”

“I see.”

“No, there’s more. My plan was for us to spend the night there because I know neither of our parents will be around tonight.”

I tipped my head back for a slow nod. “Ah. I’ll see if—”

“No, I’ll call Jasmine. See if she can bring you over here. She works at One Night Taco Stand, and she’s got a shift tonight.”

“Oh, no. I’m such a bad friend. I should have called her about all the crap going on… She’s going to be mad at me.”

“No, she isn’t,” Rafferty said in a steely tone.

“You don’t know that.”

“Why do you think I want to call her?” he asked, his tone back to normal.

“Oh.” A thought struck me. “As much as I appreciate that, it isn’t cool to tell her she’s not allowed to be mad at me because I didn’t call or text when—”

“You had finals. You just lost your friend and roommate. And you also had me to deal with. No, your plate was full enough, she should cut you some slack.”

My lips twisted to the side. “When you put it like that, I guess you have a point.”

“You guess?”

“She should be able to—”

“No, I care about both of you and she’d feel like shit if she lays into you and then finds out everything you were dealing with - this way I’m protecting you both.”

Maybe I’d been wrong when I’d said I’d be cool with the overzealous protectiveness.

“You’re quiet, Lex.”

I smiled. “Let’s just say, I’m seeing the ways you’re just like Dad… but even more over the top.”

He laughed, deep and long. “This is far from being over the top, baby.”

I liked hearing him call me ‘baby’ over the phone, but I wouldn’t let him charm me right now. “Agree to disagree… baby.”