Page 41 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)
Gizmo
Alexandra
Two years later…
“Alexandra Robertson-Rolland,” a deep voice announced.
I strode across the stage, my black gown billowing with every step, and beaming with a huge smile on my face. Most of my concentration focused on not tripping, I reached out and shook hands with the university president, a man I’d never seen before and likely wouldn’t ever see again.
It was all one big blur, except the high-pitched whistles that came from the back left corner of the arena. Rafferty, Mom, Dad, Trixie, and Roll were here, and the five of them were loud with their excitement.
Following all the pictures and fanfare outside the arena, we went to Mom and Dad’s house for a graduation party. I’d expected something small, but this party threatened to be a party for all time. It rivaled our wedding reception last summer, there were so many people at Mom and Dad’s.
All of the Riot MC was there, and a few of the brothers from Biloxi. Mom’s parents were sitting on the patio with Natasha and her husband. Across the yard, I spied Nate and Derek talking to Rafferty and Jasmine.
Barrel grills had been brought in to cook a variety of meat. There were tables dotted around the back yard, all loaded with food. Someone had draped a huge banner on the back of the house that read, “Congratulations Alexandra!”
“He won’t listen to me, but your dad ought to switch professions. Takes a lot of planning to pull off a shindig this big, and he sure as shit didn’t give me much notice on the amount of meat he wanted to serve,” muttered Tiny, a brother from Biloxi who ran his own, wildly successful, butcher shop.
I smiled up at him. “I’m sure Mom and a few other people had a hand in this.”
Tiny leaned toward me. “ He would tell you that, but it’s a cover. Congratulations on your degree, sweetheart.” His cheek bulged as he moved his tongue around in his mouth. “Can you take a look at my back molar, I think something’s wrong.”
I smacked his forearm playfully. “You’re lying. Uncle Vamp put you up to that, didn’t he?”
He chuckled. “I’ll never tell, but you should consider doing work for the club. The dancers at Platinum’s need nice pearly whites to keep the money flowing, am I right?”
My response fled me when I heard the wayward sound of… a puppy barking?
I widened my eyes at Tiny. “Was that a puppy?”
He grinned. “I don’t know. Go ask your man, he helped with this party, too. I’m serious, those two should start a company.”
I looked toward the area where Rafferty had been talking to Derek and Nate. He wasn’t there any longer.
“You lookin’ for me?” Rafferty asked from behind me.
I turned around, and froze.
My man was sexy as all hell, but standing in front of me holding a brown and white Shih Tzu puppy…
Damn .
“Jesus, Lex. I don’t know if that look is for me, the dog, or both.”
“If you have to wonder, you need to go back to school. Who’s puppy is this?” I asked, petting the puppy’s soft fur.
“Yours. He’s your graduation gift from me.”
My eyes went wide. “You got me a puppy!”
“Yeah. I know how much you loved Zippy when you were growing up. Pretty sure we can handle this guy.”
“He doesn’t have a name?”
Rafferty handed the pooch over to me. “No. Mom told me to name him, but I think you deserve that honor. Besides, I couldn’t decide between Colgate and Bicuspid.”
I made a face at the wriggly puppy. “We are not naming you after toothpaste or teeth.”
Rafferty chuckled. “It’s better than Scaler because he was definitely trying to scale the baby gate back at the house.”
This dog was a lot like me, he was drawn to Rafferty if the way he stretched and craned himself back toward my man was any indicator.
“I can imagine. He’s very strong and determined to get back to you.”
Rafferty took him from me, gave him a quick nuzzle and set him on the grass. The pup ran a few feet away and came back to us, doing that see-saw style run like puppies do.
“I think Scaler might be the right name for him.”
“Nah,” Rafferty said, picking up the puppy. “You know he was born in late April, just like us. He’ll probably be just as stubborn.”
“It’s not like we can name him Bull or Taurus.”
Rafferty shrugged. “We could, but I don’t like those names either. Dad said he looks like a Gremlin, but I never saw that movie.”
“He’s right. We should name him Gizmo.”
Rafferty stared down at the puppy. “For right now, that works. I reserve the right to change it if something better hits us later.”
Across the yard, I heard Aunt Trixie calling out Dad’s name. “Did you hear Cal? We’re gonna be grandparents!”
I wheezed with laughter, then pointed at Rafferty. “That’s not something your mom gets to ‘make happen’ like she did with you putting a cut on me.”
“No shit, wife. We’re a team and I’m with you on that. No kids until we’re both ready.”
Mom approached us and reached out for the puppy. “I love this little furball. He’s such a good boy! We left him here all afternoon, and he used his potty training pad. It’s like he’s almost house-trained.”
“That isn’t true. I cleaned up his mess before you saw it, sweet cheeks,” Dad grumbled, sidling up to mom.
Trixie and Roll joined us.
She opened her arms and gave me a long hug. “We’re all so proud of you, girlie.”
“Thanks, Trixie,” I said.
“When do you start your job?” she asked.
I grinned. “To be fair, I’ve been working with a pediatric dentist the last three months, but now that I’ve got my degree and passed my boards, I’m going to be at their Orange Park office in two weeks.”
She grabbed my hands. “I can’t tell you how excited I am for you.”
I leaned toward her, grinned, and whispered, “I think you just did.”
She laughed. “All right. You gotta go mingle. You’re the guest of honor. Now hand over my grand-pup, Mallory.”
Rafferty wrapped his arm around my waist and led me toward the patio. “Think you should see your grandparents first, babe. Not sure they’re gonna stay out here all night with the rest of us.”
I leaned my cheek against his shoulder. “You’re right.”
Rafferty and I chatted with Mom’s parents and Natasha and Leon. One of the brothers called Rafferty away and my grandparents went upstairs.
Natasha put her glass of wine on the small patio table, and aimed a look at me. “I never did hear this part, but why is that boy called ‘Bluff.’ He seems like such a straight shooter, is this another one of those tongue-in-cheek names?”
A wave of nostalgia came over me and I smiled.
“When all my problems were going on, to figure out who was behind everything, Rafferty bluffed with Brantley and Porter. Tundra thought it would be a decent road name for him, and since they patched him in rather soon after his hospital stay, I guess that name stuck.”
Natasha nodded. “All right, good. Your daddy’s talking about a poker game in an hour, and I gotta know what I’m working with.”
“Tasha, you don’t play cards and tonight isn’t the time to start,” Leon said.
Natasha winked at me and turned to her husband. “Maybe I’m playin’ so I can make sure this girl gets a leg up on the chip count.”
Leon closed his eyes and shook his head. “All right, baby. You want another drink?”
“Sure, but bring our girl back something too, please.”
“If we’re not careful, your mom is gonna take Gizmo away from us,” Rafferty said, pulling off his motorcycle boots.
“Seeing as we’ve known each other our whole lives, you’d think I’d remember this, but have you ever had a puppy?” I asked, toeing off my sneakers.
He yanked his shirt over his head. I never got tired of admiring his many tattoos - especially the Riot patch on his back.
He unbuttoned his jeans. “No, we adopted adult dogs from the Humane Society. Mom told me when I was older that Dad had no patience for the puppy phase. That’s why I asked your parents to keep the puppy during the graduation ceremony. ”
I stalked to him and traced a finger over the capital letter a on his chest. “Are you working tomorrow?”
With two fingers to my chin, he tipped my face up toward his. “That’s the beauty of being a business owner. I set the schedule, baby. I’m not scheduled to be anywhere for eight days.”
My head reared back. “That’s over a week.”
He grinned. “Yeah, partly because I’m between reno jobs, but mainly because I’m taking you on a vacation.”
Not long after Rafferty earned his patch, he’d approached the club about investing in his business.
He put together a full business plan that he’d have taken to a bank on the off-chance the brothers shot him down, and offered the club a percentage of his profit.
After a few rounds of tweaks, they struck an agreement, and Rafferty had been running R & R General Contracting for the past year and a half.
“You’re taking me on a vacation?”
“Yep. We’re gettin’ on my bike, and we’re riding to Key West.”
“Awesome,” I breathed.
“Damn right. Me, you, and all your skimpy bikinis. I can’t fuckin’ wait.”
I brushed his lips with mine. “That sounds like heaven.”
“As long as we’re together, Lex, everyday will be just like heaven.”
Thank you for reading, the Riot MC Next Generation series continues with Ryan and Ivy’s story Break Inside . Turn the page for a sneak peek.