Page 4 of Next Level (Royal Bastards MC: Oakland Chapter #1)

TROUBLE

I hear the girls moving around upstairs. My house is a two-story, with two bedrooms upstairs, each with its own bathroom. Downstairs, we have two master suites, with the kitchen and living room located in the center. It’s an open floor plan concept.

I’ve actually taken her to some gaming conferences. She’s that good. I used to be overprotective and make her tell me who she was playing with, but I trust her judgment now. She’s been lectured about social media her entire life.

But don’t think I don’t have Zoom, our tracker, hack her shit from time to time, making sure these people are legit.

I need to get up, shower, cook breakfast for them, and then get down to the clubhouse to see what needs to be done before our cookout later. Every Sunday, we typically host a BBQ or cookout for all the members and their families.

Usually, the members are hungover from partying each Saturday, so no one gets up and starts moving around until noon.

Glancing at the clock, I see it’s ten a.m. Samantha is like me.

She doesn’t need much sleep. I’d tried to put her to bed at like 9 p.m., but she would just stay awake in her bed reading or some shit.

The older she got, the more I let it go.

She has As and Bs at school, so I can’t really get mad.

My phone dings.

Opening it, I see it’s a text from Sam.

PUNKIN: U awake?

POPS: Yep.

PUNKIN: Breakfast?

POPS: Yep.

PUNKIN: K. B dwn 2 help.

POPS: Cool. Jumping in shower.

PUNKIN: K

These kids and their abbreviations. I toss my phone onto the nightstand and get up. After my shower, I enter the kitchen, and the girls are already in there making breakfast.

“He’s really cute,” Amanda says to the girls, who all have their backs to me, as I walk over to the coffeepot.

“Who’s cute?” I ask the room.

All three girls startle with a scream at the sound of my voice. Sam and Sarah crack up at themselves for getting scared.

“Pops, you scared us.” Sam giggles.

I grin, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

“So, who’s cute?” I ask again.

Sam’s eyebrows rise, and she answers nonchalantly, “Jared, one of the guys I game with.”

I try to keep calm and not react so they don’t clam up on me. I turn my stare to Amanda. “Cool, how do you know he’s cute?” I ask, bringing the cup to my lips for a sip to hide my expression.

Sam knows me too well and interjects, “He was at the car show yesterday.”

I switch from chill to protective dad mode instantly, rattling off a barrage of questions. “How did he know you were there? How did he find you? What’s his last name? Who was he with?”

Sam cuts me off, lifting a hand. “Dad, he’s cool. I’ve been gaming with him for a while. He said he couldn’t game because he was going to the car show, and I told him I would be there too. So we met up and said hi. Nothing big.”

All the girls stare at me, waiting for me to flip out. I pause, biting my tongue to contain my fury. I’ll get my answer from Zoom later. Right now, I need to be the cool dad so they keep talking.

“Okay, I trust you,” I say, releasing the deep breath I was holding.

The girls go back to making food while I stand there, leaning against the counter, sipping my coffee, and trying to get my thoughts in order. That conversation went left so quickly my morning brain hasn’t had enough coffee yet to catch up.

My phone dings, and I walk over to my recliner, making sure I’m still within earshot of the girls. Hoping to find out more about this Jared guy.

DAWG: You awake?

LEVEL: Yep.

DAWG: Breakfast?

LEVEL: Yep. Girls making it now.

DAWG: OMW

I announce to the girls, “Make enough for Unc. He’s on his way up.”

They all reply with an okay.

LEVEL: What is with this OMW shit? Are you a child?

DAWG: Fuck ya. Lot faster.

I reply with a middle finger emoji.

Fifteen minutes later, my best friend walks through the front door with a sly smirk.

When I left him last night, he was still up, hanging with the girls, smoking, and listening to music. The party had pretty much dispersed, leaving only a few—either in one of the rooms fucking or hanging around.

“So, how did last night go?” I ask the cheeky fucker.

Beaming, he takes a seat in the recliner next to mine and replies, “She’s so fucking perfect.”

I lean toward him and ask, “Did you finally snatch her up and get some?”

My best friend’s face snaps toward me. “Fuck no. I didn’t even try. I want her to come back.”

Shocked at this news, I fire back, “Not even a kiss?”

Dawg’s big smile returns. “Hell yeah. She kissed me before leaving.”

“Nice. Is she coming today?”

He bobbed his head enthusiastically. “Yes, sir.”

“Oh my gosh. Is DJ Sunshine coming today? Is she going to DJ?” Sam squeals from behind me.

I smirk, thinking to myself, I’m not the only one who eavesdrops.

Dawg turns his head to look over his shoulder. “She said she might. Depends on how she feels. I kept her here pretty late.”

This has Sammie and her friends in a tizzy.

Sam squeals, then announces to the room, “Oh. My. God. She was here partying last night.”

I guess knowing the DJ does have its perks.

Sundays are always fun days here at the clubhouse.

We just chill out in our backyard area. We have a variety of chairs, loungers, picnic tables, and we even have a jungle gym with swing sets.

My dad had one set up off to the side for us kids, and when Sammie was born, we upgraded it.

Some of the men use it for working out and doing CrossFit exercises.

The girls are lying out on loungers next to my house. It’s up the hill from the clubhouse, but I can still see them from afar, even with it being a woodsy area.

“Prez, you have a visitor?” Jay announces from the clubhouse.

Chewy chuckles next to me. “Who you got coming today? Isn’t Tink here already?”

I flip him off as I walk away, not replying.

Entering the clubhouse, I see the monitor, and it shows Tamara getting out of her BMW.

Tamara is my long-time, on-and-off-again girl. Between her and Tink, I’m getting laid regularly. Plus, these two know about each other and don’t give a fuck. They just want what they can get from me. I have never lied to them. I’m just not the settle-down kind of guy.

But I usually never have them here on the same day. I glance at my phone to see if I drunk texted her accidentally.

Nope.

This visit is unannounced.

I head toward the door and greet her before she enters.

“Waddup, beautiful!”

Tamara doesn’t look pissed, so that is a good thing. Between her and Tink, she’s the hothead and definitely likes confrontation. The bitch says what’s on her mind.

“Hey, baby,” she purrs, kissing me.

When I don’t move to let her enter the clubhouse, she steps back, tilting her head. “I haven’t seen you in a while, and Mama needs her fix.”

I fold my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrow.

She keeps explaining, “Plus, you missed your appointment, so I brought my clippers.”

Tamara bought her mom’s salon, which is where my ma works, so they’re always together.

“Okay. Okay, your mom told me I could come, and I wanted to see you.”

Now that I can see it happening, Ma is a meddler. She likes to stir the pot, especially when it comes to Tamara.

I let my hands drop.

“Tink is here. You have to behave. Otherwise, you’re outta here. No drama,” I tell her straight up, letting her know there are no exceptions.

She uses her well-manicured finger to cross her heart before kissing it, saying, “Promise. I just miss you.”

“Yeah, right. You miss my cock.” My tone is dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes. Yes, I do miss him too.” Grabbing my arms, she continues, “Now, can I get a drink?”

I walk her to the bar where Jay and Lazy are bartending. Jay immediately hands me a beer and Tamara a Tito’s and cranberry. Lazy glances over his shoulder mid-conversation with his boy Zip and his nephew Lip sitting at the bar shooting the shit.

Zoom comes out of the hall from the kitchen and notices us. “Aw, shit. Trouble is in the house. Let me go warn Tink.”

Tamara is definitely known for her drama. Most of the men call her Trouble instead of her real name.

She owns a salon here in town and knows everyone’s business.

She takes it upon herself to deal with people who wrong her friends or family.

There was a situation when Tamara saw Tink on my lap with our tongues doing the tango.

Since then, Tamara has had it out for Tink.

Tamara has always been a hothead, thinking I’m hers, but until she saw me with Tink, it’s never been a problem.

Recently, it’s become more of a problem.

“Zoom, be quiet. I come in peace. I promise,” Tamara says, taking a drink.

“Ha! I’ll believe that when I see it,” he says under his breath so only I can hear as he walks by.

I couldn’t agree more.

He tilts his head, raising a brow as he heads out back. I know he’s going to warn Tink that Tamara’s in the house.

Tamara sets her purse on the bar and turns to face me.

She’s the complete opposite of Tink. Tamara is a designer girl with her hair, makeup, and nails always manicured.

Tink is more of a biker girl, wearing jeans and T-shirts.

Both are blond, though. I suppose you could say I have a thing for blondes.

Even though I think brunettes are hot as fuck, I always seem to attract the blondes.

“Have you been busy or something? You didn’t even call to cancel your appointment.” Tamara runs her fingers through my hair. I keep it pretty short with a good fade.

“I can’t even remember why I didn’t cancel, to be honest. I think it was something to do with Sam,” I reply honestly.

I lean against the bar facing her body, giving her access to move in close to me.

“Your mom will be off soon. I just left the salon,” Tamara says and runs her hands up my chest.

“So, are you telling me you wanna fuck real quick before she gets here?” I question, even though I know the answer.

She’s good friends with my ma and will be up her ass as soon as she gets here.

Tamara answers by showing me her perfectly white pearly teeth.

I shrug. Fuck it.

Tink knows about my relationship with Tamara. I’d been dating Tamara long before we started hooking up. Both of them know that neither of them is my girlfriend.

I push off the counter, grab her hand, and say to the guys, “I’ll be right back.”

I lead Tamara into my room here at the clubhouse, telling her, “We need to be quick. Sammie girl’s here with her friends.”

Tamara swirls on me and instantly drops to her knees. “Are you ready?”

Christ, this woman gets me every time. I drop my pants, palming my shaft and giving it a couple of strokes. “Sure am. Now let’s shut that trap of yours with my cock, shall we?”

Her eyes light up, and sure as shit, she takes my cock entirely. Fuck yeah.