“I’ll take the same but with the house beer.”
“You got it. I’ll be back shortly. Thea, it’s great seeing you again. Make sure you call me.”
“You know it,” I respond, giving her a grin.
We settle back down in our respective seats, and I study Raze. “You must be familiar with this place to know the ribeye is their best offering,” he says, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, Hawk and I used to come here often. He refuses to go to the Wolf’s Den. He doesn’t really like anything to do with the club and, well, I…”
“You don’t like the club?”
“What? No. I love the club. They’re my family.”
“Then why did you avoid the Wolf’s Den?”
I sigh, not really wanting to talk about it. “It’s nothing, really.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to push. It’s just, I am the club, Flame. If you have issues…”
“Mattie is the club, too. Dad, my uncles, and Thomas may not be in the club anymore, but he is in one and he’s my best friend. I don’t have an issue with the club.”
“T? You two are tight?”
“Yep.”
“How come I’ve never seen you at the clubhouse, then?”
“Maybe you just never noticed me,” I answer with a smirk.
“No fucking way. A man would have to be blind not to notice you in a room filled with other people. I ain’t buyin’ that shit.”
“You’re really smooth with the lines, aren’t you?”
“That’s not a line. That’s the damn truth,” he counters, making me smile.
“You’re pretty smooth, Raze,” I chuckle. “It’s not a big secret. I’ve had birthday parties and things at the club, but only immediate family. Mostly I avoid it because of Dom.”
“Dom?”
“It’s complicated,” I hedge.
“You two were a thing?”
Now I all out laugh, unable to hold it in. “Dom has only had eyes for Gabby for as long as I’ve known him.”
He gets a disgusted look on his face. “Well, his dick has enjoyed the twinkies quite a bit, so her hold on him has lessened.”
I shake my head, knowing he’s trying to take up for his brother in the club, but we both know he’s full of shit. “It only lessened because he discovered her lies. That girl is pure poison.”
“I’m thinking that’s why you avoided him.”
“You’d be right.”
“Is that going to get in the way of the two of us getting to know one another, Flame?”
“Nah, besides, I think we kind of buried the hatchet a month ago. Dom and I may never be friends, but I don’t feel like we’re mortal enemies anymore, at least.”
“Good,” he grunts.