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Tav grinned, and I laughed as I trailed after them. When I made it to the door, Tim grabbed my arm and pulled me aside with a firm grip. “I have zero interest in watching your friend drink until he’s puking,” he said mildly. “Tell me about these tires.” His intense gaze stared directly into my soul, but this I could do. This was exactly what I’d been good at prior to the shake-up.
“Well,” I said, rubbing my hands together with a grin. “We’ve been testing them out, and they’re big tires, but they’re doing a great job.” I spent a few minutes rattling off specs while he nodded and asked very pointed, well-informed questions about everything from the tires to our business plan.
After I felt like I’d talked all I could about tires, he nodded and stared pensively toward the bikes.
“There’s some more tweaking to be done, but I’m very proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time,” I said.
“Go over your business plan again,” he said, pinning me in place with his gaze. There was something about the way he watched me that was almost creepy, but in the end, I realized most people just didn’t focus on others with that total lack of distraction. I felt weirdly seen and unable to do anything but exactly what he’d asked.
I talked until I was hoarse, and by the time I was done, I was feeling much better because I’d already been promised that the entire motorcycle club would use our tires for winter riding if they lived up to the hype, and if the Kings of Men MC was using them, that meant other riders in the area would try them.
I was over the moon.
When we finally went inside again, the party was in full swing, and I found Tav having a conversation at the bar with his friend, Shep. I wandered over, and Shep swung around on his stool.
“Hey, man, sorry about, you know,” he said with a wince, lightly resting his knuckles against my cheek. He had the relaxed look of someone who had been indulging in some THC.
I shrugged. “It’s okay. Thanks for sticking up for Tav.”
“Oh, geez,” Tav said, hiding his face with his hands as he grinned.
I gaped. “Tavish! Are you drunk?”
He snickered and shook his head, and I’d never seen anything so adorable in my life as when he looked up at me with a flushed face. “Nah.”
“Yes, you’re drunk!”
He busted out in snickers again, and Shep grinned. “I have to get back to Jonas. Have fun,” he said to Tav, then shook my hand before he squeezed his way through some people to get off the bar stool. I slid in beside Tav, an amusement so deep and wonderful I couldn’t quite put a label on it taking me over.
“You got drunk with bikers,” I said in his ear. He was all smiles, and I wanted to pinch his cheek.
“Nah.” He swatted at me, and I wrapped my arm around his waist, delighted when he snuggled in. We were big, and if we weren’t careful, we’d knock each other off the stools.
“Where is Eric? Nancy won’t forgive me if we lose him,” Tav said.
Eric was having a very intense conversation with a man who had silver hair and a scar over one eye and down his jaw. They were gesturing as they talked, but they were both moving loosely, and I did predict a hangover in his future.
“Dance with me!” Tav said, staring around with a bright smile. “No one here will care. I’ve never danced with you!”
I looked out at the tangle of swaying bodies, and before I could suggest I take him to a club with more room—and fewer drunk bikers who might punch me—he was dragging me into the middle of the chaos.
26
TAV
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone bowling, but I think it was sometime in my teens and it’d been with Judah, too. I was terrible at it back then, and I was still horrible.
“What was that?” Ellis laughed and waved his hand at my dismal attempt at rolling the ball. I managed to hit one pin at the side before the ball slid gloomily into the gutters.
The bowling alley was mostly dark except for flashing multicolored lights that blinked in time with the rock and roll that thumped from the speakers on the walls. The lanes were full, and around us were laughing people of all ages. There was a machine pumping out fog farther down and it gave the room a bizarrely competitive atmosphere.
I groaned and shot Ellis a dirty look. “I told you I was shite at this game, kid.”
Ellis was nearly pissing himself in laughter, and he leaned against Hilton with his arms around his middle. Hilton wasn’t much better with his own giggling, but he managed to hold Ellis up so they didn’t both slump on the chairs.
Judah merely smiled and shook his head. “So, you haven’t improved, I see.”
I flicked my hand at him. “Yeah, yeah. I’m still sucky at this game. Why are we here again?” I shifted to the ball return and waited.
