Chains looked over his shoulder. “How is my fucking schedule any of your damn business?”
Muerto laughed. “Nothing’s private around here, you know that, bro, especially when you live on the premises.”
“I don’t give a shit who or when you fuck, I was just making a point about how busy you are,” Aztec said.
Chains rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs.
“Does Steel know about you wanting to teach? That might cut in on club business. What if we gotta do something important and you’ve got a class going that night?” Eagle chuckled as he rambled on, “Do you tell your students that you have to reschedule ’cause you gotta give some fucker a beatdown?”
“Maybe you can fuck one of your sexy students.” Aztec walked into Chains’s room and put the box down on the floor near the dresser.
“The class isonline, dude,” Chains said. He regretted bringing up the teaching job in the first place. His friends were highly buzzed, and this quasi-sitcom routine could go on for hours.
“Dudes hook up with chicks all the time on the internet,” Aztec replied.
“That’s on dating apps, not a school,” Eagle said as he leaned against the wall.
“I think you can pick up a chick in a school app.” Aztec took out a joint and lit it.
Muerto guffawed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
After moving and stacking the boxes in the corner of the room, Chains twisted his upper body from side to side, trying to work out a few kinks in his back.
“Thanks for helping out,” he said, hoping to put the nonsensical conversation to rest.
Aztec looked at him through a veil of thick smoke. “So are you fucking your student or not?”
“I haven’t even decided if I’m gonna take the job, but if I do, I’ll let you know if I hook up with one of my online students.” Chains walked over to the door.
“People have cybersex all the time. I heard it on one of those talk shows the club girls watch. I bet you can do that with your student. Those college chicks will do anything for a good grade.” Aztec blew out a stream of smoke.
“Maybe I should teach,” Eagle said.
“Fuck, Raven’s pissed that I forgot to pick up her canvases when I was in town,” Muerto said as he looked down at his phone.
“Sounds like something you need to take care of,” Chains said, then pointed at Eagle and Aztec. “You two can finish your conversation downstairs. I have a lot of work to do right now.”
“Do you think I’d be a good teacher?” Eagle asked as he walked out of the room.
“Yeah—a great one,” Chains replied before closing and locking the door.
He glanced at the boxes and decided to go through them the following week. He had to complete a job for one of his clients, and begin another one for a new customer.
Thor padded over to him and nudged his wet nose against Chains’s hand. He was back to normal, and Chains went over to the closet and took down a box of Milk-Bone treats. The dog barked and his bright blue eyes watched his owner intently.
“Here you go, buddy,” Chains said as he opened his hand. Thor snatched the snack from the palm of his hand. “I’m gonna work for a while, then we’ll go out.” Thor barked again then padded behind Chains.
The biker settled into the chair and opened his laptop as Thor lay on the floor next to him. For a long moment, he stared at the computer screen as images of Autumn teemed in his mind. It wasn’t rational or even logical as to why Chains was thinking of her at that moment, but it seemed that it happened whenever he was alone and it was quiet. He knew he should be working on the integration of the shopping cart tool on one of his client’s website, but Autumn was on his mind, so he typed her name into the search bar instead. He saw pictures of her at the Highlands Animal Care Center, and those captivating eyes seemed to burn right into him.Why can’t I get you out of my mind? What the fuck’s going on with you, woman?
Thor’s soft yelps in his sleep dragged Chains out of his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck, closed the window containing the photographs of Autumn, and clicked opened his client’s folder.