“I guess I just don’t know much about being a friend.”
“Betsy, from what I know of you, you’re brave and loyal and caring. You’ll make an amazing friend.”
She hoped so.
“Do you think…do you think I could get that hug?” She continued on before Sunny could say anything. “I don’t like being touched and yet at the same time, I’m starved for affection.”
And she wanted to try to be normal. To be whole.
Because she wanted to be good enough for Ink. And he deserved the best.
Sunny opened her arms wide and Betsy had to smile at her enthusiasm. She moved forward, into her embrace. The other woman smelled pretty, like coconut. And while her hugs weren’t as good as Ink’s, Betsy didn’t get that creepy crawly feeling she often did when someone touched her.
She drew back, wiping a tear away.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I seem to have broken an emotional dam. I haven’t cried in years and now I cry at the drop of a hat.”
“It’s gonna take you a while to adjust to everything, but you have lots of people behind you. Ink, me, Duke, all the guys.”
“I don’t know them.”
“They’re good men. Rough at times. Definitely unrefined. I was married to a man who thought appearances were everything. On the outside, he seemed perfect, but on the inside, he was selfish and shallow. Underneath the tough exterior, they’re all sweeties. But don’t tell them I said that, it will ruin their rep,” she whispered. “I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
Betsy had to giggle at the idea of hurting some tough bikers’ feelings.
Sunny winked at her. “Come on, enough serious stuff. Let’s color. What’s your favorite color? Ooh, and I brought glitter, you like glitter, right? And I’ve got these to stick on.” She pulled out a small bag of rhinestones and a stick of glue. “I love rhinestones. And pink. In case you didn’t guess.”
She gestured over to the pink motorcycle jacket she’d worn in and tossed over a chair. She also had a pair of pink motorcycle boots on, with rhinestones along the top.
“Did you put those on?” Betsy asked her, gesturing to the rhinestones on her boots.
“No, they came like this. A, umm, friend sent them to me.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah. Duke wasn’t too happy when I got them.”
“Why wouldn’t he be happy? Does he not like this friend?”
“Not really. It might also have to do with the motorcycle he sent with the boots.”
Betsy’s mouth dropped open. “A friend sent you a motorcycle?”
“Uh-huh. A Harley-Davidson, custom-painted pink. It’s gorgeous. But Duke won’t let me ride it. I refuse to sell it, though. It’s a gift. So it’s sitting in the garage.”
“Oh wow. What kind of friend is this?”
“One who Duke is gonna kill if he gets his hands on him.”
“A guy sent you a pink motorcycle?”
Sunny winced. “I know it sounds bad, but he’s not interested in me like that. He’s just, unusual. And he’s not good with boundaries. Or understanding that sending expensive gifts to me might upset my boyfriend. Or maybe that’s why he sent it. Because I think he enjoys upsetting Duke. He also once gave me a first edition of Alice in Wonderland. He knows it’s my favorite story.”
“He sounds…interesting.” And like he had a death wish. She might not know Duke well, but from what she’d seen and heard of him, she wouldn’t want to cross him.
“Oh, he’s that all right. He sent me this patch that you can iron on to clothing, it had Property of Sunny written on it and a picture of a sun. And it’s all glittery.”
“That’s cute, what are you going to put it on?”
“Umm, well, I might have seen this woman trying to flirt with Duke a few nights ago at the club and I might have stitched it to his cut when he was out.”
“His what?”
“Oh, his vest. The one that has all his patches on it. The one I’m never, ever supposed to touch.”
Betsy’s mouth dropped open. “You did what?”
“Yeah. I’m still not sitting comfortably.” Sunny shifted around on the sofa.
Shock filled Betsy and then all of a sudden, she was giggling. The giggles turned into full-blown laughter. Sunny joined her and they both laughed until tears fell from their eyes.
“I can’t believe you did that to his cut.” Betsy shook her head with a giggle. “I can imagine how mad he was.”
“Furious.” Sunny didn’t look too worried by that, though.
“Pass me the blue glitter,” Betsy said to her. “This