New Cooper POV: Out of Town

Tucker Looked Pensive

We arrived in Pike just past sunset. A place without suburbs or even a school, the town was small and rough. Rednecks would thumb their noses at such a dirty shithole. Yet, we had business there, and Pop wanted things handled.

Next to me, Tucker looked pensive, nervous even. My brother wasn’t a thinker. He didn’t pout or brood. When upset, he freaked out and made the problem better or worse. Either way, Tucker never thought shit out. Now, he was deep in his head.

“What the fuck?” I asked, smacking his arm.

“You’re all quiet and emotional and shit.”

“Maddy went to the lady doctor to check on the baby.”

“Is everything okay?”

Tucker nodded as we walked towards the bar. “Yeah. Baby’s doing good, but it’s a girl.”

“And that’s a problem, why?”

“I don’t know what kind of dad I’ll be with a girl. I can be fucking rowdy.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Little girls need a soft dad who doesn’t scare the shit out of them.”

“Your kid is going to grow up knowing you. She won’t be surprised by your bullshit. She’ll think you’re great, even when you suck. Kids are stupid that way.”

Tucker grinned. “I really wanted a son. I figured if I did a shitty job that it wouldn’t be as noticeable on a boy.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Maybe, but I’m nervous about having a girl.”

“You’re going to do a shit job whether it’s a boy or girl.”

“Probably.”

Ruffling his blond hair, I smiled. “I bet she’ll be a cute little fuck, though. Blonde baby princess. Just think of all the pink.”

Tucker grinned. “Sawyer is a pretty cute kid, and she’s a girl.”

Smile fading, I shook my head at his stupidity. “Let’s just do this thing.”

By the time we entered the bar, Vaughn and Judd were already drinking beers. Both guys had their game faces on and the place tensed in their presence. I nodded at them and headed towards the back office where Zack waited.

My guy in Pike had gotten the bright idea at one point to have someone tattoo stars all over his face. It was fucking difficult to take a guy seriously who looked like a little kid drew on his face while he was passed out.

Zack shook my hand. I doubted he ever shook my pop’s hand, but I was new to the leadership role, and he was kissing my ass.

“I didn’t think you’d bring your guys like this,” Zack said, leaning against his desk and crossing arms covered in more stars.

“You said someone was fucking with our shit. I took it seriously.”“Ye

ah, they burned out two meth labs but also hit the courier. Killed him and took forty grand.”

“Anyone else die?”

“Two meth heads. Oh, and a kid at the meth lab. The fuckers probably didn’t know he was inside. Not that it matters. Kid’s still dead.”

“How old?” Tucker asked, all sensitive now.

“I don’t know,” Zack said with a shrug. “It was sleeping in a crib. Whatever age that is.”

I glanced at Judd and Vaughn. The older enforcer looked indifferent. Judd’s cold eyes never showed a hint of concern over a dead child. Vaughn’s expression was easier to read. He always looked on the verge of violence, and I wondered if he would punch Zack soon. If he did, I wouldn’t stop him.

“How do we know it’s the Devils?” Tucker asked Zack who was staring at Vaughn and waiting for the punch.

“We don’t. Could be anyone.”

“No, it couldn’t,” I muttered. “They’ve been testing us for years. It’s them.”

“How’d they know about the courier?” Zack asked.

Even Tucker knew we weren’t sharing our mole concerns with Zack. I ignored the question and turned to the enforcers.

“It’s getting dark. Tomorrow, get a look at the damage.”

Judd nodded and walked out. Vaughn considered hitting Star Face Fucker but decided to follow his buddy and get another beer. Zack likely realized he lucked out because he exhaled hard.

“You’re not doing what needs to be done here,” I told Zack and his relief faded. “The Devils are hitting weak spots in our organization. This is your spot, and that means you’re weak. What the fuck do you plan to do about that?”

Tucker shifted next to me, and all of his impending daddy softness was gone. He looked like the guy who would bash a person’s head in over a misunderstanding.

Zack didn’t have an answer. He just put his hands out and waited.

“We’re moving new people into your territory to take over the operation,” I told him. “You will report to them. You’re their bitch. You fuck this up, and there’ll be nothing left of you for your parents to bury. Not a fucking star will remain. Do you get that, Zack?”

Nodding wildly, he looked relieved again. He wasn’t going to die at that very moment, and a guy like him didn’t think about the future. If he was alive from minute to minute, it was a good day for him.

Tucker and I joined Judd and Vaughn at the bar. After getting a beer, I glanced at a few women who were eyeing Judd and Vaughn.

“You two are tense as shit,” I said. “Go blow off some steam.”

Judd wasn’t tense but nodded. Even remaining on the stool, he would shack up with a chick later then walk away before the sun was up. A good hard fuck would settle down Vaughn, but he didn’t want to give up his rage.

"Chill,” I told Vaughn.

“That kid is dead because of me.”

“No, that kid is dead because of your fuck uncle and his club. You know why you left and I do too. Let’s not have this conversation again.”

Vaughn grunted his irritation and then glanced around the bar.

“There are enough horny chicks at that table for the three of us. Tucker’s balls don’t belong to him anymore.”

“Maddy is all I want,” Tucker said and then finished his beer and burped. “She’s my girl and hotter than sin. All other bitches can die for all I care.”

“He’s a poet,” Vaughn said to me, and I grinned. “You want to play with the cute blonde over there, boss?”

Glancing at the giggling girls, I thought about Farah. The whole drive to Pike, I tried not to worry about her. Mostly, I tried not to think about her smile and those brown eyes. I didn’t need the distraction, but she was in my thoughts anyway.

“Naw, I got me a girl now too,” I said, thinking those giggly blondes would be a poor substitute for the chick I wanted.

“Is everyone whipped now?” Vaughn grumbled.

Judd frowned. “I’m right here, fucker.”

“At least, I know you’ll never give your balls to some pretty girl and start talking about flowers and poetry and shit.”

“Can you imagine?” Judd muttered, shaking his head.

“No, I really can’t. Good thing too. I’d be dangling in the wind by myself.”

Judd and Vaughn weren’t getting married and having a couple of kids. I knew that much about them. Of course, I thought that about myself until Farah. I thought I might get old and fuck around for a few decades and then pick me a jailbait wife and make my heirs.

As Tucker got drunk and dreamed of his pregnant girl and their cooking princess, I thought about Farah. The enforcers talked up the giggling blondes and eventually left with them. I stayed with Tucker until he was drunk enough to be entertaining. After conning him into dancing like a fool, I helped him stumble to the hotel.

Through it all, I thought to call Farah, but never did. She was fragile in too many ways, and the work I was doing wasn’t about feelings and shit. It was about blood and fear.

Despite knowing that, I fell asleep thinking about Farah laughing at my charming moves and the look on her face when she jumped off the deck into the river. If I could spend the rest of my life looking at that face, I’d be one satisfied fucker.

Cooper Johansson's POV: Meeting Farah

Coop the Poop

Another year, another obnoxious fucking first day surrounded by idiot freshmen. Even when I was a freshman, I was sick of their shit. It wasn’t the new place or experiences that made the fuckers annoying. Some of these people went to high school with me. They knew Ellsberg like I did but still wanted to feel as if every moment was special because they were starring in it. Now, I had to watch it all over again.

The upside to freshmen was the arrival of new girls to bang. Sitting in Spanish class, I saw a few I’d already hit, a few I wanted to nail, and a few I would avoid if I wasn’t too wasted to know better. Hell, the blonde with the ocean blue eyes had stalker written all over her. Yeah, I needed to watch the booze when that nutter was around.

An exotic beauty sat in the front row. Indian maybe. At least, her family was likely from that region originally. Now, she was sitting up front like all nerds. The effort to get into her panties wouldn’t be worth the payoff. Girls like her wanted romance, promises, forever. I’d have to meet her damn parents just to get to second base. No way would she put out before my one week rule either. I wasn’t interested in any great challenges regarding getting laid. Easy worked just fine for me.

The girl at the door wouldn’t be easy. The startled look on her face when she realized the class was packed told me she wasn’t a fun girl. I doubted anyone anywhere ever called her the life of the party. She looked a step up from shy, but ten steps down from frigid. No way would I get into her pants within a week. Might even have to talk about feelings and shit.

Proving my first opinion of her, the brunette sat up front like a dork. She was hot though and I wondered if it was worth sweet-talking my way into her panties? Probably not.

The instructor walked in and introduced himself as Manuel. All of the instructors were supposed to use their first names. They didn’t get to call themselves professors either. Some douche pissed off Mom years ago so changes were made to keep the faculty from being pompous assholes. Now, it was Manuel, instead of Professor Rodriguez.

As class droned on, the guy two seats down from me kept turning around and glaring at the wall. I was pretty close to smacking him when I first saw the frigid chick glance back at me. Casual like she was looking for something in her bag, she sized me up. She was hotter than I thought.

Whenever she glanced back in her super secret, subtle way, I pretended not to notice, but I liked watching her bend forward. She hid her tits behind a baggy shirt, but they were a good handful. As I thought about what they might feel like in my hands, she whispered her damn answer for Manuel. My dick twitched in my jeans, and I knew I was going to fuck her. I just prayed it wouldn’t involve too many lies or marathon talking sessions.

After class, I was still thinking about her when I met up with Aaron for a sandwich. Two doors down from our tattoo place, he sat in a corner booth, working on his sketches. The guy was always drawing shit, but it was why he was so good. Even old grizzled bikers came up and asked about my tats. Aaron was an artist, but he never let himself get soft. Twice over the years, he’d punched me hard in the face, and both times I felt it.

Aaron glanced up and grinned. Whatever he saw on my face made him rolled his blue eyes.

“Who’s your next victim?”

Smiling, I ignored his comment until I ordered my sandwich. Once I was sitting across from him, I shrugged.

“Two on the radar. A super hot blonde who was talking up Skye today. Gotta feeling she’s a player, and I’ll need to hit that before every guy in school stinks her up. The other is going to be a pain in the ass, but she’ll probably be more appreciative of my hot moves.”

“You’re a charmer, man. No one can take that from you.”

Rolling my eyes, I devoured half of my sandwich and wondered about the hot blonde. Finally, I returned to Aaron who was ignoring me.

“You know your problem?” I told him.

“I pussy out by using napkins?” Aaron muttered, glancing at where I wiped away a smudge of mayo.

“You let one bitch tear out your heart, and she wasn’t even that hot. Now, you got this idea that every bitch will shit on you. Look around, though. Plenty of girls will do you nice.”

“I’m satisfied with the amount of nice I get. Thanks.”

“You fuck them, but you’re a softie. You want love and crap. You want another chick to steal your heart and make you fucking stupid. I don’t support that really, but I know it’s what you want. Why not give it another shot with a bitch that ain’t a bitch?”

Aaron shrugged. “After the bitch did her bitch move, I realized I’m young enough to blow off a few years…fuck a decade without it mattering. I’m not looking for more.”

“That's a mistake. A guy like you with all your artsy shit needs a girl to write poems about.”

Aaron gave me a lazy grin then flipped me off. “I’ll give another girl a chance to shit on my heart when you do the same.”

“Dude, I’m not planning to have feelings until I’m forty.”

“Never know. Maybe that cute blonde will seduce you with her many talents, and you’ll become her bitch by the end of the week.”

“What kind of talents?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You would marry a woman based on her blowjobs.”

“Fuck you. I want a woman who won’t screw up our kids. You know how damn stupid my kids will likely be. I need someone who won’t make it worse. Blondie might suck great cock, but she’s got lazy mom written all over her.”

“So you do notice those things,” Aaron teased.

“I notice everything, man. I’m perfect, remember?”

Aaron proceeded to draw a very realistic sketch of me eating shit. So impressive, I planned to give it to Bailey as a Christmas gift.

After Aaron returned to work, I headed home for an hour with the weights, a half hour swimming with Sawyer, followed by a quick bite with the family. I planned to eat out before hitting a party where blonde hottie would be looking to score. I was looking to score too, meaning everyone would be happy.

Denny’s was quiet in the evenings, and I wanted to get a week’s worth of school shit done before spending the next few days relaxing like I was still on summer break. Without waiting to be seated, I found a spot in the corner for the laptop.

My mind wasn’t on the required reading I had downloaded onto the laptop. My mind and cock were both imagining the blondie with her cute ass and coy smile.

Standing at the table, the waitress was like background static. Denny’s was definitely not a place to flirt with chicks. The uniforms were horrid and hid any assets the poor bitches had to offer. Finally, I looked up mostly out of pity.

It took a special kind of woman to look so sexy in such an ugly outfit with her hair messy and her makeup missing. Her lips were pursed in irritation, but her eyes were tired. With her all worn down, she seemed a hell of a lot less frigid. I checked out the temporary name tag on her baggy black shirt.

Farah.

“Spanish class,” I said, nearly in shock that my number two booty target stood before me.

“Yes.”

“Freshman.”

“Yep,” she muttered, looking nervous or bored. “Do you know what you’d like?”

“Yeah,” I said, studying her every feature and wondering how she managed to look hotter than I remembered. “The Slamburger with seasoned fries. I’ll want dessert so don’t bring the check yet.”

“How do you want your egg?”

“Medium,” I said, noticing some bitch eyeballing Farah. I gestured behind her. “That girl is hating on you.”

Farah turned towards the bitch who literally sneered. “That’s my table.”

“You were on break, and he wanted to sit here.”

“Fine, well, I’m back,” Bitch Piper said, grabbing Farah’s pad.

My target stepped back, looking clueless at what to do. When the bitch asked about my order, I shut down the whole switcheroo shit.

“Nope. I’m keeping this one,” I said, pointing at Farah. “We have Spanish together. Don’t we, baby?”

“Yes, but…”

“No, but,” I said, thinking she was a dipshit. “If you want, I can talk to the manager and see if he gives a shit what this one here thinks?”

The chicks stared at me for a minute, likely wetting their panties a little. Finally, the bitch handed Farah the pad and stormed away.

“I’ll put this in for you,” she said as if nothing just happened.

“I don’t get a thank you?”

Farah forced a smile that only worked because of those beautiful lips of hers. “Thank you.”

“Ah, that’s right. You don’t know how well I tip hot girls from my Spanish class. Once you do, your thank you will sound more sincere.”

"Sorry.”

Hearing her tone and seeing the panic in her eyes, I couldn’t help grinning. “You look like you’re gonna cry.”

“You’re being scary. I assumed you wanted me to cry.”

Smile widening, I leaned back in the booth. “Please, don’t go crying on my account.”

“Let me put this in for you.”

Watching Farah walk away, I imagined what her ass looked like out of those lame shapeless pants. When I saw her walk out of class earlier wearing jeans, I was distracted and never got a good look at what she was packing.

Even with the laptop on and waiting to be used, I couldn’t take my eyes off Farah as she wiped down tables. I knew she knew I was watching her and I loved how flustered she was by this fact.

When she returned with my food, I decided to end the suspense for the beauty and just let her know I was interested.

“I have a cousin named Farah,” I said. When she gave me a cranky smile, I added, “She’s a bitch.”

Farah’s smile turned odd. Like she was terrified and trying to hide it. Or maybe she was pissed. Either way, her smile looked all sorts of weird.

“I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes,” she said, backing away.

“Don’t you want to know my name?” I asked, never taking my eyes off her.

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“You don’t sound genuinely interested.”

“I’m not begging if that’s what you’re waiting for.”

Fuck. I loved the way she said those words. Farah’s professional waitress bullshit wavered a little, and I saw the irritated chick underneath. It was quite a sight.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you beg,” I said, and she frowned. “Cooper.”

“Anyone ever call you Coop the Poop or Poopy Coopy?” she asked, teasing me in a way chicks never normally dared.

“No,” I muttered, wondering if she had a guy.

“Not to your face anyway.”

Seeing something amazing flicker in her eyes as she messed with me, I suddenly wasn’t interested in the cute blonde. “No, not to my face.”

“I guess there are benefits to being scary.”

Right then, right there, I knew I was making this girl worship me. I also knew when Farah finally lowered her uppity guard that she would come apart in the most perfect way. I needed to see past those walls and figure her out.

Most of all, I wanted her to give me that teasing grin again. Not once or twice, but a lot. I’d never had a girlfriend in the real sense, but Farah might stick around longer than the others. Maybe she would keep me entertained like other girls never did.

For the next hour or so, I made chitchat with Farah. Each question raised another wall, pushing me farther away. Her reluctance to give in right away pissed me off, so I pushed too hard. I asked questions I knew she didn’t want to answer. I pushed buttons she wanted untouched. I was a dick, and she looked at me like I scared the shit out of her.

Yet, Farah teased me with her pork talk before suddenly shutting things down when I asked to see her over the weekend. Girls only shut things down like that with me when they had a man or knew a man they wanted to have. The way she blew me off sent my temper flaring. Fuck her for teasing me when we both knew she wanted what I was offering. Hell, if she did have a guy, she might as well speak up. What was her fucking problem anyway?

I was ready to find me the cute blonde and forget all about Frigid Farah. I had it all planned out in my head how I didn’t give a single shit about this fucking girl with her big brown eyes staring up at me like I was an asshole. Seeing her lips pursed in thought, I figured she would use them to suck off another guy who had the patience for her hot and cold shit.

Then, Farah wiped whip cream from my chin, and I knew. No matter how frigid she was, there was no walking away. I wanted to know this girl and make her know me.

“Sorry if I seemed cranky earlier,” she said, suddenly running hot again. “Moving here has been stressful, but maybe when things settle, you might still want to show me around.”

Entranced by that stunning tired face, I ran my thumb across her full bottom lip. Immediately self-conscious, she wiped her mouth quickly.

“Did I have something on my face?”

“No,” I said, deciding if she wanted to play hot and cold that I could too. “I might sit next to you in class next week. If I do, try not to be a bitch about it.”

Those big brown eyes lost their warmth, and I watched her shut down right before me. It was like Bambi after he lost his mommy. Seeing her brokenhearted in a way I didn’t know how to cope with, I just grinned and hoped she smiled too.

“I’m teasing you. Don’t be so serious. Life is short and all that.”

“Why next week and not tomorrow?” she asked, giving away her interest in me again.

“I’m done with school for the week. I never attend Friday classes either.”

“Good for you.”

Unable to help myself, I reached out and rubbed her bottom lip again. I held her gaze and hoped she was imagining all of the fun we would have with those lips. Farah stared into my eyes like she hoped to hypnotize me. Fuck if it didn’t work too.

After leaving a twenty dollar tip, I walked out to my Harley and never once considered hitting the mixer. The cute blonde was off my radar. Every girl other than Farah wasn’t my concern. I wanted this one beauty, and I always got what I wanted.