Dirt

We stood in the room facing our fathers and the newcomers. The three of us tried to look like we weren't studying them too hard, while a few of them seemed to have to problems studying us. The leader, though, looked at me like he was about to eat me up. His look sent a shock that ran through me from the roots of my hair to my toes. I kind of liked it.

"This is my daughter, Ashlynn," my dad introduced us. "This is Wolf's daughter, Erin, and this is our practically adopted daughter, Jessi." He studied the looks the guys were giving us and added, "They're family, but not in the club. They're also off limits."

The guys smiled, and the leader raised his eyebrows. "My name is Jimmy," said the tall, skinny one. He then pointed to each of the guys and gave us an interesting fact about them. "That's Johnny, he's legally a midget." Johnny smacked him in the arm. "Just kidding. Johnny is very dangerous with knives. That's Brian. He's the sexy one and he has really soft hair. He's also the fastest rider. Zacky is over there. He's the moodiest and a really good fighter. And that's Matt."

"No interesting fact on you?" I asked him. I couldn't help it. "Do you have a weird collection of dolls, or maybe you're good with a bow and arrow?"

The group laughed, thankfully. My dad decided that we should all go back out to the party. He left the house first and announced that we had visitors. This would mean that the club would generally leave the new guys alone. As we walked off the front porch and back to the party, it seemed as if Jessi had forgotten all about Robbie. She was trying to talk up the one with black hair and green eyes. What was his name? Zacky?

"Do you always creep around your father's house like that?"

The voice was the same one I had heard in the house. I was glad the voice belonged to him. I turned to him with a small smile. "Technically, we were creeping around Erin's father's house, but...pretty much, yeah." He gave me a small smile, and it revealed dimples in his cheeks. Jesus Christ, could he get any sexier? The dimples just took him over the top. "So where are you guys from?"

"Just down the coast a little ways. Maybe an hour," he told me while jutting his chin out in the direction. "So you're not in the club?"

I sat down on a bench that was a little ways away from the core group of the party. "Nah. My mom hated the idea, so she made my dad promise that I would never really be in it. I remember, though, being a little kid and running around my house pretending I was on a bike. This life is all I've known my whole life. Wow, I'm rambling. That's not awkward or anything."

"It's okay," he chuckled, "I kind of like it." And just like some love sick teenage girl, I started to blush. Can you believe it? What the fuck was my world coming to?

"Ash!" my father bellowed from a few yards away. "Come her girl!"

I looked at the newcomer named Matt. I gave him a smile. "That's his subtle way of telling me to stop talking to you. Especially alone," I whispered. "I guess I'll see you around."

"You certainly will," he told me with a wink. Then I blushed again. Again!

I met up with my father who started to warn me off of being alone with Matt. I cut him off before he could get very far. "Dad, it's getting pretty late, and I'm tired from all the excitement. The girls and I were talking, and since you now know who the new guys are, and I'm figuring they're not all that dangerous to us, we're all going over to Jessi's. I'm only telling you this because I'm also letting you know that we're not taking Fat Joey."

He looked at me for a long time. Long enough for me to think that he saw right through me. Instead, he said, "Sometimes I think you're keeping stuff from me."

I smiled. "Pop. Come on. I tell you everything." That's not entirely true. I told him almost everything. He acquiesced all the same. After taking several tries to pry Jessi away from the Zacky guy, we all jumped in her beat up old car and were on our way to her house. Almost.

I hopped in the back, pulled out the overnight bag I had already stashed there, and pulled out a pair of my boots. I traded them out for my heels and we were good to go for our real destination. We pulled up outside of the club and the girls wished me luck.

The lights were dim and I could just make out all the people sitting in the crowd. It wasn't too packed, so my nerves calmed down a bit. The MC welcomed everyone to open mic night, and the lights kicked on. He announced my name, and I smiled and gave a small wave to the crowd. I could hear my girls yelling the loudest. It really bolstered my confidence. I took a deep breath and started my song. I had always loved singing. My mother used to encourage me to do it all the time. She used to tell me that if I really wanted, I could be a famous singer one day. She said people would come from around the world to listen to my songs. My father always loved to hear me sing, but after my mom's passing, he had a hard time letting go. To chase down my dream of singing for large crowds, I'd have to cut the ties a little bit. I was just worried how much that would break his heart if I did.

I finished up the song and thanked the lightly cheering crowd. They clapped and a few, besides my girls, even hooted and hollered. I knew I was smiling ear to ear. I walked back stage to put up my guitar and received a few congratulations from the other singers there for open mic night. I wished good luck to the next one up, a guy that had been there about as many times as I had, and walked back around to the front of the building. I could see the girls sitting towards the back and they were laughing and waving me over. I took one step towards them and a wall of a human stepped in to block my way.

I looked up into those intense hazel eyes and almost laughed. "Are you following me? Contrary to popular belief, stalking does not get the girl interested in you. It has the opposite effect."

One side of his mouth quirked up. "Actually, we kind of were stalking you." He pointed to a nearby table, and his four friends were sitting there. I looked around him to the girls, and they were making their way over. Jessi had a huge smile on her face. I gave Matt a questioning look. "I guess your friend was telling Zacky where you guys were going. He wanted to spend a little more time with her, so we decided to come too." I asked him if that was the only reason they came. I know, I know, it's shameless flirting, but if you had the opportunity, you would flirt with Matt, too. Don't deny it. "Pretty much, yeah. You guys are welcome to join us if you'd like." Then he walked back to his friends.

Jessi had already pulled another table up to theirs and added three more chairs. Erin and I looked to each other and shrugged. What the hell? We sat down and the Brian one ordered shots of Jameson for everyone. The waitress didn't card us, so Jessi and I didn't offer up our underage status. It was kind of awkward at first. We didn't really know what to say to these guys, and everyone just kind of looked around the table to everyone else. Then the shots came, and the one they call Jimmy told the three of us about the rules of taking a shot.

"Okay, here's how this works. We clink glasses, pound it on the table, then take the shot. The first person to make a face has to buy the next round."

We took our shots, and of course, Erin was the first to make a face. She and I were never big drinkers. She didn't like the taste, and I always got drunk really fast. The guys took it easy on her and only ordered beers. After that it seemed easier for everyone to talk. I liked the new guys. They were friendly, and funny, and slightly crude. They were just like us. I noticed, though, that Jimmy was right about Zacky. He was quieter than the others, and he seemed to only have long conversations with Jessi. I looked over at the pair and smiled to myself. Maybe he was just what she needed. She was my best friend, and as long as he didn't hurt her, then I wished them well. I guess I'd been staring at them a little too long, because I didn't even see the hulking man come over and sit down next to me.

"Maybe it had a little to do with you," he whispered in my ear. I could almost feel his lips on the outer shell, and I had to fight to restrain myself. I turned to him with a questioning look. "I just meant, that when you asked if your friend was the only reason we came, that's not entirely true. Maybe it had a little to do with you."

I smiled. I couldn't help it. "If it's any consolation, maybe I'm glad you guys came."

"So, I know what your dad said about you guys being off limits, but I don't think my friend cares too much about that." He gestured over to Zacky and Jessi, who were too engrossed in making out to notice anyone talking about them. I laughed. "And I was also wondering if you did everything your daddy said."

"Wow. Slightly offensive, but okay. No, not everything. But just about."

He seemed to think about that for a while. "So if I asked you out, what would you say?"

Erin caught my attention and told me she was ready to go. I agreed with her. I did turn back to Matt, though. "I'm not sure. Maybe you should try that sometime, and we'll see how it goes." Erin and I stood up and announced it was time for us to go. Jessi seemed sad to leave Zacky, so he promised to take her home on his bike. I made him give me his cell phone number so I could check up on the two of them if I felt I needed to.

After Erin and I were in the car, we decided to just go back to our prospective houses. She dropped me off at mine and waved me off. I stepped inside, and heard the TV going in the living room. My dad was there, fast asleep in his old recliner. I smiled to myself, but then was kind of sad. What would he do if I left him? I wasn't sure, and I didn't think I wanted to find out.

I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and put it on top of him. I turned off the TV and kissed his cheek. Then I walked up the stairs to my room. I kicked off my boots, changed into some sleep shorts and an oversized Misfits tee and crawled under the covers. The last image I had in my head before drifting off to sleep was a pair of beautiful hazel eyes.