Masquerade

It was amazing the kind of shit I had let Tig and Venus talk me into the past few months. I would be overly concerned about it if they weren’t two of the only people I could count on for support. Venus was the perfect guiding figure in my life and Tig had become something like an older brother to me. Albeit one I never wanted, but then again I didn’t know what I would have ever done without him or Venus in my life.

The plan for the party was to show up with Venus and have her introduce me as her neighbors youngest daughter. Which was going to be believable no matter what because no one had ever even met her neighbor, including her. The lie seemed convincing and would no doubt go off without a hitch, I didn’t foresee anything going wrong with it even with the anxiety of the situation looming over my head.

The party came before I had even registered what was going on and Venus spent an hour doing my hair and makeup for the night, and we had already gone shopping to find me what Venus had called ‘casual sexy’ clothes. Things that highlighted my feminine beauty but didn’t give anything away. She even bought me bra stuffers to give me believably sized breasts.

Showing up to the clubhouse not on my bike and not wearing my cut made me feel almost naked. Every time I’d been in the building for the past year or so, I had been wearing that leather vest. Going back in bare backed just reminded me of what it was like to be a Hang Around.

“You nervous baby girl?” Venus asked me, adjusting the curls of my wig before opening the door.

“You have no idea.” I replied.

“Well don’t be. No one but me and Tig will know who you pretend to be for the MC.” she smiled reassuringly before grabbing my arm and walking through the door.

The music and smell of alcohol assaulted me immediately and I felt the anxiety melt off of me as the feeling of home over took me. It was suddenly hilarious that I had ever been nervous about coming here, nothing horrible could happen in a place I felt so secure and comfortable in.

“Ooh, did Venus drag in a new girl for us.” Jax asked as he sauntered over to Venus and I at the bar. And here I was thinking I was being perfectly innocent and contained, but really what did I expect from them? Most of the women that walked into this place where either hookers or Old Ladies and I was definitely not anyones Old Lady. Yet I still made a mental note to smack Venus later for sticking me in this ridiculous bra contraption and a mini skirt.

“Don’t you talk about my baby girl like that.” Venus replied, play slapping Jax across his shoulder. “This here is Andrea and I told her you Sons were the respectable sort, so don’t turn me into a liar.”

“My apologies ma'am.” Jax said, over selling it as he bowed to her trying to act like a real gentleman. He then turned and held his hand out to me. “Jax Teller, President of SAMCRO.”

I took his hand, and he kissed my knuckled making me giggle. “Andrea Case,” I managed to reply. “President of laziness.” Jax gave a chuckled and said he liked me already, then said if I ever had the need to lose at pool he was more than willing to give me that experience. I took a sigh of relief as he walked back over to the pool table where Tara was waiting impatiently for him.

The really interesting part of the night came after I had decided to wander through the club and take a seat on the only empty couch in the place and just people watch. Eventually Juice wandered over to me and offered to get me a fresh drink, as my rum and coke was now empty and the ice melting. He came back with two drinks and sat down with me, striking up a conversation and doing a damn good job of hitting on me in the process.

I didn’t think Venus’s makeup job had altered my face that much, but Juice was clearly clueless to the fact that he was flirting with someone he’d known for almost two years. It was kind of nice. Admittedly I had never thought of Juice in any way other than casually noticing he was clearly the most attractive member of SAMCRO, even compared to Jax and his blonde haired beauty. Yet, after sitting here and having Juice actively flirt with me for quiet sometime I kind of felt like maybe he really was more than just a good friend and a pretty face.

After a little while longer I took a pretty big risk and gently kissed the corner of his mouth. His warm skin pressed to my lips was nice and the subtle taste of rum and chapstick was oddly enjoyable. He clearly enjoyed it as well because he pulled me back for another kiss, this one was full on the mouth and embodied everything I could ever want from a kiss.

He twisted his hands up into my hair and that’s when my nerves kicked in. This wig was temporary and not glued in place, one wrong move and he’d rip it completely off my head. And just as the thought crossed my mind that’s exactly what happened. He went to tug my hair, like you normally would when you were deeply invested in a kiss, and unceremoniously pulled my wig off right in front of everyone. After that the only thing I could hope for would be that even without the wig no one would recognize me for who they knew me as.

But as Juice stared at me, taking in my newly revealed short cropped brown hair, I knew the pieces were fitting together in his mind. I could fess up now to save him from hating me even more, but I was too stunned to make my mouth move to form words. I couldn’t even blink, I just stared at Juice as he and everyone in a seven foot radius stared at me.