I've Got This Friend

Chapter 3

Opie and Mae chatted and drank and by the time Half-Sack came back around, they were deep in conversation. On his way back, seeing them talking and leaning in close to one another, Kip quickly swerved away as not to interrupt them. He wasn't actively trying to set them up but when Mae admitted her loneliness, he couldn't help but think of Opie's perpetual gloom.

"You want another beer?" He shouted over the crowd as it grew louder.

She nodded and held her fingers to her lips requesting another cigarette. "I swear, I'll buy you a pack. I'm sorry."

"You're fine."

He handed her his pack before heading back into the clubhouse for more beers. Catching a glimpse of himself in a Jack Daniels mirror behind the bar Opie was shocked to see a smile spread wide across his face. It was almost as if a stranger was staring back at him as he grabbed the bottles.

"Thank you." Mae took the bottle from him as she puffed on the cigarette. She'd feel it tomorrow, heavy lungs and a nasty cough but she couldn't help it, she always smoked when she got drunk and she was very drunk.

"It's fucking loud." He hadn't sat down again but offered her his hand. "Come with me."

Popping up she grabbed his fingers and followed him toward the side of the building. He pulled her forward and grabbed her beer. "Can you climb in your boots?" He asked with a cocky smile.

"With my beer too." She winked and took her bottle back before starting up to the roof. He tried, just barely, not to stare at her ass and as climbed but he got a few good looks.

"Easier to talk up here." He said as an explanation.

"Your kingdom." Mae joked, sitting on the cement wall and looking down on the giant sweaty mass of people. "They look like animals."

"You wouldn't be wrong." He chuckled.

They talked about stupid things, spent a long while on their tattoos and really shared a lot of deeper philosophies and feelings over countless beers. They went back and forth, Mae pointed up and down her arms and explained her chest piece while he showed off his own work. Mae felt a pull as they talked, there was something sweet in his eyes and he spoke with passion and depth about many things. He was hard to read though, she couldn't tell he was feeling the same things, it was a connection he hadn't experienced before nor had she.

"How do you know Sack?"

Always with that question. She was starting to wonder if she should break confidentially just to make it easier. "I can't say." She shrugged with a timid smile. "But I can say that I work for the VA, I help guys readjust to life after deployment, help them navigate insurance shit and I counsel some too."

"So you met him at a bar?" Opie joked.

"Exactly." Mae looked around, keeping her eyes off Opie, and tried to play down her giddiness. "And what do you do? Oil changes and lube jobs?"

"Can't say." He laughed and pointed toward the shop. "What'd Sack tell you?"

Mae knew he probably wasn't supposed to tell her anything. She wanted to admit she knew and she didn't really care too much but she shook her head.

"Mechanic type shit."

"Then that's what we do."

"Mmm, mysterious." She checked her phone and groaned. "It's fucking late and I'm trashed. I should go."

"DUI looks bad for a government employee, don't it?"

Raising an eyebrow she shook her head. "You look pretty trashed yourself."

"I'm good. I should go anyway. Let me drop you off."

Mae regretfully shook her head. "It's okay, really, I can call a cab."

"I'll wait with you."

Opie went down the ladder first and offered her a hand as she jumped from the last rung. When they turned Sack was coming at them with a bottle of whisky while Cherry held four shot glasses.

"Shots!" She screeched grabbing Mae's hand.

Opie watched the tiny scene and he didn't like it. He liked her but not the involvement of the prospect and Cherry. "You want shots?" He asked Mae quietly.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "I can't." Pulling on the edge of his cut Mae walked down the lot toward the fence.

"Ah shit." He gave Mae a tug and they turned off toward the swings as Lyla and Ima strutted toward the clubhouse. "Sorry. Not someone I wanted to see." Watching as they passed Opie relaxed and, taking Mae's hand, led her back toward the street.

There were too many people for Mae to actual pinpoint the girls but she just nodded, uninterested in the drama. "I had fun." Mae said as she held her phone to her ear to call the cab company.

Opie listened to her speak with the dispatcher and nodded. "Me too. Maybe we -"

"Sweet." Mae said excitedly as she dropped her phone back in her bag. "Got a guy like two blocks away."

"Cool." He mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks for all the smokes and the beers."

"Yeah, no problem." The cab pulled up and Opie opened the door for her. "You should come around again, maybe I can call you?"

"Get my number from Kipper." She was smiling, tugging his beanie down over his eyes but her eyelids were heavy as she struggled to stay awake. He didn't feel very confident leaving her with the cabbie, a shady guy with a dark unsettling grin but she was adamant.

Opie shut her door and poked his head in the driver's window. "Here." He handed him sixty dollars in cash. "That should be enough."

"And if it ain't?"

"It is."

Opie charged off before the cab drove away and jumped in his bike. The Sons all had a savior complex, especially when pretty girls were in sketchy situations, and sending Mae off with that driver felt very wrong. He pulled out and followed at a distance until he saw Mae stumble into her house unscathed. He smiled and waited a minute before turning back around and trying his best to avoid an arrest. Mae was right, he was too drunk to be out cruising.

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