Runaway ✔

086 • Dana

"The weather is way too nice to go back inside," Dana sighed. She put out her cigarette in the ashtray at the picknick table. 

"We'll be quitting two hours earlier today, so that's a plus," Gemma answered. 

Dana nodded. She was right.

Tonight they'd planned a party: Kip would receive his full patch and officially become a Son. Dana looked forward to it. Ten days had passed since the failed attempt on Maddox's life and they all were still a bit gloomy. Everybody needed some fun, a distraction. 

Dana hadn't talked to her brother in person, but a few days ago Tig had called and ensured them both he and Happy were fine. That was all they could ask for. 

"We could barbecue too," Dana thought, her face tilted to the sun again. "In the park. Take a dip in the lake."

Gemma smiled. "Good idea, sweetheart. The kids can run around too there." She petted Dana's hair lovingly and stood up. 

Dana wasn't used to the mother-like way Gemma sometimes treated her yet. In the past she would have hated it and if she was honest she still didn't feel comfortable about it. She however had the feeling Gemma wanted to show her she belonged with the club, especially now her brother wasn't around anymore. That's why Dana decided to be okay with it. She found it important to get Gemma's support and truth to be told: she had nobody outside this club. 

And this club is already falling apart. 

She couldn't ward off the thought. But it was true. The fact that Tig and Happy were no longer part of their little community was sensible at all the time. Three new prospects had been assigned to take their empty spots, but they first needed to earn their way in and it would take a long time before they really fitted in. 

"Since when is sunbathing an administrative task?"

Dana looked over her shoulder and smirked at Opie, who sat down beside her. 

"I need a tan too. You can fix your stuff outside, but I won't see a damn thing on the laptop screen."

"You need a tan?" Opie repeated. "Tryin' to pass as a Latina?"

She grinned. "That would make us the perfect couple, right?"

Opie shrugged. "Only if you get head tats too."

"Obviously. I'm still considering the design."

"A crow, I suppose."

"A crow?" she repeated, surprised. "Why's that?"

Opie held her glance for a moment before he shook his head. "Ya should ask him."

Whatever. "What about you, Ope? Have you met any nice girls lately?"

She'd seen him talk to a very pretty woman yesterday who'd visited the garage with a flat, and she believed she'd seen a spark between them. With satisfaction she noted him picking at his sleeve and he watched her from the side. 

"Maybe."

"Now I'm curious."

Opie didn't answer immediately, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "I've helped a girl, Lyla, with her car yesterday. She gave me her number when I was finished."

Dana whistled. "You called her?"

Opie shook his head. "Nah."

"Invite her for tonight."

He gave her a questioning look. "At a club party?"

"Yea, why not? Should be a relaxed evening. And hey, I'll be there to keep her company. For it would be totally uncool if you hang around her all night." She winked. 

He sighed, took a piece of paper from the pocket of his overall and looked hesitantly at it. "Dunno if I'm ready for it. After Donna..."

"You don't have to marry her. You'll find out soon enough if you're ready." Her lips curled into a smile while she thought about Juice. "I'd never thought I would be open for a relationship so soon after Maddox. But if you find the right person..." She shrugged. "Then you'll be fine."

Opie nodded slowly, still staring at the graceful handwriting. "Maybe she just wanted to be friendly," he muttered, barely audible. "And wasn't she..."

"No woman gives you her number for no reason, Ope." She bumped her shoulder against his. "Don't be such a pussy. You ain't tellin' me a tough, rough biker like you doesn't dare to call a pretty lady?"

He mumbled something she really couldn't understand this time and stood up, took his phone out of his pocket and started to dial the number. 

Satisfied Dana looked at him, happy she could do something for the one who'd been such a great support since the beginning. She realized she'd missed to spend time with him. It wasn't just because of Juice that they hung out less often; after the death of her mother they'd decided it was safer for his kids if she did no more babysitting. And it had been evenings like that when they'd talked late into the night after he'd got home. 

A broad grin was drawn on his face when he returned to her. 

"She's comin'?" Dana guessed. 

He nodded. "Thanks," he said softly when he sat down again. "Needed that push, I guess."

"You're welcome." She gave him a wink and leaned into his shoulder. "I miss our late-night talks."

He patted her knee. "I'm late at the clubhouse almost every night. Always ready to talk with you until the sun's comin' up. But I guess you rather do other things than talk around that time." He wiggled his eyebrows. 

Dana felt her face glow. Not because having sex with Juice was an embarrassing subject, but because it wasn't the first time she let friendships grow cold while being in love. Hadn't she learned anything from her relationship with Maddox? It felt like she was falling into the same pits over and over again. 

"Sorry," she muttered. 

"What? No man, I'm just kiddin'." He nudged her shoulder and she looked up. Whether he'd been serious or not; he'd hit a nerve.

"You just adapted to the club life very quickly." His smirked. "A beast between the sheets, just like the others."

"A beast," she repeated, frowning. "Well, that sounds romantic."

Opie chuckled. "Romance's for pussy's."

Laughing Dana shook her head. "Well, you surely need those before you can do your thing."

Opie laughed too. Absentminded he picked at a strand of her hair while she leaned against him.

"I meant what I said," she said after a while. "I'm sorry. When I was with Maddox, I didn't care about anyone but him, and I lost all of my friends. The idea that will happen again, just makes me feel sick."

"Juice ain't Maddox, Dane. He'll never try to isolate you. And you... you ain't the same girl you was back then."

"Fortunately not," she muttered. 

However, that girl was still part of her. Maybe she would never truly go away. 

"And if it's really hard to keep your hands off him, we should take a break more often together." Opie moved a little and Dana sat up straight. He gave her a wink. 

"Yeah, about taking breaks... Think my break time for the next week is up by now."

"Well, in that case... we might have to lock up that Puerto Rican of yours for a night."

"With handcuffs. He'll like that."

Opie rolled his eyes and Dana stuck out her tongue. "Fine, I'll save my fantasies for Cherry."

"Great."

Chuckling she stood up. "I'm gonna head back to Gemma, before she punishes me with turning around sausages all night."

"You better be talkin' 'bout the barbecue."

Laughing, she shook her head. "See ya, Ope."