Princess of SAMCRO

"What Happens on a Run..."

Finally, we arrive in Santa Barbara at a fairly nice hotel. The wake is tonight, and the funeral is tomorrow. Juice and I went to our shared room and decided to each shower and get dressed. He was instructed by Jax to attend all of the weekends events to make sure that nothing happened to me. It was a little over protective in my opinion because nobody down here even knows who I am, but thinking back to being kidnapped, I do appreciate the presence of a club member.

I dress in a respectable black dress with flats. I hate the look, but it's appropriate for a funeral and it seemed like something that wouldn't make me stand out more than I likely already will. Half of these people will have no idea who I am, and the other half probably have their opinions of me. Estranged dead parents and now she lives with a bunch of bikers. No doubt people will be talking.

Juice emerges from the bathroom looking nice. He is wearing black pants with a black shirt, choosing to keep his Kutte on over the rest of his clothing. He wears a black hat to cover his head tattoos, I assume so that no further attention is drawn to him.

"You look nice" he complements me although I am sure that he is just trying to be nice.

"Yea right" I scoff, "You do though" I say with a soft smile. We gather our things and leave the hotel. The wake is not far so we choose to walk. The weather is beautiful with an ocean breeze, making it the perfect temperature. The walk is mostly silent as I feel increasing anxiety about the upcoming hours. I take one slow, heavy breath. Juice stops, grabbing my hand lightly, making me stop as well.

"It'll be okay Brooklyn. I know what its like to have family shit and I am here for you". God he is such a sweet person. Half of me wants to wrap my arms around him and kiss him but I think better of the idea.

"Thank you, Juice. Seriously, you have been such a good friend" I hug him, and we continue walking.

Once we get to the wake, the small rooms are filled with people standing in various places. I don't recognize any of them but head to the front of the room where my grandmother rests. Juice remains in the back, standing still and talking to no one. It's not lost on me that we are both in a room full of people who are not acknowledging us at all.

I walk up to the open casket and look down at my grandma. She looks very much like I remember but had aged quite a bit. A memory briefly flashes into my mind of playing dolls with her when I was little at her home here in Santa Barbara. I feel a flash of sadness take over my body as I give her one final look before walking away. Goodbye Grandma. As I am headed back to Juice I am intercepted by a woman who I barely recognize.

"Brooklyn, is that you?" the woman asks.

"Y-yeah" I stutter.

"I am sure you don't remember me, but I am your aunt Rebecca. You look just like your mother" she shared and rubbed my arm. I almost feel like recoiling from her but realize that would be rude. She continues with conversation saying how long it has been and eventually asks what I am doing with my life.

"Oh I live in Charming still, working at a local garage."

I see her cast a glance at Juice and then back to me. "That's nice" she says, clearly not believing the words she is saying. "Last I knew you wanted to be a doctor like your mom. What happened to that?"

I can feel myself tensing at the question. What does she think happened, both of my parents died is the response I want to give but again, that would be rude.

"A lot happened" I answer shortly and look away from her gaze.

"Right" She says simply as if she realized what a stupid question she had asked. "Well thank you so much for coming, I am sure that mom would have been happy for you to be here" She again pats my arm and walks away. I don't mean to be so rude, but I just feel so disconnected from these people. This isn't my family anymore and I feel that deeply as I stand once again alone in the room. I look back to Juice, who looks like he watched the whole interaction. Walking over to him I tell him I am ready to go.

As we are walking back to the hotel, "Let's get out of these stuffy clothes and get drunk" I suggest and that is what we do. I change into a tight- fitting top that covers most but not all of my stomach and a pair of tight black jeans. To finish the look, I throw on a pair of laced heels. Much more my style I think to myself as I smile in the mirror. That is what today felt like, pretending to be someone and part of a family I am not.

Juice and I find a bar on the beach and grab dinner and drinks. It feels good to be spending time with him outside of the club scenery and as always, the conversation flows easily. We talk about different places we have seen, and like that first conversation during our surveillance mission he told me about his adventures riding across country.

"I want to do that someday, drive across country. I want to see different things and meet different people."

"What's stopping you?" he asks.

"I have lost enough family ya know? I don't want to lose SAMCRO and Gemma too".

"I get that" he responds and sips his beer and we sit in silence for a few moments.

Breaking the silence, I ask, "You ready for your top rocker?"

Juice smiles one of his mega watt smiles and replies, "Of course!". It is cute seeing him so excited about his patch. He continues, "Full patch means no more prospect bullshit tasks. Also, if I remember correctly about nine months ago some girl told me to put my year in and then I'd be able to see what happens. So, I'll be more than happy to see what happens" He says in a half whisper with a full smirk on his face and a wink.

My insides turn to butterflies with his blatant flirting and I must keep myself again from lunging at him. Instead I grab his hand and for the second time today, our fingers lace. I get up from the table and lead him off the outdoor patio and onto the beach. Taking my shoes off, I lead him down to the water until the waves are almost reaching our feet. The ocean has always been one of my favorite places to be. There is just something so calming about the sounds of the waves and how light reflects off the water.

"It's so beautiful here" I muse as I look to where the moon is bouncing off the water.

"It is" Juice responds but when I turn to him, he isn't looking to the water, he is staring back at me. His expression is hard to read and doesn't give away what he is thinking.

The alcohol running through my body increases my courage and ability to not overthink. I take off Juice's hat, revealing his mohawk and tattoos. Something about the combo is extremely sexy. I run my hand through his hair, and I feel him lean into my hand just the slightest bit.

As if he knows exactly what I am thinking, what I want, in that moment he whispers, "We shouldn't do this Brooklyn. Not yet".  I usually don't like it much when people use my full name, but something about the way Juice says it makes me appreciate it. I love that your name is Brooklyn he once told me, it reminds me of where I came from.

The courage running through me only increases, "So your saying," and I pause to lean just a little closer, "that you wouldn't want to kiss me?"

He sighs slightly again, "Do you know how much and for how long I have wanted to kiss you?". He stares into my eyes but does not make any movement to get closer to my lips.

"Well what happens on a run stays on a run right?" Almost before the last word is out, his lips move onto mine and we are kissing in the moonlight.