Roomies ✔

32 - Under Siege

Esai was charming — there was no denying that. He answered the questions of their mothers patiently, made them laugh and Roman saw his little sister's face beam, every time the biker smiled at her, squeezed her hand or simply answered her glance. Diana, his mother, was also a friendly woman. The father, Marcus, however was quieter and didn't seem to feel very comfortable. Roman thought back to Juice's words. Every word the man had spoken had been dripping with jealousy, but he really seemed to worry about Jamie's safety. And since the guy was in a motorgang, he couldn't simply shove his suspicions aside. 

Roman took his beer from the table and sipped, then he turned towards Marcus. No matter how many patches the man would sew to his black jacket, it wouldn't scare him off. The tougher men tried to look, the bigger their hearts were. The people who were the most dangerous were the ones you wouldn't expect it from. 

People like him. 

"Are you the club's president for a long time?" he asked Marcus. 

He had no idea if he was on thin ice now, but he would find out soon enough. The motorclub however seemed to be an important part of his life, so Roman believed it was a normal question. 

The man studied his face, seemed to conclude that he was no threat. "I founded the motorclub, fifteen years ago. There were MC's for black and white, but not for us."

Roman thought it was quite obsolete to hold on to one's race, but he didn't say it out loud. After all, he didn't belong to minorities, so what could he really say about it? Somehow he found it amusing that they derived their name from a culture that wasn't theirs, a culture that had been overrun by the Spaniards centuries ago. The Mayans weren't something typically Mexican — all though Taco MC or Mariachi MC didn't sound very threatening. Naming yourself after a dominant, warring, high-sophisticated culture made more sense. 

"And how many people are in a club?" he asked, genuinely interested. 

He however knew a bit about motorclubs, after all he'd talked about it with Juice too. 

"There are twenty charters spread over the US and Mexico."

Roman nodded slowly. "And the fact that Jamie's roommate is a member of a different club... that isn't a problem?"

The eyes of the clubpresident narrowed, but Roman kept an innocent expression on his face. He could imagine the man had an opinion about it. Marcus' glance slid away and rested upon Jamie. 

"She's not a threat," he said. 

Roman didn't know if he believed him. 

Once Marcus looked him in the eye again, he was sure he didn't believe him.

. . .

Esai believed the evening was going well. At least better than the time he introduced Jamie to his family. His father was quiet, although it didn't stop Roman from asking questions. Questions his father didn't feel comfortable with, although Esai kept in mind that his father wasn't approving of his relationship with Jamie anyway. He wondered if the blond guy had missed his true calling as a psychologist, for he asked deep questions about things Esai had never given a thought; about his parents' youth and the foundation of the club. In turn,  Roman told them about the buildings he had designed the past years and his current project. 

Jamie's mothers were nice too. Mitsy was a bit dreamy, only answering when someone asked her a direct question. Lola however was a smooth talker, making sure there were no silences. He wondered if she talked so much because she felt a little nervous; he knew Jamie couldn't stop talking either when she was nervous. Would one of them be her biological mother? He found himself comparing their noses, lips and eyes trying to find similarities. Here and there she shared characteristics with both women, but he could be imagining things too. She might as well be adopted. In the end, he decided it didn't matter. She considered Mitsy and Lola as her parents, that was the only thing that counted.