AVERY'S POV:

　　It was the weekend after we got to officially take over the strip club when Razor called me in. I was hoping it meant what I wanted it to, and I walked in with my head held high.

　　"Razor?" I called out when I got to his office and it was empty. I pulled out my phone and saw I was only 2 minutes early, and I sighed and called him. He picked up right away and told me he was walking in now and before he hung up, I could hear him behind me.

　　"So the first thing you asked me about when you joined us was about security, and while you improved our shit here with the cameras and stuff, you didn't really do much else since we have rotating shifts. But now we have the strip joint and there will be a need of bouncers that aren't loyal to them. Think of it as that whole movie with Patrick Swayze. You're him... and you can do whatever you want with the staff, besides the dancers. We have that guy coming from the other chapter. He gets in tonight."

　　"What guy?" I heard there was someone coming, but never heard a name.

　　"He's been managing a restaurant and a strip club in our sister chapter in Nevada. He'll take over the money and the girls, he's good. You and he will work on the bouncers, the bartenders, and that kind of staff." He told me and I nodded. "If I understand it, he will be open to you and work easily together."

　　"So, I will be doing what exactly?"

　　"The whole Roadhouse thing." He told me and I drew a blank. "You've never seen that movie? Seriously?"

　　"I am guessing Noelle made you watch it recently." I saw him nod and I just waited. "So... I should watch it?"

　　"No. You're single you don't have to watch shit like that."

　　"So, explain it to me a bit?" I asked and he sighed and worked his shoulders.

　　"So, this guy makes sure shit runs smooth every night. He fires people who drink or use drugs. He makes sure the girls don't get hurt, they follow the rules, shit like that. Improve it and make sure shit runs smooth. I am sure that you and Marcus could deal with the schedule, so you have days off and switch around the times when you want a night off or a day off, I don't know. I am sure you guys will figure it out. He's pretty laid back when it comes to his personality. If you two have problems, just come to me and we can work some shit out."

　　"I am sure we can get along, as long as he isn't a slob or a slacker." I knew he couldn't be either since he, one, worked in a restaurant, and two he got to run two separate businesses.

　　"Ok, well, I will give you a call when he gets here, and you can come on over when Noelle makes him feel right at home."

　　"You're letting her cook?" I asked and he sighed. He sent me a look and I laughed. It was two weeks before Christmas. Bellamy left two days ago, and everything in their house was awkward as fuck. Even I wouldn't go in there without my sister, a kid, aka Cami, and Lucien.

　　"No. I will be cooking but she still wants to get to know him." He told me and I nodded. We were all having another Christmas feast here. Cami was excited, and I had been searching for something for her and could see a bunch of shit in stores, but I didn't know which she had, or wanted. Maybe she didn't want what I was thinking about... I had to have lunch with my sister.

　　I pulled out my phone and called Jackie as I left Razors office a couple minutes later. I got her voicemail which meant she was probably on the floor of the café, so I left a message that I would be on my way over as I walked through the club and headed for my bike.

　　"Hey." I paused and looked around before I saw Tara and she smiled and walked closer.

　　"What's up?" I asked and she took a deep breath.

　　"You know... you don't have to rush out of here just because I am here-"

　　"Tara-"

　　"What we had was good Avery... but I still want to be friends. We're technically family." She told me and I just looked down at her.

　　"Tara, we're friends. What we had... was good, but it's been over for months. Felt like it wasn't really anything other than sex." I told her and looked around making sure Ryan wasn't about to walk out and hear us talking about this. "And I thought we agreed when you stopped it, that we wouldn't bring it up."

　　'Yeah, but then I saw you kind of rushing out while planning a date. I wasn't sure if you saw me, or if you thought you needed to hide it-"

　　"Stop. Tara, I was talking to my sister's voicemail, telling her that I was on my way." I told her and she shut her lips and nodded slowly. "I get that we're over. I get that I don't have to hide my stuff from you. I didn't even see you until you called out to me."

　　"Ok... I just wanted to make sure we both knew it was okay to move on. I won't be jealous. I won't try and get between you and your next-"

　　"Ok... Tara, seriously, I just got out of a meeting with your brother, I don't want him to walk out and hear us talking about this. He just beat Bellamy and sent him packing." I told her and she nodded.

　　"Which is why I feel like we needed to just get this cleared up." She said and I felt even more awkward.

　　"Ok. It's clear to me that I can move on, and you know you can do whatever you want too. No hard feelings. No strings between us other than what we should be." I told her and she nodded and let out a deep breath. "We're good. We don't need to talk about this again. I don't think. I will give you the heads up if I start dating just so it isn't a surprise, and if you're dating someone just kind of mention it in passing so I know when to not be here when you tell your brother."

　　"That's not funny." She told me and I shrugged.

　　"I gotta go now... thanks for the weird talk." I told her and kept walking. She let me and told me once more when I got to the door that it wasn't funny. I laughed lightly and kept walking. Whatever we had, it wasn't serious, it wasn't love, and it wasn't the potential for anything serious. Tara and I started before I was a brother, and as soon as I started to gain more and more respect for the MC, I felt that it was wrong, told her I wanted to get serious or cut it out, and she didn't feel the same way. So, it ended. Long story short, we were barely anything, and now we were over it. Just a secret we shared.

　　I headed to the café, got the insight into what to get Cami, and headed right to the stores trying to find it. While I was there, I got my sister a present, a gift card for Lucien, and looked through baby shit for Noelle and Ryan.