Abigail rubbed her stomach. It felt like it could explode any moment. "I want to puke. Those last two scopes are too much."

"Pussy."

"Dude, you're a foot taller than me!"

"So? Your belly is bigger than mine."

"You don't talk like that to girls!"

"Why not? I'm no sexist. I'm pro equality."

By answer, she pushed her ice cream in his face; from above his left brow she drew a line until his chin until the cone broke. 

Juice cursed while trying to push her away. Laughing, Abigail jumped up; it wasn't hard to see what he would do next. With his sleeve he wiped his face. "That's fucking gross."

With his own ice cream in hand he got up. Abigail started to run, but every time she looked over her shoulder, he had diminished the distance between them. She had just reached the end of the street when he grabbed her arm and rubbed his ice cream all over her face. 

Screaming she tried to get away from him, but he wrapped a strong arm around her waist. "Hell no girl. You're going nowhere," he laughed. 

Doing it to someone else turned out to be a lot funnier than being the victim yourself. She turned around, wiping her face to his shoulder. As she looked up, she looked straight into a shit eating grin. 

"There's still ice cream on your chin," she said. 

"You wanna lick it off?" 

Abigail was about to do it, just to see his reaction but so close to his mouth didn't sound like a smart idea. "No thanks. Maybe you should save it for Angel Tuesday."

He chuckled. "Maybe." Raising his hand, his thumb stroked her eyebrow. His skin felt sticky against hers, and she wondered if he was actually cleaning her face or just making it worse. 

His glance moved from her eyebrow to her eyes. Abigail stared back. His eyes were so beautifully brown... It gave him something soft, something sweet. Their noses were brushing. She felt his breathing on her lips and was startled by the sudden longing bubbling up inside her. Her eyes shot to his lips and back to his eyes. His grasp around her tightened and she had to admit she liked the feel of his body against hers. 

"You ain't gonna kiss me huh?" A teasing smirk danced around his lips. 

Abigail felt her cheeks flush. Quickly, she pushed him away. "In your dreams."

He laughed softly. "Lately there's another girl in my dreams." He winked. 

"Then I hope she knows what to do with all those horny fantasies of yours."

"Let's find out Tuesday."

Abigail chuckled. "Sounds like the perfect topic for a first date."

"Uh-uh. Sexual fantasies are important. Doesn't Davey share 'em with you?"

"He only dreams about large stadiums."

"Sex in large stadiums?"

She elbowed his side. "Some men have bigger dreams than sex in public places."

"Boring."

"You are boring."

"Who, me? C'mon, you ever did an ice cream challenge with Davey? Or do you give him facials with ice cream?" He wrapped an arm around her. "I'm awesome. That's no news to you."

"Well at least you have the confidence of a Son now."

He moved his eyebrows up and down. "By the time I got my top rocker, I'm irresistible. Unfortunately for you, I will already have a beauty on my side."

"You ain't even past the first date man," she laughed. "She might be incredibly boring."

"So? Your boyfriend is incredibly boring too. Guess it ain't the end of the world."

"Davey ain't boring!"

"He's never around!"

She dropped her eyes. That was impossible to deny.

"Shit, sorry." He kissed her cheek. "Sorry Abby."

She sighed. "It's okay. After all, it's true... If everything goes to plan, he will be home by the end of the month and then it will take a couple of weeks before he leaves again."

He gently squeezed her side. "I think it's a good sign. That you're still together, even though you barely see each other. I don't think many relationships are resistant to the distance, especially not in the beginning."

She smiled lightly. He had a point.

. . .

Back in the clubhouse they headed straight for the restrooms to clean their faces. Her hair was one big mess because of the ice cream and it took her almost half an hour to untangle it. 

"Thanks Juice," she sighed against her reflection, although she knew she was the one who had started. For one time she wished her haircut had been just as simple as Juice's. On the other hand, she was a little relieved she could postpone her talk with her father. She didn't know why she was dreading it, maybe because she was afraid he was going to restrict her freedom.

Fifteen minutes later she decided to get over with it; Juice kept pushing her, telling her she needed to tell her dad. 

"You comin' with me?" she asked softly. 

He nodded, rubbing her back to reassure her. "Sure."

She walked to her father, who was talking to Jax. "Hey dad," she said as she neared him, announcing her presence so possible club matters wouldn't reach her ears. "I uhh... can we talk?"

Chibs' glance wandered across her face. "Wha's goin' on love?"

Her eyes shot to Jax, although she couldn't think of a reason to send him away. "I didn't come here because I was bored." She laced her fingers. She liked to be independent and found it hard to admit that there were things she couldn't handle herself. "The real reason I'm here... is because I don't feel safe at home anymore."

She felt the concerned eyes of both men burn on her skin. 

"Whatcha mean?" her father asked. "Someone's botherin' ye?"

"I uh... it might sound paranoid." She dropped her eyes. 

Juice rubbed her back. "You don't sound paranoid, Abby."

His presence gave her strength and she raised her head. "A few weeks ago I received a dead rose. I thought it was creepy, but everyone told me someone was just pulling a prank. But ever since... I have this feeling someone is watching me on the streets... like someone's stalking me. I'm not sure if there's really someone or if it's just me being paranoid, but it's driving me insane."

"Any idea who it could be?" Jax asked. 

"It could be anyone. Some crazy fan of Davey's band... Or maybe someone who has some beef with the Sons, or..." her eyes flashed to Chibs. "It could even be someone linked to O'Phelan."

It was the first time that option crossed her mind. She had dropped contact with her stepmom and stepsister ages ago because Jimmy was pressuring them, but maybe he believed it was time to get some power over Chibs' other daughter too.

"If it was really O'Phelan, they wouldn't jus' follow you lass. Tha's not how they do things. And we're not in a fight with some gang... but someone might plan something..." He rubbed his chin, looking at Jax.

"We're not takin' any risks. For now you gotta stay here."

Wronged, Abigail crossed her arms. "I gotta go to college! We don't even know if there's really someone after me. I don't wanna hide like some scared kid."

Pensively, Chibs looked from Juice to her and back. "Don't want ye to go out alone as long as we haven't figured out if someone's stalking ye. Juice stays with ye."

Abigail stared at her father. "You mean all the time? Like some fucking bodyguard?"

"Aye. He can pass for a college boy."

She cocked her head to the side to see what Juice thought about it, but his face was serious – although enthusiasm was gleaming in his eyes. Not strange of course – he must feel much more useful than while cleaning toilets. 

"Fine," she sighed, knowing there was no way out of this anyway, and she rather had Juice camping inside her room than one of the others. At least Ashley wouldn't complain about him...