by Leela Ash
“Don’t be such a bore,” Elle teased. “I’m not taking no for an answer, anyway.”
“I thought you were working?” Holly tried to shake free.
“I’m getting off at six, and I’ll be over to pick you up at eight. Now get yourself home and get ready!” she laughed.
Holly looked at her friend. Her enthusiasm and excitement was infectious and even though Holly had a bad feeling about it, her curiosity was also building.
“Okay,” she finally said, defeated. “I’ll come… But where are we even going?”
“They’re having a party down by the lake,” Elle smiled.
“Seriously?” Holly laughed. “That doesn’t sound very outlaw-ish.”
“Oh it will be,” Elle nodded. “Trust me, it’s going to be wild.”
Holly drove home, her head swimming full of possibilities. When she had woken up that morning, she had just been expecting another dull day in Red Creek, with her trying to pass the time in the quickest way possible. Now she was on her way home to get ready for a wild party with a bunch of bikers. She couldn’t help but smile at her predicament.
Holly was a good girl, but on this occasion her curiosity was definitely getting the better of her. For the first time in her life, she thought, Why the hell not?
Back at home, she ate her fruit as she had planned and flung open her closet doors. She’d decided that if she was going to party with men like that, then she was going to dress the part. She hadn’t been out to a club or a bar in such a long time. She didn’t even know what people wore anymore, but she still had a tight little black dress and some killer heels that she could slip into and still look like she had when she had bought them at nineteen.
She looked in the mirror and smiled. Elle was right—this little bit of excitement was exactly what they both needed.
5.
By the time it reached 8:00, Holly was all dressed and ready to go. She sat on her porch drinking a glass of wine for the first time in forever, and she clicked her heels together. She had chosen the little black dress and her sky-high heels. She wrapped a cropped leather jacket around her shoulders and plumped up her lips again with red lipstick. When Elle’s car came honking down the street, Holly smiled and stood up, lifting the bottle of wine with her.
“Started already!” Elle exclaimed as Holly bounced into the car beside her. “I like it!”
The girls drove through town, seeing the bikers’ presence at every turn. Harley Davidsons were lined up along pretty much the entire length of Main Street and the men were out in force. Some of them were older with long, graying beards and some were young, muscly, covered in tattoos and very, very attractive.
Elle clapped her hands together in delight as she watched them all walking around their quiet town. She turned to Holly and grinned.
“I am far too excited,” she beamed. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
They drove out of the other side of town and took a left down the long lake-side road. It went on for about two miles, but the lake was somewhere in the middle. Bikes growled past them, and Elle honked at them and waved. The riders looked in at them and winked. Some of them even cat-called, and Holly had never seen Elle so worked up and carefree. It was great to see, but her nerves were mounting… They really didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
When Elle pulled off the road and into the tree-covered parking lot, Holly got out of the car and looked up at the sky. The trees were thick and like a canopy above them, but she could just make out the light from the moon. Other cars were arriving at the same time.
“Everyone wants to be here tonight,” Elle said. “It’s all people have been talking about in the diner all day.”
“I bet the old boys aren’t,” Holly said, feeling slightly guilty.
Elle stopped and took hold of her by the shoulders. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” she said. “I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want to do.”
Holly thought about what she had said for a moment. She knew that it would be easier to turn and climb back into the car and get the hell out of there, but she also knew that Elle had been right. She was a single girl and she wanted to meet someone. She had heard all about bikers, their loyalty and commitment to family, and now that was what Holly craved more than ever. She wanted a family of her own, and a man like that could give it to her.
“No,” she said defiantly. “I want to. Come on, let’s go and have a good time.” She linked her arm with Elle’s and pulled her forward into the forest. The sounds of bike engines, music and cheering was already pulling them in.
As the lake started to become visible through the trees, Holly could see the swarm of bodies down by the water’s edge. The majority of them were big, burly men, gorgeous looking and wild in nature. They swigged from whiskey bottles, chain-smoked cigarettes and arm wrestled each other on the big rocks dotted around the shore line.
As they made their way down to meet them, Holly’s heart was pounding. What if none of them were interested in her and she was going to make a fool of herself? She clasped Elle’s hand with nervousness and Elle squeezed back.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered.
As they approached the crowd, Holly recognized several people who came into the diner. They were there partying too, and some of the girls from town were already wrapped up in passionate embraces with the bikers. Elle pulled her towards a small group of men and some of them turned to look at them.
They were all so attractive and had that lustful bad boy edge that Holly didn’t know where to rest her eyes. She knew they were all weighing her and Elle up, taking them in, and in no time at all two of them stepped forward. They looked as if they were in their late twenties or early thirties, and they were tall, ripped with muscles and perfect jawlines, and their shaggy hair fell down around their eyes. They smiled at the girls with cigarettes clenched between their teeth.
“What do we have here?” one of them said cockily.
They began to circle Holly and Elle with the air of predators. The girls clung together, but Elle still smiled, swaying from leg to leg like a school girl.
“I’m Elle,” she purred, “and this is Holly.”
The two guys stopped and came closer. The other men in the crowd either watched with amusement or went back to arm wrestling and smoking. Holly noticed that one of them was getting tattooed with a big silver needle. The two bikers were so mean and sexy that Holly felt her sex begin to pulse in anticipation.
“Holly,” the guy in front of her said, his dark brown eyes glinting at her and making her go weak. “I’m Glider.”
He took hold of her hand and held it up to his lips. When he kissed her, the skin on her whole body began to prickle and she almost lost her breath.
Elle was being led away to the side of the crowd to talk to her man, and she turned to Holly and grinned as he wrapped an arm around her. Glider smiled at Holly and held up his bottle.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked with more gentleness than she had expected. Even though he was intimidating, there was something about him that was pulling her in. How could this have even happened? They had just walked into the middle of their brotherhood and been chosen immediately by two of the hottest guys there… It was like a dream come true.
“Yes,” Holly smiled as she bit her bottom lip, “I would love one.”
6.
Glider took her hand and led her to the outskirts of the group. There was a fire raging and some of the bikers were throwing whiskey into it and hauling women up over their shoulders and slapping them playfully on the ass. Holly watched with wide eyes and Glider looked down at her and smirked.
He stopped by some flat rocks and sat down. Clutching the whiskey bottle within his fist, he unscrewed the top and passed it to her. She didn’t know what to do at first… Was this the drink he had offered to get for her? Were they really just going to share swigs from the bottle? She looked at him uneasily, but he urged her to take it.
> “I thought you wanted a drink?” he said.
Holly smiled sheepishly and took it from him. When she knocked it back, it was hot and strong on the back of her throat.
“So, what’s your story?” Glider asked as he lit a cigarette and eyed her with interest.
“What do you mean?” she snapped.
“Feisty,” he smirked and took another drag. “I mean, what brought you down here tonight? Trying to piss off your parents?”
Holly felt as if she had been punched in the gut.
“No,” she said flatly. “My parents are dead.”
The smile fell from Glider’s face, and he sat up straight.
“I’m sorry,” he said genuinely.
Holly looked down at the floor and kicked at the dust with the tip of her shoe.
“It’s alright, you didn’t know,” she said before she reached out and took the bottle back from him.
“Mine too,” he said. She looked up to him with surprise.
“Really?” Holly asked. She sat down next to him and looked deep into his eyes.
“Yes,” he nodded. “I lost both of them in a car accident when I was nine.”
“Wow,” Holly said as she touched him lightly on the hand. “Well then, I’m sorry too.”
Glider nodded and took another drag on his cigarette.
Holly watched the way his big, rough hands gripped the tip of the filter and were adorned with big thick silver rings. Even though he was clearly dangerous, there seemed to be a softer side to him and he seemed willing to open up.
“So we certainly have something in common, then,” Holly said.
Gilder nodded and smiled.
“Not many people our age know what that’s like,” he blew a plume of smoke into the night air. “So, why did you come down here tonight?”
“Curiosity,” she admitted. “Not a lot happens around here, and I wanted to see what you guys were all about.”
Glider smiled and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Honest answer,” he said.
Holly shrugged and smiled. “I take it Glider isn’t your real name?” she asked.
“It’s Rory,” he winked. “But don’t tell anyone.”
Holly could barely keep the smile from her face. He was certainly pulling her in and keeping her interested. She wished she could just sit and look at him—he was so good looking. His shoulders were broad and heavy with muscle, and a big, black, patterned tattoo snaked its way down his arm.
“It’s tough, though, not having a family,” he said suddenly. “It’s one of the reasons I joined the club.” He motioned towards the rest of the men on the lakeside and to the motorcycles dotted around them.
“I wish I had something like that,” Holly admitted. “I work as a waitress… Not quite the same.”
He laughed and held out his hand for her to pass him the whiskey.
“You’re different,” he said. “It’s not often I meet a girl with a good head on her shoulders… Especially not one as beautiful as you.”
Holly felt her cheeks flushing red and her heart begin to race.
“Thank you,” she blushed. “You seem pretty well rounded, too.”
He laughed and got to his feet.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” he winked. “But how about we get the hell out of here anyway and go somewhere where we can talk properly?”
Holly looked at him and took it all in: where she was, who she was with, the fact that she had only known him for ten minutes and he wanted her to leave with him and go somewhere just the two of them…
She knew it was crazy to trust him, especially considering what he was involved in, but she couldn’t help feeling instantly connected to him. He was right—they shared such a massive coincidence, an experience that not many people had gone through at their age, and it drew her to him all the more.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked nervously.
“Well,” Glider said as he looked out and pointed to a huge, shining, silver Harley on the banks of the lake. “That’s my ride. How about we get on and you can take me to this restaurant you work at… I haven’t seen much of the town yet.”
Holly instantly relaxed. Now that was something she could cope with.
“Okay,” she smiled. “But don’t get too excited. It’s a highway diner and it’s full of truckers.”
“Perfect,” he said as she slipped her hand into his and he helped her down from the rocks. “I’ve got a feeling me and you are going to have a lot in common,” he smiled.
“You know what,” Holly looked up at him. “So do I…”
7.
Glider helped Holly onto the bike and then climbed on himself. She gripped him around the waist and nuzzled into his back. She didn’t dare look to see if Elle was watching her. She could only imagine what she would think… not to mention the rest of the town who were there that night. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent Elle a quick text instead, letting her know not to worry and that they were going for a bite to eat.
Glider started up the engine with a deafening roar and pulled out of the lakeside and into the forest. As they zipped through the trees, it was as if they were the only two people on earth. It was so secluded and enchanting. Holly couldn’t believe her luck. She had never ridden a bike before, but now that she was on one with Glider, she knew she would be hooked. The feeling of having a powerful machine between her legs was addictive, and the sexy smell of gasoline mixed with whisky and smoke was driving her wild.
She whispered the directions into Glider’s ear so he could find the diner, and as they pulled off the road and into the parking lot, Holly could instantly tell that they had caught the attention of some of the people inside. The customers’ faces were turned and seemed to be pressed up against the window, but luckily some other bikes were lined up, so Glider wouldn’t be the first outlaw to wander into the Red Creek Diner and cause a stir.
He stepped off the bike and helped Holly down, too. He took hold of her hand and pulled her gently forward, as if they had been dating for years and were completely relaxed in each other’s company. Holly liked the way it felt to be led like that, she liked the feeling of someone else being in charge and complete control.
When they stepped inside, she smiled shyly at some of the other waitresses who all seemed extremely excited by the prospect of Holly bringing a hot biker into the diner. Glider nodded at some of the other men from his motorcycle club and they nodded back. Marie, one of the younger girls, showed them to a table by the window, and Glider sat back opposite Holly and smiled at her with respect and adoration as she spoke to Marie and took the menus.
“You’ve worked here how long, but you still need to look at the menu?” he laughed.
Holly felt her face blush and she shook her head and passed them back to Marie.
“You’re right, I was just thinking of you,” she smiled.
“Well, recommend something to me.” He leaned across the table and took hold of her hands. “I trust you.”
Holly swallowed hard. The feeling of his rough hands on top of hers was turning her on so much she almost forgot to breathe.
“Okay,” she stammered. “We’ll have two of the strawberry milkshakes.” As she said it, Glider looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You said you trust me!” she laughed as she slapped him playfully on the wrist.
Glider held up his hands in defeat and then relaxed back into the booth. Holly was aware that a lot of eyes were on them, but she didn’t care. There was so much she wanted to ask him, about what had happened to his family and how he had coped, but at the same time, she knew the answers to it all.
“I was wary of moving here at first,” Glider said with a drawl. “But now I’ve met someone like you, I know it was all worth it.”
“You’ve only known me an hour,” Holly joked.
Glider took hold of her hands again across the table and squeezed them hard. “I know,” he whispered. “But it doesn’t matter… We’re t
he same, I can feel it.”
As his eyes burned holes in her, her temperature seemed to rise and her heart was racing so fast in her chest, she was sure he would be able to hear it.
Marie returned with the two milkshakes and set them down. Glider thanked her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a smaller bottle of whiskey and winked before unscrewing the cap and pouring some into his. Holly laughed at him and then declined the offer of the same.
“You’ll ruin the taste,” she smiled. “It’s perfect just the way it is.”
“Nothing is perfect until whiskey is involved,” he winked.
Holly had the feeling she knew what he meant.
As he drank it and watched her with his intense eyes, Holly knew that she was going to take him home. It was a rare thing to meet someone and have that instant attraction and connection with them. And after being single for so many years, she knew that the time was right to let herself go and discover someone new.
“I’m glad you came down to the lake tonight,” Glider said. “I really am.”
“So am I,” Holly smiled, “It feels like I’ve known you a long time.”
He knocked the drink back in record time and clapped his hands together.
“You’re right,” he said, “I ruined it with the whisky.”
Holly laughed and shook her head. “I told you.”
“Well, looks like I’ll be listening to you from now on,” he smiled at her and winked again.
“Okay then,” she said nervously. “Well, put me on the back of that bike of yours and take me home.”
Underneath the table their feet had twined together and one of his hands was resting on her knee.
“Well, alright,” he said.
Holly bit her bottom lip and watched as he climbed out of the booth and stood in front of her. As he took her hand and helped her to her feet, she felt tiny and protected by him, and as they walked out of the diner, she knew the next time she went back in there, she would be a changed woman.