by Tia Siren
Faith squinted and moved her head around to see who was on the balcony. Both Darryl and Ethan were out there, along with three girls. She nodded at Stacy and began to push her way through the crowd.
When she stepped out on the balcony, the group turned to look at her. Two of the girls and Darryl smiled. Ethan and the other girl just lifted their heads in acknowledgment. When Darryl broke from them and approached her, she suspected Stacy had been right.
She didn’t know what to think about that. How could she tutor a football player who had a crush on her? Especially when she had a crush on a different football player?
She gave Ethan a long gaze before moving her eyes to Darryl, who held out his hand to one of the cushioned chairs next to the glass balcony doors. “Sit with me?”
She grinned. “Sure.” She was anxious to hear if he had already talked to Ethan about her. Ethan had given no indication that he thought any more about her than he had before. But she still wanted to know.
He leaned in close to her and she noticed for the first time that he was very good-looking. She wondered if Stacy had gotten into her brain a bit. “I’m kind of surprised to see you here.”
“Oh? Why?”
He shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I was kind of surprised a girl like you would even come on a trip like this. Was it just because of ol’ Ethan over there, really?”
She rolled her eyes and leaned in to him. “Shh. What’s wrong with you? I don’t want him hearing!”
“Well, you’ll never get him like that, will you?” He laughed loudly. “You gotta let him know eventually.”
“Well, did you say anything to him? Did you tell him I’m going to be helping you with your school work?”
He nodded. “Yeah but he didn’t have much of a reaction, sorry.” Darryl didn’t want to tell her that he’d had to remind Ethan, who she was. There were a lot of girls on this trip, and most of them were interested in Ethan. That’s the way it had always been, and Darryl had come to accept it long ago. He wasn’t sure why girls always wanted to go out with Ethan. He was his friend, but he wasn’t the best of characters. He’d had four girlfriends so far this school year and although each one was a beauty, he’d broken their hearts and moved on without hesitation.
Darryl really didn’t want to see that happen to Faith. She was a nice girl, pretty and smart. He thought she should be with someone more worthy of her.
“That’s kind of what I expected.” Faith said to his relief. “I was talking to Stacy about him. She didn’t have much good to say either.”
“Oh, I’m not trying to say anything bad, I just…”
They were interrupted when Ethan came over with one of the girls and plopped down on a nearby chair. “What you guys over here whispering about?” He asked loudly. The girl dropped herself onto his lap, and he wrapped one arm around her small waist. She giggled and gave him an adoring look. It made Faith feel sick to her stomach, and she quickly realized she saw a small piece of fabric on the cushioned chair that needed to be inspected immediately. Darryl saw her reaction and struggled not to laugh. He fist-bumped Ethan, and they wiggled their fingers in the air to simulate the explosion.
“Religion and stuff,” Darryl said, laughing.
“What?? No way.”
“Nah, just kiddin’. We’re discussing the relevance of thermo-nuclear reaction on the current status of the ecosystem.”
Faith looked up at Darryl and then at Ethan and the girl. Darryl winked at her and lifted his cup to his lips, grinning widely. He moved his eyes quickly in the direction of the two on the other chair, and Faith understood. He was trying not to laugh at the confused look on the girl’s face. Faith lowered her head again and giggled her face flushing.
Ethan shook his head. He pushed the girl off his lap and slapped her rear as he got up. “Let’s leave these two eggheads to their conversation, Carly. I need a new drink!”
Faith watched as they went into the room and then turned her eyes to Darryl. “What was that all about?” she asked with a smile.
He shrugged. “Just trying to prove a point, girl. You can’t make someone jealous if they didn’t want you to begin with. No offense.”
Faith felt her heart sink a little bit. She knew he was right. But she’d had her sights on Ethan for months now, and it seemed like such a long time to be pining after someone who had no interest in her. She’d changed the way she looked and contemplated getting contacts just to attract him. She’d also thought about dying her hair because she heard he liked brunettes. Her mother had threatened to cut off her allowance if she dyed it, so she hadn’t followed through. But she’d thought about it.
“Normally I’m pretty smart.” She said in a sorrowful voice. “I feel pretty stupid right now.”
Darryl gave her a sympathetic look. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad, Faith. You shouldn’t feel bad at a party on spring break. He’s not the only fish in the sea, you know. And there’s some guys that are way better than him.”
“Like you?”
He grinned. “I’m not gonna say no to that. But you know, I’m not egotistical, either. I just know that Ethan is a player. And I think you deserve better than that.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks for being so blunt with me, Darryl.”
He sighed. “Trying to be honest without being rude.”
“I don’t think you’re being rude.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“You’re pretty wise for a teenager.”
Darryl laughed. “I’ve been told I’m 17 going on 35. Not sure if that’s really a compliment, though.”
“Well, you’ve made me feel better even though you’ve been pretty blunt with me.”
“I’m glad you feel better, Faith. You wanna dance?”
She shook her head. “I don’t dance.”
“Well, I’ll be glad to sit out here with you and look at the stars then.”
“That sounds great.”
She smiled at him.
Chapter Four
Faith stayed busy for the next two days, hanging out with Stacy and Darryl and some of the other kids from their group. She didn’t want to watch Ethan getting drunk and acting like an idiot. She had a hard time believing he was really like that.
Darryl seemed to enjoy spending his time with two of them instead of Ethan and he introduced Stacy to another player on the team, Andrew, who took an immediate shine to Stacy. Both were very outgoing in the same way and discussed where they had been hiking and camping more than anyone Faith had ever heard before. How many times could you discuss the same trail and what the best equipment was for each occasion?
Darryl proved to be the opposite of what Ethan seemed to be, and she wondered how they could be such good friends. She found herself drawn to Darryl. He was outspoken in a way that she hadn’t noticed before. In fact, she didn’t know anyone like him. He was unafraid to speak his feelings, never bowed to what someone else’s opinion might be and always seemed to have reasons for everything he believed. He could back up his thoughts with at least three or four other thoughts and back them up, too. He also sang great karaoke and would sometimes clap loudly for no reason, which turned out to be a lot less annoying to Faith than it was the first time he’d done it. He followed it up with a “yeehaw!”
It broke any tension there might have been in the room without a doubt. She loved his sense of humor and the fact that he could make her laugh with only a look.
Saturday night was the last night they would be at the beach. Stacy and Andrew decided they wanted to try the best chicken wings place on the coast, Foster’s Grill.
“You really can’t beat wings and a large Coke,” Stacy said, sipping from her straw with a big grin on her face.
“These wings are incredibly hot.” Faith said, foregoing her straw and drinking from the cup itself, filling her mouth up to cool it down.
“You got the wrong ones then,” Darryl said. He scooted his plate toward her. “
I got mild. You wanna try one?”
She looked at him. “You’re a man, and you’re eating mild wings?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Well, excuse me. I guess I’ll take the offer back then.” He hooked his finger on the plate and attempted to pull it back toward himself, but she slapped his fingers lightly.
“No, no, I was only teasing. Yeah, I wanna try your wings.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I got a sensitive stomach when it comes to hot stuff.” He admitted. “You won’t see me eating any curry or getting into one of those ‘see if you can eat the hottest wings on the planet’ contests. No thanks.” He folded his arms in front of him on the table and leaned forward with a smile.
“Me neither.” Faith shook her head. “And yeah, I guess I got the wrong wings.”
“It’s all you can eat night,” Stacy said. “You can get a different kind for the next round.”
“How many are you going to eat?” Faith asked incredulously. “You’ve already had, like, twenty of them.”
Stacy shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a dozen more?”
“You can have these. I can’t eat them.” Faith pushed her plate toward Stacy, who opened her eyes wide and stared at the plate as though she hadn’t already had almost two dozen of them.
“Oh yum! Thank you, girlfriend.”
Faith laughed and nodded. She looked over at Darryl, who was staring across the room, a watchful look on his face. She turned so she could see what he was looking at. Ethan was across the room with two girls, one arm around each of their shoulders. He was talking loudly, but they couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“What do you think he’s doing over there?” Faith asked, looking back to Darryl. He ran his tongue over his lips and shook his head, drawing in a deep breath.
“No idea. Why? You want me to go fetch him for you?”
She was surprised and looked at him, tilting her head. “No.” She laughed. “Why would you even ask that?”
He shrugged. “I thought you liked him.”
She was surprised again and looked closely at him. It looked as though something was bothering him. “Are you all right?”
“Sure.”
“I’m gonna go over there for a minute.” Stacy grabbed a chicken wing off Faith’s plate and scooted out of the booth, not indicating where she meant by “there.” She looked at Andrew. “Come with me, Andrew.”
“But I’m ea…”
“Grab a wing and come with me, Andrew!” Stacy demanded, lightheartedly, moving her eyes in Faith and Darryl’s direction for a moment. Andrew looked at the two and then back at Stacy.
“Oh! Oh, all right, yeah, let’s go over there.” He scooted over the bench toward Stacy, who had stood up.
Stacy grinned at Faith. “Clueless!” She said softly before grabbing Andrew’s hand and tugging on him, moving through the crowd.
Faith watched them leave. “What was that all about?” She turned back to Darryl. He still looked somewhat sullen, and she didn’t understand why. “What is going on with you, Darryl? What are you thinking about?”
“Well, I was just wondering,” Darryl said. “Do you still want to tutor me in English? I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious that Ethan doesn’t want to go out with you.”
Faith lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “Well! Where did that come from?”
“I think it’s the truth. Don’t you?”
“Well…” she turned her eyes and looked at Ethan again. He wasn’t paying her any attention. He hadn’t for most of the weekend. She’d enjoyed spending her time with Stacy and Darryl. She hadn’t really thought that much about Ethan or the “deal” she’d made with Darryl to tutor him in exchange for his help in getting a chance to date Ethan. “I kind of thought that since you were friends with him, you could help me out with that, bring me to his attention.”
Darryl huffed and shook his head, his face turning a bit dark.
She put one hand on his folded arm.
“But, Darryl, I see now that he…well, he isn’t really my type.”
He looked at her, and she felt her heart jump. His eyes were very revealing. He was a blunt kind of guy anyway. But even if he hadn’t been, she would have been able to see what he was thinking in his eyes.
“I can see that he isn’t interested.” She conceded.
“So where does that leave me? I have to worry about my future, you know. I have to think about my classes and football and all that. I don’t have time to be messing around. He can spend his time getting drunk and doing stupid things.”
“Or girls.”
Darryl couldn’t resist smiling. “Yeah. That, too. I have my future to think about.”
“I know. I do, too.”
“You know what you’re going to do in your future. You don’t have to worry about it.”
She sighed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I mean, anything can happen, you know? I know being an elementary school teacher doesn’t sound like much, but it’s important to me, and I don’t want to mess it up either, any more than you want to mess up the career you have in mind.”
“Are you still thinking about dating Ethan? You still want me to talk to him for you? I talked to him that one time but…well, I haven’t said anything to him since then.”
“I don’t see as how you’ve had much of a chance considering you’ve been hanging around with Stacy and me and Andrew all weekend.”
“Yeah, true. But do you still want me too?”
Her original thoughts had been to tutor Darryl and try to make Ethan jealous. But it seemed now that the opposite had happened. Darryl was jealous that she wanted to date Ethan and wanted him to talk to the boy for her. She felt an overwhelming sense of affection for Darryl and gave his arm a squeeze where she was still holding it.
“You don’t have to talk to Ethan for me, Darryl.”
She was amused by the look of relief that swept over his face.
He was glad she didn’t want him to talk to Ethan. Over the weekend, his belief that she deserved better than his friend had only gotten stronger. He’d discovered that she was not just smart and not just pretty. She had a good soul and a kind heart. She had a great sense of humor. She had everything he wanted in a girl and he didn’t want to see her with some scoundrel who was only going to take advantage of every good thing about her.
“You shouldn’t be with someone you can’t trust, Faith.” He said quietly.
She nodded. “I know.”
“You deserve better than what he dishes out.”
When she replied, her voice was as soft as his. “I know.”
She realized she desperately wanted him to say that he was the one she deserved. She wanted him to ask her out. She wanted him to kiss her and never stop.
She wondered if he could see that when he looked at her.
They stared at each other for a few minutes. “Darryl.” She said his name and bit her lower lip when he flushed a little bit. All she’d done was say his name. She gave him a soft smile, and he returned it.
“Who do you think I should go out with?” She asked. Why didn’t he say it? Why didn’t he just ask her out?
He didn’t respond for a moment.
“Come on; you’re always open and up front with me. You’re so blunt. Surely you know who I should be with.” She turned and looked through the room. “How about Dwayne? Over there.” She pointed at one of the other players. “I could date him. Or how about Johnny? He’s pretty cute. Or I could take Andrew from Stacy, ooh, that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Our own little soap opera? Or…”
“No, Faith.” He stopped her, reaching up to gently turn her face back toward him. “I don’t think so.”
His touch sent a jolt of electricity through her. His eyes told her the whole story, but she wanted to hear him say it.
“I’m the one you should be with.”
Finally, she heard the words she wanted to hear. She pulled in her breath and held it for a second. When she responded, her voice shook a littl
e bit. “You?”
She found her breath coming and going quickly.
“Yes.” He breathed. “Me. I want you to be with me.”
He leaned forward and touched her lips with his, sending a warm flood of emotion through Faith’s body. Her legs went numb for a moment. She kissed him back more forcefully, thinking how incredibly soft his lips were.
They kissed a few more times before pulling away from each other. She looked in his eyes and felt her heart melting.
“Oh Darryl, I’m so glad you finally said something.”
“You are?” He grinned. “I thought you wanted to be with Ethan.”
She giggled. “I did. But that’s all changed. I…we would be a great couple.”
He leaned forward so that he was within kissing distance again but he didn’t kiss her. “I think so, too.” He said before touching her lips with his once more. He pulled back slightly and whispered, “Does this mean I have to pay for my English tutoring now?”
She threw back her head and laughed before throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. She put her lips against his ear and said, “Oh, you’ll be paying for them all right.”
He laughed with her and shook his head. “Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?”
*****
THE END
MOTORCYCLE CLUB Romance – Bad Boy Biker SEAL
1
Rebecca Roberts loved the feeling of the air on her face, whipping her long blonde hair behind her, the bike rumbling and roaring between her legs. She was riding alone, as she did so often in the last few months. She wore her colors on the back, a black zip up hoodie with her club’s logo, a skull with two crossed hammers beneath it. She had never been one for the leather vest, and these days, a lot of the younger members were putting the logo on shirts or jackets instead of the black leather. Riding in a motorcycle club was evolving - for the first time in decades.
Of course, some things would never change. Rebecca knew that first hand. She was beautiful, just shy of twenty-five, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was petite, with well-rounded hips and large breasts. Every man who saw her wanted her. If they were into bikes, they wanted her even more. There was just something sexy about a woman who could fix up a Harley, and no woman could do that better than Rebecca. She had been serving as The Hammer’s mechanic since she was twenty. She loved the work, and even as the rest of her life crumbled down around her, she found solace in sitting in her garage, her hands black and greasy, her mind on one thing. A bike.