by Brook Wilder
There must have been a hundred bikes parked along either side of the dirt track. The late evening sunlight shining off the shiny chrome and gleaming paint was nearly blinding. There were black bikes, red bikes, bikes painted like orange flames, bikes with different, multicolored lights flashing from secret places under their bodywork. It was amazing. The noise of the engines, with the music pounding out of the bar, was deafening, and all I could smell was rubber, gasoline, leather, cigarette smoke and barbecue. I was in awe.
“I should probably have told you,” Theo said, stopping us a hundred or so yards from the place, “but there’s a tradition.” He pointed at the track between the lines of bikes in front of the bar. I could see a few bikes moving very slowly along the road, as well as noticing there was a pretty good gathering of people right at the center. It didn’t take much longer to figure out why.
I watched a big bike crawl between the crowd, to see the girl on the back suddenly stand up on the pegs, steady herself against the rider, and wave her arms, encouraging the horde to cheer. She was young, hot, reveling in the attention, and wearing only a light blue vest top and the tiniest G-string. The thong was so thin, the material disappeared almost entirely between her firm, tanned butt cheeks and those assembled loved it, turning into a baying mob as she paraded her nearly naked ass past them.
I saw another bike coming the other way and realized that lady passenger was doing exactly the same thing, her pussy hidden behind the head of her man. The two girls even high-fived as the bikes passed each other.
“And you didn’t tell me about this little initiation before we left, because…?” I raised an eyebrow at him. Theo just shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face. “A pity you didn’t, I might have worn some underwear.”
I smiled as a surprised, hungry look passed over his face. “So you’re not into it?” he asked eventually.
I felt good. Theo made me feel safe, protected. I was happier than I’d been in forever and so in the mood to have some fun.
“Are you kidding?” I yelled at him. “You’ve seen how good my ass looks! Turn around for a second.” I threw my leg back over the bike and whipped off my shorts. If I was going to do this, I was doing it properly. I swung my leg back over and got my naked butt back into the saddle. “Okay, let’s go!”
The soft leather was warm, but not unkind to my bare ass and exposed pussy as we rode up to the bar. My heart was beating fast and, for some reason, I was nervous. This was crazy. I’d danced in strip clubs for nearly a year. Fucked random guys and girls in front of a camera, shooting scenes that were probably still floating around on the internet, and showed strangers my sex several times a day, but it had never felt like this. Why was I so excited about riding buck naked on the back of a bike? I had no idea, but it was turning me on.
We reached the crowd and, unless they really looked, no one could immediately see that I was nude from the waist down. I locked eyes with a few of the onlookers, both male and female, and could see the eagerness on their faces. It wasn’t a sleazy, demeaning, strip club vibe. For me to expose myself here seemed like a privilege they would be grateful for, not a service they’d paid for. It was a like a carnival in Rio or New Orleans, a joint celebration of my beauty, sexuality and, above all, freedom.
I took a breath and pushed myself up on the foot pegs. There was a loud cheer from the crowd, a deafening wall of catcalls and wolf whistles, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. With my hands I beckoned them for more noise, more admiration, more adulation. I took the center of my tank top in my fist, right between my breasts, and put my other hand to my ear.
The cheers got louder so, in response, I hiked up my top, allowing my tits to fall free in the twilight air, and threw up my hands in triumph. My fans went wild, cheering until I’d passed the last of the gathering and I could finally sit back down. I covered my boobs as Theo pulled the bike over to park us on the end of the bike line, got off and slipped back into my shorts.
“Damn,” he spat as I pulled them swiftly back up, “everyone got to see you but me.”
“Uh-huh,” I smiled, and that thought made me tingle inside. I could tease him a little longer yet.
***
I thought we were going straight into the bar, but Theo took my hand and led me around the back.
“I want to show you something special,” he told me as we headed into the woods behind the buildings.
“Is it bigger than a baby’s arm?” I teased him, the noise of the party fading remarkably quickly. He didn’t seem to get my reference from the 90’s epic Pump Up the Volume, but I let him lead me anyway, feeling like nothing bad could happen to me while I was with him. We didn’t walk far before we reached a small clearing that sloped down the hill. “So, this where you take girls to have your way with them?” I joked, hoping a little that it actually was.
“Not quite,” he smiled. “In fact, I’ve never actually shown anyone this.”
I asked him what and he just turned me to look out over the trees. My breath caught in my throat. The trees fell sharply away, down the hillside, leaving my view towards the setting sun completely clear. I hadn’t even realized I was facing west until the world opened up before me. I could see the entire LA basin, stretching out to the ocean. The clear sky was the color of a silent, flaming inferno as the sun neared the horizon just to my right. The air around us grew cool but the last rays on our faces were still warm as their fiery source slowly dipped into the sea, illuminating the waves like a billion stars across a pale blue sky and, as it touched the water, the streetlights of the Greater Los Angeles Area came on, block by block, twinkling in the enveloping darkness. It was a magical sight.
“Wow,” I breathed, then a tear welled up and slid down my cheek. I felt a painful, hollow feeling in my chest, knowing this could be the last time I would ever see anything so wonderful, once I’m sold to Vinnie. All I could imagine was a suffering, painful life after that and I could see no way out.
Theo stood close behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me. I let my body relax in his arms, though I couldn’t help but let a couple of light sobs wrack my body.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered uselessly. “I brought you to this bar for a reason. I want to speak to our crew leader. I don’t want to raise your hopes too much but if anyone can get you out of this situation, it’ll be Frost.”
“I don’t understand why you’re trying so hard to help me?” I whispered, looking out over the horizon.
“Would you believe me if I told you I had no idea either?” I heard him say with a smile.
I told him no.
“I don’t know, Piper,” he said. “When I first saw you, I thought you were beautiful. You threw yourself at me and I was tempted, really tempted, but I knew you were just trying to distract me to save your friend. After that, you told me your story. I couldn’t stand the thought of something so terrible, so unfair, happening to someone so lovely, who had seemed to have such a good heart.”
“Wow,” my head fell back onto his shoulder and, against his advice, I dared to hope that there was now some light at the end of my tunnel. “I didn’t have any idea I was that cool.”
“Hey, don’t go getting all big-headed,” he said. He turned me to face him and wiped a tear away. Our faces were so close, his hand brushing my cheek in front of the beautiful, romantic view, the urge to just melt into him was so strong. I looked from his eyes to his lips, wetting my own to kiss him. But I stopped. I was really starting to consider the feelings I had for him, and he was beginning to seem pretty hung up on me. Taking things further didn’t seem far, on either of us. I smiled a little and decided I was going to have the time of my life tonight, instead.
“Come on,” I barked, pushing Theo’s hand away and pulling him along as I headed back to the bar. “I need a drink. I need a bunch of drinks. And I don’t intend on drinking alone.”
***
Crossing from the cooling air outside and into the main bar was like being hit i
n the face by a flaming log. If there was AC in here it was broken, or just not very good. The room had a long bar across the back wall, with at least three staff who seemed to be drinking and having as much fun as the rest of the customers. Behind the bar was lit with neon beer signs, two big TVs, showing a UFC match I think, and a few provocative pictures of hot, half-naked girls.
There were more TVs around the room, two pool tables by the end wall, and a shit-ton of road signs, racing badges, and other bike, booze or girl themed crap decorating the place. A low haze of cigarette smoke hung just above the heads of the patrons, which didn’t help make the hot, fetid air anymore breathable. Nor did the fact that it was packed. Packed with big, bearded men in leather and denim, and slim yet busty woman competing to see who can get away with the least amount of clothing, all drinking beer and whiskey, shouting and laughing like there was nowhere else on the planet to be. I decided that this is what must be an old Viking feasting hall must have looked like. Either that or we’d actually died on that sharp turn and actually ended up in Valhalla.
“Fuck me!” came a booming voice from across the room. “Is that Theo?” a tall, African-American man mountain strode across the room towards us. Theo turned to him just in time to be scooped up in an enormous bear hug.
“Hey, Tiny,” I heard him strain to say from somewhere inside that huge chest. “How you been?” he continued when Tiny set him back down on the floor.
“Same old, same old,” the giant said, “and who’s this?” he turned towards me. Theo introduced me to Tiny, who planted a chivalrous kiss on the back of my hand. He was wearing a leather vest the same as Theo, only it had the word ‘Enforcer’ on a patch over the right breast. He saw me reading it and smiled an astonishingly white set of teeth at me. “Anyway, good to see you, brother,” he continued. “You better come through to the club room. You know Frost will want to see you.”
Following Tiny’s huge form made it easy to pass through the throng of drinkers with relative ease, However, at least one in three of the other bikers recognized Theo and he had to stop, hug, slap and fist bump each one.
I didn’t ask to be introduced to each one. I just stood by and watched him with his people. I had no clue they were such a tight-knit group. They all wore the Steel Angels patch on their backs, but it really seemed to mean something to them. They weren’t just a club; they were a family. A different tribe almost independent from the rest of the world.
We finally made it to a door adjacent to the bar. Tiny held it open for us and we went in. It shut behind us and the big guy remained on the other side.
We must have crossed into the original hunting lodge. This was one room, much cooler, darker and far quieter than the bar. The walls were wooden with stuffed hunting and fishing trophies adorning them, as well as a rack with five shiny clean hunting rifles in it. It was cool in here but there was still a low fug of smoke hovering around the low ceiling.
On the low couch set furthest from the door were three men and a woman. Two had their back to me and the one I could see sat relaxed, the woman sitting on the arm of his chair with her hand moving from his shoulder to his chest. She was maybe a couple of years older than me, very pretty, with bouncy, curly, long red hair falling down past her slender shoulders. Her full breasts were barely contained by a purple halter top, the fabric pulled tight over large and pointed nipples, while her long, toned and tanned legs were topped with tight, black denim shorts.
The guy, by comparison, was older. I guessed nearly fifty, but well preserved. He held a smoldering cigarette in his mouth and was dressed as the others, in jeans and leather vest, but he wore nothing under his vest but a shoulder holster with an enormous revolver in it. I could see his body was old, but his muscles were still defined and he looked extremely fit. His hair was blonde with streaks of gray, swept back from his head and hanging long down to his shoulders. His skin was like leather, scorched brown from a lifetime in the hot sun, and stretched tight across his face to form deep creases around his eyes and mouth as he smiled. Which he was doing almost constantly, a wide smile that made his eyes shine.
“Theo, my boy!” he burst into an even wider smile as he saw us enter the room. He stood up and beckoned Theo into his arms. The girl smiled as Theo approached and the two guys facing away turned around to see him.
Theo walked right into the embrace. “Good to see you, Frost,” he said, hugging the older man in return.
“Marco!” Frost called to one of the seated bikers, “Drinks! Theo hasn’t been up here in weeks!” Marco hopped up off the couch, giving Theo a hearty handshake before he bounced out of the room. “And who is this vision you’ve brought us?” He addressed Theo but kept his focus on me. The smile was still there, joined by a mischievous look in his eyes.
“Piper,” I told him.
“This is Tina,” he introduced his girl to me. She smiled warmly. “And Link.” Frost indicated the short, slim Hispanic guy on the couch, before making him get up and sit on his right, in order to make room for us. I spotted a patch exactly where Tiny’s said ‘Enforcer’. Link’s said ‘Lieutenant’.
I immediately felt welcome and at home in what I took to be Frost’s personal abode. If it wasn’t where he slept, I bet it was where he spent most of his time.
“I should have expected you to bring back some leggy blonde, after all this time, meaning no offence, Piper honey,” Frost said to Theo. “Remember that one from San Diego? After the third night we had to go get him before he died of thirst, sleeping on the streets outside her place. What was her name, honey?”
“Spirit,” smiled Tina, “and leave the boy alone. Don’t embarrass him in front of his new girlfriend.”
“Actually, her name was Sonnet,” said Theo, “and that was like ten years ago. How do you even remember that far back, you old fuck?”
I burst out laughing, amused even more by Theo trying to hide his humiliation, both about ‘Sonnet’ and me being called his girlfriend.
Frost and Theo quickly fell into a familiar routine of teasing each other and laughing about past misadventures. Frost also never failed to take the time to subtly flatter and politely compliment me. He was an old rogue, I could quickly tell, with a lingering Louisiana accent and a certain southern charm about him.
Marco soon returned with a tray of drinks. He set the beers down on the coffee table between the couches but handed around some shot glasses of soft golden liquid.
“A toast,” smiled Frost. “Give thanks for bringing our brother Theo safely back to us, and for him including such a fine companion on his journey here.”
He shot back his drink, as did everyone else. I was nervous, though. I hadn’t had a proper drink since I started working at Madam X’s. It was against the rules, because drunk girls get loud, obnoxious, lose their concentration and pass out, making no money. I closed my eyes and flung it back. It was tequila. Really good tequila, rich and sweet on the tongue, with a heady burn on the way down. It made me smile.
“Beer back?” asked Theo, handing me a cold brew. I took it from him and gulped down half of it in one swallow. “Take it easy,” he warned me.
“Sorry, I guess I was thirsty.” I quickly felt a smooth, comfortable buzz settle over me, but I decided to sip the rest. I wanted to have fun, not get wasted and make a fool of myself.
“So why’ve you been gone so long, dog?” Link asked Theo, while refilling the shot glasses from the bottle Marco passed him. I tuned in, eager to learn more about Theo’s habits and past.
“Blame Frost,” he smiled. The old man put up his hands in innocent surrender. “He’s had me working the doors at our different Valley operations. Houlihan's, The Palace, Vanity, Blush, now Madam X’s.”
“That’s because I can trust you, kid,” began Frost, then he turned to me. “This scrawny kid, I tell you, Piper honey, I’ve seen him up against an entire football team, drunk and ready to trash the gentlemen’s club where’s he’s working the door. He didn’t back down and they didn’t get in, period.”<
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“I’ve seen him like that too,” I said, giving Theo a grateful squeeze on the shoulder. Frost saw it and smiled, proudly. His arm moved and I saw it said ‘President’ on the right breast of his vest.
“Well, damn! Let’s drink to Theo’s great big balls!” cried Frost. Tina cuffed him on the head but I found myself raising my newly filled glass and joining in with a chant of ‘Theo’s great big balls’. Theo looked at me with an expression of pure embarrassment as downed out shots. I began to feel light-headed.
“But working those nights, I just crash when I’m not needed. It’s tough, I don’t have the time or the energy to make my way up here”
“Plus you standing neck deep in all that fine stripper pussy, dog,” laughed Link. Marco laughed too, but Frost shot Link an angry look, nodding his head my way. “Shit, I’m sorry, ma’am,” said Link, utterly contrite and filling my glass again.