Roustabout

by Jane Harvey-Berrick

  The bikes met in the center with barely an inch to spare, dust pouring from their tires as the bikes swerved in dizzying loops, and then they took off, the air filled with the smell of motorcycle fuel, noise and dust.

  I cringed and the crowd roared approval.

  “They’re fine,” Aimee chanted. “They’re fine they’re fine.”

  The bikes circled the stadium like gladiators, or maybe like men jousting on horseback in days gone by: charging at each other, daring each other, until eventually they were ringed around the outer fence, each preparing for their first jump.

  Zef went first, blasting off the ramp, followed a split second later by Tucker in the opposite direction, and I was so certain they were going to crash in the middle, I screamed and closed my eyes.

  Aimee squeezed my hand hard, causing me to wince. I opened my eyes just in time to see Kes leaping through a circle of fire, the flames glancing off his helmet.

  On and on it went, higher, faster, closer. Sweat trickled down my body, pooling under my armpits, leaving me drenched and weak.

  The engines revved and hummed, and then they all charged together, a flying tower of men, with Kestrel cartwheeling over the top of them.

  The crowd screamed and clapped and cheered, and Aimee and I stood up, shrieking with them.

  “Oh my God!” I yelled over the noise. “I nearly had a heart attack!”

  Aimee laughed and wiped her eyes.

  “Every time,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “Every time.”

  I followed her back to the RV where the guys were peeling off their sweat-soaked leathers, standing in their underwear, huge smiles plastered across their faces.

  Tucker scooped me up in a sweaty hug, his hot skin slick to the touch.

  “You are amazing!” I said honestly, a relieved laugh breaking out of me. “Stinky, but amazing!”

  He laughed loudly, his head thrown back, his eyes crinkling with happiness, and then he kissed me, deeply.

  When I pulled back gasping, his eyes were black with want.

  “Is it later?” he whispered.

  I nodded, and he grabbed my hand, hauling me behind him as we hurried to the RV.

  We crashed into his tiny room and Tucker ripped my clothes from my heated body, frustrated by the knotted belt that held up my shorts. I heard a tearing sound, and a moment later, my body was naked and Tucker was focused on sliding a condom down the length of his hard shaft.

  He muttered something I couldn’t catch, then crawled between my thighs, slinging my legs over his shoulders and nearly folding me in half when he plunged inside.

  I cried out, all thought wiped from my mind, feeling only the intense connection between us. It was hard, fast, raw fucking, releasing every tension that I’d felt during the day. I clutched him tightly inside and out, overpowered.

  Tucker came first, his hard body turning rigid, and with a muffled groan, his dick pulsed, hot and desperate.

  When he slid his thumb over my clit, I exploded, flying upwards then crashing back to earth, breathless and spent.

  And then in the quiet space, Aimee screamed Kes’s name, and I couldn’t help giggling quietly.

  A beat later, Zef’s aggrieved voice rang out.

  “You guys are shitty friends!”

  Tucker burst out laughing, but my cheeks were already too flushed from the last couple of minutes to show any embarrassment.

  I turned to look at him accusingly.

  “What?” he laughed. “Nobody heard a thing.”

  I laid back, slumped across his heaving chest, smiling to myself.

  But we couldn’t stay there long. The guys needed to eat and refill all the calories they’d used up, and then to prepare for their evening show.

  I frowned when I saw Tucker rubbing his shoulder and wincing, but I managed to bite my tongue. He was an adult, and this was his choice, his work, his life.

  The evening show was at 7.30PM, and I wasn’t sure I had the stamina to watch another performance. My nerves were already shredded, but I guess seeing it through to the bitter end—that’s what the supportive girlfriend does. It honestly made me appreciate past boyfriends who were bankers or lawyers. Being with an adrenaline junky was tough; much tougher than I’d realized.

  Aimee and I watched from further away this time, but it made no difference—it was just as hair-raising. The only benefit was that we could get away faster and Aimee had food ready for the guys when they left the arena, howling like a pack of wolves.

  Tucker tried to haul me off to his bedroom again, but I insisted that he eat first, and gradually they all calmed down, turning back from barbarians into rough approximations of civilized human beings.

  Afterwards, Kes and Aimee walked over to Zach’s bonfire where Ollo was drinking whiskey from a bottle and telling drunken stories about the good old days.

  I smiled at Tucker and he grinned back. We had the RV to ourselves; we were definitely going to make the most of it.

  Tucker

  Four weeks. Four long-ass, fucking weeks. A whole month since I’d seen Tera. She’d had to cancel our last weekend because of some work thing that came up. I couldn’t complain—it was what I’d signed on for, but I sure as shit didn’t like it.

  Now I was staring at my cell phone wondering about the Universe’s sense of humor.

  We were at the Washington County fairground in Utah and Tera had just sent an email saying that she’d had a meeting cancelled and would be here in time to catch the evening show.

  That wasn’t what bothered me. Nope, it was the fact that Renee had emailed this morning to say that Scotty had a long weekend and had been bugging her to see the show. I’d hoped that he’d want to come and see what I did for a living, so I’d sent her the money for the flights. But did it have to be this goddamn weekend?

  I wondered why it was suddenly so urgent. Had she told Scotty about me? She didn’t say anything in her message. The only thing that made sense was if she wanted us to tell him together.

  I hoped that’s what this was about—I was getting tired of her giving me the runaround.

  But the timing sucked.

  I groaned and rubbed my eyes. The last time Renee saw Tera, she called her a slut. Yeah, she’d apologized since, but only to me. My experience with women told me that they weren’t all that forgiving about things like that.

  “Problem, bro?” Zef asked as we did a walk-through around the small arena where we’d be doing our show.

  I looked up and realized that I’d paced half the area and hadn’t seen a thing. Being distracted was not a good idea.

  I sighed and rubbed the sweat off my forehead with my t-shirt.

  “You know I said that Renee emailed? Yeah, well Tera just texted. She’s flying in. Tonight.”

  Zef’s eyebrows flew upward and then a huge grin stretched across his face

  “Oh, man! Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

  “Thanks,” I said sourly.

  “What are you going to do?”

  I blew out a breath. “Nothing I can do. They’re both on their way already. But if Renee starts anything . . .”

  Zef gave me a serious look. “I thought maybe you still cared about her.”

  I frowned. “I do, but not like that.”

  Zef shook his head. “Man, you can be so dumb! This chick cheats on you, lies to her husband about the kid being his, tells you he’s yours even though she hasn’t proved shit, and you send her off with a pat on the head and twenty grand! Gotta say, buddy, she’d have every reason to think she still has a chance with you.”

  “No way. I told Renee I wasn’t interested—and she knows about Tera.”

  Zef shrugged. “Guess you’ll find out.”

  The conversation left me feeling uneasy and I wondered if Zef was right. This was why guys like me didn’t do relationships—too many ways of fucking up.

  I tried to clear my head as show time neared. There were a few kids hanging around waiting to get their programs signed, so the three
of us were talking bikes and stunts, and giving them the don’t-try-this-at-home message—which was bullshit, because I knew when I was their age, it was exactly what I’d do. But we had to try. Zach was really clear about being on-message with the whole health and safety thing. To be honest, I used to think it was a bit of a joke, but after Kestrel nearly being paralyzed . . . let’s just say it focused the mind.

  “Hi, Uncle Tucker!”

  ‘Uncle’. So she hasn’t told him yet.

  I looked up from the program I was signing and found Scotty standing with Renee, grinning his head off.

  I had to do a double-take. Renee looked way different from last time I saw her. She’d cut her hair and had highlights put in, but the way she was dressed surprised me more. Instead of baggy jeans and a shapeless t-shirt, she was wearing a short denim skirt and tanktop. She looked good—I really hoped she hadn’t dressed up for me.

  “Hey, my favorite basketball ace!” I called out, walking toward Scotty and shaking hands before pulling him into a quick hug. “How you doin’? How was the flight?”

  “The food was really neat,” he said, his face lighting up. “It came in these lunch trays but it was way better than school food.”

  “That sounds cool,” I laughed. Then glanced at his mom. “Renee.”

  “Hey, Tucker.”

  She gave this weird, simpering smile that set my teeth on edge.

  Ah, hell. Zef was right.

  “Good to see you,” I said, forcing myself to smile.

  “Even better to see you,” she purred.

  I frowned and glanced across at Scotty who just looked excited to be here. I’d have to get Renee alone later and find out what the hell was going on.

  I introduced Scotty to Zef and Kes, and I could see them studying my son curiously. Then they showed him the stunt bikes and explained how they differed from a road bike.

  Scotty’s lips twisted a bit and he squinted at me nervously.

  “Momma says you sold your Ducati motorcycle to help us get to Richmond.”

  “Yeah, best money I ever spent. When you make the NBA, I’ll come see your games. But I want the good seats. Deal?”

  “Deal,” he said with a huge grin as we did a fist bump.

  Renee watched us with a smile on her face. Whatever else, she loved the kid. But I wasn’t going to let Renee spin this her way either. When I introduced her to my brothers, she gave a quick nod, sensing that they weren’t her biggest fans.

  Zef caught on pretty quick, and took Scotty off to look at the rest of our equipment. I turned to face Renee.

  “What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why the sudden urgency to fly out here? Are we telling him this weekend?”

  She relaxed slightly. “Yeah, I thought it was time.”

  Relief mixed with anxiety rolled through me.

  “Okay, let’s do it.”

  “Not now,” she said, gripping my arm.

  “Why wait?” I asked, irritated.

  “He just got here. Let him get used to you again. Let’s enjoy being a family,” and she laid her hand on my arm suggestively. “We’ll tell him tomorrow.”

  “What are you doing, Ren?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, smiling at me from under her lashes.

  “You know I’m with Tera.”

  “Really? You’re still with her? I thought . . .” She gave a small, embarrassed shrug. “I thought you might have moved on.”

  “Nope. I haven’t. I don’t want to either. And just to be clear, Renee, I’m doing this for Scotty, not you.”

  “Very clear,” she said, a tinge of bitterness in her tone. “But are you sure? You think a woman like her will stay with a . . . with a carnie?”

  Yeah, Renee still knew how to get under my skin.

  “That’s none of your business,” I said sharply.

  She shrugged again, a lopsided smile pulling at her lips, and she dropped her hand from my arm.

  “Fair enough. Thought I’d ask.”

  I really hoped that was the end of it.

  Tera hadn’t arrived by the time we went to do the evening show, but she’d messaged to say that she was on her way.

  Scotty and Renee had ringside seats in the tiny grandstand, and I was trying to focus, to get in the zone.

  We were all in our flame-resistant leathers waiting for the countdown to start. Kes raised his hand in the air, his eyes glowing with the adrenaline, with the buzz. The music slammed through the PA system, and we could feel the vibration of the crowd stamping their feet.

  “Gentlemen!” Kes yelled. “Let’s kill it!”

  We slapped hands, snapped our visors shut and shot out into the arena.

  I felt calm, utterly focused, and utterly revved up at the same time. There was nothing better than this: not even sex. Although . . .

  Fuck, no!

  Not the time to be thinking about Tera. I lined up for the first stunt, dropped the clutch and . . . Showtime!

  An hour later, I was dripping with sweat and my weak shoulder was burning. When we did a show, we put everything into it. We trained as hard as any athlete, needing to be at the top of our game. Throw a measure of danger on top, and it really focused the mind and honed the body.

  Tera said I was just gristle and muscle, but I have to say, I got a huge kick out of the way her eyes drank me in.

  Right now, all I wanted was a hot shower, but Scotty was waiting outside, his enthusiasm brimming over.

  “That was so freakin’ cool, Uncle Tucker! When you did that handstand and you were flying through the air—that was epic! This woman next to me screamed. It was awesome!”

  His eyes were lit with enthusiasm and I couldn’t help grinning at him.

  “Yeah? You liked the show?”

  He nodded furiously. “The best part was when Kes went through the flames! That was sick!” Then he looked contrite. “You were really good, too.”

  I laughed loudly.

  “You got good taste, buddy. That’s my favorite part, as well.”

  He grinned up at me, but then his expression changed and he frowned.

  “I wish you were my dad,” he whispered, an angry scowl on his face. “My Dad’s an asshole.”

  His comment felt like a punch to the gut and Renee shot me a guilty look.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh the comment off or to roll with it now Scotty had brought it up.

  “The thing is . . .” I began, but Renee interrupted me.

  “Scotty! No cussing.”

  Scotty just stared.

  I sighed and sank down next to him on the grass, stretching out my abused muscles.

  “Look, man, you’re right: Jackson is an asshole. I grew up with him, so I know what I’m talking about.”

  Scotty gave a shy smile.

  “But you got your momma, and she isn’t an ass—what you said before. So you’re ahead of the game compared to a lot of kids, right?”

  Scotty glanced at Renee and gave a quick nod.

  “And you got this athletics scholarship and you got a new start . . .”

  “You could be Momma’s boyfriend,” he said quickly, looking at me hopefully. “I know you used to date; she told me. Then you could be my Dad for real.”

  Fuck, this was hard.

  I glanced at Renee, but she shook her head and threw me a warning look.

  I didn’t like lying to him, but she was probably right—we should tell him when we were all calm, not hyped up after a show.

  “Scotty, dude. That was a long time ago. We were hardly more than kids ourselves. Your momma and I are friends and . . .”

  “But you could!” he insisted.

  “I’ve got a girlfriend,” I said firmly. “Her name is Tera; you met her.”

  His face closed down.

  “I hate her!”

  “I’d be really sorry if that’s true,” I said carefully, “because she’s going to be around for a long time.”

  I gl
anced at Renee again, hoping that she’d give me some backup. But her mouth was pressed into a flattened line that matched Scotty’s.

  I stood up and looked at both of them.

  “You’ll always have me, Scotty. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help you and you’ll always be a part of my life. But I hope that Tera will be, as well. You’ll have to decide how to handle that.”

  I walked away, wondering if I’d said the right thing, wondering if Scotty would deal with it. I was pissed as all hell at Renee, but maybe now she’d get the message.

  I took my turn in the shower, wishing for once that I was back in San Francisco and enjoying Tera’s spectacular friggin’ shower, and not a one-minute, lukewarm wash.

  But the evening got a whole lot better when I walked outside and saw Tera sitting by the bonfire talking to Aimee.

  She was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt and she was still the sexiest woman I’d ever seen. And she was here for me.

  I was one lucky mothertucker.

  Tera smiled, then stood up and walked toward me.

  There were no words as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her breath was warm on my cheek and then my lips were on her mouth, and I kissed her hungrily.

  “Goddamn! You are a sight for sore eyes,” I murmured against her jaw.

  She smiled at me and pressed a soft kiss to the dip at the base of my throat, then licked across my chest with her tongue.

  “Sugar, if you keep doing that, I’m going to have a problem,” I groaned, glancing down at the front of my jeans.

  She laughed lightly and took my hand as we strolled toward the bonfire. I slumped down on the grass and she situated herself in my lap.

  “You look stressed,” she said, brushing a soothing hand along my shoulder and down my arm. “Aimee told me that you were with Scotty. How’s it going?”

  I shook my head in frustration. “Shit, I don’t know. He was pretty upset.”

  Tera looked surprised.

  “What’s he upset about?”

  I side-eyed her, wondering how much of the truth she needed to hear.

  “Just tell me, Tucker,” she said patiently.

  I took her hand in mine and stared down at our fingers as I wove them together.

  “He said he wished I was his dad and that if I was with Renee I would be.” I shook my head in frustration. “I thought it would be the perfect time to tell him, you know? But Renee wants to do it tomorrow. Fuck’s sake.”