THE HARDEST YARDS (A BAD BOY FOOTBALL ROMANCE)

by Andrea Rose

  It had been years since I’d been on a big bike, but it came naturally as I straddled the leather seat and leaned into Conquest. He smelled like leather and sandalwood, with more than a hint of whiskey mixed in for good measure. I took a deep breath as he stepped down on a metal lever, and the old engine came to life.

  “A kick start?” I said, vibrations coursing through my body. Conquest handed me a little bucket helmet and I strapped it over my long blonde hair.

  “It was my father’s bike.”

  There was something very final in the way Conquest said ‘was’, and I felt sorry for even asking.

  The engine roared, firey explosions beneath us forcing the wicked metal forward like a possessed demon. The bikes came pouring out of the parking lot, but we weren’t following any of them. I gasped as Conquest threw the bike into a hard right turn, splitting off from the pack without warning.

  “HANG ON!” Break shouted, his voice barely audible over the wind and the screaming engine.

  Another sweeping right turn sent us out on the highway Eastbound out of town. I let myself pull in closer to his body as the bike rocketed into the darkness, every little vibration rolling up my body like I was straddling a giant sex toy…

  It was turning me on. I wished War was the one I was hanging onto. I wanted to slip my hands down, to feel his cock straining as he took us into the darkness, to help him understand how desperate these vibrations beneath me were making my body…

  I tried to focus on the road, on Conquest, on anything but the way the seat was sending tingling sensations straight into my exposed pussy. In the end, I gave in, tilting my hips forward ever so slightly and letting my most delicate lips come into contact with the leather.

  Ooh… I thought to myself, squirming in place. The vibrations seemed to be transferred straight into me, a hard ridge running along the center of the leather. I moved against it, every little bump in the road and revolution of the engine serving only to drive me higher. By now, Conquest had clearly noticed my change in demeanor, because he pressed the bike even harder. Pleasure was overtaking me. Any worried I had were melting away under the relentless roar of the engine.

  My grip around Conquest became tighter as he threw the bike onto an offramp, leaning hard into the turn. At this point, we were well into the desert outside San Marcos, and the dark overtook the roadside. My movements slowed as we rolled onto the narrow two lane road, pleasure stretching the miles out into an endless stream of soothing enjoyment. I let go, an orgasm wracking my body, my flesh quivering as I pulled even tighter against Conquest’s back.

  We were stopping… Even as the last little earthquakes were firing from my core, the bike pulled off into the dirt, silence overtaking us as Conquest cut the engine. I looked around, pitch darkness stretching in every direction, the light of the bike winking out as I felt myself being lifted from my seat.

  “Where are we?” I asked, the desert air draped around me and a sudden fear rising up to replace my pleasurable afterglow. While on the bike I never wanted the ride to end, but now I was thinking straight again. Why the hell had he taken me to the middle of nowhere? Dark thoughts crept into my mind.

  Conquest just laughed, stepping up to the bike and opening a saddle bag, pulling out a thick blanket and spreading it out on the dirt just along the roadside. He sat down on his little cloth sanctuary against the desert floor, patting the spot beside him.

  “What are we doing?” I asked, but Conquest just shook his head. “Relax Jenna. I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not going to fuck you either.”

  I sat down on the blanket, and conquest grabbed my shoulders softly, laying me onto my back. I was confused and scared, but as I stared upward I lost the words to say it.

  “Oh my God…” I whispered as Conquest lay down beside me, his own eyes cast at the heavens. The sky was dark and clear, a sea of brilliant stars blazing stronger than I could remember seeing in all of my life. You live in the city long enough and you forget what’s truly above us…

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, the indescribable feeling of falling into space overwhelming my body.

  “This is my spot Jenna. This is where I come when I need to escape the world for a while. People will die soon, maybe some of my own men. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I don’t understand…”

  My body felt detached, floating, but Conquest’s hand brought me back to earth as it lay on my stomach ever so slightly.

  “You don’t have to understand. Wheels are in motion, and I have to see it through. I’ve seen the way War looks at you, and I know you care about him… I’m telling you this as a warning. I can’t guarantee your safety Jenna. If you’re in this for some twisted fun… If you think this is a fucking game… I’ll drop you off and you can never look back.”

  “I’m a big girl. I’m not scared,” I replied, defiant.

  Conquest only laughed. “Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe none of this does. I come out here to pray but I’m not sure God’s fucking listening. This place reminds me how small I am… You’re not as big as you think, Jenna.”

  I watched a shooting star streak across the sky overhead.

  “What are you scared of, Conquest?” I asked, my voice shaking. We sat in silence for a long time before he spoke again, his deep voice filling the empty void of the desert.

  “Look, there, do you see the four stars that make a box?”

  I followed the line his finger was making toward the sky, the four bright points standing out against the blackness.

  “That is Pegasus… Now look just up there, do you see the big M?”

  The lines were easy to draw, two peaks unmistakable. “Yes, I see it…” I whispered, confused as to what point Conquest was trying to make.

  “That is Cassiopeia.”

  “You know constellations, but what does this have to do with anything?”

  “I’m answering your question. You asked what I’m scared of,” Conquest said firmly.

  “You’re scared of stars?”

  “Just be quiet and look closely,” he whispered. “Draw a line from Cassiopeia to the lower corner of Pegasus. Now look right at the middle of that line, just below the line… Do you see it, Jenna? Do you see that little ball of fuzzy light?”

  “I see… Something,” I replied, straining to focus on the faint splotch of light.

  “Relax your eyes.”

  “It’s like a little blur of light.”

  My body felt like it was falling again, my eyes trying to hold onto that little patch of sky. It seemed different than a star, but it wasn’t a planet.

  “That, Jenna, is Andromeda.”

  “A star?”

  “Another galaxy.”

  My back felt as if it were lifting from the ground, flying into the sky.

  “Billions of stars Jenna, just one little point in the sky coming straight at us.”

  I stared into space, breathless.

  “One day, the sky will rain down on us all. Galaxies will collide and nothing we do, nothing our children’s children will do holds any meaning.”

  “Are you afraid of that? You’re afraid of death?”

  “No,” Conquest replied. “I’m afraid nobody will be there with me to watch the stars collide… I’ve seen the way you look at War, Jenna. I need that. Someone to share my little forever.”

  “You’ll find her,” I whispered, my mind reeling. War was supposed to be a fun little fling for me, but Conquest was right. I’d seen the way he looked at me. I’d felt the way he responded to my touch. I knew deep down I was supposed to be riding with him. Maybe it’s silly to talk about love when you’ve barely known someone, but the greatest romances start with a first kiss… It took a night in the desert with Conquest to realize it.

  “Do I have your vote, Conquest?”

  “Yes, Jenna,” he replied, giving me a soft pat on my hand.

  “Can we stay like this, just a little longer?” I asked, not wanting to pull my gaze from the stars. The sky eng
ulfed my senses as the world spun beneath us. In this moment, there was peace… I felt like it could last forever.

  PENNY

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  I heard the sounds before I saw them. The room shook with vibrations and the roar of angry engines, bringing about a quick end to my slumber. Crawling out of bed, I peered out my window curious to see what was happening. Circling in the normally quiet cul-de-sac were at least a dozen big deafening motorcycles. My eyes glanced from one to another, but ultimately fell on the bike at the center of the ruckus, a particularly big, custom, and chrome covered ride with an equally impressive man astride it. Behind him, arms wrapped around tightly, I watched the leggy and attractive blond slide off the seat.

  My mother, Jenna.

  I was born when she was just sixteen, the product of yet another of her awful and abusive relationships. My father was a car thief, and when his line of work landed him in prison, she moved right on to the next bad guy. I grew up watching the never-ending stream of awful men. Drug dealers, a scary Italian with lots of scary friends, a tattoo artist, and now this. Trust good old mom to get involved with a bunch of bikers. She’d done it once before. A huge biker named Mick had taught me to ride his hog at the delicate age of sixteen… This was no big surprise.

  The big man on the bike stepped off as well, grabbing my mom up viciously, pulling her hair back as he planted an obscene kiss. The men circling hooted and hollered as he groped my mother mercilessly, and it was clear she was just putty in his big dirty hands. He let her go, setting her feet on the the asphalt before mounting his metal steed, riding it straight through the circling crowd without any hesitation. The group broke off their little single ring circus, disappearing into the night.

  Mom stood up slowly, clearly drunk. Her hair was a mess, her blouse was torn in a way that didn’t seem unintentional, and the micro miniskirt she was wearing rode up high enough to see she wasn’t wearing any underwear as she stumbled up to our little two bedroom bungalow in a tall pair of red heels. Embarrassingly, neighbors were peeking out of their own doors and windows watching the whole thing…

  I ran to the door, unlocking things as she slumped against the outer security screen, finally letting her spill into the entryway. Mom wasn’t being very modest, staring up and giving me a little smile of thanks from the tile floor.

  “What the hell was that Mom?” I asked, a little bit of anger welling up to hide the embarrassment. Mom looked away demurely. It was easy to see what men saw in her. She was 35 now, but barely looked old enough to drink. Her skin was flawless, her eyes beautiful, her body carved straight out of marble. Long legs, curved hips, ample breasts… I should know, I inherited all of those features and I spent almost every day at college wishing guys would stop hitting on me so I could get some school work done.

  “That… Was the San Merced Motorcycle Club,” mom said, letting out a little happy sigh. “I spent all night with them baby, and it was fun!”

  “You’re drunk, mom.”

  “YUP!” she replied, laughing.

  “Who was that guy?”

  “Oh… You saw him?” mom asked, aloof.

  “Mom, the whole neighborhood saw him. He practically ripped our clothes off right in the street!”

  “Ooh… I would have liked that…”

  “What, are you two dating now?”

  “Him? Oh god yes!” mom said laughing a bit too hard.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked, instantly regretting the question.

  “I’ve got to fuck him!”

  “MOM,” I shouted, my face flushing red.

  “Grow up Penny. You’re 18, stop acting like a baby girl.”

  She treated me more like a college roommate than a mother. As far as she was concerned, we were just Jenna and Penny, best friends forever. I never got used to mom telling me all about her sexual conquests, and I did NOT want to hear about this one. She clearly had more to say but her speech was slurring just a little bit too much to understand clearly. I lifted her up as best I could and dragged her stumbling body to the room. She fell into bed, snoring almost before she hit the pillow. This was certainly a night she’d regret in the morning. I went into the bathroom and grabbed a couple Tylenol, tossing them into the nightstand with a cup of water. She’d appreciate the gesture.

  Then I saw it.

  Her skirt was riding a bit too high, her inner thigh exposed. The creamy skin interrupted by something far darker. A tattoo… I leaned in closer, staring in the dim lit room. It was a simple mark, just a rectangle box around boldly written words.

  Property Of SMMC.

  I gasped. She’d been tagged! Judging from the puffy redness around the mark it must have been a recent acquisition. She was owned. She was property…

  “What in the hell did you do?” I whispered, but mom didn’t respond. She just kept right on snoring.

  I slinked back up to my room, unsure how to handle this. In the morning we would talk, I could tell her this was a bad idea, I could fix this… It was no secret that the SMMC was involved in bad things. Half the college was getting their drug hookup from the MC, and there were rumors they were involved in everything from gun running to the armed car robbery that happened last year.

  It was obvious what I had to do, but as I lay back down in my own bed, an image was stuck solidly in my mind. The big man in the street, grabbing, groping, kissing… It was a replay of the show in the cul-de-sac with only one small difference. I was the one the man was holding in his big hands. A tingle rose up between my thighs.

  “What am I doing?” I whispered to myself, fingers pushing my wet little cotton panties out of the way. Electricity coursed through my body as I slid my fingertip between the soft folds, then back up to my sensitive nub. My eyes closed, indulging the little fantasy playing out in my mind. The big man forced himself on me, pressing me down right in the street as my finger circled my sensitive little nub. It was wrong… But it felt right.

  “You want to know what it’s like, don’t you?”

  The voice startled me, its low growl filling my ears with fear and desire. My eyes flashed open, glancing around the empty room and laughing at my overactive mind. I closed my eyes again, trying to imagine the feeling his breath on my neck, shocks of pleasure rising up as his hand cupped my delicate mound roughly. His middle finger curled inward, penetrating me. I pressed my own finger in, squeezing around it as I explored my own tightness.

  “Please…” I whispered to the empty room.

  “Don’t beg unless I make you beg.”

  I whimpered under his command, letting my fingers drive me closer and closer to the orgasm I needed so badly. It had been over a year since I’d had a boyfriend of my own, and even then, calling that boy a man would have been a stretch. This was different. The man in my fantasy was strong, cruel, and his sexuality was undeniable.

  “Are you ready?” he whispered, my body tense and so close to orgasm.

  “Yes…” I whispered back to the emptiness.

  His mouth trailed down, planting kisses on my body. I could almost feel them.

  “Come for me baby,” he said, his tongue finally coming into contact with my clitoris, rolling to the tune of my fingertip in my minds eye.

  I crashed over, my hips flexing and back arching from the bed as I cried out in pleasure. All thought of being quiet or discrete went straight out the window as I rode my fingertips and my fantasy straight into the sky.

  WAR

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  ”You better have a good reason for keeping me from putting her to bed,” I said quietly, staring into the darkness. Conquest had given his vote, and I was ready to blow off more than just a little steam with Jenna. Dropping her off wasn’t high on my things to do list. My cock twitched just imagining being buried inside her for the first time.

  “Keep your voice down, we’ve got a job to do.”

  I didn’t want any fucking part of this. Break slipped a hand under a heavy wooden table, pla
cing a small microphone and transmitter. I watched the door as he strapped it in place with a piece of tape.

  “You going to explain what the fuck this is for?” I said, staring at Conquest. He just glared back before heading for the window. “This keeps us out of prison,” he growled, stepping back outside through the opening. “We’ve got big trouble coming in on a container ship. The boss wants ears and we do what we have to. The minute we stop being useful is the minute everything goes to shit. You want your life and your bike and pretty ass Jenna?”

  I knew what was at stake. Conquest didn’t have to lecture me on the fucking Feds. Something about the way he was talking was wrong though. We’d been doing favors for a long time, but they usually involved petty shit like looking into a gangland shooting or making sure a container made it off the docks and onto a ship without anyone asking questions. Somebody important was worried about an incoming shipment, and it had Conquest shaken up. I could see it in his face.

  “What kind of trouble are we talking about Conquest?” I asked quietly, following him into the dark alley.

  “The kind you don’t want to know about.”

  I respected Conquest. He was our leader and my friend. I owed the man my life too many times over to fucking count. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead or rotting in a prison cell.

  “Why do we have to stick our necks out on this one?” I asked, mounting my bike and pulling a large pair of clear glasses over my eyes.

  “When the cartel wants to get shit through this dock, who do they call?”

  “They call us,” I replied coldly.

  “And if the Feds want shit through no questions asked?”

  “They call us,” I repeated.

  “And when the Chinese need to push something through?”

  “They call us…” I replied again, a heavy feeling coming over me. “What the fuck is your point?”

  “What do we do when the fucking North Koreans call us?”

  “Shit…”

  “Yeah. Shit,” Conquest replied, kicking his bike over and nodding in my direction. I followed him out into the night, the roar of the engine and the thrill of the road almost soothing.