by Carmen Faye
“Trust you? I will, if you just tell me the truth. How long have we been friends? Did someone make you lose on purpose? You're not fooling me with the indignant act. If you had really tried to win and I accused you of something like this, I know you'd be biting my head off instead of playing it cool and quiet. You can't hide this sort of thing from me, I'm afraid.”
“No, now just stop it!” That was more of an appropriate reaction, but it came too late and hence looked fake. Aubrey stood up. “I have to pee. Unless you'd like me to answer your questions about that? Do you believe I need to use the bathroom, or am I sneaking off to throw another race?”
She stormed off across the dining room and headed into the women's bathroom. Darcy stirred her food around, suddenly not feeling as hungry as she'd been. This was a completely ridiculous situation. The great thing about competing against each other was that one of them often came in first place. That was a double chance of having something to celebrate, even though the other had lost. Damn it, this was meant to be a fun and happy outing.
“Didn't even want to cheat and get pizza with me…” Darcy mumbled to herself. No one was sitting close to them, so she didn't feel silly for doing so. Looking around at the other people there, many of whom were actually smiling and enjoying their meal, Darcy saw a bulky shape coming in through the shiny glass door. It took a moment before she could make out who it was, but there was something very familiar about that shape and those colors. Then, a familiar man walked through the door of the restaurant.
It was the biker! Darcy felt herself go all tingly, then embarrassment set in. Whatever he was doing there, it probably had something to do with Aubrey. This guy looked like a tough customer, and Darcy was just an athlete trying to make it big. She didn't want him to come over to their table, especially not while her friend wasn't even back from the bathroom yet.
Of course he walked right over to her, the second he caught sight of Darcy. He beamed a big, charismatic smile at her, too, bobbing his head up like he'd just spotted someone he'd planned to meet there. Damn it, go away, she kept thinking to herself the whole time he made his way over to her. He walked with a casual swagger, like someone who had a purpose and was not worried about missing out on anything.
“Hello there, sweetheart,” he said as he approached her.
“Me?” said Darcy. “I'm not your sweetheart, buddie.”
He raised an eyebrow and didn't stop smiling. “Oh? Well, then, I'm not your buddie, darling. But we could always change that if you like. Nice race today. You were looking fucking good, if I might say so.”
“You already did say so, so I guess there's not much I can do about it…thanks, though.” She hoped she wasn't blushing. The guy took a seat like he'd been invited or something; might have been, for all Darcy knew about what Aubrey had been doing lately. “Tell me how you know my friend,” she said the second that thought popped into her mind, all shyness quickly fading in the face of her purpose. “I don't know what you've been up to, but I don't like it.”
“Your name's Darcy, isn't that right? Pleased to meet you.” He leaned over and put his hand out, but Darcy didn't take it. “My name's Speed, and yes I'm a friend of Aubrey. I know her, brother.” Seeing that she was not going to shake his hand, he shrugged and brought it back down onto the table, on top of his other hand.
“So that's how you guys met. You're not dating or something, are you?”
“No, we're not. I'm single, by the way.” He winked at her. It would have been creepy if so many other men had done the exact same thing, but for some reason Speed had some special quality that made every movement charming. That was an impressive feat for a man who looked so intimidating and even dangerous.
Aubrey was coming back toward the table now, so Darcy decided to act quickly. “I need to get to the bottom of this, without upsetting my friend. If you're up to something that is going to hurt her, or you've made her throw the race just so you can make some money on her loss, I'll — “
“Speed!” said Aubrey from a dozen feet away. She sounded excited to see the guy and hurried over to the table. “What are you doing here?”
“I actually just came to see how you two were doing after the race. I am a cycle fan, after all. Motorcycle, push cycle, they're not really that different, are they?”
“We don’t' call them ‘push’ cycles. And is Speed really your name? Don't you have a real name, or is that kept secret so you can go around —”
“Darcy, what's gotten into you? Leave the guy alone, will you?” Aubrey sat down next to Speed, looking at him like she wanted to start jerking him off right there. It was obvious he'd gotten into her head in some way, maybe even into her pants.”
“So, are you two seeing each other or something? Tell me what's going on right now or I'm going to get mad.”
“You're not going to lose it in the restaurant, are you?” She knew Darcy had a temper when she really wanted something.
That was exactly what Darcy was going to use in her own favor. “Not if you give me some information.” She stood up and put her hands on her hips.
Speed looked like a grinning hyena who'd come to eat some roadkill. He was enjoying this, that much was sure. “Why do you think I had anything to do with whatever you're talking about?” he said.
“Oh, of course you have something to do with all this. Tell me what the hell you’ve been doing to my friend or I’m calling the cops now!” Telling the guy off was harder than she’d thought it would be. Not because he was a biker, or because he was built like a strong horse. No, it was tough to yell at a man who was just so good-looking. Especially when he just kept smiling at her without any shame or worry.
“I actually wanted to talk to you, Darcy.”
“What?” said Aubrey, deflated sounded. “Why? I thought maybe you'd come to take me up on that offer for a drink.” Her whole body slinked against her seat, away from him.
Seeing how upset her friend was, and feeling bad about putting extra pressure on her, Darcy sat back down and tried to calm herself. It was probably a good idea to lower her voice before they were asked to leave anyway. “You’re not making any sense. I don’t know who you are, apart from a scumbag obviously. What have you been saying to Aubrey to make her…” she whispered the next part, “to make her lose to me on purpose.”
Flipping through the menu casually, he said to her, “I’ll tell you what, sugar tits. You come for a ride with me, you can ask anything you like.”
“Yeah, right.” Darcy sat back and eyed her food. “You know we were trying to eat. Aubrey, why did you ask this jerk to meet us here? What, is he extorting you or something? Maybe just here to rob the place?”
Speed leaned against his chair and actually had the balls to put his feet up on the table, right where they were eating. “I know you girls need to keep your energy levels high. Asses like that don’t just fall out of the sky. On my face, though? That would be welcome. Please, don’t let me stop you.”
Darcy kept telling herself to throw her drink, glass and all, right at this prick’s face. She wanted to, thought she might have, too, if he weren’t so gorgeous. He obviously knew it, too, acting without the slightest hint of modesty. “I am not going anywhere with you.”
Steve’s face suddenly appeared at the door. “Shit, I’m glad we didn’t order the pizza now,” said Aubrey. She sounded sad and lost, like she’d just lost the race all over again.
“What the hell are you doing hanging out with this thug?” Steve said, walking right up to their table. He was slightly taller than Speed, but had quite a few years on the guy and definitely wasn't in the same physical condition. Not many guys were as fit looking as him, though. In a fight, there was no doubt Steve couldn’t keep up any more. In his day, however, he’d been in the military, and had done his share of fighting. The guy owned enough legal firearms to take down a small army, from what he had said.
Speed stood up, took Darcy by the hand, and pushed Steve to the side. It looked like the older guy was
about to pop him right in the face, so Darcy said, “It’s fine, please just calm down.”
Speed shook his head and headed to the door without her.
“Come outside when you're done talking to your wannabe father,” he said to Darcy before leaving them.
“All right, I've had enough of this shit. I’m not your parent, and you’re a free woman. Just remember you have today off, and we’re back to training tomorrow. You want to make the Tour de France, don’t you?” He crossed his arms to accentuate that point. The way he tilted his head back and to the side made him seem especially judgmental, but that was what he was going for.
“Don't worry, Steve. We just have some business to take care of.”
“You're not going to start riding one of those two wheeled death traps are you?”
“I haven't decided yet, Steve.” She looked over at the ripped biker making his way out into the front parking lot. “Maybe I'll just take one for a test ride and see what I think. It might be nice to have a distraction, you know, like a hobby?”
“I hope you are talking about the bike.”
Darcy nodded as she walked away, leaving Aubrey and Steve to make small talk about the race.
Chapter Four
“What the hell am I doing?” Darcy asked as they walked through the exit. “I can’t just leave my best friend, and Steve probably wants to kill you. You know he’s killed people, right? He was in the Army when he was younger.”
Speed didn't think Darcy actually believed all of the stories she heard. Yeah, there was a chance it was true, but he didn't much give a shit who had been in the military or not. Steve didn't scare him, and no one fucking did.
Speed looked back at the large windowed front of the restaurant to see if the old bastard was, in fact, following them out. No, but he was standing by the entrance, watching them carefully. Aubrey was beside him, with a ‘what the fuck’ look on her face. Poor chick wanted his dick bad. He wondered briefly if the older guy had ever fucked Aubrey. Nah, it seemed like he had some sort of weird thing for Darcy, though. Maybe that was just how every man acted around her. She was incredibly attractive, so Speed could hardly blame the old guy for being weird in her presence, whether or not that actually meant anything.
They finished making their way through the partially-filled parking lot, outside the restaurant. Speed took her to his bike and climbed on, gripping the handlebars and getting a rush just from pressing down on them in his fingers. “Now you get to go for a ride on a real bike, sugar. Don’t you want to know what it feels like to have something with power between those lovely legs of yours?”
“That what he told her? I bet that was impressive. Did it make her all moist and wanting for you?”
Speed laughed and squeezed her hand tighter as he continued to lead her out into the parking lot. Darcy went to pull away from him, against his firm grip, and he didn't try to keep her following. There was no need, because she did not break away, must have had a change of heart. “You can go back inside if you like,” Speed told her. “I'm not trying to force you into doing anything you don't want to do. I don't need to.”
“I've already made myself look like a dumbass in front of two people I respect a lot. Why should I go back inside and put up with their crap, without actually finding out what I need to know? You're going to tell me what I want, Speed.”
“You don't look like a dumbass. What you look like is an adult woman who is free to do whatever the hell she likes. Why talk about yourself like that?”
“Whatever. Are we going to talk or not?”
“Are you going to come for a ride with me? You have to actually get on the bike before we can take off. Otherwise I'd just be going for a ride by myself, and you'd ben standing in the parking lot watching me take off. You can see how this might be a problem, right?”
“Damn it, I'm not going to get anything useful out of you. This is all just some stupid game. Do we have a deal or not? I go with you. You tell me what I want to know about the race today, and anything that you've been doing with Aubrey. Deal?”
“Okay, fine.” Speed even reached out and shook her hand. “That's a deal. Although, I have to say that it sounds like I could tell you anything, though, since you believe that an aging cycling coach is a badass killer.”
“Steve’s never lied to me. I’d trust him more than you any day.”
“Either way, now he’s an old man, and I’m not. Forget about him. Are you going to come for a right or not?”
“No, I’m not. That thing looks like it’ll kill me. If I was going to go for a ride, why would I want a total stranger to take my life in their hands?”
“Hey, who would know how to ride better than the president of a motorcycle club? This is what I've been doing practically since I could walk.”
“How many times have you gone flying off your bike? Any stays in hospital that I should know about? Have you ever had anyone die while riding with you? What are your credentials? Are you capable of riding like a sane person? Oh, and do you even have a license?”
“Wow, wow, wow. Just calm down for a minute, okay? You think I'd want to crash and mess up my baby here? This thing means a lot more to me than anything else. More than any other person, for that matter. My bikes have always been there for me. So, you tell me if you think I'm going to wreck it just to impress some chick.”
That got her attention, and it riled her up too, judging from the way Darcy tilted her hips and crossed her arms over her lovely tits.
“Yeah, okay, sure…you're really full of shit. But there's something about you that's compelling. And the idea of going for a ride does sound kind of exciting.” She was trying to cover up her eager look with an angry pout and it wasn't working; she seemed to know pretending she outright hated Speed was not going to be a viable tactic anymore. “I guess I have always wanted to give it a try. I've never had the time outside of training, and Steve is always telling me to stay away from motorcycles. He says they're too dangerous and I could injure myself and miss out on training, blah, blah, blah.”
“Is that guy your coach or your fucking father? Shit, it sounds like you've got a lot of lost time to make up for. Lucky I came along when I did, then. Climb on,” Speed said. “Just wrap your legs around me and hold on tight. Nothing’s going to happen to you while I'm in control.”
“Don’t you have a helmet at least?” She edged closer to the bike, looking like she wanted to turn and flee, but not being able to. Just like a rabbit in the headlights of a big rig.
“What are you afraid of? You’re not trying to live forever, are you?”
“I was planning to live long enough to win an international race, maybe beyond by twenties at least. I don’t even know who the hell you are. Why do you think I’d just get on your bike and ride off with you without at least putting on a helmet?”
“You followed me out here didn’t you? I’m not holding a gun to your head. I could, though, if that’s what turns you on.” He smiled at her again, that same wolf’s smile that she’d first seen earlier at the race circuit. “I’ll make you a bet.”
“What now?”
“If you don’t have a burning desire to kiss me within the next hour, I’ll tell you absolutely everything about me and Aubrey. How does that sound to you?”
“That sounds like an easy win, and I guess you know a few things about those already, if my suspicions are right.” She folded her arms over those perky tits she was hiding under a flowing dress. “So, what do you want if I lose? And there’s no way I’m going to lose, because I’m not a fucking moron.
“If I can just make you even want to kiss me, without actually doing so, you have to go out with me tonight.”
“You really do think a lot of yourself, don't you? Tell me something, were you this cool before you started insisting everyone you know call you 'Speed'? Did you get bullied a lot when you were a kid or something? Maybe you have some problems with women because you were a virgin until you bought your first big boy bike?”
&nbs
p; “Wow, it's like you really know me,” he replied. “Can I ask where you got your degree in bullshit pop psychology from bad chick flicks?”
Choosing to ignore that, and pretending she hadn't just spouted such a load of crap, Darcy said, “You want to go out on a date with me? Where would we go, a strip club? To bust some caps with your posse?” She had a real wild streak in her, one that was going to be plenty of fun to try and tame. Usually, Speed would already have her on her knees out back, or bent over his bike. There was something different to this Darcy chick, though. He was going to make sure he got to find out just what that thing was, and make the most of it.
“Yes, I want to go on a date with you. I’ll wear a fucking tux and get a bunch of white horses to carry us through the park. No, we’re not going to do any of that stupid shit you’ve seen in movies. You’re smarter than that, I know you are.”