by Olivia Rigal
A giggle escapes me and letting it out is like standing under a spring shower when you’re hot and sweaty.
Refreshing.
Liberating.
Oh, heavens, how amazing to realize that I didn’t care for him at all. The only thing that was hurt was my pride and that’s easier to fix than a heart.
“What’s so funny?” he asks.
“Nothing special, I’m smiling ’cause, you know, it’s Friday and I’m on the late shift tomorrow,” I answer.
“I’ve been missing you Cupcake,” he coos.
I act as if I haven’t heard him which could have been true since the band is now playing and the music’s really loud.
Keeping my eyes on Belle who’s already on the dance floor, I say “See ya,” and step aside to move past him but I can’t.
The idiot won’t let me.
What is it about me tonight? I’ve become an asshole magnet.
And this asshole is holding on to me.
I look to Belle for support but the biker she teased on the way in has decided he won’t wait for a slow song to see if she’s ready to rub against him.
Shoot!
I’m on my own.
Dave pulls me toward him, his eyes set on my lips.
I put my free hand flat on his chest and push with all I have but I only manage slow him down a bit.
He’s getting dangerously close but I am so not kissing him.
Hell no!
I know I kissed him before but now … it’s not even funny.
Today, the very concept of doing it again makes me sick to my stomach.
We struggle and no one notices.
“Let me go!” I scream.
In vain.
The sound of my voice is covered by the music and no one but him hears me.
Maybe the guys he was sitting with do but if that’s so they pretend they don’t. Yep, deep in conversation, they are purposely looking the other way. Anyway, they could as well be staring at us; they wouldn’t help. They’re his buddies.
I’m feeling scared but I shouldn’t. It’s Dave. I mean, come on, I used to date the man. He’s harmless. I have no idea what’s got into him tonight. Well actually, now that his mouth is so close to my face I do.
His breath is toxic.
There’s so much alcohol that it would take one match to blow him up.
God, he stinks.
It’s so bad that if he puts his lips to mine I’ll be sick. Yuck!
I want to take a step back but he grabs my wrist now.
Fuck! My knee to his balls seems to be the only way to demonstrate how not interested I am.
Before I can put my plan into motion, Chaser appears out of nowhere. He stands by me and extends a hand in my direction, palm upwards, like the old fashioned would-you-dance-with-me gesture.
Oblivious to the fact that the general atmosphere is tense and that the smallest spark is likely to start a general fight, Dave doesn’t let me go.
Without even looking at Chaser he growls, “Get lost man.”
Chaser’s smile freezes on his face. He doesn’t back away.
I watch with fascination as his stance shifts.
There’s something about the way he stands now: he’s in predator mode. The way he moves conjures the image of a tiger about to pounce.
Still not looking at who he’s dealing with, Dave digs his grave deeper.
“What part of get lost did you not understand asshole?”
Chaser takes a step forward and Dave turns his head to look at him.
They glare at each other for a second.
Dave is appraising Chaser and, despite his drunken stupor, he tries to make sense of the situation.
Both men are about the same height. Dave’s clearly the bulkier of the two and from the look in his eyes, I think he believes that, in a fight, he could have the upper hand.
I don’t.
There’s no question in my mind.
There’s something savage in Chaser’s way that is scary.
Well that should be scary for Dave.
But ever so sexy for me.
And suddenly the world goes dark.
CHAPTER FIVE
When I come around the band’s no longer playing the same song. Also, it’s not as loud. I’m groggy and something cold is pressing against the left side of my face. I want to push it away to open my eyes but Belle stops me.
“Leave the ice pack on for a bit longer Holly, it will prevent the swelling.”
I squirm a bit and manage to open one eye to figure out where I am sitting.
I’m on the wood bench in the dark hallway that leads to the bathroom.
Belle is crouched in front of me, one hand on my knee and the other holding the pack next to my face. Standing behind her, the guy who caught her at the door. Both his hands rest on Belle’s shoulder like he’s staking a claim on her.
“Let me see,” she says as she pulls the pack from my face.
The guy whistles and says, “Nice shiner!”
Belle turns her head around and throws him a nasty look. Belle is fierce when she’s protective of the one she loves.
She scolds him with one word. “Piston!”
If I could, I would roll my eyes. Is that even a name?
She turns back to me and tries to reassure me.
“It’s not bad, really. You’re gonna get through the colors of the rainbow but by next week it should all be forgotten. You’re lucky, there’s no cut.”
I snort. Belle does have a talent for putting a positive spin on things but somehow it’s gonna take a lot more than that to make believe that I got lucky.
“Seriously, this could have been a lot worse, you could have needed stitches,” Belle says.
“What happened?” I asked.
Belle frowns. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Oh, right, now I have her worried that I’ve lost part of my memory. I wave a hand at her to chase away her worries but she insists.
“Spill it,” she says, “I’m taking you to the hospital this minute if you can’t tell me what went down.”
“You mean how I went down?”
She smiles but insists anyway.
“Come on, Miss smarty pants!”
“Okay, so, I was coming to sit down with you when Dave stopped me. The asshat wouldn’t let me go. I was struggling to get free and then Chaser came and that’s it. That’s when my lights went out.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened,” Chaser voice comes from my left. I can’t see him but he’s close. Very close. His hand now comes to rest gently on my shoulder.
“The idiot was so drunk he punched her out when he tried to hit me.”
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Why do you want to know?” Belle asked.
“Because I’d like to take a baseball bat to his head and crack his skull open.” Belle frowns because it’s unlike me, I’ve never hit anything or anyone in my entire life. “Yeah, I want to check if there’s any brain matter in his head.”
Chaser and his friend laugh and Belle smiles.
“Chaser’s done it for you and I can report that nothing oozed out so it’s probably a big void in there.”
I try to frown but it hurts too much, yet Piston of all people seems to understand my question.
“Nah, don’t worry he didn’t get in trouble. One punch, that’s all it took.” Chaser’s friend talks like a proud brother. I put my hand on the icepack and turn my head to look at my hero.
He smiles at me.
That man is way too handsome for my own good.
“One whiff of Dave’s breath and Danny figured it out,” Belle explains.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about him,” Piston says. “Chaser knows how to take care of himself.”
I hate the derogatory expression but right this instant this pretty little head is in no condition to make a snarky come back just to prove a point.
Especially since I’m not sure what point
I would like to make anyway.
The back of my skull is throbbing.
All I want is to do is get into my bed and rest.
Shit!
Dave punched the party girl out of me.
“I wanna go home,” I say.
“Alright,” Belle tries to hide her disappointment.
She’s probably ordered dinner already and this is one of the few treats she allows herself. All her money is put away for her secret project she will not even talk to me about.
“No, stay, I will…” I stop at mid sentence. Everything is spinning. Trying to get up quickly was a bad idea.
There’s no way I’m driving home.
“That’s what I thought,” Chaser says. “How did you get girls get here?”
“We took her car,” Belle says.
“What do you say if I drive her home in her car and Piston will drop you home later?” Chaser asks.
“Well,” I can see Belle is hesitating but her dutiful side takes over. “Nah, I’ll drive her back. She’ll need someone to watch over her, you know, just to be sure she’s okay.”
“I wasn’t thinking about leaving her alone,” Chase protests.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Piston says.
“You do?” The surprise in Belle’s voice is so genuine I would laugh if I were not feeling so crappy.
Piston takes it in stride.
“Yeah, I know. Looks and brains. It’s a rare combination but I’ve got it!”
Belle giggles and shakes her head. “Next thing you’re going to say is that we should let Chaser watch over her for a couple of hours or that the four of us could go home right now?”
“The woman can read my mind,” Piston answers. “I was gonna suggest we pick up a pizza and hit your crib.”
I look into Belle’s eyes and half frown. No way are we going home with those two guys.
Flirting with them in a public place is one thing, taking them home is another. For all we know those bikers are dangerous. The sheriff wouldn’t have shipped three members of his crew to sit in a bar on a Friday night if he didn’t think so.
Belle seems to share or at least understand my concerns.
She shakes her head and says, “Nah, I think we’re gonna call it a night.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Chaser says.
He’s right.
It is for the best.
Then why am I disappointed he didn’t try harder?
CHAPTER SIX
Despite the heavy make-up pasted on by Belle every single morning, no one misses my shiner.
Studying the reaction of the usual crowd gives me new insight into what their true personalities are about.
Early on when it was fresh, some men saw the bruise as a free pass to make their moves or tell me about their sexual preferences.
Those I want to slap silly.
Funny how being knocked out once has turned me in a relatively more violent person.
But then I never knew before there were guys who had such lame pick-up lines as “Honey, if I had known you liked it rough I would have made my move earlier!”
Others act as if they don’t notice anything but I can tell they do. Yeah, the way they look at my face when they think I can’t see them says it all. They’re curious but act as if they couldn’t be bothered. They simply ignore it since it’s none of their business.
A few surprise me. They ask if they can help.
Volcano is one of them.
“You just need to say the name Holly, and I’m gonna make sure the bastard remembers he is never to hit a woman.”
He also grumbles something about making an exception for his mother in law who’s the devil incarnate.
I pat his shoulder.
Poor sweet Volcano, saddled with a mother in law from hell.
He squints while I bent over to pour some coffee.
“You’re almost as good as new but the offer still stands.”
“It’s good to know there are still knights in shining armor left in this world!”
“Thank you man,” says a deep voice behind me. “But from now on, I’ve got her back.”
I spin on my heels and look up at Chaser. He’s not wearing his biker’s leathers but the regular clothes I first saw him in.
“Hey stranger.”
I try to sound cheerful but I fail.
The sound of my own voices surprises me.
I’m mad at him. Resentful because he didn’t check in on me all week.
“I think there’s an empty table over there,” I say pointing to the other side of the diner, in Belle’s section.
He tilts his head as if he can’t figure out why I’m upset and decides to ignore my bad mood.
“Nah, I’m good,” he says. “Except for one thing, I don’t have your phone number so…” he doesn’t end his sentence.
Right, I get it, I never gave him my number and if Belle didn’t give it to Piston, then he had no way of calling me.
Now, if he cares, what’s his excuse for not dropping by earlier?
“I’m sorry didn’t get a chance to check on you before I left.”
My anger deflates like a cartoon balloon.
The man was on the road. He studies the change of expression on my face and I hate myself for being so transparent.
“Yeah, right, so anyway, I’ll pick you up at seven, tonight. I just need to know where.”
“Wha-at,” I stammer.
“Come on Honey, it’s not so complicated, where do you live?”
“Next door to here,” I say. “Why don’t we meet at the diner?”
He shrugs. “Suit yourself.”
I watch him walk away and can’t help but admire how great he looks. Broad shoulders, nice waist, incredible legs … I shake my head and come back to earth.
“Do I need to punch him out too?” Volcano asks when I return a few minutes later with his order.
“Nah, I think I can handle him,” I say.
Volcano laughs at me. The guy’s old enough to be my father but he knows where it’s at.
The rest of the shift passes by quickly enough.
As usual the Friday crowd doesn’t linger and soon enough I rush home for my shower and nap.
At six thirty Belle barges in my bedroom startling me in my sleep.
“Come on Holly!”
I yawn and hide my head under my pillow. Tomorrow I’m not working and the only thing I wanna do is hide in my bed until Sunday when I have to be at the diner at 6 a.m.
But Belle is relentless, she sits next to me and shakes my shoulder.
“Come on princess, your knight will be here soon and I think this one’s a keeper…. Unless you want to jump back in bed with Grumpy now that the sherif has let him out.”
Well of course, when she puts it that way, it’s clear that I have to get up. I’m not sure if Chaser is a keeper but, for sure, my ex, a.k.a Grumpy, is on my shit list forever.
Pulling my head from under my pillow I notice that she’s all dolled up and looking even prettier than usual.
“What about you?” I ask. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Didn’t Chaser tell you?”
I shake my head and make a face. If he had I wouldn’t be asking, duh.
“Tonight there’s a big party at the MC and we’re both going,” Belle says.
“At the old Macmillan farm house?”
“Yeah, tonight it’s like, you know their inauguration,” she explains opening my closet and looking through my clothes in search of something she deems worthy of my wearing tonight. “Black, black, black,” she complains. “Are you sure you’re from here and not from New York? Who lives in Florida all her life and doesn’t know there are actual colors you can wear.”
I laugh and run to the bathroom.
When I come out a few minutes later, with presentable hair and some color to my cheeks, she’s made my bed, tidied up my room and set out black pants and a black shirt on my bed. She’s added a red belt and a red scarf fro
m her room to give me a touch of color.
“Thank you Mum!”
Belle winks at me and says, “Now get dressed, I think we’re going to have a swell time.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The weather is fabulous, it’s one of those perfect Florida spring evenings when the temperature is just right. It feels like the perfect time to enjoy the wind in my hair but Chaser won’t hear of it.
“Not that I plan to drive you into a ditch or get hit by a truck Sweetheart,” he says while putting a helmet on my head. “But I want my girl with a brain inside her head and not splattered on the pavement.”
What a sweet thing to say.
Especially the my girl part.
So I let him baby me as I watch Belle hop on behind Piston.
I notice the two metal thingies that she uses to rest her high heel pumps.
Good, there’s the same on Chaser’s bike.
I was wondering what I was going to do with my legs.
It’s my first bike ride ever but I’m not about to let anyone know that. I climb up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. There’s a weird static sound in the helmet and I hear his voice. It’s like he’s surrounding me whispering in my ears.
“Grab on to me as tight as you want honey. Yeah like that, it’s good.”
The bike roars and the ride starts. Wheeee!
My breath catches and I fall head over heels in love.
In love with riding this crazy machine, of course.
Now I get why girls fall for bikers.
It’s not only the guy, it’s the entire package.
What’s not to love? This incredible monster vibrates between my legs. I’m flying like the wind holding on to the most handsome devil I know.
“If you keep on breathing like that, we’re not gonna make it to the club house,” he growls.
“You can hear me?”
Stupid me thought this was a one way com system.
“I sure can.” I hear the laughter in his voice. “And if this what you sound like now, I can’t wait to hear those you’ll make when I’ll be taking care of you.”
“Oh!” My voice is breathier than I thought it would be but there’s no hiding my reaction. I hold on to him a bit tighter as the vibrations continue to work their magic in me.