Phase (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #1)

by Michelle Irwin

  “She does have a point,” Mum conceded. It was almost bizarre to have her on my side when Dad wasn’t. Other than the trip to the States, it had never happened before. All I could put it down to was her understanding I was an adult, and Dad still seeing me as his little girl.

  “What about insurance?” Dad continued. “What would have happened if you’d had an accident?”

  “The bike’s listed on the policy. I’m listed as a driver. I’m licenced for it. It would have been fine.”

  “And while you were gallivanting around the US?”

  “Uh, I had a policy on the bike, and we made sure she was covered by her travel insurance as well,” Flynn said.

  Dad turned his gaze on Flynn, making it clear with the fury buried in his turquoise eyes that he wasn’t out of the doghouse.

  I blew out my breath in a relieved sigh. Dad was not only clutching at straws now but also directing his anger at other people—it meant he was near the end of his puff.

  “I’m not overly happy with you keeping this from us, either,” Mum admonished Flynn.

  “It’s my fault,” I said. “I promised him I would tell you. He nudged me often enough.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Dad asked.

  “Are you kidding? With your stance on bikes? How could I tell you?”

  “My stance?”

  “That they’re all death traps.”

  “They are all death traps. You come off one of them, and what’s stopping your face from colliding with the bitumen?”

  “Nothing. That’s why I won’t come off. It’s also why I ride like I think everyone else on the road is gunning for me.”

  “She’s a natural on the bike, Dec,” Flynn said. “Almost graceful.”

  A grateful smile lifted my lips and I mouthed, “Thank you.”

  He winked at me. Flynn had never been afraid of Dad and had never been willing to back down when it came to me.

  “I’m telling you now because I want to do the right thing. I’m an adult now, and as much as that scares the heck out of me, I need to start acting like one.”

  “This Beau boy seems to be a good influence on you,” Mum said.

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said. Talk of Beau just depressed me. It had been over five weeks since I’d last shared his bed. Since I’d held him in my arms and kissed him.

  “Beau?” Flynn asked.

  “Oh, she didn’t tell you about the guy she met while she was overseas?”

  Mum started to fill Flynn in on all of the information she knew. I pleaded with Dad with my eyes to get him to stop it, but he shrugged as if helpless. He probably was. Mum and Flynn could go on for a while when they got onto a tangent.

  “Well, if you two are happy to discuss my love life without me, I’ll just head to my bedroom then.”

  “I hope you mean metaphorical love life,” Dad said, giving me a stern look.

  I raised my brow at him. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

  His lip curled up into a sneer as his discomfort flickered across his face—perhaps at my unwillingness to give him the answer he wanted to hear straight out; not that I could without lying to him. “No. Actually, I think I’d prefer not to know.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Thank you for talking to us,” he said reluctantly, drawing me into a hug. “You’re right though; as much as I hate to admit it, you’re an adult now and have to make some of these decisions for yourself. Just be careful on that death trap, won’t you?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  I headed to my room and saw a missed call on my computer and a text message on my phone.

  I’m here for the next fifteen minutes or so if you’re free to talk before I go to bed. I miss you.

  I checked the time the message arrived. Ten of the fifteen minutes had already slipped away. Even though it barely seemed worth it for a couple of minutes—in fact, it’d probably do more harm than good—I called him.

  “Hiya,” he said. “I was worried we’d miss each other again.”

  “Me too. How are you?”

  “Exhausted.” He looked it too, with bags growing under his eyes and his voice weary and slow.

  “That’s not good.” I wanted to be able to help, but there was nothing I could do for him while I was so many thousand kilometres away. “I hope you can get some sleep before your next race.”

  “Me too. Seein’ you helps though.”

  I smiled. “Guess what arrived today? Well, actually it arrived a few days ago at least, but I got it today.”

  “What’s that, darlin’?”

  “My bike. She’s a beauty. All the panel work has been straightened and painted. You’d hardly recognise her. I’ll get some photos and send them to you.”

  A dreamy smile played on his lips. “Hmm, those images of you on your bike have never left me. It was a sight to behold, and that was before the bike was done up. I can only imagine it now.”

  “Is that right?” I said. “Maybe I should get some photos of that. Maybe even some clothing optional ones.”

  His breathing sped and his eyes widened. “Clothing optional?”

  I bit my lip. “No promises, but maybe I can arrange it if I can get my family out of the house for a few hours. Or find somewhere else to do it.”

  He started to say something, but I was distracted by a knock on the door.

  “Just a sec, Beau,” I said getting up to answer it.

  Flynn’s smiling face poked around the door. “All right, Pheebs, I’m going to head off now, it was great spending time with you again today.”

  I hummed as I hugged him. “You too. We need to do it more often.”

  “You know anytime you wanna stop in, you’re always welcome.”

  “I know. Maybe next Saturday we can spend the day together?”

  “It’s a date,” he said before heading off. “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  When I got back to my computer, Beau had disconnected the call and his profile was offline. I tried it anyway, just in case something had happened, but it just rang out.

  I picked up the phone and there was a text waiting from him. Sorry, called away. Talk soon.

  With a sigh, I shut the laptop lid and headed back out to find something to do for the rest of my Saturday. After nothing came to mind, I called Angel and told her about the bike, and about Beau’s request. She was at home for a few weeks, and we were overdue for a catch up anyway.

  “Are you really going to take nudes with your bike?”

  “Nudes? God no. Trust me, I can’t afford to have that anywhere on the net, but there’s nothing wrong with a few bra and panties shots, is there?”

  “It’s nothing worse than what’s been asked of you recently anyway.”

  “Exactly. So, are you free to help me out?”

  “Getting to snap photos of you in your bra and panties? Like I wouldn’t jump at that chance. It’ll be a good addition to my portfolio.” Her latest crusade around her modelling shoots was to become a photographer—to get money from both sides of the camera, as she put it.

  “Awesome, I’ll come around this afternoon and we can get some sunset ones.”

  “Yeah, that’ll be hot. Do you have a bra or bikini that matches the bike? Or, better yet, bring your sexiest black bra. And your leathers too.”

  “You’ve put way too much thought into this, Angel,” I teased.

  “Don’t you know it, you sexy beast.” She made a throaty roaring sound.

  “See you soon.”

  I rummaged through my bra drawer and settled on a black lacy number with sky blue ribbons woven into the top of the cups. The blue didn’t exactly match the bike, but I didn’t figure Beau would complain about the conflicting shades. Especially not when it was the right shade to draw out the colour in my eyes.

  Once I had that sorted, I grabbed my leathers and a plain black tee and headed for a shower. After shaving, drying, moisturising, dressing, and pulling my hair into a brai
d, I headed down to grab my keys.

  When I had them in my hand, Dad raised his brow at me. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to show Angel my bike.”

  “So, I give you my grudging permission this morning, and you’re already taking advantage.”

  “I’m glad you understand,” I said as I kissed his cheek and pocketed my keys. I was out the door before he could argue.

  An hour later, I was in Angel’s backyard, draping myself over my bike in a series of provocative poses. We’d done some fully dressed to start with, just in case I chickened out about sending the others. Then I’d slowly peeled off another layer of clothing with each series of shots. As we went, Angel showed me what the camera captured and some of them were hot.

  “Fuck, Pheebs, if these don’t get him touching himself, the man’s got issues,” she declared at the latest shot. She’d taken it angled up at me from the ground near the front wheel of my bike. Leaning forward, with my arms draped over the handlebars, I was sure the photo showed off my push-up enhanced boobs perfectly.

  I sat up to change poses. “That’s not why I’m sending him . . .” I trailed off when she lifted her brow.

  “Yeah, right. If you weren’t hoping for that, you’d just send the first lot and be done with it.”

  I wiggled forward on the bike, taking care with my balance as I lay backward on the seat, and swung my now-loose hair over my shoulder before reaching back to hold the sissy bars with one hand. “Okay, so maybe I’m hoping to give him something to make sure he doesn’t forget me.”

  Angel moved a few strands of my hair and adjusted the cup on my bra. “I doubt he’d forget you. Not after the lengths he’s gone to in order to keep you around. Twice.”

  “I know. I just, I really like him, Angel”—she snapped a couple of photos while I was talking, no doubt trying to capture the smile on my face as I thought of him—“and I know that this distance thing won’t work long term, and that scares me.”

  She shrugged before taking another shot. “So don’t do the long-distance thing.”

  I laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement. “Sure, I’ll just up and move to the States tomorrow.”

  “Well, maybe not tomorrow, but why not?”

  “What?” It wasn’t the first time she’d said something of the sort, but it was still just as impossible as ever.

  “Except for your family, who will not only cope without you but will be easily contactable, what’s keeping you in Australia right now?”

  “My career.” The words were out instantly, an instinct. The only reason outside of my family that had stopped me from climbing onto a plane.

  “Pheebs, I know you’re getting your first year in the enduros this year, but taking a break is hardly going to stop you from achieving your goal there. You’ve got more than a year before you’re due to take the ProV8 over, right?”

  I nodded, unable to say anything more as the thought took root.

  “Is it really going to hurt to be overseas until that happens? And if things work out with Beau, well, it’s not exactly the end of the world if you don’t ever race in the ProV8, is it? Drivers clamour to race for your dad’s team so it’s not like he couldn’t find someone to take over instead of you.”

  “But what would I do?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. It’s not like there are any racing categories in the US you could try out for instead . . . oh, wait.” She put her hands on her hips and raised her brow at me, trying to get her point across—as if her heavy-handed sarcasm wasn’t quite enough.

  I sat up as my stomach fluttered and my palms grew sweaty at her words because she was right. Besides loyalty and my family, there wasn’t really much keeping me from going overseas, at least for a while. I didn’t have to go forever, but it could be the chance to see where things might go with Beau. To tell him how I felt and explain everything that could be in store for me in the future and see whether he was willing to accept me, flaws and all.

  “I think we have enough.” Angel pulled the memory card out of her camera and dropped it down into my bra.

  When I protested the move and clutched at my boobs, she giggled.

  “Wanna go somewhere for dinner?” she asked.

  I fished out the tiny card and slipped it into the slot of my phone. “Sure, give me a sec.”

  “Are you texting him right now?”

  My thumb hovered over the image gallery. “What?”

  “When texting your man your slutty photos is more important than getting dressed, you’ve got it bad.”

  “Hey, they’re not slutty.”

  “No, they’re not. They’re beautiful. If they ever get online though, you know they’re going to cause a riot.”

  “They wouldn’t end up online. Beau wouldn’t . . . he’s too much of a gentleman to do that.”

  “You know the guy, I don’t. I’m just saying you should probably warn him before sending through something like that. You might give him a heart attack otherwise. He is an old man after all.”

  “Fuck off, he’s only twenty-four.”

  “You’re too easy when it comes to him. It’s almost unsportsmanlike to take pot shots at you. Oh wait, ‘you’re too easy.’ There’s another one and I wasn’t even trying.”

  I flipped her the bird as I selected one of the less provocative photos that still showed enough skin to hint at what he was missing, and clicked to share it.

  Miss me? I texted along with the picture before grabbing my T-shirt and slipping it over my head. “Okay, so where to?”

  “Well, maybe a steakhouse. It’s pretty clear you’ve got a big ol’ slab of meat on your mind.”

  I figured if she wasn’t going to give it a rest, I might as well join her in the gutter. “Don’t you know it? If you’d tasted the buffet, you’d be hankering for a great big sirloin too.”

  “Hmm, now you’re just being mean. Unless, of course, you’re offering to share.”

  “Aw hell no. Cowboy is mine.”

  She pouted. “He certainly sounds big enough to go around.”

  “I’ll pass along the compliment.” I winked at her. “You gonna sleep over tonight?”

  “May as well.” She cast a look over her shoulder toward the house. “Mum’s already out of it.”

  While she went into the house to gather up some things, I texted Mum to let her know we’d have a guest, and checked to see if Beau had replied, even though I didn’t expect him to. He should have still been sleeping after all.

  Heard the message tone, had to check it. Mighty fine pic.

  I grinned. That’s not even the best one. I’ll send you another when you Skype me next.

  If all the pics are like that one, I’ll be Skyping you first thing in the morning.

  The fact that he seemed so appreciative made me feel powerful. That one is tame compared to the rest.

  Nine thirty your time, don’t be late. I could almost hear the raspy tone of his voice while he said it.

  “What are you grinning at?” Angel’s voice startled me and I almost dropped my phone.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re sextin’ Mr. Howdy Doody, aren’t you?”

  My cheeks heated. “No. We were just making a date, that’s all.”

  “Sure, a date to get fah-reaky.”

  “Well, considering it’s for tonight while you’re at my home, I don’t think we’ll be getting freaky.”

  “Don’t let me stop you. In fact, let me know when it’s starting, so I can have the popcorn ready.”

  “Ha ha. You ready to go?”

  She climbed behind me on the bike and pretended to swing a lasso. “Giddy up.”

  “RUNNING LATE, RUNNING late!” I left Angel to fend for herself with my family as I raced in the door. I was already twenty minutes late for my Skype date with Beau. Angel had decided to have a couple of drinks with dinner and then had taken to the dance floor. I’d found her at nine and tried to drag her off just as our song came on. So of course, I had to j
oin her for a dance. One dance became three, and before I knew it, it was already after nine thirty. I’d dragged her away despite her pouting and protests.

  I raced to my room and slammed the door behind me. Without stopping, I grabbed my laptop, pushing the Power button as soon as I opened it. Climbing onto my bed, I set my laptop up on my lap. The instant Skype was online and Beau’s name popped up, I pressed to call him.

  A second later, Beau’s face was in front of me and the stress I’d had while racing home just melted away. “Howdy, darlin’, I was startin’ to think ya stood me up.”

  “Never. I just got caught up getting hot and sweaty on the dance floor with a friend.”

  A shadow passed over his features, but he shook it off and grinned. “Well, now you on the dance floor, there’s an image I’d like to see.”

  “When we see each other again, we’ll definitely have to go dancing.”

  “The question is, will it be my music we’ll be dancing to? Or that noise you call songs?”

  After the dinner with Angel, and all our usual flirty talk rather than having to babysit my siblings, I was feeling a little friskier than usual. “You wanna see me doing some boot-scootin’, cowboy?”

  “Aw, dang, yeah! I could see ya in some Daisy Dukes, your hair in pigtails, a pair of leather boots on your feet.”

  I played with my hair while he spoke, a smile teasing my lips. “Sounds like you’ve been having some fantasies there, mister.”

  “When ya send me pictures like the ones ya did, can ya blame a guy? I spent over half the night dreaming of you.”

  “Oh, and that wasn’t even the worst—” I bit my lip. “Or should I say best one.”

  His gaze roamed my face and his smile turned wicked. “That’s right, you promised me more, didn’t ya?”

  “I did. Unless of course, you’d rather the live action replay.”

  He shifted in his seat as his gaze trailed down onto my chest before lifting back to mine. “What’re ya doin’ to me, darlin’?”

  “It’s not what I am doing, but what I want to do.” I trailed my hand over my tits. “If I was there right now, fuck neither of us would be unsatisfied.”

  He made the choking sound I’d heard on the phone so often. The out-of-his-depth expression on his face at the same time was too damn cute.