“Sure, sure. I want you to be happy, but I worry about you. You’ve never jumped off the deep end like this before. I mean, you and Harley were hot and heavy for a bit, but you weren’t all O.C.D. like you are with this chick. You got Doc-on-the-brain, twenty-four-seven.” Ronni draped her arm around Sierra’s shoulder and smiled as she pulled her close. “I’ll be here to help you any way I can and I promise not to be too snarky.”
“Thank you, Ronni.” Sierra bumped her best friend with her hip, then turned to Randy. “What about you?”
He groaned and frowned, then burst into a smile. “Okay, I’ll bite. This could be entertaining, but the second it gets boring, I’m outta here.”
The alluring sound of a speeding motorcycle drew their eyes to a shiny black and gray Ducati weaving with precision through traffic. The rider veered into the lot and pulled into a space three spots down as they all watched with rapt attention.
“Sweet bike,” Ronni and Randy gushed in tandem.
“Never seen that bike around here. Wonder who it is?”
The rider’s lithe body dismounted gracefully. The group stared at the rider’s back as the helmet was removed to reveal short auburn hair, spiked in back.
“Is that…?” Sierra trailed off, noting the familiar hair style. It couldn’t be though, could it?
The rider pulled off her gloves, stuffed them into her jacket pocket, and then turned around. There stood Kara, staring back at them with an amused grin. She secured her helmet to her bike and then made a slow approach, her eyes meeting Sierra’s before moving to Ronni and Randy.
“Holy…No way! Doc McHottie?” Ronni fell back against the hood of the nearby car as she pretended to pass out.
“I guess it’s not just her foreign language that’s hot, huh?” Randy laughed wildly as he reached over to pick Sierra’s jaw up off the ground. “Don’t drool, Wiley. It’s embarrassing.”
“K…Kara? Um…err...” Sierra stammered having fallen under the doctor’s spell. She had been right. There was more to Dr. Kara Davies than met the eye and she couldn’t wait to find out what other surprises were in store.
“Hey guys. Sorry I’m late,” Kara offered nonchalantly. “I hope it’s all right that I brought my own ride. She hasn’t stretched her legs in a while. Shall we get a table? I’m starving.” She breezed past them with a long, confident stride, headed straight for the entrance.
Sierra stood transfixed, still unable to form words after that wet-dream-worthy entrance. The nickname “Doc McHottie” was more than fitting today.
Randy leaned into her ear and whispered, “This is going to be a ton of fun. I can feel it.” He gave her a wink and skipped off to catch up with Kara.
Ronni picked herself up and grabbed Sierra’s arm, leading her toward the diner. “Wow! That was like, sex dream hot. You all right?”
Sierra had yet to say a word. Her focus was set on putting one foot in front of the other in proper order.
“Jeeze, Wiley. Be cool. You don’t want to be all blubbering idiot when you get inside. Now c’mon and let’s grab some grub.”
When they arrived at the booth, Randy and Kara were engaged in lively conversation. Kara appeared relaxed with a genuine smile. Sierra was happy to see her having fun, but a flash of anger struck upon seeing Randy occupying the spot beside her. She had hoped to recreate the close proximity from their evening at the brewery. With a heavy heart, she slid across from Kara, whose smile brightened and green eyes shimmered at the sight of her and suddenly, she wasn’t upset with Randy anymore.
Breakfast flowed smoothly as the group filled themselves with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee. Sierra had been more quiet than usual as she painstakingly chose her moments to engage with Kara. Her hesitance, however, didn’t prevent her from stealing glances or blushing profusely whenever she caught Kara doing the same.
“So, Doc,” Ronni broke the food-induced silence. “How long you been riding?”
After swallowing her mouthful, Kara gazed wistfully up at the ceiling in thought, then lifted her coffee as she answered, “Most of my life, actually. I did a little motocross when I was younger. I looked up to my older brother growing up. He was passionate about it, so naturally, I wanted to do it as well. It was a great bonding activity. He taught me everything I know. I enjoyed it, until I broke my back. I had time to kill during recovery and fell in love with science and the brain-body connection. Seeing it for myself as I went through rehab was just amazing. After that, everything else just sort of fell by the wayside.”
“That’s cool. I mean…it sucks about your back, but you found something you love.”
“I did. Now I have a question for you.” Kara leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Ronni. “Why do you keep calling me, Doc McHottie?”
Everyone laughed as if it were the most ridiculous question ever posed to mankind, causing her to frown and pull back.
“Seriously, Doc?” Randy asked, his head shaking side to side in disbelief. “Have you not seen you in a pair of pants?”
“Yeah, I mean, you definitely have a rockin’ bod,” Ronni agreed, then followed with a wolfish whistle.
“Oh lord!” Kara’s face flashed beet red, her hands quickly serving as a shield.
“What? I mean, I’m not into the gentler gender, but anyone can see the gods gave Sierra some rockin’ boobs, you a rockin’ bod, and me? I’m all-around awesome,” Ronni gloated.
“True,” Sierra was quick to agree while Kara chuckled, still red with embarrassment.
“Sorry to bring this exercise in modesty to an end, but it’s time to get this show on the road. I’ve got a hot date tonight with three lovely ladies and I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
The three women grumbled as they collected their things, muttering their opinions of his evening plans.
“What?” He asked, his voice rising two octaves. “I know at least two of you are jealous.” His quip resulted in both Sierra and Kara breaking out into guilty smiles while shrugging. “See? I know women, regardless of who they’re attracted to.”
“All I’m saying, is that three of anything sounds like a lot of work,” Ronni grumbled.
“Then you’re doing it all wrong,” Randy quickly returned with a mischievous smirk.
The brash rider’s mouth opened and closed before she could muster the weak defense of, “I’ve not been doing it at all.”
Sierra roared with laughter. It was a rare sight to catch Ronni red with embarrassment, much less to see her flustered. She was the queen of snark.
“Ah, well then, you don’t know what you’re missing.” He leaned in and gave her a suggestive wink. “You should broaden your horizons. Dudes, chicks, whatever pumps your tires, Hon.”
“So, uh,” Sierra cut in for the save. “We better get going. It’s getting late.”
“Yup,” Ronni agreed, her eyes rising from the table to let Sierra know her assist was appreciated. She scooted free of the booth and headed for the door.
Randy trailed, followed by Kara, with Sierra bringing up the rear so she could enjoy a certain view. Breakfast had been all she had hoped for and then some. They may have had a day of riding ahead of them, but Sierra already wanted her time with Kara to stretch into the night hours. The question was how?
Their few meetings had proven that Kara wasn’t impulsive like her, so pushing the issue would get her nowhere. Kara wasn’t about to jump quickly into anything, even if she had shown some signs of interest. Her finger tips twisted the edge of her leather jacket back and forth as she quickly devised a solution
As they reached their bikes, Sierra piped up, “Hey guys?” Her heart raced as the question lingered on the tip of her tongue. What if she says no?
All three turned with a questioning stare. Like that first turn out of the starting gate, there was no going back now. She took a deep breath and held on tight as she asked, “What do you say to drinks at Taco’d when we’re done with our ride?” When the last word was out, Sierra was proud that they had flowed
so smoothly and confidently despite the giant knot in her belly, and it wasn’t from the huge stack of chocolate chip, pecan pancakes she had eaten, either.
Her eyes tracked around the group. Ronni agreed. She was always up for a party. Randy gave her a fist bump. He never turned down a beer. The wild card, and the only one whose answer mattered, was Kara. A momentary pause, which felt painfully long for Sierra’s bated breath, preceded a nod of approval, followed by a sexy half-grin and sparkling eyes, as if Kara knew exactly what she had planned.
A rush of relief brought much needed air back into Sierra’s lungs. An overwhelming and unusual bashfulness swarmed over her, forcing her to look away from the pair of beautiful, suspecting eyes. Receiving a positive response sent the pounding thump in Sierra’s chest into a thunderous vibration that rivaled a ten thousand horsepower nitro funny car.
She lifted her eyes as Kara turned and walked a few spots further to her Ducati. Sierra’s eyes darkened and she couldn’t help her infatuated grin from spreading ear to ear as her focus fell to Kara’s ass while she mounted her bike.
Kara turned knowingly, catching her lustful stare and hungry eyes. “Hey Sierra,” she called out. “You’re going to have a tough time staying on the road if you’re busy staring at my ass.”
Cocky Kara was quite the turn on, as was every other version so far. No longer feeling shy, Sierra shot back a sexy smile of her own as she answered, “Maybe. But if it’s the last thing I ever see, I’ll die a happy woman.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
As the evening wore on, Randy left for his date and Ronni met up with Blake, leaving Kara and Sierra alone. Sierra took notice of a couple vacating the sofa in the quietest corner of the room and suggested they move. With beers in hand, they settled side by side into the comfy worn brown leather couch. Kara tucked one leg under the other and turned her body to face Sierra, who smiled and mirrored her position, their knees nearly touching.
“I don’t usually drink this much,” Kara stated with a slight slur, feeling the room spin.
“Oh? You mean Dr. Davies doesn’t do Jägerbombs on a nightly basis?” Sierra teased, seemingly unfazed by the amount of alcohol they had consumed.
“Nooo.” Kara fell into a fit of laughter. She dug her elbow into the top of the sofa and propped her head against her hand. “I think I’m drunk,” she mumbled with a sigh and closed her eyes.
“I concur.” Sierra’s head fell back with a raucous laugh as Kara scrunched her face and sunk deeper into the cushions. “However, in my professional opinion, Doctor, you should let loose more often. It’s a beautiful sight to see.” Leaning in closer, she pushed a rogue strand of hair from Kara’s brow.
Sierra’s hand lingered and Kara’s eyes fluttered open. Sierra was so temptingly close, causing Kara’s heart to skip a beat. A million “what if’s” flooded her cloudy mind. What if she lunged forward and tasted those luscious full lips? What if they got lost in one another for a night? More than a night? There was such a strong attraction to the woman seated so agonizingly close to her that she could almost let herself go, but she couldn’t indulge in her desires right now.
Her body tensed, winding tighter until she could barely take a breath. Kara’s “what if’s” that had nearly grown into a “why the heck not” faded into “not going to happen.”
“You okay?” Sierra asked. She placed her hand on Kara’s knee and squeezed.
“Good question.” A soft, appreciative smile took shape. It was nice to have someone concerned about her well-being. “It’s been a long time since I was this adventurous. I’m sure to pay for it tomorrow.” Kara’s eyes cast down at the hand on her knee. An unusual sensation coursed through her, a rush of warmth that washed away the tension that had wound every muscle to its snapping point, setting her at ease.
Was it Sierra or the alcohol?
The answer was irrelevant, for in that moment, the old “lowered inhibitions” won out. Unable to curb her craving to reach out, her hand mingled with Sierra’s. Kara closed her eyes again and luxuriated in the soothing comfort of their interwoven fingers. When she blinked open, she was met with a pair of smoldering eyes that danced with wonder as they skimmed the features of her face, pausing more than once at her mouth. She could lose herself in those eyes. They simultaneously turned her legs to rubber while giving her the strength to race to the peak of Mt. Everest. Kara’s heart pounded like crazy, accentuating her dizziness. Desperate fingers dug into the couch, attempting to steady herself, even though she knew it was useless.
Sierra leaned in closer. She trailed a finger lightly along Kara’s jawline, causing a soft gasp to escape at the touch. “You’re so beautiful,” Sierra whispered and ghosted her lips over Kara’s.
The sensuous contact had Kara quivering. She desperately wanted to kiss Sierra, to taste her lips, but she couldn’t. Not now anyway. Every bit of willpower was called upon to strengthen her resolve. Her hazy thoughts became clear and she pulled away. “I can’t.” It was barely a whisper. “Not right now. Not like this. I’m so sorry.”
Sierra slouched back into the sofa. “No, I’m sorry. You’re right.” Her attempt at hiding her hurt failed and Kara couldn’t bring herself to meet Sierra’s gaze.
“I uh…I couldn’t help myself and I moved too quickly. I hope I didn’t offend you, but I felt like you…Never mind.” She sighed and brought one hand up to forcefully rub her forehead.
“I did,” Kara rushed to undo the damage, hoping it wasn’t a breaking point for them. “I do. I mean…” She shook her head as a frustrated breath of her own flowed out. “It’s complicated…my life, right now. I like you, Sierra. I do, but I don’t want to hurt you and right now things are just…” In that moment, the spin of the room went from a slow carousel to full on carnival ride. “Can we maybe talk about this later when we’re not so inebriated?”
“Umm…yeah. Sure.” The ease between them was gone, replaced by awkwardness and uncertainty. The light in Sierra’s eyes dimmed. She cleared her throat and then called out to Axel. When he turned around, she swirled her index finger, to which he nodded and picked up the phone.
She turned back to Kara. “I think it’s time to get you home anyway. We can leave our bikes here tonight and take a cab.” Despite the look of indecision upon her face, she stood and extended her hand.
Kara stared for a long moment before accepting the assistance. As she got to her feet she said, “Thank you. I like your chopper. Did I tell you that?”
“Thanks,” Sierra replied with a wide grin that finally chased the darkness from her mood. “It was my dad’s. He did all the custom work himself. I like your Ducati. I’ve always wanted to ride one.”
Seeing Sierra smile made Kara feel things. Overwhelming things. Things she could almost let herself admit she wanted to feel more of. “Maybe next time we can trade for a bit?”
“Deal.”
As they made their exit, Kara bumped into the door frame and nearly fell over. She cracked up as Sierra steadied her. Even through her ever-growing intoxication, she didn’t miss the return of the warmth that spread throughout her limbs and into her heart. The scientist in her would argue that she had discovered the answer to her earlier question—it had been Sierra and not the alcohol—and she should immediately seek more contact to see if it would yield the same results.
Instead of acting on her impulse, however, she blurted out, “Hey Sierra, did you know alcohol not only affects your cerebellum, which controls coordinated movements, but also increases norepinephrine, leading to decreased inhibitions?”
The drunken babble lead to a full out laugh as Sierra chortled, “Wow! Drunk Kara is kind of a nerd.”
“Yeah well, sober Kara is pretty nerdy too,” she shot back, followed by a snort.
“Just so you know, I find nerdy Kara unbelievably sexy—drunk or sober.”
The color was quick to fill Kara’s cheeks and she laughed to cover her nervousness.
With a shake of her head, Sierra snickered. “You, my dear,
cannot hold your liquor.” She helped Kara toward the curb where an old green van with a taxi sign had pulled up. “Now,” she opened the door. “Have a seat and please don’t vomit.”
The ride to Kara’s was short and after serving her two glasses of water, Sierra tucked her safely into bed. She then set two aspirin and a Gatorade on the nightstand and perched herself on the edge of the bed. “Anything else I can get you?” She reached up and brushed Kara’s bangs away from her eyes.
“No,” Kara mumbled. She was numb and no longer affected by Sierra’s touch or proximity. “Thank you,” was the last thing she uttered as she drifted off to sleep.
“Sleep well, Doctor Kara Davies.”
Sierra watched Kara adoringly until she had begun to snore. Placing a kiss upon two fingers, she pressed them gently to Kara’s lips before slipping off quietly into the night.
CHAPTER NINE
For Sierra, Sunday morning couldn’t come soon enough. The hope of seeing Kara again had made sleep difficult to come by, but she had awoken with a start at eight a.m. Unfortunately, Ronni was not an early riser. Sierra needed a ride back to Taco’d to get her bike and after considering the idea of calling a cab or another friend, she opted for a workout to burn off some excess energy while she waited for Ronni to wake.
When they finally arrived at the brewery, it was nearly lunchtime. Sierra’s heart dropped at the absence of Kara’s Ducati. She should’ve gotten there earlier, but that didn’t deter her from the idea of going to see her later. She now knew where Kara lived, after all. But first, a stop in to say hello to Axel, who’d be gearing up for the afternoon rush.
The moment Ronni opened the door, she gagged. “What the hell are you cooking, Axel? It smells like sweaty feet in here.” Ronni pulled her shirt up over her nose in disgust.
“If you must know, it’s an old Scottish dish,” he huffed. “I’ve been craving it, so I decided to try it as the special today.”
“Well, the smell makes me want to rip my nose off. Sierra, I gotta cut out before I pass out. Catch ya later,” Ronni yelled as she high-tailed it out the door.
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