by P. J. Fiala
With a raspy voice he said, “You look beautiful, Molly.”
Molly blinked, taking in what he just said. “You look amazing yourself, Ryder. Wow.”
Ryder blushed and cleared his throat. “You ready?”
Molly nodded. “Um, do you mind if I borrow your jacket for the day? I really don’t have any riding clothes.”
“No, I don’t mind. You look great in it.” He blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.
Molly softly smiled as she walked out and closed her front door. “Oh wait. I want to bring my tablet and show your mom some of the wedding pictures. I know she’ll see them tomorrow, but I thought she might like to take a peek if we have any down time today. Is that okay?”
“Of course. She’ll be thrilled. Thanks for thinking of her.”
Molly ran back into the house to grab her tablet and tossed it into her big bag. Ryder smiled at her as she walked back outside. She was feeling giddy knowing she was about to go riding with Ryder! She couldn’t wait to call Tammy and tell her!
Ryder grabbed her bag. “I can put this in one of the side bags if you like. It’ll get heavy carrying it.”
Molly smiled up at him. Holy shit. His stomach rolled and his cock throbbed when he looked at her. That smile of hers was what he’d been thinking about this whole week. Her perfect teeth, full lips, and that body. Jesus. He was going to have a hard-on all fucking day.
Ryder walked to the bike and pulled open one of the side bags. He pulled out a pair of gloves and handed them to Molly.
“It’ll be a little cold while we ride. That’s the best part of riding in the fall. You feel the crisp air and get a little chilled. When we stop, we can have hot chocolate or tea and warm up. After the ride today, we’ll go to Mom and Dad’s house. Mom has a big pot of chili for us. If you don’t have supper plans.”
“That sounds delicious. Thank you, again.”
Ryder smirked. “Molly…I.” Ryder turned, shaking his head and started to get on his bike. He stopped and looked at her. Fuck it. He wanted to kiss her. He leaned forward before he lost his nerve and kissed her. His lips whispered over hers and she sighed. The hunger he had felt all week prompted him to kiss her thoroughly. He reached out and cupped the back of her head, adding pressure to the kiss. He licked her lips and she opened her mouth allowing him access. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and caught her sigh. Molly grabbed Ryder’s jacket on each side and hung on. He ended the kiss with a little nip on her bottom lip. When he pulled his head back, he looked into her incredible blue eyes.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
Molly chuckled. “Me too.”
Ryder’s full-blown smile stretched across his face. Molly looked at him and all she could say was, “Oh.”
Ryder turned and threw his leg over his bike. He was riding a Dyna Switchback today. He had other bikes, but he just bought this one, and he planned to work on customizing it this winter. The coppery orange color is what caught his eye, but he loved riding it. He looked back at Molly and nodded for her to get on. Molly placed her hands tentatively on Ryder’s shoulders and threw her leg over the seat. As soon as she sat down she gripped his jacket on the sides and sat stiff as a board.
Ryder chuckled and took both of her hands in his and pulled them forward and around his waist. “Hang on to me, tight. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t let your legs touch the pipes.” He pointed to the pipes on her right side. “Until you get used to the feel of the bike and the leaning, when I turn into any corner, look in the direction I am turning. If you’re comfortable, you can rest your chin on the shoulder in the direction we’re turning. Yeah?”
“Um, yeah.”
“If you try to pull me out of the corner, it could cause us issues. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Holy shit, there was a lot to this whole riding thing. Molly’s heart began beating out a dance rhythm as Ryder started his bike, and off they went.
They arrived at Jeremiah and Joci’s house about ten minutes later. JT, Gunnar, and Jeremiah’s brothers, Thomas and Dayton, were also there with their wives, Erin and Staci. They were standing outside talking and getting ready to ride. Joci smiled and waved at them when they pulled up. Molly climbed off the bike and waited for Ryder. As soon as he put the kickstand down and climbed off, he grabbed Molly’s hand and walked with her to his family. Ryder kissed his mom, hugged his dad, and said hello to everyone else. “You all remember Molly from the wedding.”
“Of course. Happy you could join us today, Molly,” Staci said.
“Thank you, I’m excited. Oh, Joci. I brought my tablet with the pictures on it. I know we’re meeting tomorrow to look at them in detail, but in case you wanted a sneak peek, I brought them today.”
Joci squealed. “I can’t wait to see them. We’re still waiting for Bryce and Angie. Can we take a quick peek now?”
“Of course.” Molly walked back to Ryder’s bike to get her tablet. As she walked back to the group, she turned on the tablet. Joci patted the top of the tour pack on Jeremiah’s bike. Molly set it up and started the picture show as everyone started oohing and aahing over the pictures.
Jeremiah wrapped his arms around Joci from behind and rested his chin on the top of her head as they looked at the pictures. Joci and Jeremiah were beaming. When the slide show stopped, Joci hugged Molly.
“Thank you for bringing this, Molly. They turned out fantastic. I can’t wait to take a longer look at them. You’ll have to do the slideshow again when Angie gets here. She’ll want to see.”
“No problem. We can show it as many times as you want to see it. I have the pictures on a thumb drive for you also. I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”
Bryce and Angie pulled up and they watched the slide show of the wedding pictures again. Ryder stood back and looked at Molly’s face. She was genuinely a happy, loving person. The way she smiled at his mom made his heart swell. She was so damn beautiful. Her hair was very dark with rich tones of russet weaving through it. Her sweet little ass was a sight to behold. His cock had been standing at attention all morning. Last night watching her sleep he almost rubbed one off he was so fucking hard. And when he kissed her? He didn’t have the words to describe what happened to him when he kissed her.
Molly folded up the cover to her tablet and started walking back to the bike to put it away. After she had tucked it back in the side bag, she stood up to find Ryder was standing there next to her.
“Thank you for bringing that for my mom. You just made her day. Did you see her smile?”
Molly’s heart was beating faster just being close to him. She smiled at him and looked over to see Joci smiling at and hugging Jeremiah.
“She’s great you know? I liked her from the first moment I met her. I know she had a hard life before and I’m thrilled beyond words that her life is so good now. You’re welcome, by the way. But, you don’t have to thank me. I was excited to be asked to take their wedding pictures, and I’m so happy to be able to make her smile.”
Ryder looked over at his mom and dad. “Yeah, she’s great. My dad’s never been so happy. When they found out she was pregnant, well, he was over the moon. She’s treated JT and me with so much respect and given us more love in such a short time than our biological mother ever has. We both love her a lot.”
Jeremiah whistled, indicating it was time to saddle up and ride. They climbed on the bike, and followed JT and Gunnar, who would be leading today. This group was very comfortable riding together, and they just followed wherever they fell in. They took off and headed toward Manitowoc on the back roads.
Molly was amazed at the ride. She felt safe riding with Ryder, never feeling nervous or scared in any way. They rode in the middle of the pack with Joci and Jeremiah alongside them. Every once in a while Joci would look over and smile at Molly. She felt like she belonged in this group. A few times throughout the day Ryder took his left hand off the handlebars and laid his hand on Molly’s knee. Each tim
e he did, it gave her a bigger thrill than the time before. Her warm and fuzzy emotions were beginning to settle between her legs.
Riding along the back roads, the scenery was beautiful. Molly could see the appeal to riding—watching the passing houses and farms, seeing the animals, and feeling the wind dance across her face felt so freeing. The wind was chilly, but not biting cold. It felt refreshing and made Molly feel more alive than she had ever felt. Even though they were in a group while on the bike, you were virtually alone with your thoughts. As they rode through a couple small towns, some of the people would stop to look at the bikes while others would point and wave like they knew them.
They ate pizza at The Iron Buffalo and drank hot chocolate; well, some of them did. Molly was comfortable standing around talking with everyone. Joci and Jeremiah were talking about their honeymoon and some of the things they saw. Ryder stayed close and always made sure she was taken care of.
Ryder and Molly were standing with Gunnar and Angie when Joci approached. “Molly, I was going to talk to you about this tomorrow, but, if you’re available, next weekend I like to have you take pictures at the build we’re doing for Danny Schaefer. He’s the veteran receiving the bulk of the donations from the Veteran’s Ride. Are you interested? I want them for the video.”
“Oh, that would be fabulous. Yes, I would love to participate in the build. I don’t have anything on my calendar for the whole weekend if you need me. Thanks, Joci.”
Joci smiled. “Thank you. It’ll be fun. We’ll have food and beverage tables set up in the yard, and I plan to interview Danny as well for the end of the video.”
“Wow. That’s really cool. What a great way to end the video.”
After they had eaten, they saddled back up and hit the road before dark settled in.
Around four forty-five they pulled into Joci and Jeremiah’s driveway. “Are you okay going in, Molly?” Ryder asked. “I want to run the bike home and bring the truck back; otherwise, the ride home will be biting cold.”
“I’m fine, go on ahead. I’ll help your mom get things ready.”
As they were eating, Molly said, “Joci, this apple pie is the best I’ve ever eaten.”
Gunnar smirked at Molly. “That’s where I got my great pancake recipe. Molly loved my pancakes this morning, Mom.”
Molly was horrified that he would say anything. She didn’t want Joci knowing she’d spent the night at their place last night. Her face flamed a bright red and she looked at Gunnar with eyes the size of saucers. She heard JT chuckle. He just smirked at her as she immediately darted her eyes at him. Molly braved a look at Joci, who was grinning at her.
“She also likes the little basket in the bathroom with the towels in it.” Now it was Gunnar’s turn to smirk at Molly.
Molly’s eyes squinted as she looked at Gunnar. Oh, so he was determined to tease her too. Dammit!
“Really? You’re going there?”
Gunnar did a quick scan through his brain of anything Molly might have on him. When he couldn’t come up with anything his grin turned into a smile and he nodded and said, “Yup!”
Molly gave her head a nod and said, “Paybacks are a bitch, Gunnar. Just sayin’.”
Molly took a few calming breaths to allow her face to return to a normal color. Gunnar smirked at her and flicked his eyes to Ryder, noticing his growing look of disapproval.
***
When they pulled up to Molly’s house later that evening, she turned to Ryder. “Would you like to come in for a drink?”
Ryder looked at her and nodded. When they got inside, Molly asked what he would like to drink. She had warmed up at Jeremiah and Joci’s house, but now she felt a little chilled. Probably nerves.
“I can make hot chocolate if you’d like.”
“That would be great.”
Molly put the milk on the stove on low. “I can give you a tour of the house if you’d like.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“I’ve rented this house for several years now. The landlord is an older man and we have a verbal agreement that when he’s ready to sell, I can buy it. It’s older, but I love the woodwork and arched doorways. I’ve spent a ton of time painting and fixing it up. Sometimes the money has been tight so I do little things when I can. Freelancing means that sometimes I don’t have a steady income. But the work has been coming more frequently now so, hopefully, purchasing it won’t be an enormous burden. I just love this neighborhood.”
Molly finished mixing the cocoa into the pan of warm milk and poured them each a cup. She handed Ryder his cup and motioned with her hand to the little kitchen table by the sliding glass doors.
As they sat, Ryder asked, “What do you do in your free time, Molly?”
She smiled. “I love to read books. I work in my yard. I spend time with my friends. What do you like to do?”
Ryder smiled. “My brothers and I always find something to do. We work out in the basement. We shoot pool. We throw the football around. We spend time with my parents or my grandparents. Of course, we ride a lot in the summer. What about your parents or siblings?”
Molly scrunched up her face a little bit. “I don’t have any siblings. My mother’s in a nursing home, not far from here.”
“Sorry. Do you see her much?”
“She doesn’t really know who I am. I used to go more often, but it makes me so sad that I only make myself go about once a month now.”
“What about your father?”
“Did you need more hot chocolate? How about something to eat? I know it’s cold outside, but I have ice cream.”
***
Ryder noticed she didn’t want to talk about her father, so he would let it go for now.
“I better go,” he said. “Work tomorrow. You’ll be taking pictures of the build next weekend. I have a ton of work to do this week leading up to that, but can we get together afterwards on Saturday night?”
“I would like that very much. I’ll see you then.”
Molly walked him to the door where he turned and quickly kissed her before he lost his nerve. His lips gently sliding over her lips, his hands holding her face, his breathing accelerating, lost to the taste of her. He stepped away and kissed the tip of her nose, then turned and walked out the door.
The week flew by in a blur. Molly spent Monday with Joci and Jeremiah going over the pictures in greater detail. They discussed the pictures they wanted hard copies of and the ones they wanted for gift giving. Molly gave Joci all of the digital pictures, then presented her idea of using the boys in the shop’s advertising.
“I want to show you something else. Look at the pictures of your sons. The three of them together are HOT!” Molly’s face flamed bright red as she quickly looked down at the picture of Ryder, JT, and Gunnar. “I think you could really do some fabulous promotions using the guys on posters and ads. Put them in some biker gear and you’ll have the women lining up to get in the doors. When the women come, the men follow.”
“You’re right about that, Molly. Not that I want to pimp the boys out, but looking at them all together like that, I can see the potential. Jeremiah, what do you think?”
“I think you ladies are on to something. Let’s use the clothing we sell here and put them in front of our bikes and see what kind of response we get.”
“Okay. I’ll set it up with you after we speak with the boys. For now, we have a build from the Veteran’s Ride this weekend.”
“I’m excited to be a part of that. Thank you, again.”
***
Ryder felt light on his feet all week. He thought the ride on Sunday had gone well. He liked having Molly ride on the back of his bike. He just liked being around her, period. He liked that his parents liked her, too. She was smart, talented, and independent and yet, there was something about her. She was vulnerable and had things that were painful in her past. She didn’t want to talk about her father that was for sure. She was alone in this world, or so it seemed, except for her friends. More than ever Ryder felt l
ucky as hell. He had a big loving family to lean on. And, he wanted to make sure Molly had him and his family. He wanted her with him all the time. Now that he had gotten to spend some time with her, he realized maybe his mom was right—he would move heaven and earth to be with her and to make her happy. But, what if he screwed up?
Ryder was walking through the shop and found his dad working on his bike. Ryder walked over to see what he was doing; he didn’t work on the bikes much anymore.
“Hey Dad, what’s up?”
“Hi, son. I’m working on a backrest for your mom. She said it was a bit uncomfortable the other day. I want to tilt it out on the bottom. Can you hold this?”
Ryder leaned forward and pulled the bottom of the backrest out while his dad tightened the screws in the back.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Ryder, you can always ask me anything. You know that.”
Ryder swallowed. “I like Molly. A lot.”
“Mm hm. We could see that.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to fuck up.”
Jeremiah stood and looked at Ryder. Setting his wrench down on the top of the bike lift, he grabbed a rag and started wiping his hands.
“I assume there’s a question coming.”
“Yeah. Well, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but, well when JT and I were growing up, well, you didn’t really have any girlfriends. We…I don’t know what to do. I mean, I want to be with her and spend time with her, but, it’s just always been us. You know?”
Jeremiah’s lips formed a straight line as he held Ryder’s gaze. He nodded once and walked around the bike and stood in front of Ryder.