Hard Rime

by Chelle C. Craze

  8

  Halle

  For the past three weeks or so I’d been pulling overtime at Zingers, covering the open shifts Joanna left when she quit and left us shorthanded. Tonight, Dax and Crash were coming in to have drinks together, an idea I never thought Crash would agree to. He was sexy as sin and the whole mystery about him made me curious, but the concept of Dax and him hanging out together baffled me. I almost thought Crash was a little uncomfortable around Dax, but I couldn’t prove it. The other day Dax walked in on Crash as he stepped out of the shower, and it was followed with a prompt, “What the fuck, Bro?” Dax said Crash covered his junk with the closest thing to him, which happened to be my bathrobe. Maybe the guy truly was modest, but I highly doubted that was the case seeing as he walked around in nothing but a towel most mornings after showering.

  It was two weeks before Christmas, and our house had been decorated for almost a month and a half. Dax claimed he was an artist. He put up our decorations whenever the mood struck him, and no one, not even time, could tell him when to be creative. I had an issue with it the first year we moved in together, but after that, I simply went along with the whole thing.

  “Table eight is requesting you as their server,” Tiffany informed me with a knowing smile. Dax had been in here enough times for everyone to recognize him, but this was the first time Crash had been to Zingers. “Who is that delicious snack with him?” she probed, and I didn’t know why, but anger immediately flared throughout my body.

  “Nobody for you to worry about,” I harshly snapped unintentionally, grabbing my order pad, and checking my lipstick in the mirror behind the bar.

  “Shit. Okay. Signal sent and received. He’s yours.”

  “He isn’t. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be a bitch.”

  “So, he’s unattached?” Tiffany asked.

  “No. he’s definitely not available,” I lied without knowing if he was or not. Tiffany was known for using men and then throwing them aside. Crash might have liked that type of thing, but I wasn’t going to give her a chance to do that to him. I liked her as a co-worker, but I liked him more as a person, and I didn’t even know him all that well. I wasn’t one to typically lie, but I was protecting him. Right? I really had no fucking clue what I was doing or why I was doing it, but I didn’t want her to sink her claws into him. It may have made me an asshole, but he was my roommate, and I didn’t want to deal with the aftermath. Okay, I was unquestionably an asshole, but I didn’t care. She used men. The thing was, I couldn’t figure out where the anger originated from when she asked about him. He and I hadn’t seen enough of each other for me to be overprotective, but somehow, I was. It didn’t make sense, but I wouldn’t question it either.

  I shrugged my shoulders, hooking my arm beneath a serving tray, and walked to their table. I refused to analyze it anymore. There was no point in wasting time racking my brain for an explanation when I didn’t have any of the answers and was confident I wouldn’t any time soon. Since Crash came into our lives, I had questioned my actions more times than I cared to confess. Stressing about this would just make me more awkward around him than I already was.

  “Hey, guys. What can I get you?”

  “We want two Sneaky Bitches and boneless barbeque wings double tossed with a side of mild wing sauce,” Dax promptly ordered for both of them, and Crash hesitantly agreed.

  “Trust me, it’s what you want,” Dax reassured Crash and handed me his menu.

  “Never had much luck with sneaky bitches, but sure. Why not?” Crash shrugged his shoulders and flipped his menu closed. “Make it three. You’re drinking with us. If I have to deal with a sneaky bitch, so do you.” He smiled, and my pussy ached. Fuck me. I was in trouble and needed to set some type of boundaries with Crash in my head. He was our roommate, not someone who should turn me on, but holy fuck I couldn’t help myself. I’d tried the day we met, and I was so nervous, I ended up drinking a lot more than I intended.

  “I’m at work, Crash.” My voice was stern, and I squared my shoulders, to further validate my seriousness.

  “Clearly. You’re the reason we came here.”

  “I can’t lose my job by drinking on the clock.”

  “Halle, don’t play with us. You’re the next to get cut off the floor. That chick who seated us told me. We even brought you an extra shirt to cover up your uniform. That’s the stipulation, right?”

  Crash held up a shirt that was two times too big to be my size. Clearly, it was something from his closet. He shrugged and caught his lower lip between his teeth. “I didn’t want to go through your shit, so I grabbed you something of mine.”

  “Live life with a little danger. Trust me.” Dax cupped my hand within his and winked, shifting his eyes from Crash to me.

  “Danger. Yeah. Definitely dangerous to me,” I blurted out and wished I could suck the words back into my mouth. I wasn’t sure what it was about Crash, but it seemed like my brain quit working when he was around. I thought I’d been so open the night we met because of the alcohol, but I haven’t had the first drink tonight. I was at a loss for excuses. I guess it was possible I just wasn’t able to censor myself around him. There had never been someone I couldn’t deter in one way or another, so if that was the truth, Crash was a first. Over the years, I’d become an expert at keeping people from getting too close, but it was as if Crash made all my senses go haywire.

  “Oh, it’s getting hot in here. Someone needs to break out the cold shower…and quick.” Dax fanned his face and flashed his thousand-watt smile.

  “Fuck off, Dax,” I mumbled, lightly pulling Crash’s menu from his hands and hatefully stared at Dax as I piled the menus on top of each other with a snap as the laminated surfaces smacked against one another. The first chance I got to get Dax alone, I planned to cuss him out and threaten to shred all of his designer jackets if he didn’t quit the shit. Of course, we had talked about Crash, and Dax held the explosive information of knowing I thought Crash was sexy as fuck—a term I didn’t say often because it was cliché. Dax thought it was time for me to move on from Jeremy, but what I hadn’t told him was I had not missed him.

  “Yeah, Dax, fuck off.” Crash’s upper lipped pulled at the corner as he grinned and then licked his lips.

  “Honey, I’m not even going there tonight, but I can tell what’s on both of your minds. Fucking, and I don’t have a thing to do with it. Just sayin’.” Dax laughed and smacked his hands on the table, one at a time in a delayed cadence pattern, and pretended to hit an invisible drumstick against a nonexistent cymbal.

  My mouth fell open with shock as his statement struck me speechless. I loved Dax, but right now, all I wanted to do was strangle him. He wasn’t usually this free with his words unless he was tipsy. I tilted my head at that thought, realizing the obvious, they’d pre-gamed at our house before coming here, or at least Dax had. Crash seemed to be his normal mysterious self. I was never really able to figure out much insight into his mind, and right now, it wasn’t any different. I had no clue where his thoughts were, and it drove me absolutely insane. There were about a million and four questions I wanted to ask him because I was naturally a curious person, but I hadn’t mustered up the courage to get an answer to even one.

  After putting their order into the electronic system with a few pats of my finger, I stayed close to the bar to get my closing list from our closing manager on shift, Abbie, since Tia, the closing manager over my section, was out to lunch.

  “Let me see,” he paused plucking a tiny note pad from his shirt pocket. “Halle. Where are you, Halle?” His finger moved from side to side as he scanned the list for my name. “Here you are.” He tapped the bottom left corner of the yellow square. “Front soda machine, ketchup, and A1 bottles.”

  “Shit.” I unintentionally complained out loud. Fucking breaking down the soda machines and marrying the ketchup and A1 bottles were the most hated tasks amongst the waitstaff. Neither were particularly hard assignments, but meticulous and a pain in the ass.

>   “Just the messenger,” he tucked the paper back into the pocket of his royal blue dress shirt.

  “I know. I swear she hates me.”

  “Tia hates everyone.” He laughed, but we both knew his statement held a good deal of truth. She wasn’t a particularly cheerful person, something that generally went hand-in-hand when working with the public. She had this whole bitchy thing going for her, but her guests always loved her, so maybe she just hated her coworkers.

  After delivering the drinks and food to my roommates, I swept my area, filled up the sweetener bowls, and topped off the salt and pepper shakers for my section. Keeping myself busy with my closing responsibilities, I didn’t see much of Dax or Crash, other than refilling their drink orders. I managed to not drink the Sneaky Bitch intended for me on the first round and even the second. However, by the third, I didn’t have anything keeping me busy anymore. Mary Ella offered to take over their table, so I could get off the clock. I could have refused, but she offered right in front of the guys.

  “She’d love to.” Dax smiled, scooting his drink over to Crash.

  “What was that?” I asked suspiciously, wondering how many of his drinks he’d actually taken.

  “What was what?” He grinned, and I wondered if he had drunk any of the drinks I brought to their table.

  After clearing everything with Abbie, I thanked Crash for the shirt and went to the bathroom to change. Pulling his shirt over my head, I immediately stopped as soon as his scent hit my face. It was a glorious mix of man, cologne, and held the tiniest hint of something I couldn’t figure out. Deeply inhaling, I clutched his shirt to my face and was happy no one was around to witness my actions. It might have made me a little pathetic, maybe even a bit weird, but no one saw me doing it, so there really was no harm.

  The door swung open, and I promptly pulled the remainder over my body and ran my fingers through my hair as if I hadn’t just been sniffing my roommate’s shirt. An older woman passed, giving me a questioning glance, but thankfully, didn’t say a word. As soon as the stall door closed behind her, I made a beeline out of there, not wanting to have a conversation after she was finished.

  After a few rounds, I finally spoke up, “Can we head home? My feet are killing me. I’ve seen enough of this place for a few days.” I tried to not sound too conspicuous.

  “You’re riding with me,” Crash insisted with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

  “No, I have my car.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be driving it home.” Dax quickly chuckled. “Sorry, bitch, but you’re riding on the back of a Harley tonight. I can’t do that shit again. Once is enough for me.”

  “You rode on the back of his bike?”

  “Sure did, and almost made me wreck. He’s right. He will never ride with me again. It was fucking awkward.” They exchanged a silent look before both of their pleading eyes found mine.

  I wanted to say no and intended to do just that, but with a little bit of liquid courage coursing through my body and their puppy dog eyes, I couldn’t.

  “Fine. But don’t kill me,” I warned Crash, throwing the biggest part of what I’d earned in tips on the table for Mary Ella since these guys weren’t easy to put up with. Neither was I if I were being honest with myself.

  9

  Crash

  The more I wanted to stop talking, the faster my lips moved. When she suggested we go home, I silently thanked her. The whole thing was bizarre. I was uncomfortable listening to Dax scope out the future he saw for Halle and me.

  She unquestionably intrigued me and sure as fuck turned me on by simply being herself, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. It wasn’t any of his fucking business. I’d barely accepted the fact myself, let alone tell one of the biggest gossips I’d ever met. He was worse than Pooh Bear, and my club brother told everybody’s business.

  It was strange living with Dax and Halle, but nothing would change my decision to move in. It brought me exactly where I needed to be. With Halle. I wasn’t sure she thought of me as anything more of me than a paycheck for rent, but I sure as shit thought more of her. A fact I equally hated and liked. I felt like a creeper when I watched her doing random shit in our house like sweeping the carpet. Every time she thrust her hips and pushed the vacuum, my thoughts immediately wondered how well she fucked. I was a pervert, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts. I tried. Anytime I heard that fucking thing turn on, I tried to busy myself with anything to keep from watching her. It didn’t matter what I did, though. Shortly after, I’d bolt into the bathroom and stand under cold water to cool my stupid fucking hormones down. Being around Halle, it was like I was a fucking teenager again, a time when everything turned a guy on. She wasn’t leading me on intentionally, at least, I didn’t think so. She was only doing shit around our house, and I couldn’t pry my eyes from her body.

  “Don’t kill me.”

  “I won’t. Trust me, baby,” flowed from my lips before I could stop the words. I didn’t apologize as I should since she wasn’t mine to call that.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise, Halle, you won’t regret riding with me.” I chuckled, thinking of the hidden innuendo of the statement.

  “Fine. But if you…”

  “You’ll like it. For once get over your fears and get the fuck on.” I covered my smile behind my shoulder and handed her a helmet. I’d never let a woman on my bike because it usually meant something for some, at least for me. I didn’t want random club whores to ride with me, their body against mine. Riding was like fucking, intimate and meaningful.

  Thunderstruck by my honesty, she didn’t speak a word and put on the helmet, climbing behind me. I hadn’t given much thought to how her lack thereof uniform would fuck with me until she made herself comfortable and her warm pussy was pressed against my back. My chest rose and fell jaggedly, and I revved the engine, taking my pent-up sexual frustration out on my bike.

  “Wrap your arms around me,” I breathlessly managed to say, counting backward from twenty to keep myself from flipping around and suggesting we find the nearest motel. Fuck. I wanted her now more than ever, and the urge would only worsen the longer she was against me. I swallowed a big gulp of air before I was able to speak again but knew it needed to happen. “Don’t lean into the curves, a lot of people make that mistake. Try to keep your back straight and let me handle it. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She almost panted, adjusting her hips and ground against me, shifting closer a feat I hadn’t thought possible. Fuck me! My dick pressed against the denim of my jeans and begged for her touch. Momentarily, I closed my eyes and tried to remember why we hadn’t fucked yet. Because she wasn’t mine, that was why. I had to remind myself more than a few times each day. I didn’t work like most men, at least with her. She confused all of my natural reactions, and it made no damn sense at all. This was the first time we’d technically touched, and I was already on the verge of coming undone like I was a virgin, but I couldn’t help it. Having her body against me, drove me fucking insane.

  When I was around her, it was as if I was out of touch with my own reality and was pulled into her gravity. I thought that I was strong until I met her and had to face the brutal reality that I was simply a man stripped of all my titles. The sad part was, she had no idea how I felt. I couldn’t let the words out to gain life because I didn’t know where they came from. They caught me by surprise and made extraordinarily little sense. We hadn’t exchanged an abundance of words, but the stolen clandestine looks across the room were countless. I wanted to figure out her secrets and maybe even tell her a few of mine.

  Her arms wrapped around my sides, and she clasped her hands together right above my beltline, and we were gaining ground. When I rode, my mind was clear, it was my favorite part about riding. The rest of the world fell away, and usually, it was the road and me, nothing else mattered. This time, without question, was different. My insides were lit on fire the moment she climbed behind me, and the wildfire was expanding every mile put behind us. The horizon
was all we had to chase at this moment, but something deep within told me it wasn’t. I looked in my rearview and saw her eyes closed with her hair whipping around her perfect face. This was a mesmerizing moment that would haunt me when I was old and gray. It was a monumental instant typically only found in novels. The overpowering split second a person accepted they wanted another person. Although I knew zero to nothing about Halle, I was without a doubt drawn to her, and I had no fucking clue why. Despite having no answers, I accepted the truth. I needed to get to know her. I would drive myself fucking senseless if I didn’t find out what was going on in her beautiful mind.

  “What are you thinking about?” I shouted over the roar of the engine and sound of the night.

  “Everything, and nothing all at once.” She smiled as I glanced from the road to her reflection, and her bewitching eyes met mine.

  I couldn’t put the miles behind us fast enough. I didn’t know where we would stand with the other once we got to our house, but right now, it was just us. In finding her, I’d lost myself. I wasn’t the same person I was when I met her, and I didn’t understand the reason. Watching her made me want to be the man I knew she deserved, but I wasn’t it. Might never be, but I was fucking determined to try my best.

  10

  Halle

  Putting the dust and the yellow lines behind us, I swallowed my pride to live in the moment. It was the only way I could get myself out of my own way. My past was bitter, and I’d gagged on its history for years now. I’d been cold and merciless in the past with people, but I would live in this moment until it died. Tomorrow I may regret my choices of the night, but right now, I simply wanted to let the moment happen. It was for all the times I never could let life just be what it was.