Heavy Hogs MC

by Elias Taylor

  As they drifted off the beach and towards his bike, Mel couldn’t stop smiling. She was sated and warm despite the chill of the night air, as if his very body supplied her with both heat and sustenance.

  She found she couldn’t quite look straight at him. He had pulled on his jeans and shirt, but his hair was sticking straight up. His eyes smoldered every time they met hers, and Mel was overtaken with a curious case of shyness.

  She couldn’t quite believe that she had acted in such a brazen manner. She had pulled his shirt off. She had kissed him with such wanton abandon. That wasn’t like her. With guys she had dated in the past, Mel had always been too aware. She had felt awkward and fearful that her head wasn’t tipped at the right angle or she was doing something wrong. She had always held a part of herself back. The passionate urges within had been locked up by her inhibitions.

  It hadn’t been like that with Tripp. Mel had felt like a different person. Or rather, she had felt like herself, but a version of herself that rarely saw the light of day.

  As they approached the bike, their shoulders brushed, and Mel’s knees started quivering.

  They didn’t speak, and Mel was fine with that. She knew they probably had to sort through a lot of stuff, but that could wait. Right now, she just wanted to savor how wonderful her first him had been. How he had gazed at her with such intensity. How she had wanted him so much, with no doubts or reservations. How his body had felt beneath her fingers.

  It was nice to get back behind him on the bike and wrap her arms around his torso, but it wasn’t the same. Now that she had touched his bare skin, she was all too aware of the layers of clothing that separated them.

  And she wanted more. That was the undeniable truth. Even so soon after her first time, she was craving another liaison with Tripp. She had been offered one sip of cool refreshing water, and now she was desperate to drink a whole gallon in order to sate her thirst.

  She was so glad she had waited. Underneath the stars with Tripp had felt so right. She knew him. She had always known him well, but now she knew every part of him.

  All too soon, they reached the Charles home. Tripp parked the bike, and they hopped off. Mel nervously straightened her dress. Did she look any different? Could everyone tell she was no longer a virgin?

  “Do you think they’ll know?” Mel blurted out.

  Tripp stared at her. So much was undetermined. They couldn’t just walk in here and announce the news to the Charles family. For one, Christina would have a hernia. For two, there was no news. What were they? It was far too new and fragile.

  “We’ll just say we went to the store to grab some things,” Tripp said.

  Mel nodded. It was an easy excuse. No one had any reason to doubt it. There was a pang of regret though. She knew it was ridiculous but some part of her had expected Tripp to take her hand and say who cared if everyone knew?

  It wasn’t the 1800’s. Having sex with a guy didn’t mean you were forever linked. It was just sex.

  Mel took a deep breath to gather herself and headed towards the door.

  Christina pounced before they were even a step inside the hall.

  “Where have you been?” she asked.

  She grabbed Mel and started to drag her upstairs.

  “We went to the store to pick up more soda,” Tripp said.

  Christina was clearly in a huffy mood and didn’t even seem to hear Tripp. Mel raised one shoulder at him and let her friend lead her up the stairs.

  “I so need your moral support right now,” Christina said.

  While Tripp and Mel had been out, the party had ended. most of it had even been cleaned up. Mel felt guilty that she hadn’t been there to help, but she figured Tripp could lend some aid now that he was back. Her stomach flipped as she wondered if he was spending the night again.

  She definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he was in the other room. She would just keep imagining their kisses and caresses over and over.

  Christina slammed the door to her room shut. Mel drifted over to the bed and sat down.

  “Dylan just broke up with me,” Christina said.

  Mel looked up at her friend. Christina was all riled up. More so than usual even. She stood in the middle of the floor with her hands on her hips. Her face was a storm of emotion.

  “I thought you said it was already over,” Mel said.

  “No, I said it was fizzling out,” Christina said.

  She started to pace back and forth. Christina sometimes moved so fast that Mel got vertigo looking at her.

  “But then he actually broke up with me over the phone while you and Tripp were off at the store,” Christina said.

  If Christina’s pain and anger hadn’t been so visible, Mel might have laughed. Christina had accepted this trip to the store fib, even though Mel and Tripp had vanished for hours. Was it really so inconceivable that they had hooked up? They had hidden their feelings for each other for so long, it seemed as if no one could imagine they could possibly be together like that.

  Christina was still circling the room like a tornado. She tore off her shirt and skirt and then yanked on sweat pants and a T-shirt, all while babbling about how Dylan thought she was a little kid, even though he was only a few years older.

  Mel’s mind kept drifting back to Tripp. She even started listening to the sounds from outside the room. It was impossible to tell, but she wanted to know if he was still downstairs, or maybe in the backyard, or perhaps even in his bedroom. Right down the hall. So close, and yet so far.

  “Hello?” Christina snapped. “Are you even listening, you look like you’re in la la land?”

  Mel blinked and focused on the image of Christina waving her arms over her head.

  “Sorry,” Mel said. “I’m just a little tired, I didn’t sleep great last night.”

  Christina sighed. At last, she flopped down next to Mel.

  “No, I’m sorry for being so crazy,” Christina said. “You’ve been a real trooper today, coming and helping and sitting through that long party, of course you’re exhausted.”

  That was the thing about Christina. She had flights of selfishness, and her roller coaster of emotions could be troublesome, but at the end of the day, she cared deeply about the people she loved. Mel knew Christina would do anything for her. She was loyal to an extreme.

  Christina expected loyalty in return.

  Instead of loyalty, Mel had snuck behind Christina’s back and screwed her brother.

  Mel really didn’t want to feel guilty about having sex with Tripp. It had been too exciting and amazing, she didn’t want to taint it with regret because of the fact that he was Christina’s brother. Only she couldn’t escape that fact.

  Then again, wasn’t Christina always telling Mel that she needed to let loose? Mel couldn’t even count the times Christina had told her to stop thinking and just act on instinct. Tripp on the beach – that had definitely been pure instinct.

  Mel reached over and patted Christina’s leg.

  “I’m sorry about Dylan,” Mel said. “But he’s clearly a tool if he’s the type to break up with you over the phone.”

  “I know,” Christina said. “But there was something about him that I got so attached too, against my better judgment, to be honest.”

  The two girls sat cross-legged on Christina’s bed and talked about Dylan for hours. Mel sat through Christina’s long dissection of the brief relationship, and Mel tried to listen as best she could.

  Mel put her best effort into giving her friend a pep talk. She covered all the big points: Christina was so much better off without Dylan, he was never that great anyway, plenty of fish in the sea, and anyway Christina had more fun when she was single.

  After an hour or so, Mel could no longer hide her yawns. Christina sympathized, and the girls got ready for bed.

  Exhausted after the party and the stress of the breakup, Christina was out in minutes.

  Mel found herself, once again, staring at the ceiling while Christina flailed her legs
in her sleep.

  So much had changed in 24 hours. Mel felt like an entirely different person.

  But she wasn’t. She was still Melanie Reynolds, barista and aspiring fashion designer. She was still going to school in the fall.

  This crazy and momentous thing had just happened, but it hadn’t really changed anything.

  Mel listened for stirrings in the house, but all she heard was silence. Apparently, the party had exhausted everybody.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about Tripp. Was he lying awake too? The thought of him in his own bed made a warmth spread between her legs.

  I might sneak you into my bed.

  That was what he had said. Had it only been 24 hours ago?

  Mel wanted to be in his bed. She wanted to run her hands up and down his firm chest and feel his lips on hers, his eager appreciation of her body pulling more and more from her. She wanted that so bad.

  She also wanted to ask him what it all meant. Where did they stand now? She knew it wouldn’t be an easy question to answer. She certainly had no answers.

  They had to discuss things though. She wasn’t scared, oddly enough. She was comfortable with the idea of having an honest and frank conversation with Tripp. She trusted him to be honest with her.

  Mel pictured the short walk to his room. She would just have to open Christina’s door, shut it very carefully, and then tiptoe down the hall. Perhaps ten steps in total. Then she would have to crack open his door, slip in.

  He would be there, lying in bed. Mel’s face flushed as she wondered if he slept shirtless. She pictured herself crawling under the covers with him. She knew just being close to him would make her warm and aroused all over again.

  Once in his bed, she honestly did not know if they would talk or just have sex again. Either option excited her.

  It couldn’t happen. Not right now anyway. The consequences would be dire if they were caught in his parent’s house.

  Mel wasn’t even sure it would happen again at all. The evening had been spontaneous and delightful, but it had also been a break from reality. They both had to face their own demons. They both had a range of priorities.

  Then there was their messy context. He was Christina’s brother. She was Christina’s friend.

  Just thinking it over made Mel’s head spin.

  So she stopped thinking about the issues.

  She just recalled, for about the hundredth time, how he had seized her hips with such passion when he pulled her onto his lap. How he had looked down at her with the utmost care and concern when he entered her. How he had made sure to prioritize her pleasure.

  Mel sighed. If she kept replaying the scene, she really would sneak into his room.

  Her mind needed rest.

  She closed her eyes and realized that she actually was quite tired. Between the lack of rest the night before, the party, and the intensity of the beach, Mel was completely drained. Sleep began to overtake her.

  When she finally drifted off, Mel was smiling.

  Chapter Ten: Longing

  Tripp loved his mom’s coffee. That was one perk of spending the night back at his parent’s house. His mom always woke up early and made a huge pot of coffee before she headed out for the day.

  He sat with a big mug at the kitchen table and thought about Mel. She was all he had thought about since waking up.

  His thoughts ranged from being ecstatic over what had happened and how it felt, to being worried sick that Mel had regrets. It had been her first time. He had seen her get pleasure from it, but it was also pretty intense to have sex for the first time with someone you weren’t actually dating.

  He would date her. If that's what she wanted. He would do anything, as crazy as it was.

  Yes, it might be messy. Yes, there was a lot of history to contend with. A lot of strange and unexplored territory. But he would deal with all that, if that would make her happy.

  When he heard footsteps on the stairs, he jerked his head up.

  Mel entered the kitchen. No Christina.

  “Hi,” Mel said.

  A wave of pure joy overtook Tripp when she gave him a sweet smile. She headed towards the cabinets and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. Tripp examined her, from her mussed red hair, to her light green cropped button-down and high-waisted jeans. She looked unstudied and perfect.

  She looked happy too, he realized. Her eyes were bright and alert, and her lips were turned up in a soft smile as she settled down at the head of the table, right next to him. Their knees were almost touching.

  “Christina’s in the shower,” Mel said.

  “Good,” Tripp said.

  Mel cast her eyes down at her cereal and then flicked them up towards Tripp. He leaned forward so their heads were bent together.

  “I thought about you all night,” Tripp said.

  He relished the sharp intake of breath from Mel. She was irresistible. The way she reacted to him, the way she listened to his every word. The way her neck moved when she swallowed her cereal.

  “I thought about you too,” she said.

  And that. Her frank admission was the most irresistible thing of all.

  Beneath the table, Tripp reached his hand towards her knee. He brushed her thigh with the tips of the fingers, and he started to get hard just thinking about the supple flesh beneath her jeans.

  Mel moved even closer until his hand was firmly gripping her thigh, and her knee was bumping against his.

  “Seriously, Mel,” Tripp said. “If we weren’t in my parent’s fucking kitchen right now...”

  Mel raised one auburn eyebrow at him.

  “What?” she asked with a mischievous smile.

  He liked this playful side of her. He knew she could be fun, but in the past she had mostly shared that side with Christina. He wanted her jokes now. He wanted her worries and her cares. He wanted all of her.

  And in that precise moment, he mostly wanted her body.

  “I wanted to come to your room last night,” Mel said.

  Now it was his turn to catch his breath. He had fantasized all night about Mel tiptoeing into his room in her bare feet and clad in those pajamas that he would promptly remove.

  “You would have been welcome,” Tripp said.

  She made a low humming sound as Tripp inched his hand up higher.

  The clatter of Christina’s feet on the stairs sent shockwaves through both of them. Mel pushed herself backward, and Tripp placed both his hands flat down on the table. They were just in time.

  Christina appeared in the doorway. A more astute person might have noted how Tripp was breathing hard, and Mel’s cheeks were bright red. Fortunately, Christina was occupied.

  “There you are,” she said. “You ate already?”

  “Yup,” Mel said.

  Her voice came out sounding chirpy and fake, but Christina was rummaging through the cabinets.

  That had been a close call. It was a given that if Christina ever found out about them, it probably wouldn’t go down well, but it would be even more of a disaster if she found out by just walking in on them. Christina would feel blind-sided and betrayed. She would undoubtedly question Mel’s choices and Tripp’s actions, but she would also feel left out. Christina hated being left out.

  “Great,” Christina said. “Let me just grab a bar, and then I was thinking you could work on the dress for Mary Beth over here while I re-organize my room.”

  Mel nodded. She was trying to look anywhere but at Tripp. He was attempting to force his face into an expression of unstudied nonchalance, but he knew he was failing. He couldn’t be casual with Mel sitting right there.

  “I really need to switch up my feng shui,” Christina said.

  She plopped down across from Tripp and started munching on a granola bar.

  “And then I’ve got to start planning for this party next weekend,” Christina said. “Dylan is gonna eat my heart out when he sees me in my new black dress.”

  Tripp would usually make a teasing comment about how Christina was too
shallow or how maybe new feng shui would help her keep a job for more than a month. She was even regarding him with a cool eye, as if she was prepared for his biting sarcasm. But he couldn’t for the life of him act normal.

  His heart was still beating, and his body still yearned for Mel.

  He had to admit, it was kind of a turn-on. Sure, he would rather flirt and caress without interruption but the edge of danger in the air was thrilling.

  He wondered if Mel could feel it too.

  “Well, Tripp, mom and dad are gonna want you to actually help clean up,” Christina said. “Since you were basically useless yesterday.”

  “Yeah,” Tripp said.

  Christina furrowed her brow for only a brief moment. She was his sister, after all. She knew when he was acting weird. She chose to ignore it however. With a shrug, Christina flicked her gaze back to Mel.

  “When do you work at the cafe ́ tomorrow?” Christina asked.

  “I start at 7,” Mel said. “I can definitely map out the details for the dress, and then I can swing by the fabric store on my way home.”

  “Excellent,” Christina said.

  She bounced up to her feet. Tripp let out an internal groan when Mel stood up and made to follow Christina.

  He couldn’t very well ask her to stay and hang out with him.

  He watched her put her cereal bowl in the sink. When she reached the door to the hallway, she turned around.

  Christina was already pounding up the stairs.

  Mel just gave him a brief look. Less than a second.

  But Tripp saw everything he wanted in her eyes. She was longing for him just as much as he longed for her.

  As soon as she had disappeared, Tripp tore his phone out of his pocket.

  He of course had Mel’s number, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had texted her. Probably some logistical text about picking her and Christina up from somewhere.

  Tripp’s fingers flew over his screen. He just needed her to know how much he yearned for her.

  I wanted to fuck you right on the table.

  Before he could second-guess it, Tripp hit send.

  He pictured Mel seeing the text and putting on a front of casualty as she glanced at it. He imagined her showing no sign of the scandalous contents except to bite her lower lip.