Heavy Hogs MC

by Elias Taylor

  The seconds ticked by, and Tripp started to get nervous. Maybe the text had been too much. Maybe she was disgusted. Or maybe Christina had seen Mel’s screen.

  His phone buzzed, and Tripp scrambled to read it, a smile slipping onto his face once he did.

  I wouldn’t have objected. You look really good this morning.

  Mel clearly did not have a ton of experience with dirty texting, but Tripp liked that. It was cute. He wrote back as quick as he could.

  What did you want me to do, specifically?

  This time her response was almost instant:

  I wanted you to touch me and feel how wet I am.

  Tripp went hard as a rock.

  He spent the rest of the day texting back and forth with Mel, in between helping his parents clean up. Sometimes her responses were slow, probably since she had to at least pretend to be working on her design in front of Christina, but every text she sent him made him crazy with desire.

  Tripp found it so hot that she was just in the other room but he couldn’t go to her. It was like a game, and he could only hope that it would end with her in his arms again.

  He knew they had to be careful. Texts were one thing, but touching her or trying to kiss her when Christina was around was risky at the moment.

  He had to consider the long term though as well. What if they did start dating? What if they could be out in the open?

  Tripp was pretty sure that his family would be ok with it. They would need time to adjust, Christina in particular, but they had always liked Mel. They would trust Tripp to treat her right and vice versa.

  Mel’s family was another matter. Tripp’s stomach sank at the idea of them finding out. There was a reason Mel had never gotten serious with another guy. Her parents had not let her date all through high school. Mel’s parents were old-fashioned and strict. They would totally freak.

  Their first objection would be the age gap. They would think Tripp was taking advantage or manipulating her since he was older. In addition, he had a bit of a reputation. Nothing serious, just the average connotations that went along with being in a biker gang. From the outside, people assumed he was a player, did drugs and had violent tendencies.

  There was no way Mel’s parents would approve.

  Then again, that was a worry for another day.

  For now, he was going to keep texting Mel until he got a chance to get her alone.

  Chapter Eleven: Risky

  Mel tried not to squirm with excitement on Christina’s bed. She had set her phone to silent so Christina wouldn’t notice all the texts coming in, but Christina wasn’t blind. If Mel was too obvious, her friend would know something was up.

  Mel couldn’t believe this was happening. Tripp Charles, the guy she had crushed on nearly her entire life, was texting her all the dirty things he wanted to do to her. And Mel was loving it. She was texting back things she never could have imagined saying in her life.

  But Tripp had awakened something in her. It was as if her lustful and brazen alter-ego had come roaring to life. This alter-ego was brave. Much braver than Mel.

  As the day wore on, Mel alternated between sketching out the details for the black gown based on Mary Beth’s measurements, advising Christina on room decor, and texting Tripp.

  By the mid-afternoon, Mel was a whirlwind of emotions. She was feeling good about the dress, and she was feeling guilty about Christina. What kind of friend was she, texting her best friend’s brother while she was supposed to be hanging out with Christina?

  Most of all, Mel felt a hard knot of desire. She wanted Tripp. She wanted him really badly. Some of his texts had made her breath catch and her body tingle with anticipation.

  Still, they were just texts. They couldn’t make her completely forget herself. And with Christina right there, Mel couldn’t help but acknowledge the reality of the situation.

  She wanted him. She wanted to repeat last night’s events, but she also wanted him on a deeper level. The idea of dating him for real was scary, but also exciting.

  Only Mel knew it couldn’t happen.

  Last night, while she reveled in all the new sensations Tripp had stimulated, anything seemed possible. In the cold light of day, Mel had a lot more cynical thoughts.

  Her parents would never understand. Her mother would read her the riot act about how Mel needed to find a nice and reliable guy, someone who was husband-material. And a biker was definitely not husband-material. Her father wouldn’t be too pleased either, given Tripp’s age and reputation.

  Mel knew that most of his bad reputation was due to the fact that he was in a biker club. People assumed all bikers dealt drugs and got in fights. None of that was true in Tripp’s case.

  Some other rumors, she couldn’t dismiss. She knew that he dated a lot of girls. Christina had told her what a player Tripp was. Mel knew that he never led girls on or anything. Christina admitted her brother hooked up a lot, but he never lied about his intentions.

  Even so, her parents were going to disapprove.

  If they dated, she and Tripp would have to sneak around. They would have to hide from her parents and Christina.

  Mel always thought that Christina would be the first person she told after she lost her virginity. By every right, Christina should be giggling over the scandalous texts and making a plan of action with Mel. Christina should be the one Mel got to consult on all this.

  Instead, Christina was in the dark, and if she ever found out, she would be devastated. Mel knew she would be angry too, but most of her wrath would be directed at Tripp. Beneath Christina’s fast-talking and hasd exterior, Mel knew there were vulnerabilities. And Christina would be sad if she thought that Mel was choosing her brother over her.

  Mel shook her head and glanced at her phone. Another new text from Tripp.

  Keeping it a secret could be fun for a little bit (Mel would be in denial if she didn’t admit the furtive texting was turning her on), but eventually it would be too much.

  She couldn’t do this. It wasn’t fair to Christina, and it wasn’t fair to her. She didn’t want to keep something like this a secret. If they started dating, every day she would live in fear of discovery.

  Then, in the fall, she would go to school. What would happen then? It was too much to even think about. How was Mel even to know how things would end? What if she risked everything to date him, and then after a few months, Tripp got bored? He would move on to his next girl, and she would be left with a broken heart, furious parents, and an ex-best friend.

  Mel realized that he could break her heart. Yes, everything was so new, but if she felt this drawn to him after one night, she clearly was falling too fast.

  It would be all fun and games until someone got hurt. In this case, it wouldn’t just be her who got hurt. It would be Christina as well.

  Mel grabbed her phone. Tripp had texted her that after he made her come over and over, he wanted to hold her for hours.

  Mel closed her eyes. Why did he have to be so amazing?

  She glanced up at Christina, rearranging the postcards above her desk. She had to just nip this in the bud before it got too difficult.

  Hey, I appreciate last night so much, but I’m not sure we should keep this up. I’ve been thinking, and it just feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

  The text was an abrupt turn from her earlier messages, but Mel didn’t have the time to worry over the ideal way to share her thoughts. She sent the text and tossed her phone to the side.

  Five minutes later, Tripp still hadn’t texted back. Mel was a little miffed. She knew she had encouraged him earlier, but she was just trying to be upfront. The least he could do was respond to her extremely valid concerns.

  Mel turned back to her sketches, but she couldn’t focus anymore.

  After another fifteen minutes of radio silence from Tripp, Christina announced she was done. Mel congratulated her.

  “I’m parched,” Christina said.

  “Let’s grab something to drink from the kitchen?”
Mel suggested. “And then I should probably head out.”

  The two friends went downstairs. Christina ducked into the kitchen. As Mel made to follow her, a large hand snagged her arm. Mel almost yelped in surprise as Tripp pulled her into the downstairs bathroom.

  He shut the door behind them and locked it.

  “Oh my god, are you crazy?” Mel hissed.

  Tripp was glaring at her, and Mel’s heart leaped. Even when he was frustrated, he was so handsome. Her arm was still tingling from where he had grabbed her.

  “Mel, please listen to me,” he said.

  “Shh,” Mel said. “She’ll hear you.”

  She bounced up and down from foot to foot. Then she leaned towards Tripp and turned the sink on. She had seen that once in a spy movie.

  Tripp put his hand on her waist and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

  “Last night was amazing, I want to see more of you,” he said.

  The intensity in his voice nearly made Mel fall over. And the whispering made her long for more intimacy with him.

  Mel’s resolve started to crumble. Only the thought of Christina in the next room stopped her from kissing him right then and there. It just felt so good to be wanted by him.

  “Tripp,” Mel said. “Of course it was amazing, but I’m just scared.”

  “You can’t just stop this because you’re scared of what might happen,” Tripp said. “You need to live a little.”

  He gave her a teasing smile. Mel’s entire body softened. She wanted to lean into his chest and let him hold her. She knew he could ease all her doubts. Or he could at least make her forget them for a little while.

  Mel shook her head and looked at the ground.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  When she looked up at Tripp, there was nothing but kindness in his eyes. Mel’s determination to avoid heartbreak started to melt. Surely Tripp would never hurt her. Not on purpose anyway.

  “Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to see where this goes?” Tripp asked.

  Mel chewed her lip and thought hard. Tripp brought his thumb to her face and touched her lightly, right in the middle of her forehead, to smooth out her furrowed brow.

  “Tonight?” he asked. “Let me take you on a real date tonight.”

  “No,” Mel said. “I– I have work.”

  She jumped when she heard footsteps in the kitchen. Christina was only a few yards away, this whole situation was agony.

  “Tomorrow?” Tripp asked.

  “Wednesday,” Mel said. “Now I have to go, before she comes looking for me.”

  Mel pulled herself out of his arms and turned towards the door. Wednesday was good. It would give her time to think and get used to the idea of a date with Tripp.

  “Ok,” Tripp said. “Wednesday.”

  A thrill went through Mel’s stomach. Before she grabbed him and kissed him with everything she was worth, she made herself open the bathroom door and duck into the kitchen.

  Christina was at the counter.

  “I was in the bathroom,” Mel said.

  She winced at her voice. It was too loud and sounded fake to her ears.

  “Yeah, I know,” Christina said.

  “I should head out,” Mel said.

  “Ok, I might swing by the cafe ́ tomorrow,” Christina said.

  Mel packed up her things and made her exit. As she pulled out of the driveway, she looked up and saw Tripp watching her from an upstairs window.

  Chapter Twelve: Talent

  Tripp ran his hand over the gloss finish of his bike. It was one of his newer designs, and he had ridden it to the club. The Road Warriors had their headquarters in a spacious auto shop. Tripp didn’t hang out at the club often, but Mitch had convinced him to swing by on his day off. They were planning a three-day ride up the coast at the end of the summer.

  Mitch was holding court with a few of the younger guys, gabbing about parties and plans and rides, while Tripp sat quietly to the side.

  He was usually reserved at the club, but today he was even more so. His mind was occupied with thoughts of Mel. Their date was that evening, and Tripp had made a reservation at a nice restaurant a few towns over. They had been texting a bit, but nothing like that first day.

  He hadn’t even tried to start up with the dirty texts. Mel had been so game until she wasn’t. Then she had shut the whole thing down in the blink of an eye. Her announcement had sent Tripp into a tailspin. He had felt like a crazy man lurking in the hallway until Mel and Christina came out and he could seize his chance, but he knew he had to get her alone.

  Besides, Mel had a point. They had to consider the risks. Tripp was considering the risks. He was just choosing to ignore them. Even so, the dirty texts might have been a little too much, too soon.

  He was willing to take it slow. He didn’t want just half of Mel, he wanted all of her. He wanted the amazing physical connection, but also the dates and the emotional connection.

  He had never wanted that before.

  It was exhilarating to think of Mel, but it also was causing him major stress. He had been near useless at the roofing project the last few days. She was rattled, that was for sure. Her reluctance to even try to explore this thing they had indicated that she had doubts. Why wouldn’t she? Their past connections muddled everything.

  Tripp didn’t want to force her into anything. If she had said at any point that hse didn’t want to be with him or kiss him or go on a date with him, he would have dropped it. But she hadn’t. She said she was worried about what might happen down the line. She was nervous.

  Tripp was nervous too, but he still wanted her, just as she wanted him.

  He almost wished that he had never met Mel before this summer. That she was just some girl he ran into one day at the coffee shop. It would be so simple then. So free of complications.

  But then, she wouldn’t be Mel. She wouldn’t be the girl he knew like the back of his hand, and yet still wanted to know even more. She wouldn’t have been the person who had always been there, right under his nose.

  A low whistle from behind him startled Tripp from his thoughts. He turned to see Boots Donovan appraising his bike. Boots was an older guy who had been with the club for almost twenty years.

  “That’s a gorgeous piece of machinery, you got there,” Boots said.

  Tripp nodded in appreciation. It had taken him almost a year to build the bike from scratch. He wanted it to be the perfect marriage of elegance and functionality, which meant he had to spend a lot of time messing around with the engine in order to make sure it was strong enough to power the bike, but not so heavy as to interrupt the lines of the vehicle.

  After months of trial and error, Tripp had been happy. Once he had perfected the engine, he spent another several months assembling and painting the body.

  “I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Boots said as he got closer.

  Mitch swiveled around with glee.

  “It’s Tripp’s own design,” Mitch said. “He made the whole thing.”

  Tripp smiled at his friend. He was unused to bragging about himself, and he appreciated Mitch’s wingman skills much more in this area than he did at the bar.

  “Damn,” Boots said. “That’s impressive.”

  “He’s got loads more designs,” Mitch said.

  “Really?” Boots asked.

  “Yeah,” Tripp said. “I wanna have my own bike line some day.”

  “Well, you got the skill, that’s for sure,” Boots said.

  He squatted down by the bike to take a closer look. Tripp wasn’t nervous; he knew his bike was flawless. Mitch gave Tripp an excited glance as Boots stood up.

  “It’s tough to get a business off the ground,” Tripp said. “But I design and build all I can in my spare time.”

  “Well, I’d definitely buy one of your bikes,” Boots said.

  Tripp straightened up with pride. Boots was the exact type of client he would need if he ever started his own line. An older but passionate bik
er who had an established income to spend on bikes and the expertise to know a high-quality product when he saw one.

  “I know a guy,” Boots said. “His name is Dave, and he’s always looking to invest.”

  “Really?” Tripp said. “I’ve been looking for an investor, but no luck.”

  “Yeah, Dave has already invested in a few custom bike places,” Boot said. “Let me send him over your info and a few photos.”

  Tripp could have pumped his fist in the air with excitement, but he remained composed as he helped Boots find some good angles of the bike for pictures.

  Once Boots had an array of photos, he took down Tripp’s name, email and number.

  “Thanks so much,” Tripp said when Boots was done. “I really appreciate this.”

  “Of course,” Boots said. “Talent is talent, but everyone needs a little help to start something big.”

  Boots waved to the other guys and headed out.

  Mitch pounded Tripp’s back.

  “This is huge,” Mitch said. “What a stroke of luck that Boots came in today, he lives a ways away, but he has loads of connections.”

  “I know,” Tripp said. “I don’t wanna get ahead of myself or anything, but this is definitely a start.”

  “You killed it too,” Mitch said. “You sounded like a fucking pro.”

  “Thanks,” Tripp said.

  “This calls for celebration,” Mitch said. “Wanna head to the bar for some drinks?”

  Tripp glanced at his watch and realized with a start that it was already 5. He was due to pick Mel up in an hour and a half, and he still had to shower and get ready.

  “Nah, not tonight,” Tripp said.

  “Come on,” Mitch said. “You just got a huge investor for your business, you deserve a beer.”

  “First of all,” Tripp said. “I might get an investor to look at one of my bikes, that is not the same thing.”

  Mitch rolled his eyes as if Tripp was harping on a technicality.

  “Dude, let’s go to the bar,” Mitch said.

  Tripp realized he was going to have to give Mitch a concrete excuse, but there was no way he was going to tell his friend he had a date. Mitch would dig into that factoid with complete fervor. He wouldn’t leave Tripp alone until Tripp gave him a name and entire backstory. And with Mel, there was a lot of backstory.