Heavy Hogs MC

by Elias Taylor

  Mel drifted away from the old photos and towards the couch. Some papers on his desk caught her eye. His sketches. She veered towards the desk, just to look at a few.

  He was so good. Mel didn’t even think he realized all the time just how talented he was. She leafed through a few of the designs, admiring the assurance and vision that went into each pencil stroke.

  She didn’t mean to snoop in his things, but a notebook on the side of the desk was open. Tripp’s handwriting filled the pages.

  Mel saw the phrase: Would have to move to NY.

  She paused. At first she thought it might have something to do with her brief consideration of moving East for school, but she hadn’t breathed a word of that to Tripp until just now.

  Mel’s heart began to clatter as she skimmed the notes. They were from his phone call with Wayne, the investor. The horrifying truth dawned on her. The bike shop. Wayne wanted Tripp to open his bike shop in New York.

  Three thousand miles away.

  The ideal market for custom designed bikes, the notes said.

  And Tripp hadn’t told her.

  That stung.

  She knew they had only been dating for about a month but even so. Surely, they were more than just two people who were dating? Yes, they had been setting their background aside for the sake of getting to know each other on a romantic level, but that didn’t mean all their history existed. She knew Tripp. He knew her. She had thought they were more serious than just a few dates.

  Mel stared at the note for several long minutes. Was she overreacting? Was it silly of her to get so upset by the idea of him picking up and moving across the country? He was chasing his dream, after all, something she had encouraged him to do.

  But then, it wasn’t so much the fact that he was considering a move. It was that he hadn’t even told her. He hadn’t even mentioned when the conference call was happening.

  Even after dating for such a short time, Mel was willing to factor Tripp into her plans. She was willing to consider him when deciding where she would live, her class schedule, all of that. Maybe that made her a crazy over-intense type of girl, but she couldn’t change it. She cared too much about him and their new relationship.

  Or she had cared. Now she wasn’t so sure. She had already given him her virginity. Should she give him her entire heart as well? Did he deserve it if he was going to keep things from her?

  Mel paced about the apartment, the blanket trailing behind her. She had gotten ahead of herself with this whole thing, that was clear. She had believed they were something that they weren’t.

  Tears pricked at her eyes. She did her best to blink them away, but a few teardrops escaped and ran down her cheek.

  She hated that she was crying over him. She had always heard about girls who got way too invested with guys. Girls who were badgering their boyfriends for rings, or trying to trick guys into long-term commitments.

  Mel had laughed at girls like that. She had pitied girls like that. Poor fools who didn’t know how to stand on their own two feet. Sad creatures that needed a man to feel fulfilled. Mel had looked down on girls who wanted to arrange their entire lives around a guy who orbited around a boyfriend as if he was the sun.

  Now she was one of those girls. She had been willing to orbit around Tripp.

  In a flash, Mel’s sadness faded, and anger took its place. He had done this to her. He had made her into a pathetic and needy idiot.

  Mel pressed her lips and stomped her feet. Fury made her limbs buzz with adrenaline.

  This had to stop. She would not play this part any longer. She had thought they had something real and special. She was wrong. She had to get over it.

  Even though it felt like her heart was breaking, Mel told herself it was no big deal. They just weren’t on the same page. She thought they were, but she had been wrong. Stupid and naive and young and wrong. Her mistake.

  The ground would not crumble beneath her feet. Mel had been just fine before anything started with Tripp, she would be fine again.

  If he was too immature to tell her he was leaving for New York, then he didn’t have to break the news. She knew now, and she would let him know.

  A clean break. That was what was best. She wasn’t losing anything, because he wasn’t what she had thought he was. This lack of honesty about New York just proved that.

  He wanted to go to New York and not even make that decision with her? That was fine. He could do that. Mel wouldn’t stop him.

  When her anger had grown into an all-consuming cloud, she heard the water stop running.

  She whirled around as the sounds of Tripp drying off and pulling on sweatpants drifted towards her.

  He appeared in the living room, still shirtless, and he smiled at her. It was the smile that did it. How dare he look at her like everything was fine and he cared about her? Mel’s self-control vanished into thin air. A dam inside of her broke, and all her emotions flooded her mind.

  Chapter Eighteen: Thrill

  Tripp tipped his head back and let the hot water flow down his face. He closed his eyes and smiled. It was amazing having Mel over. With past hook-ups, he had always felt awkward having someone else hanging out in his apartment. He of course wouldn’t kick a girl out, but he was never easy until he had his space to himself again.

  It wasn’t like that with Mel. She fit in here. She fit with him. It was the same feeling he got when he found the perfect part for a bike.

  At first he thought the feeling of comfort was because he had known her for so long, but tonight he realized it was more than that. He cared about her, truly and deeply.

  He hoped she spent the night. He wanted to feel her warmth by his side. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms.

  Tripp also wanted more evenings like the one he just had. As many such evenings as he could get. He wanted to share a meal with Mel, joking about the food and discussing each other’s days. Then he wanted to have her body just as he had on the couch. Over and over.

  It wasn’t just the sex that he craved so much. It was the way she made everything in his life a little bit brighter. She illuminated every single thing she touched.

  Just a few days before, Tripp had a long day at work. He had driven over to hang out with Mel. He spent several minutes complaining about the roofing project and how much he hated it. Mel had listened and nodded along. Then she picked up a pen and paper and handed it to him.

  “Sketch out a bike,” she said. “Anything, it doesn’t have to be detailed.”

  Tripp had been confused. Then Mel explained it was what she did when she was feeling glum about her life. She just sketched a dress. Any fun little dress or outfit. Nothing serious, just something to remind her of what she loved.

  “I have to channel my angst into producing something,” Mel said. “You should try it.”

  And it worked. Tripp drew up a nifty little bike in ten minutes. It wasn’t his best design, and it lacked details, but it was something. It made him smile.

  Mel was like that. She had this energy that could turn bad days into good ones. Tripp had been needing that kind of energy for a while. He had been needing her.

  He was going to tell her about Wayne opening the shop in New York. He was going to tell her that he was turning it down. If she was going to school in LA, then he wanted to be near her. Other opportunities for his business would come along. He only had this one shot with Melissa. He wasn’t going to mess it up.

  He wished he had known that she had the option to go to New York for school. It seemed she had made up her mind about LA, but would she have opted for New York if she knew that was where he might be with his business?

  It didn’t matter, Tripp told himself. It wouldn’t have been fair to even ask her to factor him into her school plans. She needed to go to the school that was the best fit for her and her dreams, and he would be nearby.

  The thought of moving away now, when things were so remarkable with Mel, made him shiver despite the heat of the shower.

  It occ
urred to him that things were moving fast. How quickly Mel had gone from just his sister’s best friend to an extremely attractive woman to whatever she was now. Someone he cared about so much. He didn’t care that things were speeding up. He was ready. He was prepared to let himself go with the flow. As long as he could be with Mel, and it felt this good, he wasn’t going to question anything.

  As soon as he was done, Tripp hurried to dry himself off and pull on sweatpants. He wanted to get back to cuddling with Mel as soon as possible.

  When he emerged from the bathroom, he saw that she was standing in the middle of the living room, her body slightly turned away. She was wrapped in a big blanket still, and Tripp’s heart skipped a beat since he knew she was naked beneath the blanket. It drooped on one side just enough to reveal the top of her bare shoulder, and Tripp had never seen anything more sexy.

  He smiled and stepped towards her, and she turned around to look at him full in the face.

  Tripp stopped in his tracks, his grin frozen on his face.

  Something was wrong. Mel was practically shaking with emotion.

  “Mel?” Tripp asked.

  “What the hell is this?” she said.

  Her voice was low and lethal. Tripp felt as if he had been dropped into a nightmare. This wasn’t his Mel. This wasn’t the woman he knew.

  He looked at what she was holding up. He blinked at the notebook. He didn’t understand. He just wanted to do whatever he had to do to make Mel stop looking at him as if he was dirt under her feet.

  “It’s my notebook,” Tripp said.

  He was drawing a complete blank. He kept waiting for Mel’s face to split into a grin. She was playing some joke or prank, and she would reveal it in a second. Any second.

  Mel cleared her throat and drew her eyebrows together as she held the notebook up to read aloud from a page.

  “Would have to move to New York,” Mel read. “Ideal market.”

  It all dawned on Tripp. His evasions had caught up with him. She thought he was going to New York.

  “No, Mel,” Tripp said. “You don’t –”

  “I don’t wanna hear it,” Mel snapped.

  All of a sudden, Mel was moving. Tripp thought she was running into his arms for one second, but instead she shoved by him and towards the couch. She grabbed at her pants and started to pull them on under the blanket. She was careful to keep herself covered. An hour ago, she was laid bare to him, and now she wanted nothing to do with him.

  Tripp realized the note about New York had sent her into a tailspin. It had made her sad and angry. She had made assumptions that just weren’t true.

  “Let me explain,” Tripp said.

  “No,” Mel said. “There’s nothing to explain.”

  She turned her back and yanked her shirt on before whirling to face Tripp again.

  “It’s my fault, really,” she said. “I should have made sure we were on the same page.”

  Mel managed to keep her tone level, but Tripp could see the fury flashing behind her eyes. Her cheeks were flaming as red as her hair. She was beautiful, even in her anger. But her eyes made Tripp’s heartache, they were so full of pain and vehemence.

  “Mel, don’t go,” Tripp said.

  He wanted to grab her or hug her or get down on his knees and beg, but he didn’t know which option would be best. He knew better than to try and force Mel to stay if she didn’t want to stay. But he had to at least try to explain.

  “Look, I get it,” Mel said. “You’re used to girls who are a little more world-wise, and I’m just this young and innocent idiot, and I know I got ahead of myself.”

  She scanned the room for her purse. When she couldn’t find it, she started yanking at the discarded blankets and pillows on the couch. She hurled the cushions back onto the couch with such violence, Tripp knew she was imagining punching him instead of the couch.

  With an indignant huff, she stood up straight.

  “Your bag,” Tripp said. “It’s in the kitchen.”

  He didn’t want her to go, but he couldn’t watch her attack his furniture anymore.

  Mel stormed into the kitchen and scooped up her purse.

  “Mel, please,” Tripp said.

  He had to make this better. He had to see her smile again, like she had been smiling all night. Had it only been an hour ago that they were laying in each other’s arms, so filled with bliss?

  Mel stood with her feet planted on the ground and her arms crossed tight in front of her chest. The message was clear. She was closing him out. She didn’t want to hear him or see him. She was going into self-protective mode.

  “I’ve been stupid and ridiculous, but I know better now,” Mel said. “It’s obvious that I thought this was more serious than it was, and to be honest, it’s so clear now that this was just the both of us getting some sort of sick and twisted thrill out of doing something wrong.”

  The words dug into Tripp’s skin like barbed wire. The way she reduced the last three weeks to nothing in only one sentence. The way she was acting like it was his fault. As if he was the one who didn’t care enough.

  “This is for the best,” Mel spat out. “At least no one found out, so we can just move on and keep this a secret, as it really should be.”

  Tripp flinched. He couldn’t find the words to explain. He was too blindsided by Mel acting like their time together was just a tawdry fling that needed to be buried deep in the ground.

  Mel was hitting him where it hurt, and he was almost certain she was doing it on purpose. Tripp felt anger rising in his own stomach. She was acting like a child and not letting him explain anything.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve learned my lesson too,” Tripp shouted. “This is the last time I mess around with a fucking teenager.”

  Tripp regretted his harsh words as soon as they had been spoken. Mel stood stock still. Her lower lip trembled, and for a moment, Tripp thought she was going to burst into tears. He wanted to apologize, or better yet, go back in time to this morning and burn that stupid notebook. Or perhaps just be honest with Mel about his conversation with Wayne.

  Mel didn’t cry though. She just twisted her mouth into a vicious snarl.

  Then she turned and yanked her shoes on. At the door, she cast one disdainful look back towards Tripp.

  “I hope you had fun taking my fucking virginity, you asshole,” she said.

  All the anger drained from Tripp’s body and was replaced with shame.

  Mel slammed the door behind her, and then she was gone.

  Tripp collapsed onto the couch and buried his head in his hands. He had whiplash at how fast things had gone to shit. He didn’t even understand what had just happened, but he did know that his entire world was falling apart.

  Her parting words had been like daggers. Because she was right. Tripp was supposed to be supportive and helpful and honest with Mel. He knew how brand new this romance was for her. He didn’t take the fact that he was her first lightly. Or he hadn’t meant to. He had intended to be everything Mel deserved. Somehow he had screwed up.

  Tripp gazed with hollow eyes at his apartment. It seemed glum and dim and destitute without Mel. Her absence was loud and jarring.

  He had messed up.

  And he had no idea how to fix it.

  Chapter Nineteen: Toughen Up

  Mel made a resolution. She was not going to cry for a whole two hours. She could do that. She could start small. Once she had survived two hours, she could build up from there. Then maybe in a week, she would resolve to not cry for 12 hours. Eventually, she would make it a whole day without crying. Eventually,

  She sighed. Two hours already felt like a challenge, especially considering that she was in bed, curled up under her quilt, and watching her tenth chick-flick of the weekend.

  It had been two days since the fight at Tripp’s apartment. The only silver lining was that Mel had no work, and her next shift wasn’t for another two days. She didn’t know if she was capable of getting up and plastering on a fake smile. She could on
ly hope she would be in better shape in two days when she would have to rejoin the world.

  She didn’t know how she was going to fake it. She was a mess, and she looked it. She had been wearing the same sweatpants for two days, and her hair was a rat’s nest. She knew she should have a little self-respect and pull herself together, but considering that her heart felt as if it had been ripped right out of her chest, the mere thought of showering or putting on real clothes was far too daunting.

  She wasn’t angry anymore. Her rage had faded almost as soon as she had left his apartment. Mel almost missed the fury. At least then she had energy. Mostly just the energy to shout horrible things at Tripp, but still energy. Now she was laconic and dull.

  She was embarrassed as well. She kept going over that final night in her head. She felt like an idiot. How crazy must she have sounded when she was talking to Tripp about being in LA so she would still be close to him. She must have seemed like a complete stalker.

  Even so, she didn’t think she deserved his comment about being a “teenager.” That hurt because it came out of left field. While they were dating, he had never talked down to her or acted in a patronizing manner. But Mel supposed it had always been at the back of his mind that she was so much younger than he was.

  Well, that was his problem. He had pursued her, despite their age difference. He had made the first move.

  Mel flushed with shame as she reminded herself that maybe Tripp had made the first move, but she had reciprocated him the whole time. She was the one who had been reckless with her heart. She dove in too hard and too fast.

  The worst part was not the embarrassment though. The worst part was that Mel had no one to talk to about all this. They had been a total secret. So no one knew they had even begun. There was no one to mourn the end.

  Mel longed to vent out her frustrations. To have someone tell her that she wasn’t crazy to hurt this bad. Or to have a friend to cheer her up and tell her there was so much more to life than Tripp Charles.

  She could let someone in on the secret, but at this point, it seemed like sharing their fling could do more harm than good. Why tell Christina that she had gotten involved with Tripp if it was already over? It would just make Christina feel weird.