Heavy Hogs MC

by Elias Taylor

  “Sure, love you, bro.”

  “Love you, too, Raven.”

  A gruff voice came to the phone. “Carter, my boy. How are you, son?”

  I stared at the ceiling. “I’m okay.”

  “Just okay? You sound off. What’s going on with you? Talk to me,” my father responded.

  “A woman.”

  My father cleared his throat. “Is she pregnant?”

  I sighed with guilt. “No. She’s not pregnant. But she’s on my mind.” My father often had solid business advice for me, so maybe he would have advice for me about this, too. He’d been married to my mother for a long time, so long I’d forgotten the years that passed.

  “Well, then, there’s nothing to worry about. Get on with your business. Keep your head straight.” My father, for all his good-intentioned advice, might have been the wrong person to speak with about woman troubles.

  “Is it just about that, though, Dad?”

  “Yes, it is. The right one will stick.” He replied gruffly.

  “Is that what happened with Mom? She stuck?”

  “Your mother is a rare breed. They don’t make them like they used to.”

  I guess my desperation led me to call him. My head had me in a scramble, but it turned out there wasn’t much point in talking to him. This matter of the heart, I would need to figure out alone.

  Chapter Six: Escape

  No texts back. No calls. Nada. I fell for the charm, but I should have held off. I made a big mistake. I had made a few in my time with men. I thought my heart was telling me something else this time, though, and I wanted to give it a chance. The moment was there. I let the drinks take my guard down, but I should have been more cautious about it. I was beating myself up, and I knew better. I knew the game, and I’d been played. Same shit. Except Carter got the one up. I checked my phone before I left the house. No text messages.

  I washed the sheets to get rid of the scent of our lovemaking. I didn’t want a single fiber of my house smelling like him. He just got up and left. Penetrated my body and left me feeling used.

  I made it to work. I forgot to do my hair, somehow. Usually, I bounced in the door, ready to motivate everybody else. I was the one giving the young staff members advice on how to handle men. But now, I was the one needing advice. I slept with him on the first date, and that’s not something I do anymore.

  “Umm. Babe, you okay?” Phoebe’s frown let me know that I didn’t look so good.

  “Yeah. I just...I slept with Carter.” I blurted it out. Phoebe was my girl, and she would understand. Apprehension sat in plain view on her face.

  “Then why are you so sad about it? Was it bad?” She took my bag and pulled me down to sit next to her.

  “No.” I gathered my hair into a high bun and wrapped it up. My eyes felt puffy. “I just made a mistake. He hasn’t responded to any of my texts. He just got up and left.”

  Phoebe practically had steam coming out of her ears. “Babe.” She was holding in her opinion.

  “I know you have more to say.”

  “I don’t want to say anything right now. He could have at least contacted you. I know you wanted to have fun, that’s all. I didn’t know you actually liked him, liked him.”

  I rubbed my knees in angst. “I can’t believe it. I got it wrong again.”

  Phoebe grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye. “You didn’t get it wrong. You went with your heart. I don’t like seeing you hurt. Come on, let me whip up a pick me up for you.”

  I put on a fake mask and got the tables ready. I sipped on the drink Phoebe made for me. I went through the motions the whole day. At lunchtime, I hit the bottle. It was not a big deal, just me blowing off some steam. I had a few drinks with the patrons, pretending to have some fun with them. Nothing special. Phoebe watched me with grimness. I didn’t care. I checked my phone periodically, and when I saw the blankness, it just made me drink a little more. Bloody Marys seemed to be my drink of choice today, but at least it had tomato juice in it.

  “Boss, you’re a lot of fun lately. You’ve never partied with us like this!” One of my staff members and the best bartender said to me.

  I started to slur my words. I’d been drinking a little bit, or maybe a lot. It was day two of no response from Carter.

  “Well, hey, when it’s time to party, it’s time to rock.” I almost fell back in the lounge chair. Phoebe came and picked me up.

  “Look, you can’t do this anymore.” She hissed at me.

  I slipped my arm around her. I tried to reach out to her nose, but I was seeing two of her, and I missed. I moved my head from side to side.

  “Oh, now you’re moving! Where’d you go, Phoebe? There are two of you.” I giggled. I was floating, and it felt amazing. “You look like the double-up twins.”

  I felt my mouth going slack. Dreamland. Incoming. But was I at work? I straightened up a little. Phoebe looked around frantically.

  “Damn. You got it bad.”

  She pulled me away from the other staff members, one of whom said, “Aw, Feebs, you’re no fun. She’s just having a good time.”

  She gave the staff some sort of look. Couldn’t be good because they all went silent, real quick. “Your boss is very vulnerable right now, and you’re all taking advantage. Get back to work now! Josie, aren’t you first up on stage tonight?

  I touched Phoebe’s face. “Don’t be too hard on them. I’m good. Let me go. I’ll be all right.”

  Phoebe gave me two pills and wrapped my hands around them. She pushed a glass of water in my hands.

  “What’s this?” I slurred.

  “Tylenol. Take it. Now! You’re going to have a headache.”

  I still saw double. The room spun around, and I struggled to get my bearings. “Just have a few drinks with me, Phoebe. I just need to have a little fun. Get over it, you know.”

  “No. Not today. But tomorrow’s Friday night, so I will throw back a couple with you. Stop drinking in front of the staff. They’re going to think you do that all the time.” I felt a surge of love for Phoebe. She had my back.

  “This guy really messed you up.”

  “Can I have another glass of water?”

  “Sure, then I gotta get back to it.”

  “‘Kay.”

  The room stopped spinning, eventually. It took me another couple of hours of resting in the back office to be all right. Luckily, I took the Tylenol. The headache thumped and nearly knocked my head off. I needed to get my legs back. The hangover didn’t allow me to think too hard about Carter. I was trying to recover.

  I hit the pillow hard when I got home, and I woke up rough. This time, I got juice on the way in. Friday is one of our busy days, along with Saturday night. I was a little clearer in the head. Not fully recovered but still better than the last couple of days.

  “Hey, Feebs, you here?”

  “Yo! I’m in the back. Just getting the till ready.”

  “Okay. I want to apologize for yesterday.”

  “Don’t sweat it. We’ve all been there. Hey, listen, you need to forget this Carter guy. I want my boyfriend to take the bike back. I wish I’d never introduced you to him.”

  I touched her shoulder and took my sunglasses off. “Don’t say that. He did a good job. Maybe he will still call.”

  Phoebe flashed me a deathly look. “No. Let it go, Autumn.” She held her hand up.

  The day wore on, but I didn’t do any drinking. Carter’s glistening body in the height of passion ran through my mind. Damn! The connection between Carter and I was more than just sex, and he was no dud in bed, either.

  “Hey. We having a drink tonight?” Phoebe poured a beer for a customer. I smiled at them. The front was packed with afternoon customers. Happy hour was due to start in an hour.

  “Later, when it dies down tonight. When the staff takes over the night shift.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The Red Gorilla became exotic in the night. My girls worked the pole, and money was thrown around like water.
The night staff was on, and Phoebe and I could relax. We drank wine and talked shit out back.

  “Let’s toast to all the bad men in our life! Let’s drink them away!” Phoebe said, raising her glass.

  “I second that, sister!” I raised my glass and took a sip of wine.

  “This is like the good old days! Remember when we used to get drunk after the shows with Roscoe?” Phoebe laughed.

  “Wow. We had some wild nights back then. Remember Roscoe sliding down the pole with the feather boa?” I giggled.

  Phoebe held a finger up. “That’s something I never want to see again! With those hairy, gorilla legs.”

  We danced and grooved a little, and we both ended up passing out in the back room.

  Saturday morning, a heaviness sat on my chest. It was Phoebe. She had fallen onto me. Her hair was plastered to my face, and I moved her off gently so I could breathe again. Shit. I was a mess. I had to admit it. She stirred and looked at me. She was a hot mess with mascara running down her face, smeared everywhere. I must have looked the same. She sat back.

  “Oh, shit. We got fucked up, didn’t we?” I asked as I wiped my mouth, which was drier than the Sahara Desert.

  “Yeah, we did.” Phoebe groaned. I moved to get us a glass of water. The club was closed down, so it was just me and Phoebe in the back. I came back with two glasses of water.

  “I think you should give this Carter guy a miss if he comes back. He messed you up a little bit.”

  “You’re right, Phoebe. Never again.” I held my face in my hands. This was the end of the road for Carter and me.

  Chapter Seven: Change of Heart

  Two weeks passed, and I knew I had to bite the bullet. It wasn’t not like I could avoid Autumn forever. I had to see her. I didn’t want it to be awkward, but us sleeping together made it that way. She wasn’t at the California Ryders on the weekend after the week I’d been with her. I didn’t want anyone giving up riding because of me. I liked eating and drinking at The Red Gorilla, too. I had to be a man about things, at least. Today, the Cali weather wasn’t holding up so great. The rain was coming down. But I knew how it went. The sun would stream through soon enough. Still, it was not enough of an excuse to sidestep her.

  “Hey, hey, Carter. How you doing?” Magner was already at the garage, working hard.

  “Good, man. How ‘bout you?”

  Magner was having a good time on the new bike. “That’s looking good. Nice shape to it.”

  Magner smiled. “Yeah. Sometimes, I wish I could keep some of these bikes for myself. So sad when I have to hand ‘em back.”

  “Yep.” I resonated. “I feel you. That Ducati was sweeter than sweet.”

  Magner clutched his head. “Oh, man! Wasn’t it? Speaking of rides, you head out with the Ryders on the weekend?”

  “Sure did. Great day.” I switched the radio on and got to it.

  “You, ah, see that hottie there again?”

  I tensed a little when he said her name. Or didn’t say. “Nah, she wasn’t there.”

  Magner was looking through the tools. “Okay. That’s interesting.”

  “Nah. Nothing to it. She’ll probably be there for the next ride.” I knew she wouldn’t be. Maybe she didn’t show up because of me. Or maybe she was busy. I wouldn’t know because I was a coward and hadn’t called her, but that was not something I wanted to fess up to. I worked on a plan to go over to The Red Gorilla without Magner getting suspicious.

  “Hey. I need to fill the belly. I’m going to step out and go get something to eat.”

  “Like hell you are. You’re going up there to The Red Gorilla, aren’t you?”

  “What’s it got to do with you if I do? I never said I was going there.”

  Magner stood up from the bike he was fixing. He held his hands out. “Look. I’m covering your ass. Business is booming, and you can’t afford to lose focus. A month ago, you were reviewing the books all the time. I watched you. You looked stressed.”

  He paused. “Blowing off steam. I get it, and she’s banging hot. Just keep a level head.”

  I relaxed. “I hear you. I got it. I’m not going anywhere, but I gotta see her around sometime. I want to clear the air and make it smooth. That’s all. Plus, I like the place, and why should I give up my lunch spot for her?”

  “Cool, man. Just checking. That’s all.”

  “Appreciate the lookout, though. I do. We’ve been doing pretty well in the shop. Job after job. It’s starting to move in the right direction.” I nodded.

  “Right. That’s all I mean. I’m on the same page as you.” Magner supported me, and I appreciated it.

  “Man, I’m pumped. I want to teach you the books, so when I open the next one, you can run this one.”

  “Yeah? Man, that’s cool.”

  “You’re my guy. I win, you win.” I gave him a hand grip and made my way out.

  Here we go. Time to face the music. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. No serious attachment, right? It wasn’t that big a deal. I walked in and realized how much I missed the place. The familiar amber glow the place had made me feel right at home. It didn’t have to wait long to put things right. Autumn was wiping down the bar. She looked up and quickly looked down again.

  “Uh. Hey.” I stood for a minute then took a seat at the bar. She looked good. Her hair was pinned up high. She had on a white tank top and jeans. She scrubbed the bar down harder, avoiding my eyes.

  “Hey, yourself.” She had a biting tone that spoke volumes.

  “You been all right?”

  She sighed and put the tea towel in her back pocket. She looked up at me. “Never better. How about you?”

  I watched as she put bottles of alcohol back on the shelf. “Good. Good. Working hard on the bikes.” A sheepish feeling washed over me. The situation I placed myself in with her made me feel like a fool.

  “Came for a drink, right? What can I get you?”

  I gazed around. Not many people were in the bar, so it was pretty quiet. Shit was tighter than a coiled spring between us, ans I wanted it not to be strange anymore. But it was. I screwed up royally.

  “Got ten?”

  She put both her hands in her back pockets. “Not really. Phoebe’s off today, so it’s just me ‘till three.” Her sapphire eyes were cold like ice.

  “Come on. Just one drink. I just want to talk to you for a minute.”

  She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow at me. “You had plenty of time to talk, Carter. Now you have something to say?” The hurt in her tone let me know it affected her. I deserved that.

  “I know, and you’re right. That’s why I’m here. Sorry for being a coward. Come and have a drink with me.”

  As I continued with my pleas, one of her staff members surfaced from the back, sweeping through to give me the evil eye. What was that about? What did Autumn do? Tell the whole bar about me? I let it slide. There was not much I could say.

  A long gap in silence ensued, but she surrendered.

  “Okay, but you got ten minutes. That’s it. I have a stock count to do. ”

  “Okay. I’ll take it.” She poured two beers.

  Last time she gave it to me on the house. This time, she made me pay. Again, I understood. She brought the beers to the table I was sitting at.

  “Here you go.” She slid the beer across to me.

  “You look good.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. Her legs were crossed, facing away from me, and I could feel an invisible wall in between us. She wanted me to know it. A feeling hit the pit of my stomach that made me take a few more gulps of my beer.

  “Okay. I deserve that.” I exhaled heavily. “So, hey, I didn’t see you at the club this past weekend.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t make it. I had some things come up.” Her narrowed eyes held contempt.

  “Look. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I should have returned your texts—calls. I made a mistake.” Autumn frowned at me, probably thinking I was calling the night a mistake. “No. Sheesh. I’m
really killing it, aren’t I?”

  She was taking joy in watching me suffer. “You’re doing a pretty shit job, yeah.”

  I cringed. “I never meant to lead you on. That’s where the mistake was. Not that night. I’m not up for a relationship right now. Hell, I don’t even think I’m cut out for a relationship.”

  Autumn sat silent for a minute like she was thinking it over. “You shouldn’t have done that. You could have at least called me back. That was pure assholery.”

  “Assholery?” I had to laugh. She might not have meant it to be funny, but it was. Deep down, I didn’t want to lose her. Just a touch of a smirk came over her face as I said it.

  I held out my hand over the beer. “Friends?”

  She hesitated for a beat. She accepted my peace offering, shaking my hand. I erased the sudden erotic memory that popped up of removing Autumn’s g-string.

  “Friends,” she said with a hint of a smile.

  “Little quiet today. Business okay with you?”

  A cool exterior replaced her normal flirtatiousness. “Business is always good. Sex sells. Just a slow day.”

  “I nodded. That’s true, for sure. Think you’ll come ride again soon?” I wanted to check the temperature with her and see if we were truly over it.

  She shrugged. “I’ll mean, we’ll see. Still looking into finding a spot for my new business venture.”

  “That’s great.” The drinks were drained. If I overstayed my welcome, it might get edgy, so I thought it was best to dip out.

  “It was great to see you, and I’ll let you get back to work.”

  She tapped the table. “Okay, great. See you, Carter.”

  I watched her shapely physique walk away.

  Chapter Eight: Expansion

  I wish his face didn’t pop up all the time. That would actually make it better. It would be okay if I could just get past that point. Ever since Carter’s apology, I knew I was stepping into hot water. Once and for all, he told me what I didn’t want to hear to my face. He had no interest in me. Now, I wished more than ever that I hadn’t given my body over to him.