by Brook Wilder
“Yeah, I worry that I’m a bad mother, that I’m not doing the things I should be doing,” she said.
“Well, let me tell you one thing, Junie; if you’re willing to sacrifice your own life just so a bunch of bastards don’t get to touch a hair on your son’s head, then you are damn well doing a good job.”
Junie threw her head back and chuckled lightly. Aiden just had this way of giving her the cold hard truth, and most of the time, it made perfect sense. He had that way of easing her into things, of making her feel like all her worries were baseless. Or at least, that he would be there for her while she worried about baseless things. At that moment she just wanted to kiss him, to show him how much she appreciated him being there. “You know, you have this way of making me feel like everything will be alright,” she said, planting a kiss on his forehead.
“Not too bad for a biker, huh?” he said jokingly.
“Well, no,” she said. The silence lingered in the air like stale breath.
“Junie, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Does me being a biker scare you?”
“Scare me how?” she asked.
“I know how you feel about biker gangs in general; I’m not going to pretend not to... but Junie, let’s say, you and I were to be in a relationship, would my biker status cause you to run for the hills?”
“Probably.”
“Alright.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be… there are plenty of things I can do, instead,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her.
“Like what?” she asked, the silver of her eyes flaring up.
“Like a firefighter, or an accountant,” he said. “Or a stripper.”
Junie let out a chuckle. “A stripper, huh?”
“I said firefighter. Who said stripper? I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh.”
“Ever since I was little I thought I’d become a firefighter, or a doctor, or a psychiatrist. Just someone who would be able to make a difference in somebody else’s life. But this is where I ended up, and I gotta say, the world sure has a funny way of working itself out.” The silence washed over the two of them like a wave. Junie didn’t really know what to say; she was already consumed by her own thoughts. “I would’ve made a pretty proud male stripper, though,” Aiden said again, flashing her a smirk. She threw her head back and laughed, so much that her face went red, and when she turned to look at him again, he was staring at her admiringly. “You have a nice laugh, you know that?” he said.
“And you have nice dreams.”
“Of becoming a stripper?”
“Of becoming a firefighter.”
“It’s a bit too late for that, don’t you think?”
“It’s never too late… I still haven’t given up on my dream of becoming a nurse, now, have I?” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “And it’s all because of you.”
“I don’t deserve that,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “If anything, you did all the work, you’re my role model, Junie.”
She looked at him and just smiled. Why are you so good to me? she thought to herself. But she wouldn’t dare vocalize it. She thought about what would happen after all of this was over, and whenever she remembered glimpses of their last conversation, a part of her would die a little, and she would pretend not to have remembered anything at all. She just wanted to be in his arms, to tell him that she needed him. It didn’t matter if the operation was over, all she wanted was to be with him. But she wouldn’t dare vocalize that, either.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said. His eyes were boring into her, their faces only inches apart. Junie leaned in and just froze there, and before she could withdraw her mind from its far places, Aiden’s arms were around her, and he was kissing her with a passion that made her cling to him as the only solid thing in her world. Junie’s soft lips tasted of liquor; Aiden knew it wasn’t the right time to lecture her about that, but he made a mental note of it, nonetheless. He bent down, his lips against her cheek, brushing it lightly, his touch sending shivers down her spine. Her whole body trembled. She remembered his stripper reference, and her body shivered still. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.
Their lips interlocked, and as Aiden pushed her back onto the couch, she let out a small sigh. Feeling his weight on top of her, his lips pressed against hers, his hands already finding their way under her shirt, she let her emotions run wild and dove head first into every little feeling she was experiencing. She lifted her arms over her head, letting him push her shirt off and trace kisses down her neck and to her breasts. Her hands locked behind his head, her chest rising and falling in anticipation as his hands played with the buttons of her jeans.
Aiden sat up and slowly pulled Junie’s jeans off before lowering his head and kissing the inside of her thighs. She shivered at the touch of his lips, and every kiss that made its way across her skin, up to her hips, across her stomach and up the side of her body, left goose bumps in its wake. She felt the heat inside her well up, and her breathing deepened. He leaned on one elbow, staring into her eyes, brushing the hair from her face before kissing her again. Junie surrendered into his embrace, allowing it to whisk her far, far away.
Aiden slipped his shirt off, and she helped him with his pants, feeling his hardness against the palm of her hand as she pushed down his boxers. She grabbed him, moving her hand up and down softly as he unclasped her bra. Aiden sat back, grabbing her by the arm and pulling him to her. Junie straddled him, feeling him hard against her wetness, and slowly began to grind. Aiden’s eyes closed and he groaned in satisfaction, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His lips wrapped around one nipple and then the other, sucking softly, sending shivers up and down her spine.
His hands found her hips, and he gently lifted her up until she was right on top of him. They gazed into each other’s eyes as she slid down, moaning softly as he entered her. Junie felt his every inch inside her, filling her, pulsing against her walls. When she began to move, bolts of electricity shot out through her, making her legs shake. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck as he buried his face between her breasts. He squeezed her ass as she moved, slowly, rhythmically, cherishing this moment as much as possible. Aiden alternated between kisses and nibbles, and her pace began to quicken.
Junie’s orgasm hit hard, racing through her, coursing through her veins, like waves of fire slamming against every inch of her. She moaned into his neck as her body shook against him, and still she moved. She could feel his pants, his silent groans, and she knew he was close. She moved, enthralled in the moment, and when his hands clenched down on her cheeks, she could feel him expand inside her. She squeezed down on him, and Aiden threw his head back and groaned as he exploded.
Junie collapsed against him, Aiden’s arms wrapped tight around her as he breathed heavily into her shoulder. She felt the world around her swim in and out of focus, and every inch of her screamed for more. She never wanted to let go.
Aiden began to chuckle, and she leaned back to look at him, confused. “What’s so funny?”
Aiden looked past her, then at her again. “I was just thinking, your bedroom would be a great place for round two, if you’re up for it.”
Junie smiled. “Always.”
CHAPTER 17
“Matt, honey, is that you?” Junie called out from her bedroom. She heard the sound of keys rustling at the door, so she pulled on her robe, gesturing for Aiden to stay in the room. “Matt, honey?” The front door inched open and instantly Junie’s eyes dropped a couple of inches to meet her son’s gaze. He scurried inside and started running around the TV room. “Matt, honey, can you go up to your room right now?”
“Mommy, I heard a noise… is Uncle Aiden here?!” he asked, running for the stairs.
“Um, yeah, he’s here.” Junie followed him with as much appre
hension as would result from having a naked man in her room who’s not his father. Suddenly, her bedroom door swung open, and Aiden stood there, fully dressed.
“Uncle Aiden!” Matt yelled, running to him. Aiden bent down, picked him up and spun him around.
“I’ve missed you, buddy!” he said.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Matty, honey, why don’t you go to your room? You’ve got lots of work to do,” Junie said, her eyes darting from Aiden, to Matt, and then to Aiden again.
“Fine,” Matt said, retreating to his room. Junie turned on her heel and looked at Aiden, who raised his eyebrows at her.
“That is probably the fastest I’ve seen anyone dress in my entire life,” she said, her lips barely moving. It was like whatever Aiden did, he did it to impress her, to make her feel like her life would only get better with him in it. And yet, the two of them were still at this strange place; somewhere ambiguous, the gray area between distant neighbors and fiery lovers.
“Strippers don’t just undress, you know?” he hissed. Junie chuckled again. Matt had already gone to his room, and it was just the two of them again. Junie ran downstairs to fix Matt his lunch, and when she came back, Aiden was lying on her bed with his tie loosened. She actually thought he looked pretty hot like that.
“Care to spend the night with me?” she asked, a smile settling over her face.
“I’ll think about it,” he said, rather flirtatiously. The two of them snuggled up in bed together, Junie curled up under the covers with Aiden’s arms wrapped around her. The hours dragged on and before she knew it, Junie was waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside.
“Good morning,” she said, turning to look at Aiden.
“Morning,” he smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead. “You wanna get breakfast?”
“Why don’t we just make it here? I make killer pancakes, remember?”
“Um, I’m pretty sure that was me,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
“It can always be a collective effort.”
“Alright, then.”
***
“Can I ask you a question?” Junie said, fishing around her plate for any traces of chocolate syrup.
“Shoot.”
“Are you content with where you ended up? You know, in an MC?”
“Definitely,” Aiden said, without thinking. “I did have boyish dreams just like anyone else … but being a biker, that’s what the world presented me with, and that’s what I’m passionate about.”
“So, you wouldn’t trade it for anything, anything in the world?” Junie asked.
“Anything,” he said.
Junie realized something. Aiden’s life was everything she hated, everything she stood against. But she couldn’t hate him, she couldn’t stand against him. Was this what love felt like? She was pretty sure she knew what love was, but with Aiden, something felt different. She loved him despite his flawed lifestyle, she loved him despite who he was. She recognized that their relationship was different than anything she ever experienced before. It wasn’t better or worse, just different. “I’m okay with that,” she said after a long pause.
“Are you sure about that?” Aiden asked, tilting his head to the side. Junie nodded.
“I am, I accept you for who you are, not what I’d like you to be.”
Aiden looked at Junie like she was something out of this world. The silver in his eyes flared up, and he smiled at her with such innocence, an innocence she’d never seen before. He reached his hand out to her and she grabbed it, and they sat in silence, gazing at each other. “I love you,” he said, not taking his eyes off her.
***
“Are you sure this was a good idea?” Amy asked, raising an eyebrow at Jon-Boy.
“Absolutely positive,” he said, his eyes fixated on a black box-like structure. He held it in his hands, inspecting it like a surgeon would his patient. “This is beautiful,” he said again, his eyes wide.
“So the craftsman did a good job?” Amy asked, her head cocked to the side.
“I think you’re underestimating what a good craftsman can do,” he said, examining the wires. They stood out like rainbows; Amy couldn’t even stand looking at them. The bomb looked like the one people saw in the movies, and that didn’t quite sit well with Amy. But she decided she was going to trust Jon-Boy. It wasn’t like she had any other choice.
“So the timer is working?” she asked again, a worried look on her face.
“Yes, Amy, the timer is working,” Jon-Boy said, rolling his eyes. “Do you really think I would go get us bogus supplies?”
“Oh, I don’t know… then why did you ask for my help in the first place?” Jon-Boy didn’t answer her. The tension between them was building; Amy wasn’t sure if it made her uncomfortable, or if she was actually enjoying it. Jon-Boy wasn’t paying her that much attention; his fingers were dancing around the wires, looking for any faults, trying to make sure the whole thing was perfect. And it had to be. There was no room for error, no space for faults. One wrong move and they could all wind up dead.
“We asked for your help because you dated a fucking Marine before,” Jon-Boy said. “We’d be stupid not to ask for your input on something like this.”
“And was I of any use?” she asked, folding both arms across her chest. If it was one thing Amy hated, it was when people belittled her.
“Yes, you were,” Jon-Boy said. “Are you happy now?”
“Ecstatic,” she said, averting her gaze to the window. She got up and closed the drapes; she couldn’t risk anyone seeing them while they were in there. “Where do you think we should plant this thing?” she asked, slumping down on the beanbag across from him.
“In the basement, of course,” he said. “You shake the foundations of the place and then the whole thing comes crashing down.” He threw his hands up in the air and wiggled his fingers, as if to simulate some kind of an explosion. Amy just stared at him, not really sure how to react.
“We should start thinking of our strategy, how we’re going to break in there,” she said, ignoring his boyish displays of excitement.
“Our number one strategy is to distract them,” he said, reaching for the remote control. But it wasn’t any kind of remote control, it was the one used to set off the bomb.
“Don’t play around with that,” Amy said, jumping in her place. For a moment she thought she would make a run for it. Jon-Boy was so obscure sometimes that he made it hard for Amy to trust him.
“It looks to me that you think I’m an idiot,” he said, matter of factly. “Do you think I’m an idiot, Amy?”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” she said, looking away. “I’m just finding it uncomfortable that I’m within a two foot radius from a handmade bomb, can you blame me?”
“Well, you’re a beginner, so, no.”
Amy got up and started pacing. She thought about what would happen if she were to fuck up. She couldn’t quite vocalize how she was feeling, or the fears that were slowly clawing their way out of her subconscious. It had occurred to her that maybe it wasn’t her place to be doing this, but then she cursed herself, thinking that it was too late to back out now.
“What’s going on with you now?” he asked, almost annoyed.
“Nothing, I’m just thinking,” she said.
“About?”
“Alright, so, when you said we’re going to distract them, did you mean we’re going to lure them out of there before we break in, or?”
“What I meant is that you’re going to distract them,” he said, not looking at her.
“Me? Why me?” she asked, her head cocked to the side. “How do you want me to distract them?”
“Why don’t you ask your sister?” he said. Amy was started to get annoyed at how passive aggressive he was being.
“I haven’t talked to Junie about that… we don’t like to bring it up,” she said, her jaw clenched.
“Why not? I mean, you kind of are in the same boat now.” There was
silence. Amy didn’t even bother replying to him. She just shook her head and turned around, trying not to pay him any attention. She could feel his eyes on her, like they were boring into her. But she ignored him, still. She didn’t know whether he was genuinely trying to be mean to her, or if this was just his sick way of hitting on her. Either way, she was growing sick of it. It was too bad she found him attractive.
“We just don’t talk about it because I don’t know what she did to lure those guys out of the bar,” she said after a long pause. Her back was still to Jon-Boy, and she could feel him rise to his feet and walk up to her. So she turned around.
“What do you think she did?” he asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t wanna know,” she said, folding both arms across her chest and shifting her weight to one leg. She leaned back, away from him, eyeing him as his thoughts seemed to surface.
