Tempted: The Numb MC

by Olivia Stephens

  “Are you going home now?” Kristina asked the moment he had dropped her off.

  “Yes,” he said shortly.

  “Did you have dinner?”

  “Not yet,” Keith replied. “I’m gonna go get something right now.”

  Kristina was about to suggest that they get something together, but she had the strange feeling that he would turn her down. “Ok,” she nodded. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”

  “Yeah,” Keith nodded. “I’ll see you at Lee and Seton on Monday.”

  “You’re not going to be hiking tomorrow?” Kristina asked. “Or Sunday?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Keith said, as he put his helmet back on. “I’m kinda sick of hiking actually. Might avoid it from now on.”

  Kristina wasn’t sure why she felt so hurt by that statement. She nodded once and took a step back. “Guess I’ll see you at Lee and Seton then.”

  Keith nodded once, and then he was gone, speeding away, leaving Kristina standing there in his dust.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Keith

  Keith hated the lingo his life was fast becoming. He knew what he should do, and he knew what he wanted to do, and they were two entirely different things. He spent time with Kristina because he simply could not help himself, but his mind was never at ease. The only thing he could think of to do was to avoid touching her. He knew that if he touched her, he would be tempted to kiss her, and if he kissed her, then it would be all over.

  Lying in his bed, Keith remembered the night before and their strange and silent movie date that wasn’t actually a date. He had been the one who suggested they go together, but it was mostly because spending time with Kristina in public was the only thing he could condone. If they were in public, he was less likely to push her up against the nearest flat surface and fuck her until she screamed his name.

  It had been difficult last night however. Even though people surrounded them, Keith’s mind was on her the whole night. Instead of concentrating on the movie they were watching, his mind kept imagining a number of different circumstances in which he and Kristina were locked together, breathing deeply and completely naked.

  He kept imagining what it would feel like to slip his hand underneath her dress while her eyes were trained on the screen. He imagined her eyes would go wide with surprise, but he felt sure that she would not push him away. His mind went wild with possibilities, as he imagined sliding his fingers into her until she was good and wet. Perhaps he would have even made her come amidst the crowded theatre.

  His mind would veer off in those directions, and with the greatest difficulty, he would pull himself back and try and focus on the movie. It didn’t help the situation that there was a couple sitting a few rows down playing tongue hockey. Keith tried to ignore them, but even when they were outside his line of vision, he could still sense them close by, almost as though arousal was contagious.

  Every so often he would glance at Kristina, but she never once looked in his direction. He wondered if it was because she simply didn’t want to look at him, or if it was because she was completely engrossed in the movie. Even in near darkness, she was so pretty, and Keith cursed himself again for being so weak that he could not stay away from her. It should have been easy, especially given what happened to Natalie, but for some reason, Keith’s iron will had turned to putty.

  He had made some small amount of progress last night when he had informed Kristina that he was giving up on the hikes that they had come to enjoy together. It had made him feel like a complete asshole when he saw her face fall, but he had stopped himself from taking back the words. Instead, he had revved his engine and taken off into the night, leaving her in his wake.

  Keith got out of bed, and after a quick shower, he rode down to Seton and Lee Motors. It was Sunday, so there would be no chance of seeing Kristina there. He ignored the little kernel of disappointment and walked into Miles’s office. Miles was already there, looking through a bunch of papers with a frown on his face.

  “Hi,” Keith greeted, as he sat down opposite Miles.

  “You’re here early,” Miles observed, raising his head.

  “I could say the same about you,” Keith pointed out.

  “I can’t seem to get any sleep with the baby, so I figured while I was awake I’d get some work done,” Miles said.

  “How is little Mike?”

  “He’s got a set of lungs on him,” Miles said. “But he’s great.”

  “And Erica?”

  “Happy and tired,” Miles said. “But worried all the same.”

  “Because of the charters?”

  “That and Kovic,” Miles explained. “The Chains are becoming a real danger.”

  “You told her about that?” Keith asked.

  “I had to,” Miles sighed. “She always knows when something’s up… especially when it comes to the Dragons.”

  “How are things going on that front?”

  “Things are looking complicated,” Miles said, with his eyes full of worry. “But I haven’t really heard much about Kovic recently. I don’t know what game he’s playing.”

  “The lowest one possible,” Keith said through gritted teeth. “That motherfucker plays dirty.”

  “I’m aware—and that’s what I’m afraid of,” Miles said. “Timothy is staying with us until this whole thing blows over.”

  “Timothy?”

  “Erica’s brother,” Miles explained. “He’s a big guy, and he can protect her and the baby if any of the Chains happen to be close by when I’m not around.”

  Keith felt his chest grow cold. “You think they’d actually do that?”

  “This is Kovic we’re talking about, Keith,” Miles reminded him. “You, more than anyone, should know what he’s capable of. And he did make the threat, didn’t he?”

  “He did,” Keith said, remembering his last encounter with Kovic. He had been left bruised and bloodied by the side of the road, and it was Kristina who had found and helped him. “Kristina,” he said under his breath.

  “What was that?” Miles asked raising his eyebrows.

  “Nothing.”

  “Did you just say Kristina?”

  “I… yes,” Keith said unable to backtrack.

  “You have been seeing her, haven’t you?”

  “It’s not like that,” Keith rushed to explain. “We’re just friends.”

  Miles looked at him skeptically. “I’m serious. We’ve spent the last few weeks together…and sex has not been involved.”

  Miles looked as though he wasn’t sure if he could believe Keith.

  “I’m not lying, Miles,” Keith said. “I said I didn’t want another relationship—and that hasn’t changed.”

  “It’s your life Keith,” Miles said. “And it’s your choice. Just… be careful. Kristina is not used to this life.”

  “I know that.”

  “And there is a possibility that she could get caught in its cross hairs.”

  “I know that, too,” Keith said, as he nodded grimly.

  Miles nodded and said no more on the subject. Within an hour the whole gang had come together for the meeting, and everyone congregated together in the largest room at Seton and Lee Motors, the one that had become known as the Meeting Room.

  Keith found it hard to concentrate on anything Miles or anyone else said throughout the entire meeting. His thoughts kept falling to Natalie, and from Natalie they inevitably led to Kristina. He had to put some distance between them, but with Kovic’s threat still ringing in his ear, he wondered how he was going to manage that without being close to her.

  After the meeting had been adjourned, Keith got on his bike and headed towards his mother’s house. He wasn’t sure if he needed to talk or not; all he knew was that he needed some sense of familiarity, some sense of comfort that would hopefully lend him some clarity. Emma was in the garden, pruning her hedges, when Keith pulled up.

  “Keith,” she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. “I didn�
�t expect you today.”

  “Am I interrupting?”

  “Don’t be silly,” Emma said shaking her head. “Come inside, let’s get out of the sun.”

  Keith settled into the sofa while his mother brought them some lemonade. It amazed him how the same place could hold such competing memories. He remembered the time that his father had left town for a few days and his mother had baked him a cake and celebrated his birthday so that it could be just the two of them. In the same spot, a few years later Keith remembered how his father had stood over Emma and threatened to squeeze her neck till her eyes popped out.

  “What are you thinking of so hard Keith?” Emma asked, as she came into the room with a pitcher of lemonade.

  “Just… stuff.”

  “You’ve seemed awfully distracted lately… as though there’s always something on your mind.”

  “It’s just the gang war,” Keith said.

  “No, it’s not,” Emma said surprisingly.

  “What?”

  “I know you, son,” Emma said with a smile. “There’s something other than the gang war that’s got you concerned.”

  Keith hesitated for a moment.

  “Does it have something to do with Natalie?” Emma asked cautiously, knowing that Keith hated to talk about her. “Is this upcoming conflict bringing up bad memories?"

  Keith nodded slowly. “I suppose so….”

  “Do you still have dreams about her?” Emma asked gently.

  “Not anymore,” Keith said, realizing that it had been quite a while since he dreamed of Emma. “I still dream… but they’re different now.”

  “Have you ever…” Emma started, and then she faltered somewhat before her sentence died away completely.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Mom,” Keith coaxed. “What were you about to ask?”

  “Well, I just wondered if… you might be a little happier… if you met someone?” Emma suggested.

  Keith felt his face grow hard, but he kept his tone gentle. “What makes you think I’m not happy?"

  “It’s in your eyes, Keith,” Emma said calmly. “There’s no true contentment there. The only thing that I can recognize is pain and loss and bitterness. I understand you’ve been through a lot, and I understand that has made you protective of your heart… but there’s no point closing yourself off to every opportunity that comes your way.”

  “I see women,” Keith shrugged.

  “You sleep with women,” Emma said, giving him a pointed look. “Don’t think I am under any delusions as to what that kind of relationship really is. You’re just hiding, Keith.”

  “Hiding from what?”

  “From life,” Emma said bluntly. “You’re scared to get hurt again, so you’re refusing to live.”

  “I’m refusing to have a relationship with anyone,” Keith corrected her. “That’s only a part of life.”

  “It’s the most important part of life, son,” Emma said gently. “The whole point of it is to find someone you can trust, someone you can live your life with, someone to share in your joys and sorrows.”

  “It didn’t exactly work out for you did it, Mom?” Keith asked. “You bought into that whole romantic notion, and what did you get for it? An abusive husband and bruises all over your body.”

  “You’re forgetting the most important part,” Emma said with a smile.

  Taken back, Keith looked at her questioningly. “What did I miss?”

  “You,” Emma said. “I got you. It’s true I didn’t have a good husband, but I got the best son a mother could hope for.”

  “That’s sad,” Keith said, turning his gaze downward.

  “Why?” Emma asked. “Because I don’t have a man in my life? The beauty of it is that I can find one if and when I choose to.”

  “So can I,” Keith pointed out. “If and when I choose to.”

  “Yes, but the difference is that I am not scared,” Emma said gently. “You are.”

  “Can you blame me?”

  “Not at all,” Emma said with understanding. “I’m just letting you know that it is worth the risk.”

  “Noted,” Keith said finally after a long pause.

  He understood where his mother was coming from, but she had never lost anyone she loved that much. She had not lost the love of her life, and so Keith felt as though in this matter, he needed to rely on his own judgment and no one else’s. He wished that he could just go over to Kristina’s place. He wasn’t even looking for sex; he just wanted to be in her company. Of course, sex would also have been nice, but he knew that was a gray area. Just thinking about it made Keith’s dick perk up a little. The only thing that stopped a full on hard-on was the fact that he was in his mother’s house, sitting across from her.

  He turned his mind to other things, and he felt his thoughts turn in a different direction. “Do you think that Natalie would still be alive today if I had… chosen a different life?” Keith asked.

  “Oh, Keith,” Emma said softly. “Don’t look back now. It’s the surest way of saying goodbye to sanity.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kristina

  Kristina left Seton and Lee Motors in a fog of disappointment. She had not seen Keith all day, and she had been sure he would be in the auto shop at some point during the day. She had been on the verge of asking Miles where he was, but then she had stopped herself at the last moment. She was sure that Miles would tell Keith she had asked after him, and she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

  The wrong idea in question would have been completely accurate in this case, considering that Kristina’s infatuation for Keith only seemed to be growing. She thought about him constantly, and when her doubt took over, she would take to going over the moments they had shared together and analyzing every little smile and look. It was only in her bed at night that she allowed herself to think of the two times Keith had fucked her.

  “Leaving Kris?” Tucker asked, as she passed him on her way out.

  Since starting work at Lee and Seton she had come to know some of the bikers that passed through the garage. Some were polite and distant, and others were friendlier, like Tucker. He was tall and muscled, his skin was a pale bronze and his eyes seemed to match the hue perfectly. He was perhaps the friendliest of all the bikers, and by far the most talkative.

  He had initiated conversation with Kristina one morning, and from then on, they had always shared a pleasant rapport that had helped her feel less out of place in her new job.

  “Yeah Tucker,” she said. “Done for the day.”

  “How was work?”

  “Slow,” Kristina replied.

  “I don’t know why you work here,” Tucker said, shaking his head. “You’re a college kid; you could do anything else.”

  Kristina smiled. “I wanted to do something different.”

  “Being a receptionist is different?” Tucker asked incredulously.

  Kristina sighed, realizing that the difference she was talking about had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with Keith. “I guess not,” she said.

  Tucker walked over to where she was. “Something bothering you?” he asked with concern.

  Kristina tried to smooth out her expression. “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look it,” Tucker said bluntly.

  “Hey cum-bucket!” one of the older bikers with a heavy mustache called out. “Leave the poor girl alone and let her get on with her day.

  Kristina couldn’t help but smile. “Cum-bucket?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

  Tucker didn’t look the least bit embarrassed by his unusual nickname. “When I was a kid I used to masturbate into a bucket,” he said with a mischievous smile. “Then I used to take the bucket outside and wash it out so that my parents would never know.”

  “Wow,” Kristina said. “You covered your tracks. Couldn’t you have just flushed it down the toilet?”

  Tucker laughed. “I was convinced that my parents would know if it was an
ywhere in the house. I didn’t think washing it down the sink or flushing it down the toilet would help. I thought they’d be able to smell it in the air. Hence the bucket.”

  “And you told this to your friends?” Kristina asked.

  Tucker shrugged. “It’s a good story… and we were sharing stuff.”