The Men of CCD: Help Wanted

by Marie Rochelle

  For the rest of the night, Jim talked to Keira about a variety of topics from sports, television shows and their favorite meal besides hot wings. He couldn’t get over what a good time he was having and it surprised him that he didn’t want it to end, but he had to get Keira back home. It was almost ten o’clock and the ride from the bar back to Keira’s house was close to an hour.

  “Are you ready to go?” Jim asked as Keira wiped her hands on a napkin.

  “Yes, I’m ready.” She tossed the napkin on the empty plate in front of them. “The food was delicious. You have to tell Dante how much I enjoyed it. Do you think that you’re okay to drive your bike?” Keira got out of the booth and stood by the side of the table.

  “Yeah, I’ve been eating and I didn’t even finish my beer. You’re safe in my hands. I promise you will get back home all in one piece,” Jim said as he slid out of the booth.

  Taking her by the elbow, he led her towards the front entrance. “Thank you for coming with me. I had a good time.”

  “Did you really?” Keira was surprised by his confession. “I didn’t think we talked about a lot of stuff over dinner.”

  “That’s why I had such a nice time. The whole evening is what I need from all of the problems I have going on around me.” Jim pushed opened the door, escorted her outside and over to his motorcycle. “This is the first time in a very long time I didn’t mind eating dinner with someone else at Dante’s. I thought when we had such a great time at your house it had to be a fluke, but I’m beginning to see that it wasn’t.”

  Keira wondered what Jim was talking about. Why was he thinking about her in a different way now? Was she hearing what she thought she was? Or was she reading more into the situation than Jim was giving to her? Since she really wasn’t sure about what was going on she pushed the wandering thoughts from her head.

  There was nothing going on between the two of them. She was allowing Charisma and the rest of them to get into her mind way too much. Jim and she would never have anything romantic between them.

  “Keira, here’s your helmet.” Jim touched her on the arm making her look at him. “Are you listening to me?”

  “Yes, I hear you,” she answered placing the helmet on her head. “We should be hitting the road. I have an early morning appointment tomorrow.”

  Climbing on the bike, Jim put on his black helmet and waited while she got on the back. “I can’t let the princess miss her beauty sleep now can I?”

  Jim started the motorcycle and sped off before Keira could even say a word, but she had more important subjects on her mind. So she allowed Jim’s comment to go right over her head. She would deal with him later when she had more time.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Do you really think that Jim and Keira will end up together?” True asked as she joined the other couples at the picnic table. “The two of them are so strong-willed.”

  “I have faith that the more time Jim spends around Keira and gets to know her, the attraction between them will only get hotter and hotter until the love will appear without them knowing it,” Dave added.

  “Is that how you fell for me?” Charisma folded her arms over her breasts and stared at him

  “No, I’m saying that is how you fell in love with me.” Dave grinned back at his wife.

  “I can’t believe you.” Charisma rolled her eyes, but everyone at the table heard the love in her voice.

  “I think if we push them too much it will back fire in our faces. I would hate for the two of them to resent us later if there is no chemistry between them. Maybe we shouldn’t force something that might not be there,” Jenisha said.

  “Sweetheart, I know that Jim is attracted to Keira,” Clinton said. “I know the look when I see it. I saw it with Hayward when he looked at True and Dave had the same expression when he used to watch Charisma. We just need to let them move at their own pace,”

  “Clinton, I only want Keira to be like her old self. I’m sure that Jim can bring it out of her,” Charisma added, concern in her soft voice. She missed her outgoing best friend and wanted her back more than anything in the world. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “No, there isn’t. However, I think we should let Keira move at her own pace. A lot has happened to her in a short amount of time. She needs time to digest everything. I’m sure the old Keira that we all love will be back before any of us know it.”

  “I hope so.” True added knowing how much Charisma missed the way Keira used to be with them.

  “Let me say something,” Hayward interrupted finally jumping into the conversation after listening to what everyone else had to say. “I know that when I went away to live in Montana, I wasn’t interested in hearing anyone’s opinion. It was my life and I was going to live it anyway that I wanted. I was positive I was going to be alone until a sexy woman moved next door to me. She kept coming around until I couldn’t go a day without seeing her.”

  “You better be talking about me or you’re in some deep trouble,” True teased, smiling at her husband who was sitting across from her.

  “Of course, you’re the woman I talking about,” Hayward retorted with a wink. “I don’t know how my life would be now without True and the boys. They are the world to me. All I’m trying to say is don’t force the situation between Jim and Keira. I’m not blind. I see the attraction too, but if we try to force it, they will work harder at denying it.”

  “I understand your point of view,” Charisma admitted, “but I just feel so bad that all of us have found the love of our lives and Keira is alone. Have you noticed that she avoids coming to our parties now? She never used to be like that with us. I think she feels like the third wheel or something. She’s my dearest friend and I want her around.”

  “Hmmm, I believe Keira turns down our invitations because of Jim. She knows she’s drawn to him and is trying to not be around him at every turn. I think it’s kind of cute,” Jenisha said and then took a sip of her juice.

  “How about we drop the Jim and Keira topic for a little while and just enjoy the rest of our day since our children are at daycare and we have this time to ourselves,” Dave suggested wrapping his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

  “Sounds good to us,” the other couples agreed at the table.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Do you know how much it will cost to store these bikes while I redo the interior of the shop?” Jim wandered around the shop pointing out to Dante the six bikes on display. He had three to fix before the end of the month, but he couldn’t seem to keep his mind focused on work since his date with Keira. He really had an unbelievable time with her. He was waiting for the right time to ask her out again.

  She hadn’t been around the shop in the last two days and he wondered if she was avoiding him. He was going to track her down after Dante left. He enjoyed their date too much not to go for another one.

  “Why don’t you store them at my house in the garage? I seldom use it and it has more than enough room for all of them. You know that I had it redone last year when I had all of those trees and debris removed from the back.”

  “Are you sure?” Jim was shocked. He didn’t want to put Dante out by putting all of these motorcycles on his property.

  “I couldn’t have got my club without your help. Yeah, you can keep them there as long as you want. I want to repay the favor.”

  “Well, I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ll rent a big enough u-haul and get the guys to help me bring them over there.”

  “Will Keira be with you?” Dante asked.

  “Why are you asking about Keira?” Jim looked at Dante with a lethal calmness in his eyes and a hint of suspicion in his voice. Dante didn’t need to be bothering Keira. He wasn’t the kind of man she needed in her chaotic life at the moment. She had enough going on without adding Dante and his playboy ways into it. He would put a stop to his friend’s sudden interest. He thought he had already taken care of this at the club, but he guessed he was wrong.

  “I was only
asking about her. Keira is a nice-looking woman. I wouldn’t mind asking her out unless the two of you really have something going on. I know that she was with you at the club, but I didn’t sense anything romantic between the two of you.”

  Jim hesitated, his emotions conflicted. He wasn’t sure what to tell Dante about his relationship or lack of it with Keira. All he knew was that he didn’t want Dante around her while he was trying to figure it out.

  “I would rather you not ask her out,” Jim admitted, honestly.

  Dante arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying Keira might pull you out of the dating slump you’ve been in?”

  “I don’t know for sure. All I can say is that I like being around her.”

  “Enough said,” Dante replied, holding up his hand. “I won’t let that thought enter my mind again. She’s all yours.”

  “I can’t say Keira is all mine because we haven’t gotten that far yet. I only know she makes me want to be around her more and more. I never got those feelings with Kathy.”

  “How did you stay married to her for so long? I know I wouldn’t have made it as long as you did.”

  “I did it for Trevor. I would do anything for my son I made a vow to myself to hang onto my marriage for Trevor’s sake, but Kathy’s cheating got too much for me to handle. I had to let her go before the situation drove me crazy.”

  “I understand what you’re saying. If I had kids, I would do the same thing.” Dante got up from his seat and headed for the door. “I better leave. I have a delivery coming in about an hour and I want to be at the club to get it. Good luck with Keira. From what I can tell she comes across like a nice girl. I wouldn’t let her go if I got her to be my woman.”

  “Thanks for your advice. I’ll remember that.” Jim waited until Dante had left before he locked up the shop and went over to Keira’s house. He was going to find out why she had been avoiding him lately.

  * * * *

  “Dr. Gearan, I don’t think I need to come in today. I’ve been doing a lot better with the nightmares,” Keira said as she tried to get out of her visit with the psychologist. Why did he keep calling her? She hadn’t been to any of the scheduled appointments yet and if she could find a way out of the rest it would make her year.

  Dr. Gearan wasn’t going to trick her into talking about the plane crash. She would get through this all by herself. She wasn’t a charity case that someone needed to take care of and was fed up with everyone not listening to what she was telling them.

  ‘Keira, you really need to see me. How do you expect to go back to work without my approval? I know how much being a flight attendant means to you. Do you really want to give all of that up because you’re too scared to see me?”

  She couldn’t deny that Dr. Gearan was telling her the truth. She loved her job. Having a career where she could travel from city to city had always been a dream of hers, so she had never thought about doing anything else but getting a job with the airlines.

  For the past nine years, she had no difficulty getting out of the bed every morning until that one horrible day. Now, it took all of her energy. Of course, she knew that she wasn’t the same woman, but a lot had happened to her in the past several months to diminish the spark in her that she loved so much. It was more of a flicker now than a flame.

  “Keira, are you still there? Will you be in to see me today? I don’t mind staying late so you can make it after my last appointment is over.”

  Talking to a shrink wasn’t going to help her with anything. She wasn’t crazy. She was the only survivor in a plane crash. She needed help, but not the kind that he wanted to give her. She didn’t need to be judged and especially not by someone who wasn’t aware of who she was as a person. Dr. Gearan was only seeing her as a name in his appointment book and nothing else.

  “No, I’m not coming. Thanks for the trying but I don’t need to talk about the accident. The less I talk about it the sooner it will go away.”

  “You can’t keep hiding from…”

  Keira hung up the phone and placed it back on the table. She wasn’t about to let some doctor give her insight into her own mind as if she wasn’t aware of what was already there.

  I’m going to take a shower and order some Chinese food. I’m not going anywhere else for the rest of the day. It wasn’t quite six o’clock yet, but she was more than ready to turn in for the night and get lost in some meaningless television program.

  Keira left the living room and was on the way to her bedroom when a knock on the front door stopped her. “Who in the world is that?” She wasn’t expecting anyone because Charisma was having a special date night with Dave while Jenisha and Clinton watched Dave Jr. She loved getting visits from her friends, but tonight truly wasn’t one of them.

  Making her way over to the door, she opened it and stared in astonishment. Why was Jim standing on her doorstep looking too sinful for words? She hadn’t seen him since he had taken her on that motorcycle ride to Dante’s He was all she could think about after he dropped her off, so she had made a conscious decision to stay away from Choppers and Jim.

  Now here he was standing in front of her looking gorgeous in all black. Was he trying to turn her on more than he already had?

  “Hi, Jim,” Keira said. “Can I help you with something?” Keep the conversation short and to the point. It would make him leave sooner and give her a chance to think more about him while he was gone.

  Jim smiled at her making his goatee even sexier. Most of her girlfriends and female co-workers hated facial hair on a man, but she had such a huge weakness for a hot guy with facial hair and Jim fell right into that category.

  “I think we are better acquaintances now that I should get more than that cold greeting, don’t you?”

  She hated to admit that Jim was right. They were almost like semi-friends now. She guessed that she could try to take some of her aloofness away when it came to him. “Sorry, come on it.” She moved back and waved Jim inside. “I had a hard day, but I shouldn’t have been so curt with you. Do you have a question about the shop?” she asked closing the front door with a click. Keira turned around and found Jim standing there right behind her.

  “No, I was worried about you.”

  “Why were you so concerned about me?” She tried to move around Jim; however, he only stepped closer to her until he had her backed against the door.

  “What are you doing?” Keira questioned, shoving at his chest. “Move out of my way. Why are you standing in my personal space?”

  Placing his hand next to her head, Jim leaned in the last few inches until his chest was brushing hers. “Do I make you nervous? Is that the reason you have been hiding in this house most of the day?”

  Keira was at a loss for words. Jim coming to her house like this had truly taken her off guard plus he seemed to be peering at her so intently like he wasn’t going to leave until he got an answer.

  “You’re wrong. I haven’t been hiding in here all day. I did get out for a little while, but I wasn’t aware that I had to run my daily schedule by you,” Keira said softly, her eyes narrowing at the man blocking her path.

  “When you’re confronted you sure do like showing your claws, don’t you, sweetheart?”

  There was a trace of laughter in his voice that didn’t go undetected by her.

  “I’m not scared of being confronted by you or anyone else. I only wanted to know why you cared that I wasn’t around today.”

  She wondered if Jim could hear the pounding of her heart. It felt so hard in her chest. He was bound to see how turned on she was getting with him this close to her body. Why was she so attracted to Jim one minute and hating him in the next?

  “Maybe I missed you,” he whispered tracing the side of her neck with his finger. “I’ve gotten used to you telling me how to run the shop although you don’t know a thing about motorcycles or any other bike for that matter.”

  She didn’t like how Jim was picking at her. He was enjoying making her uncomfortable. She had spent too much e
nergy dealing with that damn shrink today and it was too much to add Jim to the list. She would get rid of him so she could take her shower.

  “Jim, I think you should…” The rest of her sentence was cut off as Jim captured her mouth in a hot kiss.

  Jim placed his other hand against the side of Keira’s head and completely pressed his hard body into hers. She felt every angle as his lips took control of hers.

  Her mind reveled in the velvet warmth of his kiss as it continued to melt her bones until all she could do was wrap her arms around Jim’s wide shoulders and get lost in the sensation he was causing in her body.

  Leaving her mouth burning with fire, he kissed the beating pulse at the base of her throat. “Baby, do you know how good you taste?” he whispered against her skin. “I could go on kissing you for the rest of the night and I still wouldn’t be full.”

  Without giving her a chance to respond, Jim reclaimed her lips with his, slowly slipping his tongue inside of her mouth. The kiss sent the pit of her stomach into a wild whirlwind of passion. Before she knew what had occurred Jim swept her up into his arms and carried her over to the couch. He laid her down gently and quickly covered her body with his large warmer one without breaking their kiss.

  Placing his hands on her legs, he spread them wider causing her short red skirt to rise up above her hips. He thrust his denim covered erection against her drenched panties. She pulled at his hips trying to get him closer to her.

  “Shit, you’re so hot that you’re burning me through my jeans. I have to touch you.” Jim eased his hand between their bodies and inside her underwear.

  Keira jumped at the unexpected thickness of Jim’s fingers. She had forgotten how good it felt to have a man touching her again.

  “Oh, that’s feels so amazing,” she moaned moving her legs.

  “Let me see if I can make it any better for you.” One hard pull from Jim’s hand completely removed her soaked panties from her body. He dropped them on the floor next to the couch and worked two thick fingers inside of her.