Ridin' Dirty: An Outlaw Author Anthology (OAMC Book 1)

by Blue Remy

  I folded my hands in my lap and stared down at them. “I don’t avoid you. I know you are there to visit with your grandma, and I don’t want to interrupt.” That was the partial truth. The other half of the truth was I never knew what to say when he talked to me. I was a bubbling mess around him.

  “I can tell you right now; Nan is only half of the reason I come once a week.”

  “Do I want to know what the other reason is?”

  “It’s you, Karmen. There’s something about you that won’t let me stay away.”

  “Were you drinking before you came to pick me up, Nickel? You’re talking crazy right now. There is nothing about me that would make you want to stay.”

  “I think that’s the ultimate turn on for me, baby. The fact that you have no idea how sexy you are and how much I want to take off all your clothes right now and have my way with you. The only way you could call me crazy is because you drive me crazy with your sweet, sexy innocence.”

  I ducked my head down, embarrassed by what he was saying. None of this made sense right now. “You’re crazy,” I mumbled.

  “Just for you, baby. Now scoot on over here and watch these fireworks with me.” He patted the spot next to him, beckoning me to lay down next to him.

  “I can see them just fine from here,” I insisted. I looked up at the sky, seeing the sun had partially set, and it would only be a matter of minutes before they started the fireworks. I squealed when Nickel grabbed both of my legs and yanked me over to him.

  “I don’t like to say things twice, baby. I want you in my arms while we watch the fireworks,” he growled low, grabbing another blanket he had rolled up and laid down, shoving it under his head. “Lay your sweet ass down, before I make you.”

  His aggressiveness should have scared me, but I eagerly laid down next to him and rested my head on his outstretched arm. “I’m gonna have to show you what you are, baby. You are so much more than what you think.”

  I glanced up at him; his head turned down to look at me. “I’ve seen the same thing my whole life, Nickel.”

  “And what’s that you see?”

  “Nobody. There’s nothing to see.”

  He reached over, tilting my chin up. “You are the furthest thing from nothing, baby. Whoever told you that growing up was dead wrong.”

  “You don’t even know me,” I whispered.

  “I’ve watched you for a year. I know more about you than most. I see the gentle way you talk to all the patients. How you always check on my grandma when I’m there, even if you don’t come in the room, I see you walk by, making sure everything is ok. I know when you’re upset you run your fingers through your hair and twist the ends. When you’re happy, you have a smile that lights up the room, making everyone else happy. I see you, Karmen. Everything you think is missing, is shining through. Bright like the sun.” He leaned down, his lips a breath away. “You’ve become my sun this past year, and you didn’t even know it.”

  “I… I…”

  “Shh, baby. You don’t need to say anything. Just let that sink in. Everything I said, you are going to start believing.” He closed the gap between us, his lips brushing against mine.

  I moaned under the light pressure of his touch. His lips were warm and soft while his body pressed against my side was hard and unyielding. His lips claimed mine, taking what I wasn’t even sure I was ready to give.

  I reached up, threading my fingers through his hair and held on, not wanting to let go. He coaxed my lips open, sliding his tongue in.

  “Whoa! Sorry, dude,” I heard mumbled from above us right before someone came crashing down on us.

  “What the fuck?” Nickel pushed the guy off of us and pulled away from me. I sat up, patting down my hair and tried to figure out what the hell I had been thinking ten seconds ago. What the hell made me make out like a teenager in the middle of a crowded field surrounded by people. Nickel was pissed off we had been interrupted, but it was exactly what I needed to bring me back to reality.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Nickel thundered, standing up.

  The guy who had fallen on us scrambled backward like a crab trying to get away from Nickel. I glanced around, seeing everyone watching. Nickel grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet. “I’m sorry man! I didn’t see y’all there, I swear!” He held his hands up in surrender, his eyes filled with fear.

  “Next time open your eyes when you’re walking, asshole. You could have hurt someone.” Nickel tightened his grip on the guy’s shirt and shook him.

  “I will… I will totally… I totally will,” the man stuttered.

  Nickel shook his head and pushed him away. He stumbled backward almost falling onto someone else’s blanket but righted himself before he fell. He scurried away, looking over his shoulder at Nickel the whole time, making sure he wasn’t being chased.

  “What the hell was that?” I whirled around, trying to see who was talking. A tall guy with a leather cut like the one I had seen Nickel wear before walked up to us with two guys following close behind. I tried to see their patches with their names on them, but I couldn’t make any of them out.

  “Some drunk ass fell on Karmen and I. I don’t think he meant to do it, but maybe Clash could follow him for a bit.”

  “Clash, see what that hippie is up to.” The guy turned towards me, and I saw his name was Wood. The man who I assumed was Clash headed off in the direction of the drunk guy, and I turned my attention back to Nickel.

  “You sure it wasn’t anything?” Wood asked.

  Nickel ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “I’m sure. I could smell the booze on the guy’s breath.”

  “All right,” Wood nodded his head and stuck his hands in his pockets. “This place is fucking packed. You think we could sit with you?”

  “You’re fucking kidding me,” Nickel cursed.

  Wood held his hands up and chuckled. “Not trying to cock block, brother, just ain’t got anywhere else to go.”

  “You mind, baby?” Nickel asked. All eyes turned to me, and I nervously patted down my hair and shrugged my shoulders.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “At least your date has more manners than you.” Wood slapped him on the head and sat on the other end of the blanket. Thankfully Nickel had put down a big blanket because, with three big guys and me, it was full.

  Nickel wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’m sorry, baby. This isn’t how I imagined this night to go,” he whispered into my ear.

  “It’s ok,” I quietly replied. I turned my head, looking up at him and smiled.

  His lips descended on mine, and he stole a quick kiss. “I knew you were special, baby girl.” He kissed me one last time, his lips lingering. I could tell he wanted more and so did I. “You live with your girl?”

  “Um, what?” I asked, dazed from his kiss.

  “Your friend from work; you live with her? I heard her in your apartment before I knocked.”

  “Oh, Nikki you mean. No, she just came over after work for a second,” I lied.

  “Good.”

  “Yo, you got any beer left?” the guy who Nickel hadn’t introduced yet asked.

  Nickel pulled away, his eyes not leaving mine. “Check the bottom of the cooler.”

  “Nice,” he mumbled, digging through the cooler. “So, you gonna introduce us to your girl, or you just gonna be an ass?”

  Nickel shook his head and laughed. He tore his eyes off me and looked at his friends. “I’m pretty sure Karmen doesn’t need to know you two assholes.”

  “Hey, Hop here resembles that remark,” Wood laughed.

  “Haha, yuck it up, dipshits.” Hop grabbed three beers out of the cooler and handed them out.

  “That asshole with his hand in the cooler is Hop,” Hop nodded his head at me and took a long pull off his beer. “And that guy sitting next to you is Wood. He’s the president of the Asphalt Lords.”

  Oh, crap. I was sitting next to the president of the club. I ha
d no idea what to say or do. “Hey,” I croaked out, lamely waving at them.

  Wood threw his head back and laughed while Hop smirked at me. “How the hell did you manage to get this sweet girl to agree to go out with you?”

  “Wasn’t fucking easy. It took me a year and about one hundred dollars in donuts,” Nickel laughed, smiling down at me.

  “You made him wait a year, darlin’?”

  My face blushed red, and I buried my face into Nickel’s chest. “She totally made him wait. Son of a bitch, I think I like this one,” Wood laughed.

  “Shut the fuck up and watch the fireworks,” Nickel said, annoyed. “You ok, baby? I can tell these guys to leave if you want.”

  I shook my head no, not wanting Nickel to have to choose between his friends and me. “I’m OK. I just didn’t expect them to ask that.”

  “Yeah, these assholes don’t have any manners. You’ll get used to it.” He brushed a quick kiss on my lips and laid back down on the edge of the blanket. He stretched his arm out again, and I put my head on it, curling into his body.

  Wood and Hop leaned back, drinking beer and talking.

  A loud boom sounded, making me jump. “What the hell was that?”

  “That would be Pyro. He always does a countdown. I bet he’ll do one each minute until the fireworks start.”

  “He scared the crap out of me, “I laughed, realizing I had thrown my leg over Nickel and was holding on tight to him.

  “I’ll keep you safe, baby,” Nickel promised.

  I rested my head back on his arm and wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.

  Chapter SIX

  Nickel

  The fireworks were close to being over and all the “ohs” and “ahs” Karmen was making at each display was going straight to my dick. All I wanted to do was toss her on the back of my bike and head back to her house where I could have my way with her.

  “Oh, look at that one!” She pointed up to the sky as the huge firework crackled off leaving light trails in the sky.

  I had never seen her so happy and carefree before. She had a grin permanently on her face the whole time, beaming up at the sky. When she wasn’t pointing up in the sky, she would rest her hand on my stomach. Every time she moved her hand, it took all my willpower not to grab it and rest it back on me.

  “Here comes the finale, baby.”

  She turned her head at me, her eyes huge, “You mean it’s going to get better than this?” she asked, shocked.

  “Hell yeah. You haven’t seen one of Pyro’s finales. You’re going to love it.”

  She turned her attention back to the sky, amazed. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen someone so amazed by something so simple. Karmen had an innocence about her that scared the living shit out of me. I was so jaded and hardened from all the shit I had seen that watching Karmen made me stop and see things through her eyes.

  “That was incredible! I had no idea you could make fireworks into shapes.” She looked up at me, her eyes wide with excitement and a grin spread across her face.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty fucking cool, baby. You ready to get out of here?”

  “It’s going to take forever to get out of here,” she looked around, watching everyone pack up their blankets and shit.

  “Not on my bike, baby.” I stood up, holding my hand out to her. She grabbed it, and I hoisted her up and kissed the top of her head. “Wait right here,” I said, walking her over to the corner of the blanket.

  “Leave the fucking blanket. We’re going to wait for Pyro to get done. He’s got Ginny with him tonight, and she’s always got friends who are always up for a good time.” Wood laid down on the blanket, sprawling out.

  “Thanks, brother. There should be a couple of more beers in the cooler. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”

  I grabbed Karmen’s hand and led her through the massive crowd that was slowly surging to the parking lot. Karmen was glued to my back, not wanting to get crushed by the crowd. We passed several brothers who were at the fireworks with their families. I nodded my head at each of them, not wanting to stop for small talk. I saw them every day in the clubhouse, right now I was focused on getting out of here with Karmen.

  We made it to the bike, and I quickly strapped the helmet on her head and straddled the bike. She scrambled on behind me and wrapped her arms tight around my waist.

  “Hold on, baby girl.”

  She rested her chin on my shoulder and kissed my neck. “I will,” she whispered into my ear.

  A tremor rocked through my body at her touch, and I cranked up the bike, revving the engine. That was the first time she had willingly touched me, and it drove me insane.

  I maneuvered the bike through the cars that were at a standstill waiting to get on the road, and pulled onto the street.

  “Wow, I guess driving your bike tonight was a good idea,” she laughed.

  “I wouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief yet; we still need to get around the long line of cars in front of us,” I pointed out.

  “Go down the next side street. We can take the back way to my house.”

  I spotted the next street up, “Hold on.” I revved the engine, deciding there was more than enough room to squeeze in between the stopped cars. Karmen squealed, and ducked her head in my back and wrapped her arms around me tighter.

  After we had maneuvered around the cars, we shot down the side street headed back to her house.

  “Man, even though it’s over eighty degrees it sure does get cold on your bike.” She slid off the motorcycle, unhooked her helmet and rubbed her arms.

  I grabbed the helmet from her hand and hung it on the handle bars. “Sorry, baby. I should have told you to bring a sweatshirt.” I swung my leg over the bike and leaned against it.

  “Um, so I had a good time tonight. Minus the whole getting trampled on by that drunk guy. Your friends seem nice.”

  “They’re more than friends, baby. They’re my brothers. I’d do anything for them.”

  “Oh, well. It’s nice that you have people like that in your life.” Her eyes darted to the left, not wanting to make eye contact with me. I knew there was more to Karmen than what I had seen the past year. There was something beneath the surface that I don’t think anyone saw.

  “You got anyone like that in your life, baby?” I pulled a cigarette out of the pack in my pocket and grabbed my lighter.

  “Those will kill you,” she said as I lit the end.

  “So will fifty million other things,” I smirked. I blew out a cloud of smoke away from her and stared her down. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “You don’t always need people in your life.”

  “Seems pretty lonely. What about your girl? The one who works with you.”

  “Nikki? I’ve known her since I was fourteen. She’s a friend.”

  “What about your family?”

  “I don’t have any family. I’m freezing, I’m going to head in.” She turned around and headed to the front door.

  What the hell just happened? “That’s it? Not even a goodbye?” I called.

  “I’m not saying goodbye. I’m just going in. I never said you couldn’t come in,” she said over her shoulder, a smile spread across her lips.

  Well, I’ll be damned. She wasn’t blowing me off after all. I grabbed the keys out of the ignition and followed Karmen through the door and up the stairs to her apartment.

  “You want some coffee?” she asked, opening the door and tossing her purse and keys on the table next to the door.

  “Sure,” I said, shutting the door. I looked around her apartment, taking in the small touches that I could tell were glimpses into who Karmen was.

  She slipped into the kitchen, kicking her shoes off on the way. I heard her putter around, grabbing mugs down and running the water.

  “You can turn the TV or radio on if you want,” she called.

  I walked over to the radio and hit play on the CD player, wondering what kind of music she listened to. Bob Segar came po
uring out of the speakers singing “Turn the Page.” “Baby, you listen to Segar?” I asked, amazed. I imagined she listened to some indie, whino band.

  “Yeah, I like classic rock. Segar, Doobie Brothers, Tom Petty.”

  Huh, didn’t expect that. “I didn’t imagine someone your age to like that kind of music.”

  Her laughter bubbled out of the kitchen, “How old do you think I am?”

  Oh, shit. This could be a loaded question. “Twenty-three.” Better to go lower than high.

  “Nope. Close, though. I’m twenty-five.” She walked out of the kitchen carrying a cup and handed it to me.

  “You’re not having some?” I asked, grabbing the cup.

  “It’s a Keurig. My cup is brewing right now.” She sat down on the end of the couch and folded her legs underneath her. “I’m surprised you picked the radio instead of the TV.”

  “I don’t watch a lot of TV. I’m always out doing something for the club, so I don’t have time to get caught up in shows.” I sat down on the other end of the couch and took a sip of my coffee. Strong and black. Just the way I liked it.

  “Hmm,” she hummed, folding her hands in her lap. I watched her nervously fidget, not knowing where to look. The carefree girl from the park had disappeared and shy, nervous Karmen was back.

  “Why’d you run when I asked you about your family?” Probably not the best question to ask when she was pulling away from me, but I wanted to know.

  “I didn’t run; they’re just not something I wish to talk about. My mom left when I was a baby; my dad is in jail, and my Grandma is dead.”

  “There’s no one else?” she shook her head no and walked back to the kitchen.

  I leaned back into the couch, going over what she had just said. So she had a family, but she didn’t think they were family. I had to assume her dad must have done something bad for her to say she had no family. Maybe that was why she was so guarded. It had to be hard having both parents alive, one not wanting anything to do with you and the other in jail. “I’m sorry, Karmen,” I called.

  “Nothing to be sorry for. I obviously didn’t win the parent lotto,” she laughed, walking back into the living room. She sat back down on the couch and stared down at her coffee cup. God dammit. One second Karmen was open and talking to me and then the next second she shut down and wouldn’t even look at me.