HORIZON MC

by Clara Kendrick

  “You never know.”

  “It’s a purse. If I left it at a bar overnight, it’s not going to be there in the morning. No point obsessing about it.”

  I laughed. “That’s a pretty low opinion of my bar.”

  “Can I enjoy my hangover in peace, please?”

  “I was just going.” I tipped an imaginary hat to her and swung a leg over my bike, not even looking back as I zoomed out of the parking lot.

  I didn’t go right back to the bar, though. I steered my handlebars to some wide-open roads, just to feel the wind in my hair, the sun on my skin. What in the hell had happened to me? I wasn’t used to being so unsure of myself, but Katie really threw me for a loop. It felt good to be out on a ride, even if the tires rolling on the pavement didn’t give me any clear answers about how I should proceed.

  It was already past noon by the time I got to the bar.

  “Hey!” I called, letting myself in through the front door. “Brody? Jack? Anyone here yet?”

  “Office!” Jack’s answer floated out to me from the back of the bar.

  I left my helmet on the bar and walked over to the open door, next to the bathrooms. It wasn’t the most glamorous place for the office, but it worked. “What are you up to?”

  “Just waiting for you to get here so you could debrief.” Jack looked up from a spreadsheet he’d been going over with a highlighter. “How’d last night go?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Nothing?” The raised eyebrows told me he didn’t believe me.

  “I got her back to her motel, where she proceeded to vomit everywhere.”

  Jack winced. “Bad luck.”

  “Good luck, actually. I didn’t want to sleep with her.”

  “See, this is the part you’re going to have to really explain to me. Use small words. Pretend I’m an idiot, or at least someone who doesn’t understand how you could let a sure thing get away like that.” Jack studied me. “Chuck thinks you’re in love with her.”

  “I heard that,” I said with a grimace. “I don’t…well, I don’t know what to say.”

  A sharp intake of breath. “You are in love with her. Ace, how did this happen?”

  “How does anything happen?” I asked, shrugging. “This isn’t the worst thing that has ever happened to me.” Not even close. It perhaps ranked up there as one of the most confusing things to ever happen to me, though, so there was that.

  “You don’t even know who she is,” Jack said, a pinched, pained look on his face. “How could you fall in love with her?”

  “Well, her name’s Katie Kelley,” I said. “Found out at least that much last night.”

  “Seriously. What do you even know about her?”

  “Name’s Katie. She’s from Albuquerque. Can’t hold her tequila. Likes motorcycles.”

  “What is she doing in Rio Seco?”

  “She’s on vacation.”

  “To Rio Seco, though, Ace? Really? That doesn’t raise a flag for you?”

  “I found my way to Rio Seco. I figure other people can, too. I’m not some special snowflake.”

  “Okay. But why did she come on to you last night?”

  “She was drunk.”

  “And this morning?” He eyed me critically. “How did this morning go?”

  “She was back to her old, charming self,” I said. “She was shocked we didn’t sleep together. She thought I was lying to her, at first, but I cleaned her up and took care of her and, I swear to God, nothing happened.”

  “I wished something had happened between the two of you,” Jack muttered. “Nothing this morning?”

  I shook my head. “Just traded a few barbs before I left. Why?”

  “If you’d slept with her, you would’ve been over her.”

  “Jack…I don’t know if that’s going to work this time. There’s something different about her.”

  “Different how?”

  “I guess these feelings. I don’t know.”

  “Just get over her,” he urged me.

  “Why?” Suspicion had been building in me since the beginning of this conversation. Honestly, it felt like Jack was grilling me. He liked a good story about a hook-up, but nothing like the level of detail he was demanding or the criticism he was giving me.

  “Because you don’t know anything about her. Because she’s been a bitch to you. I don’t know. Maybe she’s not who she says she is.”

  I laughed at him. “Bud, she hasn’t said who she is at all. What is this? Please don’t tell me you’re jealous because I’m in love with a woman, for once in my life. You’ll still be number one, just don’t let Katie know.”

  “Just don’t want to see you get hurt, Ace,” Jack said.

  “I’m a grown man. I can handle a little heartbreak.” But imagining Katie deciding that she didn’t want to have anything else to do with me and riding off into the sunset on her motorcycle didn’t give me any pleasure. In fact, it made me panic a little. I didn’t want to lose her. I wanted her to like me. I wanted…dammit, well, I wanted a lot of things, and I was puzzled about everything especially Jack’s reaction.

  “I’m looking for her purse, by the way,” I said. “You haven’t seen it lying around here anywhere, have you? Should I wait until Brody gets here?”

  “No, I think I found it. She left it on the back of the barstool, right?”

  “I mean, I figure so.”

  “Here.” Jack swung it over to me.

  “I’m glad you found it and set it aside,” I said, hefting the bag in my hand. It was surprisingly heavy for a purse, but I really wasn’t an expert on the subject. Women could carry bricks around in their purses for all I knew. And maybe it would be a good idea to. They could lift weights and have a readily available weapon within reach at all times.

  “Yeah, about that…” Jack trailed off awkwardly, bringing a hand to his mouth to gnaw at his fingernails. “Maybe you should sit down for this, Ace.”

  “You know, I should really get this to her,” I said. “She was pretty worried about it going missing. She thought someone probably stole it.”

  “That’s kind of insulting to the bar, don’t you think?” he asked, cocking his head.

  “That’s what I told her. I told her it would turn up.”

  “Yeah, and that’s just the thing I should mention to you…”

  “Can it wait?” I asked. “Because I’d really, really like to save the day on this one. She is really not happy with me, and I think it’s because I’m such a gentleman I know, the nerve of me.” Jack was staring at me, looking like he didn’t even know where to start. “But I think that if I bring her the purse, I can maybe wriggle my way back into her good graces. Okay, there’s no ‘back’ about it, I would potentially be in her good graces for the first time ever.”

  Jack peered at me. “You really have it bad for this girl, don’t you?”

  “Would you hate me if I said I did? Kick me out of the club?”

  “It takes a unanimous vote to kick a member out of the club,” he said. “Just…be careful, Ace.”

  “I think I can handle Katie Kelley and whatever feelings I might have for her,” I said, even if I didn’t feel sure of that at all. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “All right.”

  I stepped outside and nearly ran right in to Katie, who’d been walking up the sidewalk on her way in the bar.

  “Oh, hi,” I said. “Sorry. You okay?”

  “Just hungover,” she said, pointing at the over-large sunglasses obscuring most of her face. “Isn’t pretty right now.”

  “I can’t imagine you feel very good. I saw how much alcohol went into you and how much came back out.”

  She held up a finger, apparently gathering her composure. “Not helpful.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Is the bar open yet?”

  I whistled appreciatively. “Hair of the dog? I could make you a Bloody Mary, if you think it would help. Bar won’t be officially open until a little later.”<
br />
  “Please don’t talk about alcohol right now.” Katie looked a little green around the gills. “I was here to ask if you’d found my purse, by chance.”

  “I have it right here,” I said, hefting it. “See? No one walked off with it. I was going to take it to you, though, at your oh, God. Did you walk all the way here from the motel?”

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t that far.”

  “Katie, you’re hungover. It must’ve been torture.”

  “I’m just glad to have my purse back,” she said.

  “I’m glad you have it back, too.” I smiled. “Just wish you felt a little better.”

  She pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and rubbed her eyes as if the very sight of me hurt her. “Stop. Just…this is… You are being really nice to me.”

  She’d been pissed that I hadn’t slept with her when she had been blackout drunk, and now she was even angrier that I’d been ready to return her purse to her? I really, really didn’t know how to play this. I had been so convinced that my game with the opposite sex was foolproof, and Katie Kelley had made me feel like nothing but a fool since the very beginning. I just couldn’t get a read on her, couldn’t anticipate anything, couldn’t fathom why the things I was doing were causing the reactions I was getting from her.

  “You’re making me feel like being nice to you is a mistake,” I said carefully, crossing my arms over my chest. “But that doesn’t make sense. It makes sense to be nice to people. Being nice is easier than being mean.”

  “Are you speaking for yourself?”

  “No, I’m speaking for humans in general. It’s easier to smile than to frown. Easier to be nice than mean. Feels better. Ensures better outcomes.”

  “Just…don’t pay any attention to me, if it bothers you,” she said.

  “But that bothers me, too,” I said. “What am I doing wrong, here, Katie?”

  “You’re trying to interact with me like I’m a normal human being, and I’m not,” she said. “I’m a tangled mess of bullshit. Just…just don’t even bother with me. I’m not worth the effort.”

  I frowned at her. “Don’t say that.”

  “I said it, and I’ll say it again. I’ve been nothing but rude to you, and you’ve been nothing but nice to me. Stop trying. I’m…I’m broken. I’m not worth whatever you’re trying to do.”

  I heaved a laugh. “I’m not trying to do anything.”

  “Do you…ugh, God, I can’t believe I’m doing this…do you want like a hand job? A gratitude hand job? Something?”

  I burst out laughing, holding my stomach, in sudden and very dire danger of pissing my pants. Laughter that hard.

  “You really don’t owe me anything.”

  “Are you sure? Because I really feel like I do. To make up for… I don’t know. Something. Everything.”

  I thought for a minute. “Okay. If you really think you need to do something, I have something. Only if you want to.”

  Katie bit her bottom lip. “You deserve some kind of reward. Lay it on me.”

  “Let me take you out on a date.”

  She wrinkled her nose, the surprise showing me that she hadn’t expected that one.

  I held my hands up. “Only if you want to, and not until you’re feeling back to normal.”

  “I gave you a free pass, and you just want a date?”

  “Are you going to give me a chance?” I asked. “No pressure, of course.”

  Katie heaved a sigh. “Okay. All right. You’ve earned it, Ace. I guess… Should I give you my number? Meet you somewhere in a couple of days? Show up at the bar when I’m ready?”

  “Whatever you want,” I said. “Just come by the bar tomorrow or whenever you’re feeling better. Have you ever had a two-day hangover?”

  “I have.”

  “Well, just listen to your body and let me know.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t expect you to be so…nice.”

  I smiled. “Just wait.”

  Chapter 6

  The last thing I wanted to do was pressure Katie into doing something she really didn’t want to do, but a week after our last conversation, which had included her agreeing to go out on a date with me, I still hadn’t heard from her. She hadn’t been at the bar, and I had kept myself from going by the motel to check if her bike was parked in the lot. I considered it torture.

  Maybe I should’ve just given her my number, or gotten hers. That way, I could’ve at least sent a text message to ask her if she was still in Rio Seco. Or just seen if she was doing okay. Or told her to forget about the date thing, not to worry about it anymore, just come back to the bar and have fun and just hang out, no pressure.

  Then, though, one Sunday afternoon, as I prepped for opening at the bar, the door swung open and there she was again, back in my life.

  “Weeklong hangover?” I guessed, grinning at her. “You did have enough tequila that I would believe it.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Had some things I had to take care of.”

  “On vacation?”

  Katie hung her head. “Truthfully?”

  “If you feel like being truthful.”

  “I…was kind of, well, not dreading this, per se, but was just nervous, uh, about it.”

  “You absolutely don’t have to do this,” I said with a swift rush of guilt for causing her angst.

  “No, no, I want to do it, I really do.” She fidgeted. “I guess the anxiety comes more from not knowing what we’re planning on doing.”

  “Well, that’s something I can easily solve for you,” I said. “I thought I would take you on one of my favorite rides around here.”

  “On your motorcycle?”

  “Yeah, if you want,” I said. “That way, you can enjoy the scenery instead of having to focus on the road. But if you’d prefer using your own bike, that’s fine, too.”

  “When would you like to go?” she asked, after a beat.

  “Any time you’re free,” I said. “We could take off right now, if you wanted.”

  “You’re getting ready to open, aren’t you?”

  “Well, yeah, but I can get out of it.”

  “Confident in your job security, are you?”

  “That’s what you get when you work with your friends,” I said. “I’ll just text one of them now and let them know. There won’t be any problem.”

  Brody was the one I texted instead of Jack, though it was usually the other way around. Jack and I were closer than Brody and I were, but after the last conversation I’d had with Jack regarding Katie, I didn’t know where he would stand on me getting out of work to hang out with her. He’d never been so protective before, and I could only guess it had something to do with his current mental state, the sleep that his nightmares were depriving him.

  “Ah, here’s a response,” I said.

  “That was quick,” Katie observed.

  “What can I say?” I opened the message and stifled a laugh. “I have good friends.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing important. Just that he said he’d cover my shift.” Brody had texted back a string of fruit and vegetable emojis that suggested sexual intercourse.

  “I’d love to go out on a ride with you,” Katie said. “I’m excited, actually. I’ve been riding around a little bit, but you told me you knew the really good ones, and I haven’t found those yet.”

  “Where have you been going?”

  We fell into easy conversation about all the different routes available to bikers in this part of the state as we walked into the alley to my motorcycle. Katie had parked hers beside mine in a gesture that struck me as oddly intimate. It almost felt as if this was the true reset moment of our rocky relationship, like we were really about to make a connection and leave all the nastiness and drama behind us.

  “So, are you sure the only reason you want me to ride on your bike with you isn’t so you’ll get felt up?” Katie asked, smirking.

  I snorted at her. “If you’re thinking about get
ting as frisky today as you were the other night, at least warn me first, so I don’t swerve off the road and kill us both.”

  The smirk vanished instantly. “What are you talking about, before?”

  “We’ve done this before, you know.”

  “We have?”

  “Sure enough. When I took you back to your motel that night you got so drunk.”

  “I can’t believe I don’t remember that,” Katie said, putting her helmet on and climbing on behind me. It wasn’t until I started the engine and started walking the machine out that she placed her hands on my hips, casual and comfortable.

  “You should believe it,” I said. “You were wasted. What got into you that night?”

  We roared out onto the main street, and then I really opened it up the moment I was beyond the last building in the historic strip of downtown Rio Seco. Katie leaned forward, her torso flush to my back.

  “I guess I got a little carried away,” she said.

  “Happens to the best of us.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be doing any tequila shots in the foreseeable future.”

  “Give it a chance,” I coached. “You’ll come back around. Tequila never leaves your life without a little kicking and screaming.”

  “It’ll be me doing the kicking and screaming if anyone tries to get me to do any tequila shots,” she vowed.

  Five minutes or so of silence well, the wind rushing past my ears, uninterrupted by the woman who still leaned close against me, her arms around my middle, now and then Katie cleared her throat.

  “What did you mean, earlier, when you said that I got frisky on your bike the other night?” she asked.

  “Oh, not much. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I worry about every embarrassing thing I do that I don’t remember doing. You can tell me.”

  “While we were on the road, you grabbed my, well…you grabbed…me. In a private place.”

  “You’re telling me I grabbed your cock.”

  “Yeah.”

  I didn’t want to chance checking the expression on her face precious cargo aboard, and all that but I did catch the scoff of surprise she made.

  “I’m shocked I didn’t let go and fall off,” she said.

  “You’d be surprised at the level of self-preservation even a blacked-out drunk could have,” I assured her. “You wouldn’t let go for nothing or nobody. You thought you were getting some that night, if you’ll remember.”