by Fiala, PJ
Joci didn’t want to have this conversation. The women in her family had all gone through early menopause. Joci hadn’t had a regular period in two years. She was on birth control to regulate her periods. Her doctor didn’t like putting her on birth control at her age, but it worked for her. However, if it was the beginning of menopause, she was grateful she didn’t have the other horrible symptoms yet—hot flashes, mood swings, any of that.
Joci cleared her throat, “We should probably get going.”
Jeremiah sat up. “Will you ride with me today, Joci? I know you ride yourself, and I don’t want to take anything from you, but I would love it if you would ride with me and be with me today. I want to feel your legs wrapped around me and talk to you while we ride. Will you do that?”
Joci cocked her head to the side and looked at Jeremiah. Actually, the thought of riding on the back of the bike sounded great. She would be able to look around and see all the bikes and signs people had told her she would see.
She smiled. “I would like that. I was just wondering how I was going to stand straddling a bike today, all day. At least on the back, it won’t be so bad and I can adjust myself when I start getting sore. And, I want to sightsee a little.”
Jeremiah looked at her with his brows furrowed. “Sorry, Joci. I seriously can’t get enough. It’s your fault. You made me wait too long.” He was smiling at her. “Besides, I want everyone to know that you’re mine now.”
Joci started getting out of bed, “I think quite a few people already know after we left last night. I’m sure word was traveling like crazy once we were gone.”
Joci walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
She peeked out at Jeremiah, who was watching her walk into the bathroom, “We’ll need to go to my place to get some clean clothes, though.”
Jeremiah got up and walked over to her. He grabbed her hand and started walking toward the closet. He turned on the closet light and pointed to a section to the right.
“These are yours. I’ve been buying clothes for you. It made me feel like I was making a home for you, for us. I like buying you clothes, Joci. They should fit.”
Just to the right of where the clothes were hanging was a bank of dresser drawers, “I have underthings in there for you, too. The top two drawers are all yours.”
Joci was stunned at the clothes. She walked to the dresser drawers and opened the top drawer. There were probably ten bra and panty sets in various colors and styles. All very nice brand-name undergarments, and they were her size!
Joci looked at Jeremiah. “How in the hell did you know what size I wear?”
Jeremiah smirked. “Do you remember a few months ago when we were looking at the different styles of t-shirts to buy for the ride today. We had a t-shirt vendor come to the shop with different styles, and you and Sandi were trying on the women’s shirts? You told the vendor what size you wore, and I paid attention. When I bought the undergarments, I told the clerk what size clothing you wore and she figured it out.”
He was watching her reaction. Her eyebrows rose while she processed all of this. Wow. Jeremiah leaned close to her.
“I’ve wanted to be with you for a long time, Joci. I couldn’t touch you or hug you or make love to you. You wouldn’t even go out with me. I did this hoping that if I kept asking God to bring you to me—and I was showing God that I was serious—that it would happen. I wanted you to have things here that would make you feel at home.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah. “I’m amazed. I’m also sorry…so sorry that I kept you at a distance for this long. I had no idea you felt this way about me.”
Jeremiah hugged Joci to him and rocked her back and forth. Joci wrapped her arms around his hips and enjoyed the feel of him this close to her. Her thoughts were all over the board. He had been shopping for her? He had been waiting for her? He had been planning and praying for her? Wow, all the thoughts and hopes and dreams she had this past year paled in comparison to what Jeremiah had been having. Joci didn’t feel worthy.
Jeremiah stepped back and kissed Joci lightly on the lips. He winked at her and left the closet to get in the shower. Joci selected a pretty bra and panty set in a light gray. She noticed there were several pairs in that color. She knew it made him think of her. Funny, she always thought her eyes were weird. No one else she knew had gray eyes. Her sister had beautiful blue eyes. Gunnar had blue eyes like Keith.
Joci looked at the jeans in the closet and smiled. Jeans with blingy pockets. Like the first time she met Jeremiah. He had thought of that as well. She selected a t-shirt for today’s ride. It was lime green with the logo she designed on it for the Rolling Thunder Veteran’s Ride.
Joci stepped into the shower and slid her hands up Jeremiah’s back. He stopped rinsing his chest off when he felt her touch him. She slid her hands back down to his waist, encircled him with her arms, and hugged him tight. Jeremiah turned in her arms and looked down at her.
Joci looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you so much, Jeremiah. I don’t know what to say.”
He hugged her hard and kissed her forehead. “You don’t need to say anything. The fact that you’re here means the world to me.” His voice cracked with emotion.
Joci smiled at him and stepped under the water to take her shower. When she stepped out, Jeremiah was standing in the bathroom with a fresh cup of coffee for her.
“I warmed up your coffee. Do you need anything else?”
Joci smiled at him. God, he was beautiful. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, which of course were incredibly sexy on him. Slung low on his hips, little frays on the belt loops, and soft looking. As her eyes traveled down the length of him, she noticed his fly move a little and the muscles bunched in his thighs. Now that she knew what was underneath, she thought he was even sexier. Her eyes traveled back up to his, and her breath caught at the intensity of his gaze. “You keep looking at me like that and you’re going to be sorer.”
Joci’s cheeks tinted pink, but she smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders.
“You’re not the only one who can’t get enough.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I have to get out of here or we’ll be late.”
He turned to leave, wearing a t-shirt that was the men’s version of the shirt that matched hers for the ride today, tucked in his jeans, which showed off his fantastic ass. He had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. So sexy. She couldn’t stop looking at him. “Do you need anything?”
Jeremiah looked at her, a little surprised that she would ask. “Not anymore. I have everything I need right here in front of me.”
Joci smiled and cocked her head. Jeremiah sucked in a breath.
“Oh, wait, I guess I need a toothbrush.”
Jeremiah winked at her and opened a drawer. A toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, a comb, and brush were there for her, all new.
“Wow, you continue to render me speechless. There are a lot of people that would kill to know how to do that.”
She was teasing him, and he knew it. He leaned forward and kissed her lips.
“I doubt that, Joci. I see the way people gravitate to you.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the bathroom to let her get ready.
A little while later, Joci found Jeremiah in the garage getting the bike ready. When she stepped out of the house, he looked her over and a loud breath escaped.
“You look beautiful, Joci. I’m a lucky man.”
Joci shook her head, “I think I’m the lucky one.”
She walked over to the bike and looked at what he was doing. “What’s up?”
Jeremiah stood, “I put this air pad on the passenger seat for you. Right here is a pump; you can add air by pumping it. You remove air by pushing this button here. I thought if you were sore, you may appreciate being able to change the seat around today. We’re only riding about a hundred and twenty-five miles, but that can feel like a long way when you’re sore,” he said sheepishly.
Joci cocked her head t
o the side, “Thank you. That’s thoughtful. I’m sorry to make you go to any trouble.”
“I also don’t want you to get any sorer or tonight’s going to be a bitch for you.”
Joci laughed then. “You’re sounding like a sex maniac! Something I should know?”
Jeremiah opened the tour pack on the back of the bike and let her put her purse inside.
“Only with you, baby. Only you.”
He leaned down and kissed her and swatted her on the ass. “Are you hungry? I thought we could go eat somewhere.”
“Breakfast sounds great.”
Jeremiah got on the bike and kicked up the kickstand; Joci climbed on behind him. He had removed the backrest behind him so he could lean into her. He didn’t ride with a woman behind him; he always put the solo seat on his bike and took the tour pack off, so he didn’t have room for anyone else. If he took this bike and didn’t have the time to change the seat and take the tour pack off, he would put a backpack or something back there so no one would ask to ride with him. He hated the women who milled about looking for a ride. He was so excited for Joci to ride with him today he couldn’t wait to get on the road. They rolled slowly out of the garage. Jeremiah hit the garage door button to close the door and off they went.
Riding to the restaurant, Jeremiah often took his left hand off the handlebars and rubbed Joci’s left leg. It was beautiful riding in the morning. The sun was up and the weather was mild. The temperature today was supposed to be eighty-two degrees, great for May in Wisconsin. Jeremiah took some back roads, loving the curvy, quiet pace. Joci leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Jeremiah’s waist and rested her chin on his left shoulder. This was really, very nice. She hadn’t ridden on back of a bike for more than twenty-five years. That was before Keith left her. Back then, all she had was a tiny little seat to perch on and no backrest. If she wanted to go, those were the terms. Keith didn’t give a crap if she was comfortable or not.
They stopped at a nice little restaurant for breakfast and talked about the day and how many bikes they thought they would have. Already one hundred and twenty-six bikes had preregistered. They hadn’t had that before. And, that was because Joci developed the website attached to Rolling Thunder’s website for bikers to pre-register.
“Next year, we’ll have more,” Joci said.
Jeremiah smiled that she would talk about next year like she was sure they would be doing this together again. If he had his way, they certainly would.
“You’ll be meeting my whole family today. They always participate in this ride. They’re all veterans, so it’s important to them. My dad and mom will be driving one of the chaser trucks. Dad is in his early seventies and just doesn’t feel comfortable on a bike in large crowds any more, though he still rides by himself once in a while.”
Jeremiah told her a little about each brother—he had three. Jeremiah was the second son. Dayton, the oldest, was two years older than Jeremiah. Thomas was two years younger than Jeremiah, and then Bryce, who was five years Jeremiah’s junior. They were close, although Jeremiah was the only one in the bike business. His siblings all rode motorcycles, but worked elsewhere.
Dayton worked as a manager in the IT department at a local company. Thomas, or Tommy, was a cop in Green Bay, and Bryce and Angie owned apartments.
When they pulled into the parking lot of Rolling Thunder, a few people were already there. And tongues started wagging as soon as they saw Jeremiah and Joci together. Yup, it was going to be an interesting day.
As soon as they parked and got off the bike, LuAnn walked over. Of course, she was wearing jeans that were skintight; her Rolling Thunder Veteran’s Ride t-shirt pulled tight and knotted to show off her breasts and belly. She wore high-heeled boots, and her bleached blonde hair was a messy do of some sort. And yes, jewelry on every surface she could accessorize. She walked up to Jeremiah and hugged him.
“I’m so happy to see you. Today is going to be a great day. I’ll ride with you today.”
Jeremiah put his hands on LuAnn’s shoulders and set her aside.
“LuAnn, you didn’t say good morning to Joci.”
LuAnn gave Joci the once-over and snorted, “Hi.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah, and raised her brows in an ‘I told you so,’ look.
“Joci’s riding with me today.”
LuAnn looked at Joci again and then back at Jeremiah.
“Why doesn’t she ride her own bike?”
Jeremiah took a deep breath and put his arm around Joci.
“Because I asked her to ride with me. Joci and I are together, LuAnn.”
LuAnn looked pissed and snorted again. “Well, that won’t last long. We all know you love a smorgasbord.”
She looked at Joci, gave her the up-and-down once again and stated, “She isn’t going to keep you as happy as I can.”
With that, LuAnn turned and walked away. Joci instantly blanched at hearing that Jeremiah loved a smorgasbord.
Joci started to back away, but Jeremiah squeezed Joci and leaned down close to her ear, “I’m sorry. And, for the record, that’s not true. I don’t fuck around like she insinuated.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah with her brows furrowed.
“Hey, Bro!”
Jeremiah turned to see his brother Dayton and sister-in-law Staci walking toward them. As soon as they reached them Jeremiah, gave him a slap on the back, hugged a quick hug, and squeezed. Jeremiah leaned down and hugged his sister-in-law.
“Dayton, Staci, I’d like you to meet Joci. Joci, this is my older brother Dayton and his wife Staci.”
Joci noticed how very similar they looked right away. Dayton didn’t look like a computer geek; he looked like Jeremiah with short hair. His was the same color as Jeremiah’s hair without the sun’s highlights in it. Dayton kept it short and cut around the ears and above the collar in the back with a little length on top. He had green eyes, although not as green as Jeremiah’s. He had a similar build, like he didn’t work out as much as Jeremiah did, but he was still in great shape. Dayton leaned down and hugged Joci, and Staci stepped forward and hugged Joci as well.
Staci was very pretty. She had long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was about five-four and slender. Jeremiah told Joci they had two children, both girls. Emily Ann was twenty-eight and Debra Jean was twenty-four.
Staci whispered in Joci’s ear, “Did you like all the candles?”
Joci smiled, “Yes, they were beautiful. Thank you for doing that.”
Staci smiled at Joci and then looked at Jeremiah.
“I was happy to do it. We all just want him happy. He was very excited and nervous about making sure you would appreciate it. He’s a great guy, Joci.”
Jeremiah gave Staci a slight nod and a grin.
They were chitchatting when Joci heard, “Mom!”
Joci turned to see Gunnar striding quickly toward them. Joci stepped over to hug her son.
“Good morning. Are you ready for today?”
Gunnar nodded and said hello to everyone. He shook Jeremiah and Dayton’s hands and said hello to Staci. He had met them before so no introductions were needed. It seemed…normal.
Very soon, all the family members had arrived. Jeremiah’s brothers and parents, Thomas and Emily, Joci’s sister Jackie and her husband David came in shortly after. Jeremiah made introductions.
As soon as Jackie and David showed up, Jeremiah put his arm around Joci and stated, “Joci’s riding with me today.”
He had a smile stretched across his face. Everyone smiled. Jackie looked at Joci and winked.
Jeremiah’s brother, Tommy, looked at Joci and smiled, “Poor Joci. He’s a cranky bastard, Joci. I hope you can handle it.”
Joci smiled at him, “I know. It’s awful.”
Jeremiah’s family did this every year and seemed to know what to do to help out. They started putting up the ribbons that would guide riders to the parking and sign-in areas. The sisters-in-law walked to the tents set up to hold the clothing and Jeremi
ah’s parents strolled to the large tent had been erected last night for the drinks. The drink stand was being manned by a local veteran’s group, and all proceeds would go to that organization, separate from the Rolling Thunder donations from this ride.
The tables for the sign-up area were set up, and Joci and Jeremiah worked on organizing the area with the sign-up sheets, insurance waivers, and wristbands. He swatted her on the ass and she stifled a squeal.
“What was that for?”
“You’re leaning over the table, setting out papers, and I couldn’t resist. If you don’t want me touching it, don’t stick it out in front of me.”
Joci smirked. She had some local tech school students showing up to keep the data entry rolling along. She set up their laptops, got them booted up, and was ready for them as they arrived. There were a couple of cash drawers at the sign-up table as well. Everything seemed ready to go.
Jeremiah’s family was available to answer questions and direct traffic. They knew the drill and everyone worked well together. Just before the first bikers started arriving, Jeremiah walked over to Joci and gave her a big hug.
“It looks like we’re ready. Do you need anything before the bikers all start rolling in?”
Joci pointed at the drink tent. “I thought I would go and get a bottle of water. Do you want one?”
Jeremiah smiled, “Yeah, I’ll come with you.”
Jeremiah and Joci walked around the parking lot and spoke with everyone working at each area. His brothers were standing around in the parking areas waiting for the bikers to roll in. Jeremiah’s parents were talking to the guys in the drink tent. When they got to the clothing tent, LuAnn was there, shooting daggers at them. Jeremiah didn’t pay her any attention. Joci was wary and watched LuAnn to make sure a knife didn’t find its way to her back.
Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law were working the clothing tent with LuAnn and Angel from Rolling Thunder. LuAnn made some comment that was off-color and louder than necessary, and Angie and Erin, Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law, looked at Joci, rolled their eyes, then winked at her. So, they were aware of LuAnn’s interest in Jeremiah as well.
