In Her Arms

by Gayle Keo

  She looked at him with a face of utter confusion, totally unsure of what he was about to do. But then, she felt something move closer, and immediately, something soft was on her lips.

  He was kissing her.

  Holy crap his lips were soft. For Amber, she couldn’t help but enjoy the way that it felt, the way his lips seemed to mingle against her own for but a moment. It was like in those movies where the couple finally kisses, and the woman immediately started to feel her heart race. For Amber, this was so right to her, and she was shocked that he would even want to engage in this sort of thing with him. However, he soon pulled away, blushing madly.

  “Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away,” he told her with a flush.

  “It’s okay. I didn’t mind at all,” she admitted.

  “I know. It’s just, I’ve been feeling this way for a while now. I wanted to take you out tonight so I could kiss you, and now that I was able to, I feel better. I want to kiss you again, because I feel something with you that I haven’t in a long time. Everyone thinks I’m some badass biker, but in truth, I’m a man who is looking for love as well, looking for someone to accept me for who I am. I know it’s not easy, but I’m willing to make it work. That is, if you are,” he said.

  She looked at him, the pleasure within his eyes making her feel something. She definitely wanted to be with him, and she wanted to make him happy.

  “I want this as well. I’ll be yours, and I’ll make your life,” she told him with a smile.

  He grinned at her, feeling his body start to grow aroused at the way that she stared at him. Neither of them were ready to go further though, except kissing of course. Matt pressed his lips to hers, kissing her senseless and without any subduing. For Amber, this was paradise, a happiness that even she wasn’t ready for. She definitely was ready for everything that was about to happen, and as she kissed him, she felt like her life had meaning once again. It was the first time she had ever felt this way about a man, ever felt so happy to be with someone, and for a moment, she felt like everything was perfect, and she was lost in the pleasurable kisses that she got.

  They stayed like that for what seemed to be forever, and for Amber, this was the life that she wanted. It was the life she dreamed of, the life that she wanted, and at the end of the day, she knew deep down that it would only get better from here, and it would become something utterly amazing, too good to be true, and for Amber, she would finally find the right person to show her what love is, and how to be a better woman.

  *****

  For Amber, life was amazing at that point. She felt like her relationship with Matt was only growing better with time, and soon, the two of them got even closer. Matt insisted upon keeping their relationship on the down low, simply because it might get weird for both of them. For Amber, that was fine.

  Amber went to work, and immediately one of the coworkers saw that she was light and happy. She seemed to radiate happiness, and immediately the coworker looked interested.

  “Something happened didn’t it?” they teased.

  “Maybe. I have a boyfriend now,” Amber said.

  “That’s amazing, girl! We’re all happy for you,” the coworker said.

  There was a mini party for Amber, and in truth, Amber felt like she was on cloud nine. For her, everything seemed perfect, so right, and she knew for a fact that no Matter what happens next, everything will be okay.

  However, word started to spread fast, and Amber could feel the eyes on them at the bar. Most people used to not put anything on the fact that Matt was hanging out with her, but as of late, she kept getting dirty looks and stares.

  “What the hell is going on?” she asked Matt.

  “Something tells me someone said something about us, and now it’s being spread like wildfire,” he told her.

  Great. As if she needed any more attention already. Suddenly, she felt a presence, and immediately near them was Travis.

  “Hey there Travis. Hey there sir,” the man said.

  Immediately, Amber grew tense. What the hell was up with this dude and his misgendering! It wasn’t okay!

  “What the hell dude? Why do you care so much?” he asked.

  “Well at least I get with real women. If you wanted to get with a chick, you need one with a dick underneath. Besides, I can already tell that she’s going to be the death of you. You’re no biker gang leader,” the man said.

  Matt got up, and immediately, everyone turned. He turned to Travis, and that’s when they all heard it.

  A reverberating slap echoed throughout the bar. Travis held his hand to his face, but then, Matt socked it. Everyone was in too much of a shock to stop this, most of them shocked over the fact that a real fight was happening right where they were. This was better than cable for some of these people

  However, Matt was pissed. What the hell was this dude’s problem? It was not okay what he was saying to Amber, and even Amber looked uncomfortable as fuck around him.

  “You take back everything that you’ve said,” he said to Travis with a glower.

  “Why? To help save your prince?” the man teased.

  “No! Because she deserves respect. She’s a human being just like the rest of us. Honestly Travis, you disgust me,” he told him.

  “Why? Because I’m honest?” he said.

  “No, because you don’t treat people how they deserve to be treated. You get off on being a douche to everyone and their mother. No wonder everyone hates you. You’re nothing but a piece of shit wannabe biker trash who has no respect for humans. Honestly, I assumed you were better than this, but obviously that is not the case,” he told him.

  “What you going to do about it? Cry to your mommy?” Travis said.

  “No. I’m going to do this instead,” he replied.

  Suddenly, he punched Travis right in the crotch. He fell down, and everyone started to cheer for Matt. The man got up, holding his family jewels and glaring at both Matt and Amber.

  “You fuckers! I’ll get you for this!” he cried out.

  He raced out of there, and everyone cheered on Matt. People were a bit weirded out by Amber, but soon they became friendly towards her. Amber smiled, happy to have people who accept her.

  “This feels nice,” she told him.

  “Sure does. I’m glad that you were able to calm down and everything,” he told her.

  She was happy as well. It seemed that not everyone would be happy about their relationship, but at the end of the day, she didn’t really care. She wanted to be herself, to be happy, and she knew for a fact that the best way to do it was to continue to further her relationship with the man who cared about her.

  ****

  Time passed, and about two months later, Amber thought the debacle with Travis was long over. He didn’t seem to care a whole lot about her anymore, and he left her alone, which was nice. She was glad to not hear any further transphobic slurs from him. It was a relief. She definitely didn’t like to hear it over and over again.

  Amber still didn’t know why she felt unsure, but after a little bit, she realized why. One day, she was walking from her job to her car, ready to see Matt tonight. She assumed it would be just like any other night, where she would go see him, and then they would spend time together, maybe make out and such. Amber did give to him, but she never received. She was happy to at least do that, and maybe once she felt comfortable in her body they could take things further. But then, she started to get a bad set of feelings, and as she continued to walk through the area, she could feel herself getting stared down by something, whatever it was, she didn’t know for sure.

  She got her car unlocked, but then she heard a rustling. She tried to get her knife out, looking around to see just what in the world was there.

  “Who’s there?” she asked, even though she doubted that she would get a response. She then ignored the aching feeling within her. Maybe it was just her imagination.

  But what she didn’t realize, was what would happen next. A hand was soon over her mout
h, and suddenly, she felt her body go limp. She started to feel her legs buckle, her body swaying as she fell to the ground. She then collapsed, and as she laid there a voice started to laugh in sheer amusement.

  “Oh that’s cute. I was expecting your guard to be up a bit higher you mixed freak,” the voice said.

  She knew who it was, determined to get him, determined to tell him to fuck off. But she was struggling, unable to really get the body that she had out of the clutches of this person. Her hands were pulled back, bound together by rope, and the only thing that she could do right now was to just hope someone would find her.

  She fell unconscious, and immediately, Travis grinned at her with a malicious visage. He grasped her body, carrying her into a car and closing the door.

  “Let’s see if this will get Matt to face me. I’ll hold it over his head that if he doesn’t show up, you’ll die,” he told the lifeless body as it laid there unconscious to the world. She continued to lay there as he started to drive away. Little did he know that Matt would surely come to save her.

  Meanwhile, Matt was at his hideout, hanging around some of the guys and forming plans to deal with Travis.

  “Is he really acting like that? I don’t have time for the bastard’s foolishness,” he told his partner in regards to the harassment his men have been getting.

  “Yes sir. It seems that Travis is keeping tabs on everyone right now, and he’s planning something big. What it is, we don’t know,” the man said.

  Travis was up to something, and as Matt pursed his lips, he could feel the air becoming heavy with worry. He didn’t know if this would have to do with Amber. The last thing he needed was for her to get in trouble or be thrown straight into the line of danger.

  “Well, I hope we can figure out a way to get this squared away. I don’t have time for his childish behavior. If need be, I will eliminate him,” he told the other man.

  The man was shocked by the determined nature of Matt’s face. Matt wasn’t screwing around at this point. He would do what he needed to do.

  The other men left, leaving Matt to figure out what to do next. He honestly didn’t know for sure, with the way everything was an all, and it was certainly something that he wasn’t ready for. Matt was scared of what this bastard had planned, especially with regards to Amber.

  Amber. The woman made him smile. He honestly could say right now that he had fallen for her, even though it was a sense of falling that he wasn’t sure he was ready for. He didn’t like to think about what might happen, but at the same time, he knew for a fact that whatever the case may be, he would protect her. In truth, she was the most important person in his life, and he didn’t want to think of everything bad that could happen. However, he knew that Travis hated her. Travis was using his own bigoted prejudice in order to keep things the way that they were now, and that didn’t help with the uneasy feelings that he had looming over him.

  But, Matt decided to chill. If he could figure out a way to get to Travis before things got bad, he would do so in a heartbeat.

  As he thought on this, he saw a small scurry of something in the distance.

  “What the hell?” Matt asked himself, immediately getting up and looking at the figure once again. For a moment, he thought that he was going insane, unsure of what to do about everything going on. He decided to just let things go the way they were, and after a moment or so, he heard a small sound of paper falling onto the floor. Confused, he picked up the slip of paper and started to read it, immediately growing angry with shock and rage, unsure of what to do about the words that were inscribed on there.

  It was a threat. It was a threat from Travis, saying that he would kill Amber if he didn’t show up in due time to come fight him. For a moment, Matt felt like he was about to go insane, the rage present within his eyes. He didn’t want to lose Amber, nor did he want her to get hurt, but in truth, he felt like this was some sort of sick game, and he wasn’t sure of what to say.

  He wondered what his options were. One of them was for him to just let it go, to not think that Travis was being serious. But in truth, he didn’t think that would work. Travis was being serious, and that’s what he hated. He hated to admit it, but he was sure that the seriousness of Travis was what scared him the most. He couldn’t take this as some sort of blind threat, but he also didn’t know what to do about it all.

  But then, there was the factor of how much time he had. Sure, he could go and gather all of his men, but that would take time and effort, and even he didn’t know if time was on his side, which was the scariest part of it all. All of these factors were what really scared Matt, and he knew that he had to do something.

  “There has to be a way. There just has to be a way,” he muttered to himself.

  But what? What exactly was there to do at this point? He thought about just trying to wait it out, but he didn’t want to put Amber in danger for him. What sort of actions would he take?

  He got up, slamming the piece of paper down in anger and looking out.

  “Even though I don’t want to do this, I know that I have to. Amber’s life is at stake and that puts my life in danger as well, he told himself.

  That was the grim reality of it all. His own life was at stake, not just Amber’s, because Amber was his life, his way of living, and the way he kept his sanity. There was no way in hell he was going to let him get away with this. As Matt got up and got ready, he only had one thing in mind in terms of what he needed to do.

  And that was to save Amber and bring her back safe and sound.

  *****

  When Amber came to, she realized that her arms were tied up. She looked around, the horror of the moment present in her eyes. She was trapped, at the mercy of whoever the fuck this was. She didn’t know for sure who it was, that is until the person spoke.

  “Ahh, so you’re awake now,” he told her.

  She immediately looked up, the rage in her eyes present at the moment. She knew that this bastard was the cause of everything, and she wanted nothing more than to wipe the goddamn smirk off his face.

  “You!” she cried out.

  “Hello there sweetie. It seems that you’re at my mercy now. Maybe you’ll finally listen to me when I say that you should shut the fuck up and stop being a freak of nature, boy. But of course I’m not doing this for you. Why would I help your trashy ass? I’m here for Matt,” he said.

  She looked at Travis, the shock present on her face.

  “What are you going to do Travis?” she asked him, worried sick about what this might lead to.

  “Simple. I’m going to make him pay for this, and I’m going to use you as a carrot to get him to come out here. Simply put, I already wrote him a friendly letter that said that if he doesn’t show up in time, I’m going to kill you. I’m not joking either because I can in just one move. I refuse to let me be happy with a freak like you. He’s taken everything away from me and so I’ll take something away from him,” he screamed out. This guy was insane. Amber immediately felt uncomfortable just being around him, and she could feel the tension of the moment coursing over her veins.

  “You won’t get away with this,” she muttered.

  “Oh but I will. I will make sure that you’re gone, and we will definitely have fun with all of this. I’m ready to just end this, and if it involves ending you, then I will make sure that’s a part of it. Now, you can wait here for your little prince to save you, and you can see what I have in mind. It’s going to be a sudden death race, on the course that’s prepared. I want to see if the your bad-boy biker can live up to his name, or if it’s all just a load of bullshit like he is. Oh, I can’t wait!” the man cried out.

  She listened to the insane ramblings that Travis was going on about and she immediately feeling sick to her stomach. What the hell was his problem? What were they going to do?

  She felt scared of the way everything was going, how Travis was acting and the gestures he was making. All of that worried her because she could tell that he was unstable.


  The death race course. What was going on? What did that even mean? Then, she saw it. The gravel and dirt path went over a mountain pass with an incline at the very top. Then her eyes saw the drop off below that could kill any man who fell off of it. There was a lake with a rickety bridge that definitely wasn’t safe or stable enough to hold the weight of a motorcycle, let alone a man on one.

  All of this made her feel uneasy, especially since her life was on the line. She didn’t know much about Matt and his riding skills, but even she doubted how he would do on this sort of course. That’s what scared her and she could feel the desperation in her body become stronger with time.

  As time passed, Amber wondered if Matt would even come and save her. She would do better without the teasing from the other man as well.

  “See, he doesn’t care about you Amber. He only cares about himself, not a pathetic little bitch like you. It’s so cute that you think a man like him cares. It’s really just desperation. Matt and his little prince. It’s so sweet really, and I’m so happy to be seeing you struggling,” he said.

  “Shut up! He will come. I’m sure of it,” she told him.

  The worry in her voice was enough to say it all. She wasn’t sure of what might happen next. She could only hope for the best however, hoping that even he would come and save her.

  Then, she heard a rustling, then a small roar, and finally, she saw the savior she had been waiting for. Travis looked and glared at the figure driving down the pathway. When he got there, he stepped off his bike, taking off his helmet to look at the other man.

  “Travis, I’m here. What have you done with my woman?” he demanded from him.

  “If you could call it a woman that is,” Travis said.

  “Well she’s definitely a woman, and more of a woman than many I know. Now stop harassing her and give her back to me,” Matt said.

  “Not until you and I race,” Travis said.

  Matt looked at Travis, and then he stared around at the area nearby.