Monroe, Marla - Nina's Neighbor (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Marla Monroe

  As soon as he finished, Jack got up and began loading the dishwasher. Nina added her plate and utensils to it, and he turned it on. Then he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the bedroom.

  “We’re burning daylight. Time to get on the road,” he said with a grin.

  “It’s barely even light outside,” she teased.

  “Yeah, but we have a long road ahead of us.” He was already half dressed. She only had on her T-shirt from the day before.

  “Okay, so what am I supposed to wear since you were so specific about what I could and couldn’t pack?”

  Jack grinned and grabbed her pack. He unzipped it and laid everything wearable out on the bed. He picked the one pair of jeans, socks, her solid black T-shirt, and the boots.

  “Like the boots. They’re sexy,” he said.

  Then he packed everything back just like she’d had it.

  “So, I’m not to wear underwear at all?”

  “Other than socks, nope.”

  “Are you wearing underwear?” she asked.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I never wear it. In fact, I don’t own any.” He laughed at her surprise.

  “None?

  “Nope.”

  “Oh, my.” She fanned herself.

  He turned serious. “Get dressed. We really need to get on the road soon.”

  “Got you.”

  She began pulling on her jeans without underwear and felt weird zipping them up. Then she pulled on the T-shirt while biting her lip at the fact of how obvious it was that she wasn’t wearing a bra. She turned to find him staring at her with a strange look on his face.

  “What?”

  “Okay, I admit, I just wanted to see if you would wear the T-shirt without a bra. You did. Let’s try this one instead.” He pulled out a brand new black bra from his chest and handed it to her. It still had the tags on it.

  “You bought this for me?” Nina asked.

  “Yep. I wanted something I bought on you. I figured I’d enjoy knowing that the bra was there next to your tits, right where I want to be.” He grinned.

  “You’re such a man,” Nina told him.

  “Seriously, see if it will fit. I went by the one you were wearing the other day with the front closure.”

  She shrugged and thought it was funny that he’d bought her a bra and no panties. Still, she was very grateful that he was letting her wear the bra. She wasn’t sure how she’d have felt in public without a bra on.

  The bra fit perfectly and looked good under the black T-shirt. She added the boots, and she felt like a different person. She started to pull her hair back in a ponytail but Jack stopped her.

  “You can’t wear one with the helmet on,” he reminded her.

  She huffed out a breath and settled for having helmet hair. She would have to buy a small comb when they stopped somewhere to fix her hair. She could keep it in her jeans pocket. She watched as he shoved a couple of scarf-like items in his pack.

  “What are those?” she asked.

  He pulled on out and held it up. “These?”

  “Yeah.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m bald. The helmet gets a bit rough on the noggin if you wear it without something on your head to shield it,” he explained.

  “You weren’t wearing one yesterday when you pulled up,” she noted.

  “I don’t wear them if I’m only going across town or to work or something. Just not worth the effort, and it doesn’t bother me for short runs like that.”

  She grabbed her pack and followed him when he walked toward the kitchen.

  He led her outside to the bike and handed her a helmet. She put it on and fumbled with the chin strap. He smiled and moved her hands aside to fasten it for her.

  “You’ll get the hang of it eventually.”

  She followed his instructions and climbed on the bike then climbed back off the way he told her. He made her do this several times quickly to get it down just right.

  “Don’t want you to accidently get burned or fall. It’s going to be a little different when I’m on the bike. You always get on after me and get off before me.”

  Nina nodded and watched as he secured their packs in the saddle bags. Then he climbed on the big machine and started it with a rumble. She jumped then laughed at how silly that was.

  “Okay, your turn,” he said.

  She put her foot where he’d shown her and then climbed on. She adjusted her seating a couple of times then placed a hand on both sides of his waist. She felt pretty good about it all. She’d done pretty well. Then he took off and she grabbed on tighter to his waist.

  “Easy there. Don’t fall off.”

  His voice was clear in her ears. There were mikes in the helmets. How cool was that? she thought.

  “This is so fun.”

  “Trust me, you will be cursing me tonight when you get off for the last time and have to sit down. Your ass is going to feel numb then throb.”

  “You’re telling me this now, after I’m on the bike and we’re leaving town?” she groused.

  “I knew if I told you ahead of time you wouldn’t go with me,” he admitted with a chuckle.

  “Just wait until we stop. Your ass is mine,” she threatened.

  “Promises, promises,” he said as he throttled up the roaring engine.

  Chapter Six

  They made it to Forest where everyone was gathering around ten a.m. She was astounded to see all the different bikes and people there as they rode around. There had to be at least fifty bikes and almost twice that many people. She pointed out some that had three wheels that looked cute to her.

  “Those are called Trikes,” he told her. “A lot of the older crowd ride them because they don’t have the muscle strength to hold a regular bike up anymore.”

  They pulled off the road to a clearing where there were a few bikes and a couple of Trikes. She climbed off and moaned a second at her butt feeling numb. Jack had been right, and they were only a couple of hours into the ride. She began unfastening her helmet.

  As soon as he climbed off he pulled off his helmet, which left the “do-rag,” as he called it, on his head. He didn’t bother taking it off. He took their helmets and hung them on the handle bars. Then he pulled her into his arms for a nice, long kiss. He led her over to a small tent where there were drinks being sold and bought them both bottled waters. They sat on the benches and drank while talking about what they saw. He explained the different tattoos she pointed out and some of the jackets. She was enthralled by the design work on some of them. She knew Jack had one because he had worn it once or twice before it had gotten so hot. Now he just wore a T-shirt. She was about to ask him if he ever wore his in the summer like the others did when a commotion broke out just outside the tent. She wanted to go see what it was about, but Jack held onto her hand.

  “You don’t want to get caught in the middle of a fight between bikers or their babes,” he warned her.

  “I thought they were called bitches. I was hoping to be a biker bitch for the weekend,” she teased.

  “Don’t even tease about that, baby. It’s not all fun and games. It’s a hard life.”

  “I’m sure it is. I wasn’t making fun,” she said.

  “I know, but I want you to be careful and stay close to me while we’re on the ride. I didn’t expect for there to be any of the real gangs to be on a sissy ride like this,” he explained.

  “Oh,” was all she could think to say.

  Real gangs? This definitely wasn’t her cup of tea. Maybe she should ask him to take her home. He’d be pissed, and that would be the end of their relationship, but she’d be safer that way.

  “Look, maybe I should just take you home. I don’t want to get you in the middle of anything. I wasn’t thinking, I guess,” he said.

  “No!” She softened her voice when several people looked their way. “I don’t want to go home yet. I’ll stick close to you and do what you say.”

  “Are you sure? Some of this could get
rough, and you might not like it,” he told her.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, we’ll go a few more stops and see how it is.” He got up and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get back to the bike. Everyone will be heading out to the next stop soon.”

  She walked next to him with his arm around her shoulders. He didn’t let her get a step ahead or behind him. His entire demeanor had changed. He seemed to be on the alert for trouble. She probably should have taken him up on going back home, but now she didn’t want to be a spoilsport or a coward.

  When they reached the bike, he helped her slip on the helmet, then as soon as he was settled, she climbed on and held on to his waist with a little better grip this time as he took off. They rode around in circles for about fifteen minutes before some unknown signal had everyone heading in the same direction toward the next stop. She watched the different bikes glide by then hang back over and over as if vying for positions at a racetrack.

  She was glad Jack wasn’t doing any of that. She was sure she’d get sick at her stomach with all the back-and-forth motion on the back of the bike. Twice, someone rode up next to him and waved. He waved back but didn’t say anything to her about who they were.

  “How far do we go this time?” she asked.

  “About forty-five minutes,” he told her.

  “Will more bikers join us there, or is this about it for the ride?” she asked.

  “There may be three or four that will join, so this is about it. It’s a small rally, comparatively speaking. I’ve been in them with nearly eight hundred bikes.”

  “Wow. That’s a lot of bikes. That would overwhelm most small towns, I would think.”

  “It will, and it does. Along the bike routes where the big rallies are, some small towns will pretty much lock down during that ride. They will close everything down tight and sit it out. They’d rather lose any money they might have made rather than risk the damage a bike gang can cause if they get pissed off.”

  “Jack, were you in a gang?”

  He was silent for a few seconds then answered her.

  “Yeah, I was.”

  “What was the name of it?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer for a few minutes and she figured he wasn’t going to tell her. Then he sighed.

  “The Devils,” he finally said.

  * * * *

  Why Jack had thought he could bring her on this ride, he’d never know. She didn’t need to see this side of him. She’d never want to see him again if she found out just how bad he’d been. Since there were several of the gangs he knew running in this rally, he figured there was a fairly good chance someone would know him and say something. He really should turn around and head back home, but he didn’t. He’d probably kick himself later for not doing it.

  “I take it that it wasn’t a good time in your life,” she said.

  “Oh, it had its moments.” He wasn’t going to lie about it.

  “Not all bad then. That’s good. Do you see anyone here you recognize?” she asked.

  He sighed. “Yeah, a few. Not many. It’s best if we don’t get involved with anyone I know.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t argue with him. That was good.

  “Are you getting hungry?” he asked.

  “Yeah, more thirsty than hungry though.”

  “Next stop has a really nice diner that, if we can get in, you’ll love their hamburgers.” He slowly maneuvered them closer to the lead.

  He didn’t want to take over the lead or even be in the first ten bikes, but close enough to maybe get in the diner without too much trouble. It was a nice place, so he figured most of the riders would steer clear of it. He hoped.

  They rode into the little town about twelve thirty. He headed straight for the diner and was pleased to see most of the bikes heading in the opposite direction. Once he stopped, Nina got off and began taking off her helmet while he got off. They walked inside, and he noticed everyone gave them a wide berth. He was use to it but knew that Nina wouldn’t be. She either didn’t notice or pretended not to.

  They took a booth in the back with him on the back wall so he could watch the comings and goings through the door. Nina sat across from him and smiled.

  “So, order the hamburger and fries, right?” she asked.

  “Right. Get it dressed however you like it, but the burger is heaven.”

  After a few minutes, a cook came out and took their order. He hadn’t expected that. Maybe they had had some trouble in the past.

  “Can I take your order?”

  “I’d like your hamburger with everything and an order of fries with a Diet Coke please,” Nina ordered.

  “I’ll have the same thing and instead of the Coke, I’ll have sweet tea,” he said. “Oh and bring us both a glass of water with that, too, please.”

  The cook nodded and left. He was surprised that the waitress came back and brought their drinks. Evidently, he decided they weren’t going to cause any trouble after all.

  Nina leaned in to talk to him. “They seem sort of spooked by us, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, I wonder if they’ve had trouble with bikers in the past.”

  “Well, we won’t give them any trouble,” she said with a smile.

  Their meal came out in perfect order. The waitress kept their drinks filled, and the meal was great. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I need to run to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.” Nina jumped up and left before he could warn her to come right back.

  He stacked their plates up and nursed his water until she came back. He breathed a sigh of relief when she sat down across from him.

  “Sorry, there were like five women in there when I got in there. They all quit talking when I walked in, and they all walked out.” She looked a little hurt.

  “As long as you’re riding a bike, you get treated like that,” he told her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For treating you like that without getting to know you first.”

  “Water under the bridge. Let’s get going.” He left a generous tip and paid the bill at the cash register.

  “I need to stop by a store of some sort to get a pocket comb. My hair looks like a mess every time I take that helmet off.”

  He laughed and handed her his out of his back pocket.

  “What are you doing with a comb? You don’t have any hair?” she asked astonished.

  “I was carrying it for you. Forgot to tell you about it.”

  “Thanks.” She looked like she was going to say something else when several loud bikes rode by.

  He climbed on the bike and strapped on his helmet while Nina climbed on after him. He waited until she grabbed hold of his waist, her sign that she was strapped down and ready. He pulled out, taking it easy since the diner seemed so spooked by them being there. He’d been there plenty of times and never had them act that way before. Someone had screwed them big time. It pissed him off, but he couldn’t say anything since he’d been part of a gang that did its share of screwing around.

  He pulled into a gas station mostly for the bathroom but also to see how they acted there. If they were spooked, he knew there’d been some gang activity lately. Nina immediately got off, but didn’t take her helmet off. She seemed to know they wouldn’t be there long.

  “Keep the helmet on so I can talk to you. I’m going to the john. I’ll be right back.”

  He ran inside, first to pay for some gas, then back to the men’s room. He listened for any sign that Nina was in trouble and hearing none, he turned the mike off long enough to take care of business. He flipped it back on and growled.

  “So, who’s your old man?” a voice asked.

  “Jack. He should be right out.”

  “Well, he’s not here right now. Why don’t you—”

  “There he is now.”

  Jack walked out of the service station in a slow deliberate stroll. He noticed that Nina had put the bike between her
and the other biker. Good move. He circled around the bike and stood face to face with the other guy.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Just passing time with your bitch.”

  “That’s right. Mine.” He unscrewed the top of his tank and filled the tank with the gas he’d bought.

  “You get tired of riding with Jack here, you look for me.” He got on his bike and rode off.

  “You okay, baby?” he asked as soon as the other guy had driven off.

  “He called me your bitch,” she said with a smile.

  “Honey, that was very dangerous. He could have snatched you.”

  “That’s why I kept talking and walked around to the other side of the bike. I knew you could hear me and would come see about me.”

  Jack hugged her tight before climbing on the bike feeling guilty as hell that he’d turned the damn mike off for even a few seconds. He waited for her to grab his waist then pulled back out on the road. They would get a little ahead of some of them for the next town. A few others seemed to have the same idea. They didn’t look to be anyone he would worry about, though. He really shouldn’t have brought Nina on this run.

  The next town proved to be a bigger one, so there was more room for the bikers to spread out. He rode over to the opposite side of town where there were some nicer places to eat. He chose a decent bar, and they walked in and headed for a booth in the back across from the pool tables.

  “Do you shoot pool?” she asked him.

  “Yeah, what about you?”

  “A little. Want to play?”

  When she said it like that, he pictured other things, but he smiled and nodded.

  “Let’s get our order in first.”

  The waitress walked over and took their orders. They both got beers then moved to the pool table. She racked them, surprisingly good at it. He broke and ended up with solids. He ran two more balls. She sank three stripes before missing. They played back and forth through four games and two beers before she called it quits.