by A. J. Downey
Cell walked on my other side. He’d peeled the vest with colored patches off of his jacket and wore it over his maroon tee shirt, the tail of it hitched up to either side of his hips so he could cram his hands into the pockets of his faded, work-worn Levi’s.
“Thank you,” I said shyly and he gave me a grin and a wink.
“Don’t mention it.”
We walked in a comfortable silence for a time before Cell had me stop so he could retrieve a cigarette from his jackets inside pocket. I turned and stood still while he fished inside the pocket, the back of his hand brushing against my breast. I held my breath, the problem I was having with the contact not that it made me uncomfortable, at least not in the way that he was touching me when I didn’t want him to. Rather, I found the small touch exciting and that I wanted to explore more…. with both of them…just not maybe at once and maybe not sex. I mean, wouldn’t that make me some kind of harlot or slut?
He put the cigarette to his lips and cupped his hands around it, flicking the plastic lighter to life with his thumb. The flame cast his face in high relief and I realized that Cell was handsome in his own way. Angular features, his jawline rugged and strong, dusted with a day or so’s growth.
The flame went out, and he tucked the lighter back in the pocket and drew the two sides of his jacket closed, the smoke swirling around us.
“Which way to your car?” he asked in that half growl and I looked out over the fairgrounds, past darkened rides that were all closed down. Goodness, it must be much later than I realized.
“This way,” I pointed and he nodded and struck out that direction leaving me and Blue a few paces behind.
Blue’s arm returned to across my shoulders and he hugged me into his side for warmth. I leaned into him and walked with the two of them out the temporary construction fence that’d been erected around the perimeter of the large field the festival was taking up.
“I had a really good time today,” I said, leaning a hip against my tired Golf’s dark blue door. Blue stood in front of me while Cell stood somewhere around the front of my car behind me finishing off his cigarette.
“You could have more good days,” Cell called and I laughed a little.
“It’s a lot… I still need to think about that,” I called back.
“Take your time,” he said but it didn’t sound very happy or convincing.
Blue rolled his eyes quickly over his wry smile, his hand drifting up and cupping the side of my neck, his thumb caressing my jaw as he stared at me suddenly serious as if trying to memorize my face.
It was dark and very hard to see by just the light of the half moon, but I was well aware that we were alone out here, even though there was a fair bit of cars still scattered throughout the field that was being used as a parking lot.
“I may never have a chance like this again…” Blue breathed and it sounded agonized. My heart broke a little at his tone, but before the pieces could fall, he bent and his lips were gentle along mine. I gasped, surprised, but then my body took what I so desperately wanted before my mind could resist.
I melted against him, my lips parting for him, inviting him to deepen the kiss and he did. It was as if we were suspended in time, the moment one of the handful of absolutely perfect moments I had ever experienced in my life.
When he broke the kiss I stood for a heartbeat, eyes still closed, savoring how gently he’d touched me, how sweetly his mouth had moved against mine.
Hard muscled arms pulled me gently back against an equally hard chest. One of those arms wrapped around my waist holding me back against him.
“My turn,” Cell growled into my ear and his other hand gently smoothed up the front of my throat, his fingers pressing into my chin, tipping my head all the way back. His mouth covered mine and it wasn’t gentle, it was possessive. Whereas Blue had gently taken my mouth, Cell conquered it, kissing me fiercely, the warmth that Blue had started in my body blossomed into an inferno.
I admit it, I was weak, falling back into Cell’s chest, letting him take what he wanted, powerless to do anything but surrender.
He tore his mouth from mine and I stood trembling, chest heaving. He let me go, taking his jacket from my shoulders. Blue stood by, my car door open, the dome light spilling weak, watery yellow light onto the dry and brittle grass.
“Think about it,” Cell growled.
“Take all the time you need,” Blue added gently. I got into my car mechanically and set the stuffed unicorn on my passenger seat. Blue handed me my keys which I had left in the door.
I took them with trembling fingers and he shut me safely inside. I started up my Volkswagen and turned on the headlights. They stood by and watched me, waiting for me to buckle up and pull out.
I glanced into my rearview and watched them both staring after me and I knew what my answer would be the next time I saw them… I knew it all the way down to my very bones.
Chapter 5
Duracell
“I think we got her,” I said dryly and glanced over to Blue. He was still staring at the two pinpricks of red that were Hayley’s departing taillights. Typical for him, he didn’t say shit; not for a long minute.
I was in a good mood and feeling generous so I waited him out. Finally, when the lights from her cage were gone and the contrails of dust from her tires were nearly settled he turned to me, his face completely neutral.
I knew the look, like he had high hopes that he was struggling with. Trying not to get ‘em up too high in case shit went sideways. Dumb fucker. It always went sideways in the end, he knew that but for now, we had her so it was cool letting his hopes raise a little.
“Did you hear me? I said, I’m pretty sure we got her, dude. So why the long fucking face? It was an awesome day. Fuckin’ enjoy it for once. That’s your problem, you – ”
“I hear you, just shut up about it!” he snapped and he turned his gaze back the way she’d gone.
“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re like a goddamned puppy.” He was, too, the way he was staring after her after she’d long gone. It was pathetic.
He turned back and glared at me, but I didn’t fucking care. I never did, unless it made him pissy enough to resist putting out. Although, to be honest, sometimes that was fun too.
“Come on, we gotta be up in less hours than I’d really like,” I reminded him and that spurred him back into action, at least a little bit.
We trekked over to where our bikes were parked under a tree and started them up. He stared off into space vacant while I sorted out my jacket and cut. I could say one thing for the bitch that Blue’d picked. She had good taste in whatever the fuck bitches slathered on their skin or whatever. I could smell it coming off my jacket, floral and sweet.
I was seriously looking forward to utterly destroying that pussy. It would happen, too. We’d hooked her. I knew it down to the bottom of whatever twisted excuse for a soul I owned.
I put on a set of safety glasses and buckled on my helmet. Not because I cared about wearing one, but more so we wouldn’t get our asses pulled the fuck over. I didn’t need the cops finding the firepower in the back of my waistband that my ass shouldn’t be carrying as a felon.
Jail and prison just wasn’t as much fun as it was out here, but at the same time, given the opportunity, I could raise just as much hell on the inside as out here. I gave Blue my usual signal that I was taking off. He gave me the hand signal back that he was right behind me and we switched on headlamps and carefully maneuvered over the raw, rough dirt and trampled grass of the field to the dirt and gravel track operating as the road out of here.
I couldn’t wait to hit blacktop and traction I could count on. One of the best things about riding was going fast, even if it was a time of night that the only other sons of bitches on the road were sheriffs or staties out to ruin my ride.
We hit blacktop, I made sure we were clear of any troubles and punched it, getting up to speed. Blue rode with me and I laughed as the cooler autumn evening air washed over me and set me
freer than anything else I’d encountered so far, except this life in among the outlaws.
I was disappointed that the rest of these boys had pussed out so hard while Blue and I had been locked up, but I could understand it. None of ‘em were like me. It just was what it was. I hadn’t found anything better, yet… but I think Blue had just provided a decent change of pace and distraction for the time being.
We’d see if she could hold up or not. She was kind of a timid mouse of a thing. Good thing she had tits and ass for days, some long hair to yoke her with, otherwise I wouldn’t have been half as interested. Usually I wasn’t much into banging a chick more than once but Blue made my life a lot easier, caught what I missed and let me know when I was missing emotional or social cues. He apparently needed more than what I was giving him in that department, so I could put up with it… for now.
For the immediate now, we rode back to the club and our beds. I’d pretty much done all of the ‘nice’ I could manage to fake tonight, but again… he was right. I could stand to have some regular pussy around and Hayley was easier on the eyes and just about everything I liked. If I wanted to bang her more than once, I would need to do shit Blue’s way. Most of all, if I wanted to keep Blue around, I needed to do shit Blue’s way…
Decisions, decisions… I guess sometimes there were no short cuts to take, but fuck I hated doing anything the long way; but, some situations just called for it, I guess.
Chapter 6
Blue
Cell and I were both rough around the edges from a lack of sleep the night before. It was still unseasonably warm outside and we’d dressed for the cooler morning. When you worked on a road crew, you dressed for the weather, whatever it was in the morning, but it wasn’t until your lunch hour that you could strip any of it off or switch anything out, so we’d been sweating hard for the last few hours. Dragging our asses into the diner for lunch that afternoon almost felt like a chore until I saw her. Just laying eyes on her and I was restored some.
Cell hit the bathroom while I slipped into a free booth. When he reappeared and sat down at the table is when Hayley finally came over. She filled our water glasses and set down some menus. She was solemn today, not talking, lost inside her own head. She turned to leave and get Cell his regular drink order but stopped, back turned. Her shoulders dropped slightly in her cute, bright turquoise, fifties style waitressing uniform and I wondered what was up while I took her in. That retro dress fit her figure to stunning effect, and Cell and I unabashedly admired the view of the perfect curve of her ass in it for as long as she remained turned around for us to do it.
Finally, she turned back around, stainless steel water pitcher clutched tightly in one hand, the other buried in her apron. She pulled out a folded piece of paper from that apron pocket and set it between the both of us on top of the menus. It took her a couple of tries but she finally said to us, “Friday, pick me up at eight?”
Cell picked up the paper and unfolded it, his eyes scanning the contents written on it. He handed it across to me and told her, “Blue will. I’ll pick you up same time next week.”
She nodded rapidly and took off to another table refilling their waters. My eyes fell onto the paper and the address written there. I couldn’t help but smile and think to myself that this was going to be one of the longest weeks ever.
I wasn’t wrong, and what really sucked was that Hayley had to move back to night waitressing for a while, while they trained a new girl. When Melody got wind of it, she saved the day by switching off with Hayley that Friday night so that Hayley could go on her date with me. Archer wasn’t amused when it came to his wife working at night in that neighborhood, but it was only one night and by now, most, if not all of the town knew she was with a Sacred Heart.
Still, I was amused when Nox and Rush showed up at the club in Nox’s cage with Archer and Mel’s two boys. Why? So Archer could be at the diner while Mel worked the night shift, watching over her.
That was the kind of man I wished I could be for Hayley, but mine and Cell’s job sort of prohibited it for the time being.
I was thrilled that she was giving us a chance, body humming with good vibes as I got ready to go get her. Cell watching me from my bed as he thumbed through the channels on my TV, surfing for something good.
I watched him for a second in my mirror as I put my wallet into the back pocket of my best jeans. I wore my newest tee shirt, too. I didn’t have much money, I was still paying off debt and other stupid shit from before I went inside. I was almost caught up, but not quite there yet. Another six months or so and I’d probably be able to invest in some nicer clothes. For now, this is what I had and it would have to do.
I went over and pulled my jacket and cut down off of the coat tree in the corner and looked back at Cell.
“Look at you all dressed to fuckin’ impress.” His tone dripped with sarcasm and I frowned. He grinned, and gave me a half assed, mock salute and said, “Good luck, bro.”
That part he meant and wasn’t entirely being an ass about. I nodded and ducked out into the hallway, not bothering to shut the door.
We’d both ridden by the address she’d given us earlier in the week. It was a nice, small, two story house painted a bright cheery yellow and trimmed out in white. The front porch was a grand thing, white like the trim with decorative pillars holding up the eaves. The driveway went down along the right side of the house to a spacious side and part of the back yard where a converted garage rested. It was a nice place and easy to find, even in the dark.
I went out into what should have just been a deep dusk and found it darker than it should have been. A quick glance to the sky told me everything I needed to know. The sky was leaden, the clouds hanging low. It was definitely going to rain. Shit.
I didn’t own a cage. I looked at the sky one more time as I mounted my bike out front of the club and hoped like hell we could get where we were going before the sky decided to open up and that it’d quit before it was time to leave.
I rode over to Hayley’s, and pulled into the driveway to the back of the house by the outbuilding like she’d written and didn’t even have time to shut off the bike before she was out the back door of the house. I smiled and she paused, her big brown eyes wide. My heart sank a bit and then I realized she wasn’t looking at me with that mixture of doubt and trepidation, but rather my bike.
I smiled and leaned it over onto its kickstand, shutting off the motor. She was dressed for it in form fitting, dark jeans. She’d paired them with tall, knee high, brown leather boots that were laced up tight with a sturdy sole. A soft, but warm looking cream sweater peeked around her dark brown fashionable leather coat that she had belted at the waist and I couldn’t have picked better if I wanted to for a first time ride.
“Come here, get on behind me, and put this on,” I said softly and held out my spare helmet that I’d pulled off from around the sissy bar.
Hayley came forward stammering, “I um, I thought between you that one of you might have a car. Do you want to take mine?”
I smiled and asked, “Don’t you trust me?”
She looked a little stricken, “Of course I do! I mean, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to – ”
I chuckled and covered her hands with mine. “It’s fine, you didn’t hurt my feelings. I just really want to show you.”
“Show me what?” She asked a bit breathlessly.
“The feeling. Can’t describe it, but I want to share it. I’d like to share everything with you.” I kind of kicked myself at how cheesy that sounded but once it was out of my mouth, it wasn’t like I could take it back.
Hayley stared at me, searching my face for several long heart beats, but then she put the helmet on and clasped it, tightening the chinstrap. I heeled up the kickstand and started it up and she got on behind me. She found the pegs for her feet and I told her to hold onto me. Her arms went tight around my waist, her lush body pressing up against my back and I let out the clutch, shifted, and took us around to head down the dri
veway the same way I’d come up. I was pleased there was enough room back here to turn her around without having to back her up. That was always nice.
I took it slow at first, down her street and stopped at the stop sign at the end of her road.
“Alright?” I called.
“This isn’t so bad!” she called back and I smiled to myself. She hadn’t ridden with Cell and I needed to both ease her into things and prepare her for that, so I was a little less gentle in my speed when we turned out onto the main thoroughfare.
Hayley gasped, I could tell because she held onto me tighter. I resisted the urge take my hand off the bars just long enough to pat her hands where they rested over my stomach. The wind was biting and smelled of rain and a bit of ozone by the time we pulled into the lot at Soul Fuel.
I hadn’t had much time to plan for a first date, and it was hard without knowing exactly what she liked, but then I’d overheard Everett telling Dray about the plan at hers and Mandy’s coffee shop for this Friday’s entertainment. It was too perfect to pass up, and so I brought her here.
The lot was pretty full when we pulled in, but I still managed to find parking about four spaces down next to a scooter occupying a space but courteously pulled to one side of the space to allow for another bike or scooter to pull in. I tapped Hayley’s knee and she hesitated, unsure of what I wanted or needed and I said as kindly as I could, “Need you to get off. It’s easier to back in.”
She startled a bit and jumped down, standing on the sidewalk and taking off her helmet while I backed my bike into the space snuggly next to the mint green Vespa. She quickly checked her long hair in the side mirror of an SUV parked next to us, and fixed her windblown bangs and I smiled and held my hand out. She gave me the helmet I’d lent her and I stowed both of them in one of the hard sided saddlebags figuring it was definitely going to rain out here before the night was through.
I held out my hand to her and her fingers were frozen. I cursed my damn self for not thinking to give her a pair of gloves and stopped her.
