by Sky Winters
She laughed softly. No one needed to write phone numbers down anymore, unless they were Melanie’s mother’s age. “I can just put it directly into my phone.” She brought her phone out of her purse. “What is it?”
“555-860-SSMC.”
Melanie put it into her phone and then looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. “This is your motorcycle club’s number, isn’t it?”
Doug let out another laugh. “I’m not the VP for no reason, Ohio.”
She pressed a button. “I sent you a text so you’ll have my number.” She got into her car but kept the door open for a second. “Be careful out there, okay?” Closing the door, she started her car and drove away.
It was nice of him to drive her all the way from DC to Maryland on his Harley. She hoped that he would make it back okay. She also hoped that he would not put too much stock in seeing her again. She had a two-year-old and a friend that she was eventually going to need to pay back. Melanie would not be able to live with herself if she let another man interfere with her life.
When she arrived back at Casey’s house, most of the lights were off. Melanie went inside and her friend looked up from a book, looking surprised. “There you are,” Casey said. She didn’t say it with any annoyance or exasperation, just as if she had been wondering where Melanie had gone for such a long time. “Did you have any success?”
Melanie chuckled, mostly to herself, and hung up her purse in the hall closet. She brought out her cell phone and was glad to see that there weren’t any texts from Doug. Most importantly because she didn’t want him texting and riding his bike at the same time. That was the mother in her. She also didn’t want to be bombarded with texts from him. Her head was still spinning, trying to figure things out.
“I had some slight success,” she answered. “I met a guy.”
Casey closed her book and opened her mouth wide. “You did? What happened?” She patted the couch next to her.
Melanie looked around. “Where’s Stevie?”
“I put him to bed right at nine, like you told me. He is such a good kid. We played board games all evening.” Casey smiled, proud of herself for being a capable babysitter and also proud of Melanie for having such a sweet, smart little boy.
Collapsing on the couch beside her friend, Melanie let out a pleased sigh. “Oh, thank god. I was trying to get back here quicker, but…”
Casey shook her head. “It’s okay. I didn’t mind. You needed a break anyway. Now tell me more about this mystery man you met.”
Melanie blushed. “It wasn’t really a big deal. I went to a bar after being turned away by everyone in town, and the bartender turned out to be friendly. He was covered in tattoos, as you can probably imagine, and he’s apparently a leader of this motorcycle gang.”
Casey’s eyes widened a little. “But he was nice?”
Melanie nodded. “Yeah. We chatted for a while, and then he gave me a ride on his motorcycle. He took me all the way back to the station where I’d left my car.”
“Wow,” Casey said, impressed. “He doesn’t sound so bad for a gang member.”
Melanie snorted. “I may be exaggerating a touch. He’s the vice president of a motorcycle club. It’s got a name with tigers in it or something. Anyway. He is very cute, very handsome, and I had a good time but I don’t think anything is going to come of it. I mean, after all, I just got here. I need a job. I need to find a good daycare for Stevie. I need to find structure for my life again, you know? And this guy… He’s not the sort of guy who can provide structure for us.”
Casey got up and poured them each a mimosa. She sat back down and handed Melanie a glass, clinking glasses with her. “What makes you think that he’s not someone who can help you? He obviously helped you tonight, even if it was just a little gesture versus something you needed.”
“It’s embarrassing to admit but... You should see his tattoos, Case. And his scars. He’s got scars on his forehead that make me wonder what sort of fights he’s been into. He has the look of an ex-criminal, even if he is reformed or whatever.”
“Maybe they’re just scars from falling off his motorcycle,” Casey suggested. “You should ask him about it instead of assuming.”
Melanie bit her lip. “You’re right. I just don’t know if I’m ready to have someone else in my life. Especially not someone who could end up being just as violent as Jake.”
Casey looked down, empathizing with her friend. She’d only ever had bad luck with dating and was so heartbroken when Melanie confessed to her that Jake hit her on a frequent basis, depending on how much he drank.
“I should go to bed,” Melanie said, setting her empty glass on the table. “Thanks for the mimosa and the chat. I promise to be more upbeat tomorrow.”
“I’m not expecting you to be upbeat, Mel,” Casey said. “I’m here for you always.”
CHAPTER THREE
All American Tiger
First things first, Melanie decided the next morning, she would take Stevie to one of the nearest daycare centers to see if it was a good fit for him. It was equipped with playhouses and all sorts of fun toys and things to climb on, so Melanie was satisfied. He looked around in awe at everything. “He’s very smart for his age,” she told the admissions assistant at the center. “He’s already starting to read simple picture books and he loves history.”
The lady beamed at him. She was most likely paid to praise each child, but Melanie couldn’t help feeling as though she really did have a special one that was worth describing so highly.
“I think he will do very well here,” she said.
Melanie wondered how often this woman said that in a day. She wondered if she could work in a daycare center. One kid was probably enough for her.
“Great. Well, is it okay if he stays here for a few hours today?” Melanie asked. “It could be a sort of trial run and, if it goes well, he’ll start coming here every weekday?”
She was relieved when the lady smiled and agreed to it. This would help her go apply for some of the other places that she couldn’t apply for in the evening. She didn’t want to always depend on Casey to babysit Stevie while she job hunted.
“Be a good boy,” she told her son, giving his head a kiss. She mussed up his hair a little and he ran off to go play in one of the play forts.
As she walked back out to her car, she checked her phone to see the time and noticed that she had a text notification from Doug.
Speaking of being a good boy…
She pressed the icon and read over his text.
“Doing anything fun today? Can I be a part of that?”
A blush crept over her cheeks. What was it about the guy that made her feel like this? He was not her type, except that he was cute and funny and kind. He was not good for her, except that he was thoughtful and supportive. He was a waste of her time, except the best time she’d had so far in this time had been with him…
She opened up the text’s response screen and started at the flashing cursor while she tried to think of a good excuse for not hanging out with the vice president of Stars and Stripes MC. “I have a lot of job markets to explore today,” she told him.
That hadn’t been a yes or a no, which left the door open for him without hurting his feelings by saying she couldn’t do anything fun with him.
It didn’t take him long to text her back. She was sitting in her car, putting her seatbelt on, when she her phone sounded from within her purse. She pulled it out.
“I could help with that. Want me to drive you around to places on my bike?”
Melanie sighed and called him. “I’m outside of Little Sprites Daycare. I don’t really want to leave my car here while I go around DC.”
“Okay,” he said brightly. “How about you drive back home and drop off your car and I meet you there?”
She wasn’t sure how comfortable she felt with Doug coming to Casey’s house to meet her. It wasn’t like it was really her house. “How about you meet me at the closest Starbucks?” she asked him, trying
to keep her voice pleasant. “The one on Chestnut?”
“Sure thing,” Doug replied. If he was disappointed that he couldn’t go meet her at the house, he didn’t let it show in his voice. “I’ll see you in about thirty minutes?”
“Sounds good.”
Putting her phone away, Melanie drove to Casey’s house and parked her SUV in the driveway. She went inside and, not really having anything to do in this sudden break of alone time, she made herself some coconut-flavored coffee and brought it out to sit on the front porch and enjoy the nice spring weather.
When it was time for her to go meet Doug at the coffee shop, she brought the mug back inside and put it into the dishwasher, then put on her jacket and strolled down the street to Starbucks.
It wasn’t hard to find him when she got there. He was sitting at a table near the front door, drinking something that was dark and probably tasted like lighter fluid. Melanie made a face. “How can you drink black coffee?”
Doug stood up, grinning at her. “It’s not black coffee. It’s got a little bit of hazelnut flavoring in it.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “You’re crazy.”
“Would you like something?” he asked, laughing.
Melanie didn’t want to be lingering at a coffee place. She wanted to be responsible and find a new job. It irked her that he was trying to make her while the day away. “No thanks,” she said. “We should probably get going if I am going to have any hope of finding any leads. Are you completely off today?”
He shrugged a little and put his helmet on, sipping his bizarre coffee through its straw. “I took the day off,” he said as he led her out to his bike. “I thought that helping my new friend Ohio was more important than selling alcohol to drunks.”
Something about that last word made her flinch beneath her skin, but she didn’t say anything about it.
“Your shiner is fading,” he said, tossing his drained cup into the trash. “Do you want to tell me how it happened yet?”
“Not really,” she said.
Doug unclipped a shiny red helmet from his motorcycle’s handlebars. “I bought you a helmet so now you won’t have to worry about not having one.” He watched as she put it on. “I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said softly, coming close and looking into her eyes. “You tell me if something makes you feel threatened, okay?”
Melanie wasn’t sure where this was coming from. She knew that he was concerned because she had shown up with a black eye, in a new place, but it wasn’t like he knew her. “Okay,” she said awkwardly. “Thanks…”
He picked her up in his strong arms and gently set her down on the motorcycle’s seat. Then he got on in front of her. “Hang on,” he warned before starting up the growling engine.
She wrapped her arms around his stomach and they took off. Melanie hadn’t grown used to the bike yet, but she didn’t feel as scared as she had when she first rode it.
Swerving and coasting through all of the streets on the way to DC, she looked at the road ahead and thought about what she wanted out of life now that she was free from her husband’s gruff clutches. She wanted a safe home for Stevie and herself. She wanted to be able to afford her own things without needing anyone else’s monetary contributions. She wanted something new and exciting. It surprised her when she thought that.
Doug stopped his bike outside of a burger restaurant in Chinatown called Lou’s. Melanie looked up at the sign, confused. “What are we doing here? You know, I’ve got a whole list of places.”
“I know the manager,” he told her. “He’s looking for a waitress. Do you have any waitressing experience?”
She nodded hesitantly. “A few years,” she said. “But I can find my own job.”
“Fourteen dollars an hour plus tips,” he said.
That was competitive. She thought it over. “Fine, fine.”
She got off the bike and took of her helmet while he did the same. They went into the restaurant together, holding their respective helmets under their arms and looking around. Melanie liked the place’s atmosphere. It was full of old movie posters and dolls. It was the kind of weird that made her smile.
“Angelo!” Doug called over the 1950s music that was playing.
A burly, middle-aged man with graying red hair and a stomach paunch came over. He was also wearing a tiger tattoo. Of course.
“Melanie Carr, this is Angelo Schwartz,” Doug introduced. “Angelo, this is the girl I was telling you about.”
The man known as Angelo smiled. “Ohio, huh?”
Now that Doug had helped to get Melanie hired, she couldn’t complain about him distracting her. She wondered if this had been all part of his plan, but she was too happy and excited to care. The restaurant was cool and the people there were nice, and it was going to pay her better than she could have hoped for.
She was going to start work, pending a background check, in two days. She could finally relax.
“Now,” Doug said, snapping his helmet back on. “Ohio, will you please go out with me?”
Melanie blushed. He pointed and grinned at her.
“That’s a yes!” he shouted, victorious. “You can’t deny that’s a yes.”
She laughed. “Yes. But only as payback for the job.”
He shrugged that away. “A yes is still a yes. Where do you wanna go and what do you wanna do?” he asked her excitedly, hopping back onto the motorcycle with her.
Thinking about it, she wasn’t sure. There were the stereotypical, tourist things that she hadn’t done since she was little. There was probably a vibrant, raucous nightlife that Doug knew all about… “We should probably take it slow,” she told him, smiling. “After all, I am from farm country.”
That made him laugh uproariously. “I think I have a pretty good idea. The first thing we need to do is get some grub. Do you like Korean barbeque?”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had Korean barbeque,” she answered.
“Well, that settles that!”
She held on as he sped off in the direction of something that yet again only he knew about. She was finding that it was easier to trust him, and it alarmed her more than a little because Doug was still largely a mystery to her. She supposed that the time for asking him about himself was coming, since they were on a date. The nagging, more fearful part of herself couldn’t believe that she had agreed to this, while the part of her that was still curious and excited by new things couldn’t wait to see what Doug had up his leather sleeves.
They stopped in a park, which Melanie hadn’t expected. Nearby, there was a statue of a civil war soldier on a horse. That wasn’t so odd, considering their location, but she hadn’t been anticipating a lunch in this park would be Doug’s idea of a good date place.
“This place has the best Korean barbeque I’ve ever had,” he told her, getting off the motorcycle and removing his helmet, attaching it to his handlebars. He helped Melanie down and she attached her helmet near his.
“Which place?” she asked him, confused.
He led her over to a bright yellow food truck. “This place!” There was a line the stretched down the street. Apparently other people liked this place’s food, too. “I have hopped on my Harley and searched the city for this truck before. They’re the best.”
Melanie looked at him, disbelieving. When they finally made it to the head of the line, she looked at the menu on the truck’s door. They made steak and cheese egg rolls. “Those sound amazing,” she said, pointing them out for Doug. “One order of steak and cheese rolls, please,” she told the nice Korean girl.
Doug ordered something that looked like fancily-fried pork. Once they both had their Styrofoam containers of food, they carried them over to the grass and sat down, cross-legged, while the long-dead soldier from the south eyed them from above.
“Oh, this is really good!” she exclaimed as she dug into her egg rolls. “You weren’t kidding.”
“Of course not,” he said, looking proud. “I’m not known for having bad taste.”
That made her blush a little in spite of herself. “I ask one personal question, you ask one personal question?” she offered as they continued to eat side by side.
Doug nodded. “Sounds fun.”
She looked up at him, into his green eyes. “How did you get those scars on your forehead?”
His eyes widened a little, then went back to normal. He looked down at his food, picking out the biggest piece of pork and popping it into his mouth. “Iraq,” he said, swallowing. “I was in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Operation All American Tiger… Got banged up pretty badly when a mine exploded and was sent home with these scars, a purple heart and a new passion project inspired by my friends who didn’t make it back.”
Melanie stared at him, incredulous. His scars weren’t related to criminal activity or anything like that! Doug Albright was a veteran! “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”
He smiled at her then, appreciative. She nearly melted when she saw his dimple now. “Don’t be,” he said. “I was happy to do my part and I’m proud of my service. That’s why I ride in the Stars and Stripes. We’re all vets from the 3rd, all the ones who did make it back in one or two pieces.” He chuckled a little, and there was a note of sadness in it.
She didn’t want to pry further, but she felt so bad for assuming… “I thought you were an ex-con when I met you,” she said quietly.
Doug chuckled at her, seeming a tad shy all of a sudden. “I know,” he said, smiling his cute, baby-faced smile as he looked down at his container of Korean pork. “If it makes you feel better, I was once held overnight for decking a guy in a bar. But he was making fun of my wounded friend, so please don’t be too mad.”
Melanie let out a little cry of protest, shaking her head. She placed her hand on his hand that was holding his fork. “Now it’s your turn to ask me a question.”
“A personal question?” he asked her.
She nodded, biting her lip. She knew what he was going to ask, but she wanted to go ahead and let him ask anyway. If he had assumed something asinine about it like she had about him, he had done a very good job of hiding it.
