“I thought that much was clear when you were half fucking that girl on the dance floor.”
“Don’t be jealous, darlin’. It doesn’t look good on you.”
“What would look good on me?” I ask him, watching the way his thick lips tilt up into a smile.
“Nothin’ would look good on you, but you sure as fuck would look good ridin’ me.”
My heart leaps into my throat. This wasn’t part of the plan but what if this is the only way to get to know him better? Ignoring the nagging voice in the back of my mind, I step into him, pressing my hands to his chest. The rapid beat of his heart slams against his ribs as his eyes rack over me.
“Take me for a ride then,” I say seductively.
“On my bike or my cock?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Bike first.” He nods his head, reaches for my hand and pulls me along with him. At first, he’s quiet and that’s fine by me, but as we walk farther, he begins talking.
“How long you been makin’ stuff?” he asks, sounding like he is genuinely interested.
“Since I was little. My mom used to make all kinds of things. I was always intrigued so I would sit and watch her for hours. She didn’t like using machines, so she would do basically everything by hand. It made everything that much more special.” What am I doing? Why am I telling him anything? I know that I’m supposed to be getting close but damn it, not telling him my life story. Then again, what’s it going to hurt in the end?
“It’s admirable. Not a lot of people are willin’ to put in the work to make somethin’ like that anymore. Not when they can get online and buy that shit just as easy. Makes what you do unique. You should be proud of that,” he says, but doesn’t look down at me. At least not until his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I stop walking.
“What?”
“I said you should be proud of that. You work hard, that much is clear in your product. To do it all by hand? That makes it that much harder. Take pride in that.” A tear slips down my cheek as Sly narrows his brows in confusion. He wouldn’t understand. Only one other person has said those words to me. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” He reaches over, wiping the tear with his thumb, letting his hand linger there.
“It’s been a long time since someone has said that to me.”
“You should hear it more often. It’s the truth.” Without another word, he pulls me along through the rows of bikes and I giggle.
“How do you even know what bike belongs to who with all these out here?”
“Bikes are like women. We know what’s ours,” he says with a chuckle. My heart leaps in my chest once more when he stops at one of the bikes. He picks up the helmet and passes it to me.
“What are you going to wear?” He looks over at me, giving me a lazy smile before I get it. He doesn’t need one. He thinks that highly of himself.
Sliding the helmet on my head, I watch Sly climb on the bike with ease. I climb on behind him with a little less ease seeing as how short I am. It’s almost comical to watch me but Sly doesn’t say a word. I wrap my arms around his waist as he revs up the bike. He pulls out and down the line slowly before we hit the road. Then he opens up and lets loose.
We fly down the roads, hitting corners so quickly it makes my head spin, but the rush I feel is amazing. I was on a bike many years ago, but it wasn’t a Harley. It was what they all like to call a crotch rocket and we didn’t go this fast. And it certainly didn’t feel like this. I close my eyes and lay my head on his back as he flies down the road.
I had always wondered what people felt when riding like this but now I get it. It’s a high. It’s a rush that can’t even be explained and holding onto someone like Sly just makes it feel all the much better. My hands tighten as he pulls into a parking lot. It’s nearly empty but still some bikes litter the area. He parks the bike and I climb off with him right behind me. When he reaches for me, I almost jerk away knowing what this place is but I keep myself planted firmly in front of him. He pulls the helmet from my head and sets it on the seat as he stares at me.
“You ever rode?”
“Once. It wasn’t like that either.” He smirks.
“Nothin’ will compare to bein’ on my bike, darlin’. Come on.”
“What’s this place?” I ask as I follow behind him looking at the building in front of me.
“Our clubhouse. Don’t overthink shit. It’s no strings attached,” he says over his shoulder. He pulls the door open and holds it for me. I walk in front of him and inside. Music plays softly in the background and mostly there are a bunch of women hanging out. They all look up when we walk in. Some eye me hatefully, others eye Sly.
“Ignore them. Most of them are little club whores. A few are old ladies.”
“What does that mean?” I ask looking up at him. I want to know everything.
“It means they belong to one of the brothers here. No one will fuck with them. They have protection from everyone on the outside,” he says when another guy comes walking up.
“Hey, Prez. Got a minute?” Sly looks away from me and to the man in front of us.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Need a minute,” he says. Sly turns back to me and I nod letting him know that it’s okay to go.
“Bar’s over there. Tell the girls to get you whatever you want,” he says as I nod. He walks away and I wander toward the bar and sit on one of the stools.
“You know he’s my dad,” a voice says behind me. I spin around to look at the girl. Her eyes trail over me, looking disgusted with what she sees but that doesn’t bother me. I’m not here for her approval.
“I didn’t know that. I’m Fab,” I say trying to be polite and extending my hand to her. She looks at it, not sure if she wants to take it or not. I don’t give a shit either way, but I figure if I want information, I need to play nicely. When she finally takes it, her grip is harder than I thought it would be.
“I’m Dezzy. Fuck my dad over and I will fuck you up.” She pulls her hand from mine quickly, but she doesn’t walk away.
“I barely know your dad. We just met, so I don’t think I will be fucking him over.”
“Every little whore that he’s brought around has tried to fuck him over in some way. I’m sick of seeing it. He deserves to have something good in his life, and if you are here to mess with his head, I will fuck your life up.”
“Noted. Although I didn’t plan on hurting him considering I don’t even know him.” My anger is becoming more than I can deal with. If she wants a fight, I’ll gladly give her one, but this is pointless considering I’ve only just met him. She raises her eyebrow, no doubt sensing the shift in my attitude when I hear Sly.
“Dezzy, what the hell are you doin’?” We both turn at the same time to see him stalking toward us.
“I wasn’t doing anything but warning your little friend.”
“Warnin’ her of what?” he asks tilting his head to the side as he studies her.
“That she better not fuck you over.”
“You’re takin’ this a little too far for a girl I just met, yeah?” Dezzy huffs and rolls her eyes when Sly grabs my hand, pulling me off the stool and into his side. “Apologize, Dez.” Her eyes jerk to his as her mouth falls open.