Stealing the biker, p.5
Stealing the Biker, page 5
He doesn’t push for me to talk about all the shit swirling in my head. Instead, he reaches out and takes my hand in his again, his thumb absentmindedly stroking the back side in soothing circles. What may appear to be a small and friendly gesture means more to me than he realizes.
My face heats as he stares at my lips, and I wonder if he’s feeling it, too. This magnetic pulse pulling us closer together with every passing second I spend with him. It’s crazy and intense. The way I’ve come to depend on him in the past twenty-four hours.
And maybe that’s all it is. Finding comfort in the one person who happens to be by my side. Would the connection be as strong if he were anyone else? Like say, Jonesy. Would he be holding my hand and giving me a shoulder to cry on?
“You should eat something.”
I nod, forcing myself to take a bite of my now cold lunch.
“You sure you don’t want to get out of here? I won’t tell on you for skipping.”
As badly as I want to take him up on the offer, I don’t trust myself right now. Because every piece of me wants to be impulsive. Giving in right now would only lead to more heartbreak and I can take anything else going wrong. Not today.
Chapter Seven
I don’t know how Kiesha is making it through the day with all the family drama she’s dealing with. She’s stronger and more mature than I gave her credit. Not many people would take the news they have a little sister they never knew about as easily as she has.
I’d be losing my mind.
I stare down at my phone, playing a mindless hunting game, trying to pass the time.
Sabrina hasn’t tried to call or message me all day. To be honest, I’m glad for the break from her constantly jumping my ass for every little thing. Being here for Kiesha today has been a nice distraction.
Deep down, I know I can’t afford to get too involved. She’s vulnerable now, and I can’t take advantage of her situation. I can’t grow too attached to her. This situation is short term. She won’t need my protection forever. When this is over, we’ll go back to being strangers. Back to our real lives. One where she’s lusting after douche head jocks and my focus is solely on my own problems.
My thoughts drift to Sabrina, and the guilt gnaws at me. I shouldn’t be here, comforting another girl while I’m still in a relationship, no matter how rocky it is. How would Sabrina feel if she knew? How would she react if she saw me holding Kiesha’s hand, even if it was innocent?
At least that’s the lie I’m telling myself. I’d be a liar if I said I don’t find her attractive. Link and Prodigy’s warnings sound in my head, reminding me that she’s off limits.
My phone chimes with a text from Kiesha.
Not to freak you out, but I think my dad is standing outside of the school.
Fuck.
I’m coming.
My top priority is getting Kiesha to safety. Then We’ll call Prodigy.
I meet her outside of her classroom and pull her into a nearby supply closet.
“Are you okay?” She nods as I dial Prodigy and hand her my phone.
“Prodigy?” She calls out his name, her voice shaky and unsure. “I think I saw my dad.”
I overhear him asking where.
“Outside of my school. I was sitting in fourth period when I had that creepy feeling like someone was watching me. Ya know? When I glanced out the window, I swear he was standing across the road waving at me.”
I crack the door and look out into the hallway, but I don’t see anyone.
“He wants to talk to you.” Kiesha hands me my phone and I try to ignore the way her body presses against mine in the tight space. The sweet smell of her perfume washes over me as she clings to my arm.
I hate the fear I see in her eyes as she stares at me, on the verge of tears. Her bottom lip trembles and I swipe a stray tear from her cheek.
“It’s uh Jimmy.”
“No shit, sherlock. Did you see him?” Prodigy growls.
“No.”
“Where were you?”
“I was in the library.”
“What the fuck for?”
“You told me to blend in. I’ve had to get creative and can’t exactly hang out in the bathroom all day. I can’t sit in the classroom with her.”
“I’m sending someone to the school. Once it’s clear, take her to the clubhouse.”
“Got it.” I end the call and tuck my phone in my back pocket as I glance at Kiesha. Her face is devoid of any color, those gorgeous hazel eyes of her filled with uncertainty and unshed tears. “Don’t worry, brat. I’ve got you,” I remind her. “As long as you have me, no one is going to hurt you.”
“And when this is over, and you go back to your life…to your girlfriend, who is going to protect me, then?”
“Kiesha,” I whisper her name as we move closer to one another. So close that I can almost feel the drumming of her heart. I hold her gaze, unable to look away even though I know I should as my body trembles with a mix of desire and guilt. She shouldn’t be looking at me like I’m some sort of hero.
Right now, with the thoughts I’m having, I’m anything but a good man. She’s only eighteen and I’m almost twenty-one. It’s not that I’m that much older than her, but the fact that I’m supposed to be in a committed relationship that has me questioning my sanity. The way she’s looking at me has me ready to cross a line. Ready to betray the woman I’m supposed to love.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever,” I swear, my voice laced with renewed determination.
“But what about when you leave?” she asks, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions. “This will end and then you’ll just be gone. Out of my life. What happens when I need you and you won’t be here?”
I hesitate, knowing that I should be thinking about getting back to Sabrina and the life I promised to build with her and not this girl who is barely legal. There’s something about Kiesha that draws me in, making me want to protect her at all costs. Making me wish I were someone else. That I didn’t have a girlfriend.
“Then I’ll be a call away.” I shouldn’t be making a promise that I don’t know if I can keep.
“Things won’t be the same. We won’t be the same as we are now. In here. In this room. Where we can be anyone we want to be. We can pretend you don’t have a girlfriend and that my father could want to kidnap me, or worse.” She sniffles, tears watering in the creases of her beautifully sad eyes.
“Hey,” I cup her face in my hands, gently wiping away her tears with my thumbs. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t cry.”
She nods and before I can grasp the reality of what I’m doing, I press my lips to hers, desperate to soothe her. All I want is to take away her pain. To make her forget that her world is falling apart. In the back of my mind, I know this is wrong on so many levels, but nothing has ever felt righter. The taste of her sinful lips ignites a fire within me I can’t control. She returns the kiss frantic and eager as her tongue dances with mine. The sweetest temptation.
In another life, I could make this girl mine.
She whimpers into my mouth, making me greedy for more. I kiss her harder and deeper, my skin growing more feverish with every stroke of my tongue against hers. I push her body against the door. One hand above her head, the other gripping her hip, wanting so much more than I’m willing to take.
I nip her bottom lip, slowing the tempo, wishing I could stay here with her tucked away in this closet forever.
The bell for the next period sounds, forcing me to remember where we are and the severity of what could go wrong if I’m not paying attention to our surroundings. Footsteps and voices echo down the hall, growing closer to our location.
Abruptly, I pull away, ending the stolen moment. “I’m sorry.” I run a hand over my hair. “I shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted you to.” She smiles at me, then rubs the soft pad of her thumb across my lips, wiping away her lip gloss.
The door suddenly swings open, and we’re met with the surprised faces of Jonesy Ripley and some chick. “What are you two doing here?” he gives me a once over. “Are you even a student here?”
“Mind you own business, Jonesy,” Kiesha snaps. “You know, like the baby you don’t take care of.”
His face pales as I pull Kiesha out of the closet before this asshole draws anymore unwanted attention to us. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” As we’re walking away, I get a text message that we’re clear to leave.
Kiesha reaches for my hand, and I don’t pull away, though I probably should. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I got caught up in the heat of the moment. I get her in my truck and start up the engine without addressing what happened between us. I don’t want to hurt her. She has enough to deal with, but what I did back there…I can’t allow myself to go there again.
“Do you need anything before we get to the clubhouse?”
“No.” She shakes her head, touching her fingers to her mouth, smiling to herself. Most likely thinking about our kiss.
I can’t stop thinking about it either, but probably for a different reason.
“You sure? No snacks? Nothing to eat? I’m sure there’s stuff there…” I trail off. “Milkshake?” I don’t know why I’m trying to prolong the time I have alone with her. I guess it’s only that I know once we get to our destination and exit my truck, we have to return to how things were before that kiss. I keep reminding myself that it can’t happen again and yet it’s all I can think about.
Not the danger she’s in. Not the possibility of Sabrina finding out, but the fact that I can’t go there again. No matter how much I want to.
Kiesha shakes her head again, so I stop making suggestions. At the next red light, I glance at her from the corner of my eye. She’s staring out the passenger window, absent-mindedly still rubbing her lips. Lips I was tasting less than ten minutes ago. Lips that tasted like strawberry bubblegum.
Her gaze seems a million miles away. I can only guess how worried she must be on the inside about her father showing up at the school to taunt her.
“Look, we need to talk about what happened back there.”
“I really don’t want to talk about my father.”
“Not that. The other thing.”
“Jonesy won’t say anything about us.”
I try again. “Not Jonesy.”
She looks at me as I stop on the side of the road about a mile from the clubhouse.
“I won’t tell my uncle if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Thank you. I just. I shouldn’t have done that. I have a girlfriend and…I’m here to do a job.”
“And not get involved with me. It’s fine. Really. It’s not a big deal.” She shrugs it off, and I don’t have time to discuss it further.
“Okay. So we’re in agreement. It was a onetime thing that won’t happen again. And there’s no reason for Sabrina to find out.”
“Ah. So that’s what has you stressed out. I won’t tell her. I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our secret.”
I nod, feeling like a lousy piece of shit asking her to cover for me, but the alternative would be telling Sabrina. The first person she’d blab to after ripping off my balls will be Ember, who will tell Smoke. Who will then tell Prodigy. Who will go on to share with Link after he kicks my ass first.
“Thank you,” I finally say, my voice sounding murmured and weary.
Kiesha smiles at me, and I continue driving to the clubhouse. The closer we get, the more I feel the moment we shared in the closet slipping further and further away.
Chapter Eight
The second I walk through the doors of the clubhouse, I go straight for my mom, needing one of her hugs more than ever. Not only did my dad show up at my school and scare the shit out of me, but Jimmy kissed me. The only downside is he regrets doing so. I could see it written all over his face.
He looked terrified. Afraid I would tell someone. Mainly his girlfriend. How in love could they be if he kissed me so easily?
Mom wraps her arms around me, and even though life is crazy, her hug comforts me. So does being here. The place is a fortress. Normally, I’m not allowed to come unless I get to tag along for a cookout. And even then, I’m only permitted to be in the picnic area out back.
I glance around the bar as Mom pulls back, taking in the scene. It’s not exactly the party central I was expecting. The way Mom and Pam talk, there are usually half-naked women running around and lots of drinking.
There are a few club members hanging at the bar, but there’s not any scantily clad women throwing themselves at everyone. I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed.
“Are you okay?”
“Other than dad showing up outside of my school, I’m fine.”
“He did what?”
“I’m fine. He waved at me. Like some creepy horror movie villain. Super weird. Don’t worry. Jimmy kept me safe.” I glance over to where he’s waiting for me by the pool tables. “Love you. Jimmy promised to teach me how to play pool.” I rush over to him before she can argue.
Jimmy’s gaze is transfixed on the felt-covered table as if he thinks it may open up and swallow him whole at any minute. I don’t have to think too deeply to guess where his thoughts are. “Boo,” I whisper in his ear, tapping him on the shoulder and he nearly jumps out of his skin.
“Don’t be sneaking up on me like that.” he chuckles under his breath.
“I’m ready for my lesson.” I bat my lashes at him, playing innocent.
“You’ve really never played before?”
“Nope,” I pop the p, tugging my bottom lip slightly with my teeth.
His cheeks redden as he grabs a stick from the rack mounted to the wall and rubbing the tip in blue chalk. “Take this.” Our fingers briefly brush as he hands me the cue stick. “Let’s go over the basics. This is your stick. This is the cue ball.” He holds up a smooth white ball before placing it at one of the ends of the table. “These are our balls. You have your stripes and solids.” I watch as he arranges them in order inside a red triangle shaped object. “This is racking the balls.”
I’m not completely clueless, but I don’t tell him that. I like that his focus is on me.
“Now what?” I ask as he sticks the rack back into a cutout at the end of the table, where he placed the balls.
“The object of the game is to sink your balls into the pockets before I do. But first you’ve gotta break them to see if you’ll be shooting stripes or solids.”
“How do I do that?”
“Easy.” He comes around to the end of the table where the cue ball sits. “You’ve gotta line up your shot. Like this.” He moves in behind me, hugging me from behind, showing me how to angle the cue stick. The scent of his spicy cologne and the leather of his jacket fill my senses as the heat of his body warms me down to my toes. “Now pull back and slide forward.” He steps away to allow me to do it on my own and I immediately miss the heat of him pressing against me.
“Do you think they’re talking about us?” he nods in the direction of my mom and my sister.
“Not you. They’re probably laughing about my terrible aim.”
“You’ll get better with practice. Try it like this. Nice…,” he wraps his arms back around me, guiding the stick, his fingers covering mine, “and easy.”
Jimmy pulls away quickly as the five ball sinks into the left corner pocket. I smile at Jimmy, but his face has lost all humor. I follow his gaze to the girl with strawberry blonde hair marching toward us with her face all pinched like a bulldog ready to go on the attack.
“So this is why I haven’t heard a peep out of you all day,” she screeches, getting in his face.
I place the stick on the table as she wags her finger in his face, chewing him out. I don’t want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it’s kind of hard not to.
“I can’t believe you forgot. Of all days. Not even a text. I thought I’d wake up to flowers or at least a card. But nope. You completely forgot my birthday. Don’t even try to deny it.”
Guilt gnaws at my insides. Today’s her birthday and her boyfriend was kissing me. Jimmy and I are both lousy people.
I glance at Jimmy, who’s looking down at his shoes, his face flushed with embarrassment. I get how pissed she is, but even I know better than to pop off at the mouth in front of the club. Especially when Jimmy is only a prospect. It’s not a good look for him that she’s screaming the bar down.
I look around the clubhouse, wondering if anyone will intervene.
“I’m sorry,” he stammers. “With everything that happened today, it just slipped my mind. I’ll make it up to you.”
“You always say that, but never deliver. What was so important that you couldn’t be bothered to spare me a second thought? Have you even thought about me today? Huh, Jimmy?” She pokes him in the chest again and I want to slap her and tell her to shut the hell up, but it’s not my place. I’m not his girlfriend. Unfortunately for him, this crazy chick is.
Sabrina huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “Well? Yesterday, you promised me we would have dinner together.”
“I know I did. And we will. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Don’t you dare say you promise, or you swear or so help me…”
Her friend Ember stalks toward us, and I take the opportunity to go sit with my mom and sister before she picks up the tension between Jimmy and me.
“What’s going on?” Kimber asks me.
“She’s super pissed. Like yikes on bikes. Today is her birthday.”
“Oh shit. I’d murder Nav if he forgot my birthday.”
“You know what, Jimmy? Forget it. You obviously don’t care about me,” she screams and shoots me a nasty look as she stomps past us with Smoke’s girlfriend trailing behind her.
Jimmy follows suit, not sparing me a glance. I shouldn’t be hurt, but I am. Was our kiss really that cheap? That meaningless? I distract myself by talking to my sister about the little sister we never knew about.
“I hope her mom won’t be weird about us wanting to meet her,” Kimber prattles on, but I’m only half listening. My attention is focused on the door and watching for Jimmy to return.
