Snake
“You should have seen her. She was absolutely wild. She didn’t even care about foreplay.” Moose shook his head and leaned against the side of the building. “Still made me wear a condom, so I lost the bet, but I don’t even care. I’m keeping her number in case we ever ride through here again.”
The five of us stood a little apart from the rest of the club members. We would be riding out that day for a different town. Johnson City hadn’t been very welcoming, and several of the men had already landed in jail for a night here or there. “It’s best we just move on,” Bruiser had told us the previous night. “I don’t mind a little trouble, but the bail money gets expensive.”
“That’s nothing,” Axle said, his face confident. “You should have seen this little country chick I banged last night. She snuck me out to the barn and we climbed up on top of all these hay bales. I thought I’d just be giving her a quick poke under that little denim skirt of hers, but she wanted to do something a little more dangerous. She was completely naked, and we spent the whole night doing it. I bent her over a bale of hay and gave it to her good.”
“Yeah, right.” Rubble looked grumpy as he packed the last of his things in his saddlebags. “I bet the only thing you fucked last night was your left hand.”
“Don’t be jealous. It’s not my fault you insisted on that waitress. Not very smart when she wouldn’t even look at you or give you your beer.” Axle leered at the other man, clearly feeling like the victor.
“It’s not like any of it matters anyway until one of them is knocked up,” Rusty reminded us. His red hair gleamed in the morning sunshine. “Besides, the only one of us who I know had a girl in his room was Snake. How did it go, man?”
They were all watching me so closely. It was tempting to tell them what they wanted to hear, but they would call my bluff if they had any reason to doubt me. I shook my head. “Nothing yet, man.”
“You’re kidding! She practically threw herself at you.” Moose’s eyes were wide with surprise. “I thought she was some horny little beauty queen.”
“I guess she changed her mind.” I thought once again of our encounter in my motel room. I’d hardly been able to think of anything else. She had been so sweet, so luscious under my hands. If I had another chance, I wouldn’t let her get away.
“It’s not like you to play the gentleman,” Rusty reminded me. “You feeling all right?”
The men laughed, and I laughed along with them. I got the joke, but I didn’t appreciate it. I knew women liked me, but I never made them do anything they didn’t want to. I’d been put in that position far too many times myself, and I had vowed a long time ago that I would never be like that. “Don’t you worry, boys. I’ll win this bet before you know it, and I promise I’ll rub it in your faces when you have to give me all your money.”
“Right,” Rusty said with a nod. “I’ll be sure to take note of that.”
“You’re so confident, Rust, but we haven’t heard anything about your adventures.” I watched his face carefully. This whole thing had been his idea, after all.
Moose nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s time for you to spill.”
He ran a hand through his ruddy beard. “Don’t you worry about that. I’ll let you know if I get her pregnant, and that’s all you need to know.”
The rest of us exploded with laughter. “So what you’re saying is you haven’t been with anybody,” I said. “That’s a pretty lame trick, man. Don’t you think we know better?”
Rusty looked smug. “As a matter of fact, I have. But she’s a businesswoman in the area, and she probably wouldn’t want me dragging her name through the mud.”
“Who is it?” Axle pushed. “You’ve got to tell us. We’ve all been open about it. You started the bet, so you can’t keep it a secret.”
The redhead looked around before leaning in a little closer. “All right. But you can’t say anything.” He pointed to the motel sign. “The manager. Last night.”
We gaped at him for a moment. “Really? That woman behind the desk last night?” Rubble ran a hand through his stubble. “I wish I had thought of that.”
“It wouldn’t have done you any good. She might run a dumpy motel, but she wouldn’t have paid any attention to the likes of you.” Rusty’s back was a little straighter now, his chest puffed out. “She’s an older woman, but she has standards.”
“Got yourself a cougar,” Moose remarked. “Not a good path to getting her pregnant.”
He smiled, a twitch of his beard. “I said she’s older, not that she’s dead. She’s still got plenty going for her, and they say older women are at their sexual peak. Based on the night I had with her in the supply room, I tend to agree.”
“Maybe we should make the same bet in the next town,” Rubble mused. “It could be a standing bet every time we land someplace new. It would certainly keep things interesting.”
“And it would give you time to recover from your major flop here,” I reminded him. “I think you’re just trying to redeem yourself, but we aren’t stopping in Uglytown for a few months.”
He glared at me, and for a moment I thought he might come after me. But Rubble wasn’t much of a fighter unless he knew he could just throw his weight around and win. He might have weighed more than me, but I could hold my own much better than he could. “It’s not like you got any, either. Maybe you can go find a girl in a tiara in the next place and not fuck her, either.”
“At least Bambi was willing to get on my bike with me and come to the motel room. Your little waitress would have just as soon shot you as screwed you.” I stepped forward, suddenly enraged. Rubble had always been such a pain in the ass, and it was time someone put him in his place.
“Bambi? You got a girl with a stripper name like Bambi into your hotel room and she still didn’t let you inside her? Dude, you’re worse at this than I thought.” Rubble stepped up to me as well. His head only came to my shoulders, but he had a fire in his eyes. Angry men often fought well.
“Boys, boys! Just stop! We don’t have time for this nonsense. We’re almost ready to go. Saddle up.” Rusty swung one long leg over his chopper and looked at us expectantly.
He was right, and none of us could argue with that. We turned for our bikes and did as we were told.
Just then, a taxi swung to a stop in the parking lot. We all turned to look, and my gut dropped down into my boots when I recognized the passenger who got out. She looked completely different than the last time I’d seen her, having exchanged her beautiful dress for a ratty T-shirt and a pair of black yoga pants with a splash of paint on one thigh. Traces of her eyeliner still clung to her skin even though she had washed the majority of her makeup off, and her hair hung limply around her shoulders. Still, she was gorgeous.
Bambi kept her eyes on the men around us as she slowly crossed the parking lot toward me. I could feel the gang holding its collective breath, most of them wondering what was going on. Rusty, Rubble, Moose, and Axle already knew who she was at least, but even they were watching with curiosity.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said meekly. “And I’ve changed my mind.”
There was no telling what had happened to her over the last day, but it was clear that she’d gotten the change in her life she had been looking for. I mounted my bike, scooting forward on the seat to make room for her. I didn’t say anything—the wrong words would ruin the moment—but I looked up at her expectantly.
I was ready for her to change her mind once again, or at least to hesitate, but she strode forward confidently and swung her leg up. She was behind me once again, her arms wrapped around me. Despite the fact that she had been so stubborn and difficult the previous day, I had to admit that it felt good to have her body pressed up against mine once again. Whatever had made her realize she wanted to be with me, I was grateful for it.
Rusty and the others were ready to go, and we rumbled out of the parking lot and into the road. Bambi didn’t ask where we were going, and I didn’t volunteer the information. I wasn’t even completely sure. All I knew was that we were leaving town, and I had a hot woman on the back of my bike.