2
Rage parked his bike in front of the bar, where they were supposed to meet the ballerinas at 7:58 sharp. He enjoyed letting the motor roar like a raging beast one last time before killing it and heading inside. He was quite sure the rest of the evening was going to be very civilized and polite. It was not something Rage was looking forward to.
To make sure the pretty good girls were not confused about what they had gotten themselves into, he had decided to wear his club leather vest with “Sworn Demons” logo on the back over a sleeveless shirt. The lack of sleeves also showed off the tribal tattoos decorating both arms and his two identical dragons blazing with fire on his forearms. Rage scanned the bar for his friend; Stalk was nowhere to be found.
Stalk arrived at 7:59. It was a habit both of them developed during their military years. Neither of them was surprised, though, when the ladies let them wait for good 15 minutes until they showed up.
“There,” Stalk elbowed his friend to tear Rage’s attention off the pretty bartender, who had been sending him tempting smiles from the moment they had gotten in. “The redhead is Nastia. The brunette is all yours.”
Rage sighed and turned his head, mentally preparing himself to be a wingman and nothing more. However, Rage found something he wasn’t expecting. His eyes landed on the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. Rage never believed in cupid’s fucking hearts and unicorns. Right now, though, he was quite sure those were sparkling in the air around him and he was staring at the most angelic face that was ever born to walk on this damned planet.
“Dude, you will scare them away if you keep on staring like that,” he heard Stalk’s voice and reigned in his lingering stare.
Nastia – the so desperate redhead hungry for adventures - was already launching herself on Stalk. Dave wondered what had happened to her to trigger that need. She looked nothing like a girl who would get involved with ex-military bikers. Rage shrugged, it was none of his business. He instead turned and focused his attention to the other ballerina.
“Adel,” she said in such a soft voice, that Rage had to repeat it to make sure he had heard it correctly.
“Adel… Beautiful name you have,” he said and he knew he was grinning like a lunatic.
“Lame,” he almost heard Stalk’s mocking voice in his head.
Rage shook his head, realizing the greeting had lingered on awkwardly long. “Oh.. um. I am Dave,” he finally said.
“Oh,” a tiny surprised sound that escaped her mouth caused him another smile. “I thought all of you were supposed to have scary names.”
“He does,” Stalk said, breaking away from his kiss to stick his nose into the conversation that was absolutely none of his concern. “He’s just jumping out his fucking skin to make an impression the pretty ballerina.”
Stalk laughed and returned his attention to Nastia. Rage wanted to kick Stalk in the square in the crotch, but instead tried to place nice; or at least as much as he could. His goal for the night had just changed – he was going to do everything he could not to scare his new love away.
“Rage, it’s Rage - if you like it more,” he looked into her dark green eyes. She had shimmering gold rings around the iris. It seemed that everything about his woman was so unique, and it simply took his breath away.
As they ordered drinks and the first awkward moments of tension were gone, Rage decided he would try once again to start a conversation with his date. Stalk and Nastia were quite busy ogling one another right next to them, yet somehow completely ignoring the company they brought. Adel looked uncomfortable, fidgeting with her purse and glancing from corner to corner of the bar.
“So, what brings you here?” He noticed her gaze on his tattoos as he spoke, and was not sure whether to be describe them or hide them in fear of scaring her away.
“Nothing, except to make sure she doesn’t get into much more trouble than she is in already.” Adel looking into Rage’s eyes and he found a stubborn daring stare. Rage’s thoughts were clouded with emotion. He wanted to stare into those eyes forever; and her pink lips that looked soft and inviting. Rage pushed the thought away. She was not a woman to appreciate such sudden assault. If he was interested in her, Dave had to play carefully and win her over. It was not his usual MO, but Rage was up for the challenge.
“Stalk is a good guy. He will not hurt her,” he said, and his own words made him worry as well.
“A man, whose name is Stalker? I’m sure our ideas of ‘not getting hurt’ are quite different,” she said. And there it was again – her eyes – deep and meaningful. He wanted, needed, to understand them.
Rage glanced over to Nastia and Stalk before bringing his gaze back to Adel. “She looks like a big girl and knows what she wants.”
Sometimes Rage thought that pretty women just used men like him and Stalk. They needed a tough toy to play for a night and then discard as a little wild adventure. Their “bad boy” lovers were never to be spoken about, never to be repeated. There was something about their tattoos and beards and wild hair. None of them would even care to ask what those permanent marks on the body symbolized, what memories stood behind them. Why they allowed the ink to be etched into their skins. Rage sighed at the though. While Nastia certainly seemed like one of those girls, Adel seemed to be the opposite; completely disinterested in the biker sitting across from her.
“Does she? She’s just been though a painful breakup and is still stupid enough that this one is going to be her ‘one-night-stand turn into miracle’ fairy tale. So tell again why I don’t have to worry.”
Those words haunted Dave as they finished their drinks and headed towards their bikes for a ride. Nastia cheerfully hopped on Stalk’s bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. Rage saw her place a playful kiss on his friend’s neck. Yeh, no doubt she was going to end up hurt, if she expected anything other than one hot-as-hell night from this guy.
Adel hesitated for a moment looking at her date’s bike with huge eyes.
“You’re perfectly safe, I promise,” he whispered into her ear. Rage’s heart raced when he saw how her body trembled at his invasion into her personal space.
As wind played on his chest and her delicate arms hugging his waste, Rage could think about nothing else but his desire to have this woman. And not just have her as a one night stand. He wanted to become a part of her life, to one day earn her trust and hopefully even her hear. He almost barked at his own pathetic thoughts. He never wanted to be a fucking knight, but right now, all he wanted was to be worth her time.
After almost an hour of riding around the town, they parked at a campsite, which was one of their favorite hangout spots. They lay on the grass and talked for another hour or maybe two. Rage felt Adel feeling more and more comfortable around him. He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. He loved to hear her tell about the ballet company she danced in, about her dream to be a prima in one of New York based ballet companies. These were never topics Rage dreamed he’d be interested in, but from Adel’s lips they were the most enthralling words he had ever heard.
“I have scarified too much to achieve that dream. Did you ever want anything that much, Dave?” She asked.
Rage turned and looked at Adel’s face. He wanted to tell her “Yes. Yes, you… right now. I want you that much and more.” But he knew such a display would only scare her away.
He once wanted to be an accountant, then a soldier. Four years in Navy SEALs made sure he would never fit into office working environment again. Now, Dave had learned to live without plans and expectations. His club was his home and family. He was happy doing bookkeeping for club business. It wasn’t glamorous but it was enough to make a living doing what he loved. But this night had awoken a new ambition in his heart – he wanted to be loved by this woman curled up next to him – he wanted it so much that he feared his own desire.