Xander
Xander couldn’t believe it.
Daphne honest-to-God doesn’t know it’s me, he thought, shaking his head.
During their dancing, he took a quick break to the bathroom to check his face in the mirror once again, just to confirm that he was still the same person.
Did I get zapped by a magic spell or something like in one of those eighties body-switching comedies? he thought, pushing the door open
Looking at himself in the mirror he confirmed that, just like he’d thought before, it was a combination of Daphne being drunk and him gradually changing his appearance over the years. The little changes he’d made added up; between the booze in her system and the chaos of the bar, Xander realized that it wouldn’t be too hard to think that he was someone else.
And it doesn’t help that I’m playing along with the whole thing, lowering my voice as best I can so she wouldn’t get tipped off by listening to me talk, he thought with a wry grin.
Xander normally wouldn’t be down for screwing around like that, but this was such a crazy situation to him that he just couldn’t help myself.
He headed out of the bathroom and back to the bar for another shot. Daphne was still on the dance floor, and he couldn’t help but watch her body move to the music.
I may have changed a bit, he thought, but goddamn, she looks just as hot as ever.
Her skintight jeans hugged every curve of her hips, and the simple fitted gray t-shirt that she wore outlined her breasts perfectly. Xander realized he was almost getting a hard-on right then and there watching her move.
Downing his shot, he watched as a couple guys on the dance floor looked her up and down, and he realized that if he didn’t get back in there and make it clear that she was his, he just might be fighting off one of these assholes out back behind the bar.
Who am I kidding though? he thought. Daphne’s such a sucker for bad boys that she’d probably orgasm right then and there, watching me pound some other guy in the face for her affection.
Xander strode back onto the dance floor, his swagger making the crowd spread out around him. He clamped down his hand onto Daphne’s hip and shot a look to the nearby men who’d been sizing her up. The men all looked away sheepishly, determining all at the same time that Xander wasn’t the kind of man they wanted to mess with over a woman.
Xander pulled Daphne’s body close, the heat from her skin palpable. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help but be drawn back into the old attraction. He hadn’t been quite sure what his intentions with her were when he’d come over to talk to her, but now that her ass was pressed against his crotch, he found himself wanting more and more to take her home and give her what she clearly wanted.
What’s the harm? he thought. She wants it, and so do I. She looks just as fine as ever, on top of everything.
He made up his mind right then and there. Leading her out of the crowd with his hand on her hip, he leaned back against the bar and brought her in close.
“You ever rode on a bike before?”
“I assume you don’t mean the kind with pedals and little streamers hanging off the handlebars?”
Xander smirked. “No pedals, but if you make fun of my streamers you just might hurt my feelings.”
Daphne chuckled.
“Wait, who says I even want to see your bike?”
“I wasn’t gonna ask if you just wanted to see it,” said Xander. “I want to take you for a ride.”
A brief looked of hesitation flashed across Daphne’s face, as though she were having a very brief internal conflict about the whole thing. But her expression resolved to one of sensual playfulness.
“I’ve ridden on one before, but it was a long time ago.”
Xander placed his other hand on her hips.
“Then it sounds like you’re due.”
Daphne smirked.
“Okay, fine,” she said. “But let me tell my friend.”
“Good luck,” Xander said.
He watched Daphne attempt to approach Margaret, who was still lip-locked with her man. Daphne stood off to the side, her body language unsure and hesitant. She reached towards Margaret, as though she were going to tap her on the shoulder. But, at the last second, she pulled her hand back and rushed away from the two, Margaret and the man having not noticed that she’d even been there. Daphne then returned to Xander, her steps uneven.
“I gotta admit,” she said, a smile forming on her face as though she were about to share secret she’d sworn to hide, “I’m a little drunk.”
Xander stood up, his own stance unsteady.
“I’m right there with you,” he said, surprised at how drunk he’d let himself get.
“Shall we?” asked Daphne.
Xander only nodded and started towards the door, Daphne following close behind. Soon, they were out in the parking lot where they made their way through the crowd outside, which had only grown in size since he first arrived. They stepped into the gravel parking lot and, before too long, were standing in front of Xander’s bike.
“Wow,” said Daphne with almost child-like wonder. “It’s awesome.”
Xander couldn’t help but smirk. His bike was a Harley Davidson Knucklehead with a V-twin engine, the body all shining chrome with ink-black trim. He’d only bought it a year or so and had yet to get tired of tearing down the highway on it.
“Hop on,” said Xander. “See how it feels.”
Xander watched as Daphne approached the bike with some hesitation, as though wondering if she’d even be able to climb on top of it. Then, in a clumsy motion, she clambered onto it, letting out a “whoa” as she steadied herself.
“This is awesome,” she said.
Xander smirked. He remembered how Daphne always seemed to have a split personality about the fact that he was a biker. One the one hand, she always chided him for how dangerous his lifestyle was, offering various statistics like reminding him often of just how many accidents on bikes happened every year. Then, on the other hand, once she was on the bike, the two of them blazing down some back road, just them and the wind, he could always tell that she secretly loved it.
“Wait till you hear the engine.”
Daphne watched Xander climb on top of the bike with expert grace, like a big cat mounting a perch. Xander put the key in the ignition, clasped his hands on the handlebar, and gunned the engine until it roared to life. The sound was so loud and booming that the crowd outside of the bar couldn’t help but turn the collective heads and see what all the noise was.
“Grab on,” said Xander.
Daphne did just that, wrapping her slender arms around his body and resting her head against his back.
Just like old times, he thought.
He ripped the engine one last time, and then they were on the road.