To describe our MC as an Outlaw Motorcycle Club would be an understatement. We were an outlaw club, but beyond that, we were outlaws. Being an outlaw and appearing to be otherwise wasn’t an easy task. Not expressing emotion was crucial to our way of life, and to protecting our identity. I had the ability to look into the eyes of the devil himself without showing emotion. Remaining stoic had become second nature for me.

Until I met Abby.

Positioned between the door frame and the window, I rang the doorbell. Despite the cool morning air, I wiped sweat from my brow while I waited for her to open the door.

The door swung open. Wearing running shoes, nylon shorts, and a tight-fitting tee shirt that said Nevertheless. She Persisted on the front of it, she looked adorable. She always looked adorable.

“Oh, Wow.” She leaned forward and kissed me. “You’re early. Come in.”

It had been exactly one month since we kissed that day at the pie shop. I stepped through the doorway and revealed the hand that I’d nervously been hiding behind my back. Upon seeing my surprise, she gave me a bug-eyed look.

“Oh my God. Are those.” Her blue eyes met mine. “They’re for me?”

Seeing the excitement in her eyes was reassurance that she liked the flowers as much as I hoped she would. Expressing my feelings wasn’t easy, which made conveying how much I cared for her a difficult thing to do.

I wanted to say that being with her made me feel different than I’d ever felt. That comfort washed over me completely when she was in my presence. Nothing else seemed to matter after meeting her, but I couldn’t find the words to tell her without feeling foolish.

So, a gift of flowers and a simple card was my only hope.

Beaming with pride, I handed her the vase of flowers. “They are.”

She raised them to her nose and inhaled a slow breath. “They’re beautiful.”

“One of the fellas has a nursery,” I said. “His Ol’…his wife has a green thumb. She picked them out special for me. She told me what they were, but I can’t remember what they’re called. Inside of the Mustang smells good as fuck, though.”

She looked the flowers over. “Some of them are tulips, I know that. I’m not too familiar with the rest of them, this is the first time I’ve ever had flowers.”

Seeming to be in a trance, she walked toward the kitchen and set the vase on the center of the island. She adjusted the stems, turned the arrangement in a circle, and then stepped back and gave it a long look.

“They smell so good.” She wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm and then met my gaze. “I’m sorry. This is just…I’ve always wanted this to happen.”

A tear welled at the corner of her eye. I placed my hands on either side of her face and wiped her eyes with my thumbs. “So, those are tears of happiness?”

She nodded. “They are.”

I kissed her. “I hate to see you cry, but I’m glad you’re happy.”

Kissing Abby was indescribable. The things in my life that once seemed important became irrelevant after I kissed her the first time. All that mattered following that kiss was kissing her again.

“You’re amazing.” She hugged me.

“I’m not that amazing,” I said. “It’s kind of like an anniversary, or whatever. I thought I needed to do something.”

She leaned away. Her expression changed from joyous to one of surprise. “That’s what these are for?”

“Yeah, like a celebration, or whatever.” I shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to do. Thought maybe we could get dinner.”

She grinned from ear to ear. “At nine in the morning?”

I chuckled. “No. I was just excited. Hell, I couldn’t sleep last night when I got home. I came over as soon as I thought you’d be done running.”

She raised her index finger. “I’ll be right back.”

She bounded across the living room like a lion chasing a gazelle. She returned just as fast, with her hand hidden behind her back. “I got you something too I couldn’t decide whether to give it to you or not because I thought maybe I was being sappy or whatever and it’s been on my dresser since the day before yesterday and last night I was thinking I was an idiot for getting it but now I know that you and I are like peanut butter and jelly or whatever maybe peas and carrots I always thought that was a cute line from that movie.” She extended her hand. “Here.”

I laughed at her breathless explanation and then looked at what she’d handed me. A pale-yellow envelope with a bulge in the center. I grinned upon seeing it and reached into my back pocket. I pulled out the card I’d purchased and handed it to her.

She smiled. “Open yours first.”

I opened the envelope, pulled out the card, and then reached inside. After removing the gift, I looked it over. A weathered piece of hammered brass had been formed into a bracelet. In the center, it had one word stamped.

Believe.

“I know you like to wear bracelets,” she said. “I had a lady make that one special for you. It looks old, but it’s not. I measured your wrist by wrapping my hand around it. I hope it fits.”

I tried to think of the last time someone gave me a gift. I couldn’t. I studied it for a moment, and then slipped it onto my right wrist.

“Believe.” I looked at her. “I like that.”

“In anything, and everything,” she said. “If it can be done, you can do it. We can do it. All we have to do is believe. Remember that.”

I rubbed the bracelet with my thumb. “I will.”

“Read the card,” she said.

The card had a photo of a pile of shit on the front of it. I chuckled at her selection and opened it. Printed inside, it said, you are not a turd. I laughed again, and the read the elegant hand-written script.

Ghost Porter-Porter,

I know how and when our relationship began is a matter of opinion, but I’ll give you mine. I’m sure it isn’t what you want to hear (because it involves God) but I’ve always had a problem with saying what comes to mind, and this is what came to mind.

Here we go.

I think God put you in my life because you were exactly what I needed. Consequently, I’m exactly what you need, too. You may not know it, but I am. I make you happy. I can see it in your eyes.

If you can’t see the joy that you bring me when you look into mine, it’s because you’re too busy paying me compliments (which I adore, btw). We’ve been together a month. I know it’s only the beginning, but something as devastatingly beautiful as the Grand Canyon started with one trickle of water flowing across the desert.

We have a beautiful future together, I’m sure of it. All we have to do is continue believing this is where we belong.

Believe.

Abby

With a lump in my throat and a swollen heart, I looked up.

“B-T-W means ‘by the way’,” she said. “I was going to cross it out and spell it, but I didn’t want the card to look crappy.”

“I knew what it meant,” I said, my voice straining from the emotion I was feeling. “Read.” I cleared my throat. “Read mine.”

Mine wasn’t as delicately written as hers. When she finished reading it, she laid it beside the flower vase.

She inhaled a long breath, and then let it out. “You asked me not to hurt you,” she said. “After we kissed. Remember that?”

“I do.”

She brushed her hair behind her ear and then scratched her nose. “I need to ask you to do something for me.”

I grinned. “Okay.”

“Don’t leave me. Please. No matter what happens between us, don’t make me live a day without you. If there’s ever something I do that makes you angry or sad or whatever, just tell me. I’ll fix it. There’s no reason for us not to be together, ever. Doing this.” She pointed to herself and then to me. “It’s easy. Too easy. I don’t even have to try. I’m just my stupid self and you accept me. Don’t--”

“I won’t.” I said.

“I can’t imagine what I’d do if--”

“I won’t,” I assured her. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving. Now, or ever. I lay in my bed at night and think of you. I read and re-read your text messages. I’ll probably sleep with this card under my pillow. It’s crazy, but I can’t imagine living a life without you.”

“Neither can I,” she said. “So, it’s settled.”

“What’s settled?”

“You’re stuck with me.”

I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her tight to my chest. I knew I’d never leave her. I didn’t have it in me. I feared, however that she’d one day leave me.

Every other woman I loved had.

Why would she be any different?