It took a week before I could actually see Dax again. I was called in for all sorts of reviews at work in light of what had happened with Akira shooting the place up. My boss was threatening me with the bill for the damages and I was threatening him right back with a lawsuit for emotional and financial damages if he made me - the victim - pay back the money.
Dax disappeared for a while to ‘pick up the pieces,’ whatever that meant.
We did stay in contact over text, though. Of course we couldn’t talk about everything that had gone down and where we stood over text. It didn’t work that way. We checked in with each other, me to make sure he was still coming back, and him to check that I was still alive.
I guess the circumstances had made us a little skeptical, a little untrusting, a little nervous of everything.
When I’d finally gotten home, I had to deal with three pit bulls in my house. I had to get an animal controller out to take them away because they were aggressive as hell and as far as I knew they were somewhere looking for a new home now. They’d soiled my house, chewed up my couch, and knocked over the flat screen TV, but all in all it seemed like a small price to pay, considering Dax and I were still alive.
I would have preferred for him to be the one that would take the dogs out of there, but considering everything that woman had put him through, it made sense that he needed so go sort things out. I didn’t think I would ever understand the extent of the damage she really caused.
When I finally did see him, we met in the park. It was better than meeting at either of our homes. There were too many memories, and the honest truth was that the thought of him in my personal space was a little scary now. I knew that I knew him, but there were parts of me that wondered how much that really was.
I didn’t want to go to his place, either. I had been there only a few times, and the one that jumped out at me the most was where he’d had sex with me and then kicked me out of his house. It was how we’d started off, and even though we’d progressed since then we hadn’t actually known each other for all that long. The park seemed like the safest best.
There were people around, it was neutral ground, nothing serious could happen like sex. Neither of us were at the point where we could afford going that fast with each other. Or at least, that was the case with me. I wasn’t sure how well he was coping with the whole thing. If I had to be honest about it, I had to admit he’d seemed very on top of things that night. He hadn’t panicked when he’d seen that Akira had a gun, and he hadn’t freaked out when there had been the kind of danger that threatened lives.
I had the feeling that it was just me not able to cope with this kind of thing.
It left me wondering if I was the kind of person that wanted to be able to cope with this kind of thing in the long run, or if it was just better to walk away. Of course, I didn’t want to do that. Whatever it had been between us before, it had just gotten that much stronger when he’d saved me by jumping through the window. It was a fact that if it hadn’t been for him that night, I would be dead.
Krista kept telling me that I needed to give the guy another chance. I wanted to believe her but I was spooked now.
I sat on the park bench, one leg crossed over the other, kicking my foot in the air in a rhythm. The park was busy - mothers walked with strollers along the paths and dads threw Frisbees around with their sons. It was the kind of scenario you saw in ads on television. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, everything was too damn perfect and it made me nervous.
“Hey,” a voice spoke behind me and I knew immediately that it was him. Shivers ran down my spine. He stepped around the bench I was sitting on and into my view.
“Hi.”
He looked at me and his eyes were spectacular, eyes that I could just drown in. His black hair was messy, but in a way that made it look like he’d done it on purpose. He wore leather that made him look like the world sexiest badass. I had to stop thinking about that. I looked away. He sat down next to me with enough space between us for another person to fit on the bench. I wished he’d sat closer.
“I’m glad you made it.” He sounded reserved.
“Me too.” I swallowed Why was this so awkward?
He looked at me, and his eyes softened. “Will you let me explain what happened to my back that morning after the carnival?”
I nodded. I’d been thinking about it a lot and realized I might have misunderstood the whole thing.
“Akira set her dogs on me when I was at a dog fight looking for the people responsible for what happened to Joker.”
That was so bad. Oh my God, and I’d accused him of sleeping with her. It was before I’d let him explain.
“Tell me what happened.”
He nodded, turned on the bench so that he was facing more toward me, and started talking. He explained about how he’d been looking for places when we were out on the bike - he apologized for doing it, too - and how he’d found someone through Bane that had given him a schedule. He explained about going to the fight, the man with the family, how everything made him feel sick to his stomach. He told me about Akira and her dogs and how she set him up so that he was attacked by them in the end as a warning.
When he was done talking I lifted my hand and tentatively touched his cheek. “I’m so sorry for doubting you. It’s just when I saw her and realized I can’t ever compete with someone like her...”
“You will never be like her,“ Dax said, interrupting me.
“You make that sound like a good thing.”
“It is.”
I sighed. “I just thought that you liked her more than me and I was really insecure. When I saw your back, I thought you guys had gotten rough during sex and I was just getting leftovers. I got mad. I wanted you all to myself.”
Dax smiled at that. I wasn’t sure why he was smiling, it was quite rough. I’d acted like a jealous girlfriend and he obviously had enough of that going around already.
‘‘I love that you were jealous,” Dax said and leaned forward and looked at my lips but he didn’t close the distance all the way so that I could still pull away if I wanted to. The fact that he gave me a choice made me want it all that much more. I shifted closer, moving into the space that had been between us until now. I couldn’t believe I’d been nervous about him and who he was now. He was the same guy I’d fallen for before. I closed the distance and kissed him.
Kissing him was like coming home. His lips were perfect, like velvet, the kind of lips I wanted on mine for the rest of my life. God, what was I saying? I hardly knew this guy; we’d barely gotten to know each other before all hell broke loose. Maybe it would be a good idea just to hold off any thoughts of wedding bells. After all, maybe he would end up not liking who I was after all, once he knew me better. Or the other way around.
Dax broke the kiss.
“What now?” It seemed strange to move forward now. The climax in our relationship had hit so early I wasn’t sure which way we were going.
Dax fumbled in his pocket. He produced two pale pink tickets and handed them to me. It took me a moment to realize they were the carnival tickets. I laughed.
“I can’t believe you held onto these.”
He shrugged. “It was a good night for me.”
I smiled. It had been a great night for me, too. That was where it had felt like we’d gone from just a fling to something really serious. Something he kept backing up all the time. His sentimentality was endearing, and very out of place for someone so rough and tough.
“If you’re really serious about asking what now...”
He hesitated and I guessed it was a question, so I nodded. I really was serious about what was coming next. I hoped there was more coming from him because I knew I had a lot to offer. He smiled.
“Well, I was thinking you and I should do a little road trip.”
“Where?”
He smiled, looking at the tickets in his hands. “I was thinking we can head toward your hometown.”
What? Why would someone like him who lived and breathe LA want to go to a small town out in the middle of nowhere, Arizona?
“I don’t understand.”
“I want to get to know you better. You and your family. I hear they breed great people out there in the middle of the desert.”
I chuckled. Breed great people.
“Funny. Why do you want to meet them?”
Dax’s face sobered. “Because I’m serious about you and I want to meet your parents. I want to be a part of your life, I want to know everything about you.”
How was a girl to say no to a proposition like that?
“Okay.” Why not? I could take vacation, and I hadn’t seen my parents in almost a year. They would welcome the company. I wasn’t sure what they would think of Dax, though. He was the opposite of the small town people I used to spend my time with. He was the complete opposite of my high school sweetheart.
“I have no idea how they’ll react to you,” I said. “I have to be honest, you’re not exactly like the kind of people out there.”
Dax shrugged. “I’m good at not fitting in. It won’t bother me if they don’t like me. I still want to try though. Besides, you like me and that’s more than enough.” He put his arm around me and kissed me again. God, it really was more than enough that we liked each other. And it was more than just ‘like’ anyway. At least from my side.
A road trip with Dax. To my home town. this was the last thing I’d thought would happen after our talk, but it was great. It was more than I’d hoped for.
I managed to get leave. I think my boss was eager to see me gone for a while after everything. There was a definite air when I arrived at work, and I kept getting the feeling that they were talking about me until I was within earshot. Maybe the break would be good for me.
Krista didn’t have problems like that, even though she’d been there, too. But then again, it was my card that had been used. I had compromised the security, apparently. Whatever.
“I think this is stunning,” she said as I packed a few days later. Dax had asked me to make the bag small, divide it into two small bags rather than one big one if I needed more space. Krista had taken the afternoon off to gossip with me. “He’s so different than he looks.”
I nodded. “I know. I just don’t know if my parents will see that.”
“And if they don’t? It’s not like they’re here to tell you’re not allowed to go out with him.”
I laughed. The independence speech I kept getting from her. “I know, I know. I just want them to approve of him.”
Krista lay back on the bed. “Do you think that things are going to stay this serious between you?”
I shrugged. Who knew what the future held? What I knew was that it was serious now, and that was all I cared about.
My phone rang.
“Is he allergic to anything?” My mom sounded frantic. I laughed.
“I don’t think so, mom. You don’t have to stress so much. He’s a relaxed kind of guy.”
I imagined Dax and his leather on my mom’s floral couch. Very relaxed.
“You should have given us more warning. Your father is so stressed about this visit.”
“I know mom, I’m sorry. It was the only time I could get leave, and I wanted to introduce you.”
My mom ended the call. Her comment about my dad being stressed out meant that she was freaking out. My dad had been a Marine. Nothing stressed him out.
“Is your mom worried?” Krista had propped herself up on her elbows.
“She’s dying.”
She chuckled. “Well, maybe you should tell her about how Dax has saved your life. That should make him a hero in their eyes.”
“Oh God, no.” I zipped up my bag. It bulged out badly. Nothing I could do about it now. “She’ll think he’s the one that got me in so much trouble. My dad will think he’s a hero, but maybe it’s better if my mom doesn’t know about it. She’s already going to have to figure out what to do with him when we arrive on a bike, not a car.”
Krista nodded. “I think it’s such a daredevil thing to do, to go on a bike.”
I shrugged. I hadn’t been sure about it, but it was Dax’s thing, so I agreed.
“What are you going to do this weekend?” I asked.
Krista shrugged and closed her eyes, her fingers interlinked behind her head. “I was thinking I would go see if Bane needs any help.”
I stopped and looked at her. She opened one eye and peeked at me when I didn’t respond.
“I didn’t know you were seeing him.”
She sat up. “We haven’t really seen each other since... you know.” She didn’t like talking about that night. “But he’s house sitting at Dax to look after Joker and you know how lonely it gets in someone else’s house...”
I grinned and shook my head. I knew Bane was looking after Joker. It was cute.
“Just couldn’t handle that I had a hot biker and you didn’t, could you?” I flashed Krista a sassy smile. She smiled, too, and shook her head.
The buzzer went off, and I let Dax up. He kissed me, hugged Krista, and walked into the room. He wore leather pants and a leather jacket, and he’d tied a bandana around his head that was black with white skulls. I wondered if he’d dressed specially for my parents. I looked at Krista and pulled a face. She shrugged.
He came out of the room with my bag.
“You don’t exactly pack light.”
“You said small, not light.”
He smiled and kissed me on my forehead. “Let’s get going.”
We followed him out. I locked up and we rode the elevator down. Krista walked to her car when we hit the street.
“Have fun,” I said to her with a wink.
She just smiled and got in her car.
“Did you know she’s talking to Bane?” I asked Dax. He handed me a helmet that I pulled over my hair. He secured the bags in hardside containers that were fastened to his bike. He hadn’t had them on before, but I saw now how it would be possible to travel like this.
“I knew he had a girl on the line but he wouldn’t tell me anything about her. Must be something he wants to get serious about.”
I shook my head and got on the back of the bike, slipping down the leather seat until I was so close to Dax we were practically glued together. Seemed like these guys didn’t talk about their girls if it was serious. Weird, but I hoped for Krista’s sake that it was true, and that it would work out. If she was even half as happy as I was, it would be great for her.
Dax started the bike and twisted the handle, making the bike roar. We took off. We were heading home. The wind whipped around us and I felt that same rush I did the first time - the freedom and the recklessness that came with Dax and his bike. It was spectacular and it was amazing to know that this was mine for an indefinite time. I loved it.
We drove out of town and Dax got on the interstate. We were headed for Arizona, to my home town. I was going to introduce this man of mystery to my parents. Life was suddenly exciting. This was what I’d left the small town for. This was what I’d meant when I’d told myself over and over again that one day I would be living.