I woke up the next morning in a pool of sweat. Oh my goodness, it was hot.
Grizz wasn’t next to me, so I got up and went looking for him. I peeked out the door and saw him in conversation with Chowder on the walkway a few units down. He heard me open the door and called out, “A/C unit is on the fritz.”
So that explained the heat. This was June in South Florida, and it didn’t matter that it was nine o’clock in the morning. It was blazing. The humidity alone could suck the life out of a room.
I went back to the bedroom and dressed in the coolest outfit I owned: a pair of cut-off jean shorts, the yellow bathing suit top from Jan and my sandals. I made a piece of toast and sat on the couch to eat it. I had finished and was rinsing out my orange juice glass when Grizz came back.
“C’mon, let’s go,” he said, standing over me.
“Where?”
“Just c’mon, and grab your helmet and sunglasses.”
We walked to one of several Harley-Davidsons parked in front of the motel. He took a dark blue bandana off the handlebar and wrapped it around his head, then straddled the huge bike and started it. He put his sunglasses on and looked at me. Staring at him, I had to admit he was a magnificent specimen. He was wearing the same thing he’d worn the first day I met him—blue jeans, biker boots and a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. His hair had gotten longer in the last month. I put on my helmet and sunglasses and jumped on the back.
Grizz took me down to the beach. State Road 84 was a straight shot toward the ocean. We made a left on Federal Highway, then headed up to 17th Street Causeway. A right on the Causeway, and then we were going over a big bridge that spanned the intracostal. On our right, all kinds of huge ships, cruise and military, were docked. The left harbored personal yachts.
I loved this part of Fort Lauderdale. We followed the Causeway down toward the beach where it meets A1A. We slowly rode north on A1A, which parallels the Fort Lauderdale beach. It was summer and the beach was packed.
I immediately realized we were noticed, especially by the girls. I have to admit I sat a little taller and wrapped my arms around Grizz a little tighter. I rested my chin on his shoulder. I was never the type of person who craved the spotlight. Before, I was always content to sit in the shadows and do my own thing. I think that’s because I was so completely satisfied with knowing myself. No soul-searching for me. I knew who I was and what I wanted out of my life.
Until now.
Being on the back of Grizz’s bike was a new experience for me. I’d now ridden once with Monster and twice with Blue. It was nothing like I felt with Grizz. My whole demeanor changed. I liked that I was envied. I liked how he gently squeezed my thigh just above my knee as we idled at a crosswalk. I liked how he lifted one of my hands to his mouth and softly kissed the inside of my wrist. And I especially liked that I could read the “I wish that was me look” on every female who walked by.
It occurred to me that several days had passed without me thinking about going home. I remembered the first night Monster had brought me to the motel. He’d told me, “Time to meet your new family.” Maybe he was right. Maybe I was meant to be with Grizz.
The realization stunned me.
We finally turned left at Sunrise Boulevard, passed Birch State Park, over the intracoastal again and then south on Federal Highway. Grizz pulled up to a rundown tattoo parlor. We parked and got off the bike, and I hung my helmet on the handlebars. He told me to leave my sunglasses on until we got inside. Good thing I was allowed to take my glasses off when we got inside because it was so dark I couldn’t see that Grizz, who was walking in front of me, had stopped. I walked right into his back. He turned around and grabbed my arm to steady me.
“You can take your glasses off now, Kit. Eddie? Where are you?”
A small, tattooed man came out of the back room.
“Grizz, my man,” Eddie said as he walked toward us. I could smell the alcohol on him before Grizz could reply.
“Need an I.D.” Grizz gestured to me.
“Sure, man. Stats?”
Grizz told me to tell him my height, how much I weighed.
Then Eddie asked, “How old?”
I opened my mouth to answer when Grizz cut me off. “She just turned eighteen in March.”
“You got it, Grizz. C’mon back here.”
We followed him to a back room. Eddie had me stand up against an empty wall. He was getting ready to take my picture when Grizz stopped him.
“No bangs.”
Eddie went to a desk drawer and pulled out a headband. I secretly thanked God that he didn’t pull out scissors. I put on the band so my bangs were pulled back. A quick glance in the mirror showed me I looked a little less like myself. More like some other girl. An older girl. Different. The kind of girl who might like sitting on the back of Grizz’s motorcycle, his hand casually squeezing my thigh.
Eddie took the picture and said, “Give me an hour.”
As we walked out the door, Grizz grabbed a pink bandana off a pile by the cash register.
“We’re going to lunch,” he told me when we got to the motorcycle. “When we get to the restaurant, I want your helmet off and replaced by the bandana as quickly as possible. Leave your sunglasses on, even in the restaurant. Got it?”
I got it.
We went to a little place called Southside Raw Bar. We sat outside on the docks that overlooked the water. I remember not being able to read his expression after I blessed myself and said a quiet prayer before eating. He’d watched me do this before and had never commented. I don’t remember what we ate. We chatted comfortably about a lot of different things, purposely leaving my abduction and anything to do with the motel out of the discussion.
The conversation only turned personal in regards to our likes and dislikes. Standard stuff. Music, movies, books. It was lighthearted and casual conversation.
Then it occurred to me. “Hey, we didn’t tell Eddie my new name.”
“We don’t get to,” Grizz informed me. “Eddie has been in this business for years. He’s very organized and has his own list of pre-approved names.”
“Really? Sounds like the people that name the hurricanes.”
He smiled at me. My stomach fluttered. He really had a beautiful smile.
“Yeah, I never thought about it, but I guess it kind of is like that.”
“I’m really curious what name he’s going to give me.”
“Don’t worry, Kit. Nothing could ever be as bad as your real name.”