Chapter 9
Kyle
“But enough about that. You’ve barely touched your breakfast. Aren’t you hungry?”
“How do you expect me to eat breakfast when you have me sitting on your lap?” She asked, getting off me. I instantly regretted my question because all I wanted to do was pull her back and have her in my arms.
She sat down across from me and started to cut her omelet into bite-size pieces, almost like it was a ritual. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, nothing.” Her voice was low and a little off. She nibbled her food slowly, taking her time.
“You used to be anorexic.” I pointed out bluntly. She dropped her fork.
“W-What are you talking about?” She gulped down her last bite of food.
“The way you’re eating. At some point, you used to be anorexic. I knew a girl in college that went through the same thing. By the end of freshman year, she was nothing more than skin and bones. Used to cut up all her food into tiny little pieces so it looked like she was eating, but by the end of the meal, all the food would still be there.”
Linda refused to look at me. I got up and pulled her into me. “I’m not going to let you starve yourself. I don’t care what anyone says, you’re beautiful just the way you are.” I rested my hands on her hips. “And you may not believe me about the murder… but you have to believe me about this. You’re stunning, Linda.”
She looked away, still unsure. Her eyes were starting to water and I rested her head on my shoulder, feeling her body shake. I didn’t know if I was the first person to notice her eating disorder, but I was glad that I did. I didn’t want her to live her life thinking she wasn’t anything but beautiful.
Once she had calmed down, I did the dishes, letting her eat in peace. When I turned around, she had eaten just about everything. I kissed the top of her head and smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She shook her head and I could tell she was still a little upset about the whole thing. No doubt, I had just unearthed one of her biggest secrets. I had probably made her feel vulnerable. “Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?” I asked out of the blue if only to get her mind off the present situation.
“No…” Her voice was little more than a whisper as she wrung her fingers together underneath the table. I felt bad for pointing out her condition, but I couldn’t let someone as beautiful as her starve herself, just because the media tried to brainwash every girl into thinking they had to be a size zero.
“Well, how about I teach you? You said you wanted to learn more about the motorcycle culture.”
“I don’t know…” She got up, eyeing the door. “I mean… I don’t even know how to ride a bicycle.”
“They aren’t related. I mean, I guess a sense of balance might be helpful, but I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You’re smart, I’m sure you can figure it out. I promise it’ll be a lot of fun.” Before she could protest, I tossed her onto my back, carrying her out the door. She had her arms around my neck and her legs draped over my hips.
“What are you doing?”
“Treating you like a princess.” I chuckled, feeling the subtle vibrations of her heart pounding against my back. Since it was still early in the morning, the garage was empty. A few motorcycles were still in pieces from last night. Others were halfway painted.
I grabbed my keys and opened another door where I housed my personal bike. Linda had seen it the day before, but now she seemed to really look at it, her eyes glancing at all the detail. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she? I had her custom made.”
“Are you sure you want me to ride that thing? What if I crash it?” She asked, shuffling from foot to foot in hesitation. “I mean… I really have no idea what to do when it comes to bikes.”
“Just relax. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” I came up behind her, squeezing her shoulders slightly before I kissed her neck. My lips lingered there for a moment before I walked away, opening the garage door, letting the sunlight spill in.
Linda shielded her eyes and backed away. I was already on the bike, starting it up. It came to life with ease, purring like a kitten. I grabbed her hand and eased her onto it. “How do you feel?”
“Uh…”
“So you want to slowly let out the clutch until the bike starts to roll forward. Don’t worry, I’ll be right by your side in case something happens.”
“What’s the clutch?” She asked.
“Don’t tell me you drive an automatic.”
“I don’t drive at all.” I stopped in my tracks, letting go of the bike in surprise.
“What?”
“I mean… I never really needed it. I just use public transportation, or someone gives me a ride. My personal assistant drives me to meetings most of the time.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No.” Somehow, she found the clutch and pulled on it too hard. The bike rolled forward and she accidently pulled back on the throttle. The bike jerked forward before stalling. It was quickly falling to the left. I rushed forward, balancing it before she could get hurt.
“Never mind… I believe you now.” I put down the kickstand. “We might have to go about this a different way…”
“I don’t know if you can actually teach me.” Linda was holding onto the bars so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Parts of her body were shaking.
“Hey, it’s okay. All we need is a little time. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it eventually. If you’re smart enough to become a lawyer, then you can learn to ride a motorcycle.”
“Okay…” We tried again, but still, Linda wasn’t quite getting the hang of it.
“That’s the clutch, not the thrott–” My bike stalled and I heard a horrible grinding noise. I cringed.
Linda jumped off the bike before I could stop her. “It’s no use. I just wasn’t cut out to ride a bike…” She sounded frustrated. The rims of her eyes were red like she wanted to cry. “Just stop…” I grabbed her arm and pulled her back before she could run away from me.
I cupped her cheeks in my hands and looked into her eyes. “This isn’t about the motorcycle, is it? You’re frustrated because I found out your secret. You feel exposed.”
“Of course, I feel exposed! No one knew. Not even my closest friends… they just thought I was on some sort of diet.”
“Well, you can’t fool me.” My thumbs gently rubbed her cheeks. “You don’t have to keep running away from your problems. You don’t have to keep beating yourself up. You can trust me.” Our noses touched. “I know you probably don’t believe me… but I care about you, Linda.”
Her eyes softened and I saw her let her guard down for the first time. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she started to cry, burying her head into my chest. I held her close, letting her cry it out. I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. It broke my heart to see her like this but I was glad she had realized she could confide in me. If I noticed things getting worse, I could always get her some help. Hopefully, she would realize that she didn’t need to be bone-thin to impress me. She was already the most beautiful woman in my eyes, even if she didn’t see that herself.
Eventually, she calmed down, pulling away from me. “I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologize.” I kissed her forehead, rubbing her arms. “Are you okay now?”
She nodded, offering me a soft smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” I kissed her lips ever so gently. “Do you want to give the motorcycle another go?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I’m cut out for it… I just get freaked out, knowing I have this giant vehicle under my control.”
“That’s fine, I won’t force you.” I was just about to let her go when I heard someone at the door.
“What are you two up to so early in the morning?” Oliva leaned against the doorframe, wearing her iconic overalls and black combat boots. “Usually, I’m the first one down here.”
“I was trying to teach Linda here how to ride, but she isn’t up for it.”
Linda frowned, looking away. I pulled her closer. “Hey, it’s alright. It took me three years to get on a motorcycle and I was born into the business.”
“What?” Linda looked surprised as she stared at Olivia. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“She’s telling the truth,” I said. “I was the one that taught her how to ride.”
“You?” Linda turned to face me. “If her brother was the leader of the Iron Horses, why did she need you to teach her?”
“I guess I was the only one with enough patience.” I shrugged.
“I’m starting to think you two were closer than you let on.” She said with suspicion. I saw her eyes flash with what I could only guess was jealousy. I chuckled, thinking it was cute.
“Oh, we tried once.” Olivia pointed out. “But he simply isn’t my type.”
“How?” Linda blurted out, her cheeks turning red.
“Like I said before, I have a bad habit of falling for the rotten ones. Kyle was just too good to be true. It wasn’t long before I started getting jealous and suspicious. I drove him crazy. We found out that we’d be better off as just friends.”
“I see…” Linda mumbled, running her fingers through her hair and pinning one of her curls behind her ear.
“But I see you two are getting along just fine. I thought I heard something fun going down in the apartment.”
“You… You heard –”
“Olivia has a wild imagination.” I butted in, seeing how red Linda’s face was getting.
“Sure, sure.” Olivia grinned, shrugging her shoulders. “You can call it that.” She winked at me before she turned around. “Well, if you guys want, I just made a fresh pitcher of sweet tea that’s up for grabs upstairs. I’m willing to share.” She walked over to the bike she had been fixing last night, leaving me alone with Linda.
“You didn’t tell me you were in a relationship with her.” Linda hissed the second Olivia disappeared under the bike.
“You never asked,” I responded, an innocent look on my face. I held up my hands in defense. “What does it matter anyway? Are you jealous or something?”
She halted before regaining her composure. “No, of course not. But now she’s a biased witness. Obviously, she would vouch for you.”
“Even though she’s my ex?”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m sure if she slept with you, she has her reasons to cover for you.”
“Does that mean you thought I was a good fuck?” I asked, whispering in her ear. She shivered slightly before she stepped away, avoiding me.
“I wasn’t even talking about that. Stop making this sexual.”
“You’re the one that brought it up.” I grinned at her, flashing my pearly whites. “Just admit it. You’re jealous.”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’ll tell you one thing, you might be pretty, but you sure are stubborn.” I ruffled her hair and walked over to my bike. “C’mon, let’s go for a ride.”