Kyle
The wind whipped against my face as I rode faster and faster. I was going well above the speed limit, but I couldn’t care less. The feeling of Linda’s arms around my waist filled me with an energy I had never experienced before. I wanted her to keep her arms there forever. I wanted to make her want me – to make her need me.
Gripping the handlebars, I pushed the bike even harder. The exhaust pipe blared with sound, echoing off the surrounding forest. “Where are we going?” I could just about make out Linda’s quivering voice. It was cute how she kept saying she wasn’t afraid, even though it was obvious that wasn’t the case. I mean, she was shaking. Or was that the vibrations of the bike?
“You’ll see.” I kept riding through town, taking the backroads, if only to make this moment last a little longer. Her fingers were clutched around the fabric of my shirt and I smiled, resting a hand on top of hers, squeezing it. I expected her to pull away from my touch, but she just scooched even closer.
“Comfortable?”
“No!”
I laughed. I liked how sassy and high-strung she was. “Then why are you getting closer?”
“I’m not.” She whispered. Her lips were so close to my neck that I could feel her breath. I just smiled. The wind changed and her scent wafted over me, invading my senses. A mix of vanilla and strawberry. It was actually quite delicious. Something inside of me began stirring, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. It wasn’t like I was horny – it was something else – something new and different.
Finally, I turned into a parking lot. I slowed to a stop, pushing down the kickstand. The engine came to a natural halt and we were left in the night’s silence. Linda continued to hold onto me. I gave her a moment to realize that we had stopped and that she could let go, but she seemed frozen in place.
Gently, I pried her fingers off me and got off. “You alright?”
“Y-yes.” She scrambled off the bike and nearly fell. I caught her before she could hurt herself, holding her tight in my arms. She pushed away almost instantly. Her cheeks were red as fire and her luscious pink lips were pressed into a disapproving line. “You know, you’re just digging a deeper hole for yourself. When I get back, you’re going to be in so much trouble…”
“C’mon sweet-cheeks –”
“Don’t call me sweet cheeks.” She snapped, her cheeks getting even redder. Her hands had turned into fists by her side. She was pretty cute when she was angry.
“Maybe I should call you kitty cat –”
“No. I don’t want you to call me anything. I want you to take me home. This instant.”
I leaned against the bike and shook my head. “You already know I can’t do that. I have to prove my innocence.”
“You already got out of jail, why do you have to make things worse for yourself?” She was slowly backing away. In a flash, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, pinning her to my body. “You…” Her lips hung open like she no longer knew how to speak.
“Just shut up for a minute and hear me out. You’re so steadfast in your conviction that I’m guilty that you won’t even give me the chance to defend myself. As a lawyer, aren’t you supposed to hear both sides of the story? All I want is a chance. Spend some time with me and the other Blackbirds and if after that you still believe I’m guilty, then I’ll let you go home and press charges against me.”
She just stared at me with those big blue eyes of hers before she wrenched herself away. “Fine. But only because you leave me no other choice.”
I grinned at her. “Perfect.” I grabbed her hand, locking our fingers together. She tried to pull away, but I held on tight. “I wouldn’t let go if I were you.”
“Why the hell not? I’m not usually one to hold hands with a criminal.”
“You act as if I’m this horrible guy. I haven’t even done anything to you.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“Okay – besides that – have I been disrespectful? Did I hurt you?” She took a moment to think and then just pouted. “See, you know it’s the truth. Now c’mon. If you don’t look like you’re with me, you’ll have a flock of men chasing after you and most of them are bigger perverts than I am.”
Her eyes widened in a flash of fear. I pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t worry sweet-cheeks, I won’t let anything happen to you.” She was quiet in response. I was actually surprised. I half-expected her to flip out as I kissed her. Guess the idea of other men ganging up on her was enough to pacify her.
We stepped into the bar and immediately, everyone smiled at me. I waved at my fellow comrades before towing Linda to the counter and helping her onto a stool. “I can do it myself.”
“Okay, okay. No need to bite my head off. Damn.” I ran my fingers through my hair and sat down.
A busty woman with flaming red hair walked up to us, flashing me a smile. “Kyle, so good to see you. I thought you were still in the slammer for “killing” Ross.” She laughed.
“Yeah, yeah. It ended up being a pretty expensive joke. Jones had to muster up $500,000 to get me out of there.”
“Damn. That much? And they haven’t caught the sucker who actually did it?”
“They did. Didn’t you know? It was me.” I shot a glance at Linda who was quietly sitting there, looking at a group of burly men playing poker at a nearby table. They looked up and spotted her and she quickly looked away, her face the color of a ripe tomato.
Nina laughed. “Right. You couldn’t kill a fly.”
I winked at her. “That’s not what my lawyer here thinks.” I wrapped my arms around Linda, pulling her close.
“Oh. Is she the one that got you bail?” Nina nearly growled. It was no secret that Nina was into me, but she just wasn’t my type.
“I…” Linda stammered, trying to find a way to defend herself, but under Nina’s piercing gaze, even the best could crumble.
“Anyway, care to get me a scotch and the pretty lady here will have…”
“…I don’t want anything.” She mumbled under her breath.
“A glass of water then.” Nina scoffed, filling the orders.
“What are we doing here?” Linda asked, getting closer, her hand on my leather jacket.
“I thought I would bring you into the world of Blackbirds. Most of your judgment came from stereotypes that simply aren’t true. I bet you’re already judging every single man that is in this bar, thinking they’re all thugs. It isn’t like that at all. Most of them are actually pretty nice.”
“Then why are there so many crimes attributed to motorcycle clubs?”
“I’m not going to deny that things get out of hand sometimes, but at the end of the day, we all mean well.” Linda rolled her eyes like she didn’t believe me. “Most of us are like family.”
Silence settled around us as we both sipped on our drinks. Linda was hesitant about her drink for a while, eyeing it suspiciously. I glanced over at her, wondering how long it would take before she believed me.
“C’mon, why don’t we go play some pool?”
“I don’t want to.”
“So what, you’re just going to sit there and mope all day? I mean, I could leave you with Nina if you’d like. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind someone to talk to.”
Linda immediate scrambled from her seat and followed me to the pool table. She stood close to me, like a child hiding behind a parent. I laughed, pulling her in front of me. “Have you played pool before?”
“No.”
“That’s alright. I’ll teach you.” I walked over, grabbing two pool sticks.
“Hey, mind if I join you two.” My right-hand man, Jones appeared, the usual goofy look on his face. Linda shied away from him.
“Sure, but Linda here is learning the ropes so you’ll have to be patient with her.”
“Really… I don’t have to play.”
Jones stepped closer, whipping his blonde hair out of his eyes. “Who’s this, Kyle?”
“This is Linda, the lawyer I was telling you about. I thought I would bring her around so she could learn a little more about us.”
“Fair enough. Well, I hope you enjoy yourself.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jones by the way.” As his smile deepened, it was obvious that he was missing a few of his molars.
“Uh… thanks.” Linda took his hand and the moment she did, he pulled her into a hug. Linda’s eyes looked like they would bug out of her head. Jones pulled away just before she started to protest. “Kyle is a good guy. He would never kill anyone.” I smiled at my friend who grabbed a pool stick and waited for me to rack the balls.
“Come here.” It took Linda a moment to realize I was talking to her. She tiptoed toward me. Her cheeks had faded from red to pink. I ruffled up her hair. “Stop looking so scared. No one here is going to hurt you and if they did, maybe then I’d think about killing someone.”
“Sorry if I’m a little uneasy around all these strangers.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m supposed to be on vacation right now and instead, I’m in some filthy bar with a bunch of dirty bikers.”
“Now, if you keep talking like that, you might make some enemies. I’d keep my voice down if I were you.” Linda looked around and noticed that a few of the patrons were indeed staring at her. She quickly moved closer to me.
I took my chance to bend her over the pool table, sliding the pool stick between her fingers. “What are you –”
“Calm down. I’m just lining you up for the shot.”
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with –”
The moment I pressed my body against hers, she stopped talking. She felt so small and fragile against me. Her vanilla scent came back to me as I leaned down, my nose practically in her hair. “So, if you want to shoot, you hold the stick like this.” I repositioned her hands, our fingertips grazing together. Again, that warm stirring appeared in my chest. I ignored it for the moment and continued to instruct her. “And when you’re ready, you slide it back and then launch forward with a bit of force.”
Linda’s fingers were ice-cold. Was she nervous? I pressed even closer, tightening my grip on her hands. “I don’t know about this…”
“C’mon, it’s easy…” I ran my fingertips along her soft skin, enjoying the feeling. My lips were just about to graze her neck when she made the shot. The cue ball went flying toward the neatly-arranged balls, scattering them in every direction. “Wow… good shot. You sure you haven’t done this before? You even sunk a solid. Very nice.”
I stepped away from her, giving her some space. To my surprise, she actually smiled at me. “That was kind of fun.” She giggled. “I think you might be right…”
“About?” I leaned against a nearby table and looked at her, waiting for Jones to make his shot.
“Once you’re here a while, it actually is pretty cozy… maybe there’s more to the Blackbirds than what meets the eye.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.” I grinned. Maybe I was finally getting through to her.