GABE
June
It was his birthday, and the gift he received was better than anything he could have imagined. All the guys left the house, and Gabe had Riley for the whole day.
“So, what do you want to do?” She leaned on his chest in his and Troy’s bed, snuggling into him. He’d woken up to her there, no Troy, and only a card explaining what his main gift was. The guys would give him real presents later, but he already had the most important one in his arms.
He and Troy had been so busy catching up their work from the mess of the spring, he hardly ever saw her. It was awful.
“Well, I normally go race on my birthday, and the guys come to cheer me on,” he spoke into her hair, the golden blonde waves falling liberally over him. “It’s a little thing we do… but you don’t have to.”
“I would love to!” She sat up, and he groaned at the sight of her smiling down on him. “I haven’t had the chance to actually see you race yet.”
“Are you sure, gorgeous?” Gabe grinned and pulled her back down, kissing her as he rolled her onto her back. He placed himself between her thighs. “I can think of more fun things to do today.”
“We can’t just have sex all the time, Gabe!” She laughed as he kissed her neck and collarbone. She had nice collarbones. He never thought he would notice that in a woman. “I want to be a part of your lives.”
“Alright, we’ll head out after lunch,” he spoke into her chest, then started to give her a hickey on her breast which would drive the rest of the guys wild. They normally had a rule- no marks on her. When another guy saw the mark, he wanted to outdo it; and she ended up covered in love bites and other nonsense.
But it was his fucking birthday, and he was going to do whatever he wanted.
By lunch, he’d already had the best birthday of his life, and now their girl was going to see him motocross race. She thought he raced his street bikes, but he had a love for the dirty, bouncing, dangerous ride on the hills. It was prime season, and there was place nearly two hours away that had races going for casuals every day. It was like a playground for them, and a training place for some of the big-league racers.
And they knew he was coming to get his race on for his birthday.
“You ready, gorgeous?” He grinned at her as she ran out of her room.
She wore those damn leather pants she’d bought with Brenton and Zachary back in February. God, those things were meant to kill them all. They fit her like a second skin, hugging and cupping every curve in a perfect sheath of slick, black leather. She had paired with them with some beat up steel-toed boots and a Black Sabbath tee with cuts in it. Under that, he saw a white tank.
“Damn right, I am,” she said as she pulled him down for a kiss. “Do I look alright?”
“You look like I’m going to need to fight the other riders off with a damn stick,” Gabe teased. “Love it. You look fucking hot.”
“Good. I want to be the best cheerleader for you.” She kissed his cheek, and he lead her out. He’d already loaded his dirt bike into Andrew’s pick up. Wherever the guys were, they had taken the Range Rovers to get there.
“It’s a long drive; and we’ll be out late, so grab my jacket when we get there. I won’t need it.” He just wanted her to wear his jacket. It suddenly came to him that he was going to need to drive her somewhere. He hated driving with her in the vehicle; she wanted to go somewhere for his birthday, and there was nobody else to drive. He would suck it the fuck up and get over his own issues for her.
“It’s June, Gabe! It won’t be cold,” Riley replied as she pushed him playfully, and he eyed her.
“Wear it for me, then?” He smirked, hoping she’d say yes.
“Yeah…” Oh, the blush on her face made him want to crawl back into bed. “I can do that.”
“You’re the best, gorgeous.”
They drove to the track, laughing and talking about anything. His history with motorcycles came up, and he shrugged.
“Troy and I like them. I learned I had a bit of a need for speed only a couple years ago. Started racing dirt bikes that I built from scratch with Troy. We don’t normally get to build the nice little racers, but we put the time aside to make one, and I race it. We’ve built a few others since then because people liked what I rode.”
“That’s so cool,” Riley mumbled. “I would love to learn how to ride.”
“Really?” Gabe turned to her and was so fucking excited. Riley on her own motorcycle? Oh. Fuck. Yes.
“Yeah,” she waved a hand around. “But it’s probably just too dangerous for you guys to let me. I mean, my dad always said no when I was kid, to even like a tiny kid dirt bike.”
She felt they would tell her no? Gabe couldn’t have that. Unacceptable.
“Gorgeous, if you want to learn to ride, you ask,” Gabe pointed at her as they neared the track. “Yeah, it’s dangerous, but all of us ride. And you on a bike, after being taught by one of us? You’ll be fine… plus…” He parked them in the gravel and grabbed her chin and kissed her gently. “You’re pretty good with something powerful between those sexy legs of yours.”
She laughed and smacked his arm.
“Alright alright!” She jumped out of the truck and he followed. He could get the bike down by himself, but he knew she would insist on helping. That was Riley. She had to be a part of it: a part of the team, the pride, the family. You couldn’t leave her out or she’d make your life hell.
“There they are! It’s already one in the afternoon, you two!”
Gabe spun and saw his brother, Troy. He laughed, and they hugged.
“What are you doing here?” Gabe looked from Troy to Riley. She was keeping a suspiciously innocent look on her face.
“You think we were going to miss birthday race day? Nah, brother!” Troy patted his shoulder. “Let’s get you ready!”
He saw the other guys soon after, and Riley followed him around, the other riders and members of the crowd watching them. By the time he was on his bike, ready to put his helmet on, she was still there.
“See me at the finish line?” He asked, keeping his eyes locked on her amber ones.
She didn’t answer, only pulled him in for a long kiss that had the other racers laughing.
“For luck,” she chuckled. “Win.”
With that, she left him hanging, wide-eyed and fumbling to get his helmet on.
He raced hard, and every time he passed a lap, he saw her on Zachary’s shoulders, cheering louder than the rest of the crowd. It was a good sight, her with the pride on his day. It was so good.
“And in first place, Gabe Walker! Happy Birthday, you crazy son-of-a-bitch!” The announcer laughed over the speakers. He jumped off his bike and caught her as she jumped to him.
“Gabe, that was awesome!” He spun her around as she squealed.
It was the best birthday he’d had in years. Twenty-seven years on this earth and this next one would be the best.