Chapter 12
At nine thirty Sunday morning, Lilith sat on the top step leading to the bar and sat up straight when she heard a rumble in the distance.
The louder it became, the more excited she was, and she would swear that her entire body felt the vibrations of the coming thunder.
That was all she could think of, and she even looked up at the sky to see if any clouds were rolling in.
She didn’t have to wait to see what all the noise was about because the thunder dulled, and then she watched as several motorcycles began to enter the parking lot.
It made her happy that she had parked off to the side when she’d arrived and was now glad because the bikes drove in, turned, and faced out, with their back tires toward the bar.
She wondered why there were so many gaps between the bikes, but when the current ones shut off, and there was another deep roar in the distance, she stood, and came down the steps.
She watched as the first arrivals started getting off their bikes.
Some had two riders, some only one. She did note that the riders on the back were women.
She recognized several from when she had been here a week ago with Starr.
As this new batch entered the parking lot from the opposite direction as the first ones, she also noted that they pulled in, turned their bikes around, and filled in the gaps.
The third roar didn’t sound like there were as many bikes, but Lilith was just as excited.
She watched as only ten bikes pulled in this time.
She immediately recognized Luc in the center of the bunch, and these guys also turned to face out.
Except Luc was the only one to fill in the last gap, the last riders went off to the side, at the end of each row to park.
She watched as Lucius lowered his kickstand, set his bike on it, removed his helmet, and hanged it off the mirror.
He swung his leg over to dismount, then walked to each man who had already arrived and shook their hand, and either nodded to the woman, or kissed their cheek.
In his actions, Lilith saw respect radiating from every man and woman there.
When he stopped and turned in a circle, she moved and his eyes zeroed in on here.
“You came,” he said, and made his way to her.
Instead of kissing the side of her head like he did with the other women, he took both sides of her face in his hands, bent down and kissed her.
When they broke apart, Lilith saw several shocked faces, but he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What’s your last name?”
“Richards.”
“Thank you,” he said with a grin, and after giving her another quick kiss, he threw his arm around her shoulders and turned to the group staring at them in varying degrees of shock.
“Hey, this is Lilith Richards, she’ll be riding with me today. Lilith, this is everyone.” They laughed together as she gave a small wave, then a line formed as the men and women approached to shake her hand. It took about twenty minutes with all forty of them introducing themselves.
Instead of standing around after the last introduction, Luc turned to her. “Where is your stuff?”
“In my car.” She pointed and together they walked over and he noted the boots she wore.
“I dig the boots.”
“Thanks you. Gator said they were both fashionable and sturdy for riding.”
“He would be right. Look at what the others are wearing. I wear engineer boots myself.” He pointed to his feet, and nodded when they reached her car and she reached in to pull out a pull over sweatshirt, her brand new leather, a pair of gloves, and her new helmet.
“Gator also told me to get my jacket one size larger because of the sweatshirt.”
“Again, he steered you in the right direction.” Luc nodded as he carried her helmet and leather and laid them over the back seat on his bike.
With his arm around her shoulders again, he pointed to the line of bikes.
“I know this won’t make sense to you at first, but there is a method to our madness. ”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that there is a hierarchy or a pecking order in the club. How long were you here before the bikes arrived?”
“About ten minutes. Fifteen came from one direction, eight from the opposite, then the ten that included you.”
“Okay, there’s no pecking order for when they arrive. They probably hooked up with each other to ride in a pack here. Which is perfectly fine. However, when we ride as a club, that’s when the politics begin.”
“How?”
“I’m the President, that means that I’m the top dog.
The guys that rode in with me, came to my house to escort me here.
They don’t have to, but they took it upon themselves to ride with me to keep me safe.
The number one rule of the pack, is to protect me and my rider.
In this case, you. Oh, and no female rider is to ride with anyone other than who they arrived with.
If the guy’s bike breaks down, then depending on the status of the guy, he can take a striker’s or prospect’s bike to ride.
Those were the people that rode in with me.
During a club run, they are always at the back of the pack. ”
“Got it. Can I ask questions if I have them?”
“Yes. Now, when we leave here, the road captains, two of them, will lead the way. Their job is to map out our route, and lead us in the right direction. Directly behind them will be the Sargeant at Arms, and beside him will be the Vice President. We ride two to a lane. Behind the Sargeant at Arms and the VP, will be the Enforcer, and myself. I prefer to ride outside, which will take us close to the outside white line. Behind me, are the other officers, secretary, treasurer, then the non-office holding, but patched members. Behind them are the strikers, because they have a bottom or top rocker, just not the center patch yet, and then the prospects.”
“What are they?”
“They have voiced the desire to join our club, but have to do things to make sure if they are worthy of the patch. It takes roughly three years to be fully patched if they show an interest.” He paused and turned her so he looked directly into her eyes.
“We are not like some clubs you hear about in the news or those documentary television shows. We do not require our members to kill anyone to be patched in, and we sure as hell don’t share our women.
If anyone hits on you, or makes you uncomfortable, you tell me immediately.
I know it sounds possessive, but today, you are mine, and though others can talk to you, they can’t touch you, nor can they make sexual comments to you. ”
“I think I understand.”
“Good.” He paused and looked up when a truck and trailer pulled in. He turned to the group. “Looks like we’re all here.” He had looked at his watch when the truck arrived and nodded.
“What’s that for?”
“That’s the chase truck. If we have a club run that is more than one hour from base, which is this bar, then we bring a chase truck.
It basically carries a tool box, with spare parts, and full gas cans.
If something happens and someone breaks down along the side of the road, if we can’t fix it, then we load the bike on the trailer and like I said, depending on who breaks down, then they can take the prospect or striker’s bike to ride, and that owner will ride in the chase truck to keep an eye on the guy’s bike.
I know I said earlier that women can’t ride with anyone else.
However, the only exception is if a patch holder takes a striker’s bike, she can ride on the back with her man, but not with the striker or prospect. ”
“Ah, so it’s a couple, not the bike.”
“Correct.” He nodded and looked up as another vehicle pulled in and grinned when he saw his cook park next to Lilith’s car. As he exited, he grinned, reached in and pulled out two bulging bags and several men ran over to help him. As he approached, he looked directly at Luc.
“BBQ Brisket with the trimmings at six?”
“Thank you,” Luc said, and slapped him on the shoulder. He turned back to Lilith with a grin. “He is the cook here. When we have our first run of the season, he has his first BBQ. I think he looks forward to firing up the outside pit as much as we enjoy riding.”
“That sounds wonderful. I take it he doesn’t ride?”
“No, and trust me, once you get used to being in the fresh air all day, you’ll be starving by the time we get back here, though we will have options to eat when we reach our destination.
” He looked at his watch, whistled, and Lilith watched as everyone went to their bikes to put their jackets and helmets back on.
She did her own, and smiled when Luc made sure she was bundled up.
He climbed on the bike, then told her how to mount, but stopped her before she did.
“I don’t know if you’ve ridden before, but trust me, I know what I’m doing.
Lean with me in the curves, not against me.
If you need to, you can wrap your arms around my waist to hang on until you’re used to it.
I won’t be offended.” He grinned and reached up to bring her face to his for a kiss.
She was laughing as she climbed on the back of the bike, and nodded when he looked back and told her to get comfortable.
She wiggled until it felt right, then leaned forward to wrap her arms around his waist. When the bikes all started at once, she jerked and saw Luc’s grin in the side mirror.
Before anyone even started forward, a bike from each end of the line shot forward and went out to the road, when they waved their hands to the rest of them, Luc looked at her.
“Prospects making sure the road is clear. We won’t stop at the end of the driveway like we normally would. We’ll go out in lines of two.”
She nodded and watched as the first four bikes started forward, then she looked over and saw Gator beside them, and they exchanged grins.
She watched in the mirrors as everyone else came out of the parking lot, and then the two prospects fell in at the end of the group.
It didn’t take her long to settle in, and when she did, she released her hold on Luc’s waist, leaned back further, and tightened her thighs on his hips, and rested her hands on his lower waist. By the time they arrived at their destination, she was relaxed, and hadn’t a thought in her head.
She had thought she could clear her mind and think about her problem with Sally, but the way she felt right now, she could care less about the other woman.
After the bikes were shut off, Lilith climbed off, but had to grip Luc’s shoulder when her knees were wobbly. She looked at him in shock.
“Yeah, they do that. Just stand there until you get feeling back in them, then you can walk.” He hopped off the bike, removed his helmet, placed it over his seat, then removed hers and put it on her seat. “I only have one question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you sure you’ve never ridden before?”
“No, why?”
“Because I had to reach back to feel you, or look in my mirrors to make sure you hadn’t fallen off. You barely moved.”
“Oh, well, when I got dressed this morning, I thought I would take the time to think about my problem with Sally, but once we were underway, all those thoughts left my head. It felt great not having to worry about this or that.”
“She caught the zone!” Gator laughed from beside them. He looked at her with a grin. “The zone is when you zone out to everything but your surroundings. Not everyone can find the zone, but once you do, then you become relaxed and feel like your problems aren’t as big as you did.”
“Exactly.” She nodded with a laugh and hugged Luc. “Thank you.”
“No problem, do you think you can walk now?”
“Yes,” she said, and put action to words. She had removed her gloves several miles back, and only unzipped her leather. When they started to walk away, she stopped. “Will our helmets be safe?”
“Yes, one of the prospects’ job is to stay with our bikes. There are four of them. Two will stay, two will go get something to eat, then come back here to switch.”
“Ah, got it.” She nodded and smiled when he took her fingers in his, and they ended up staying connected by just their entwined pinkies.
They walked toward the area that looked like a small town, and they paused when another bunch of bikes drove by, everyone waving to the others.
They walked for about an hour, found someplace to eat, then walked off their meal.
It was a little after three when they made it back to the bikes.
Luc pulled his phone and sent a text, then looked at her.
“I just informed the cook that we’re about to leave. I thought we’d leave here between two and two thirty, but we’re running behind. I don’t want him to get worried when we’re not there on time.”
“That’s a good thing.” She nodded, stretched, zipped her jacket, and reached for her helmet.
The ride home was the same as the ride there, totally relaxing, and when she arrived back at the bar, she was one of the first women in the bathroom.
When she came out, she stood there, not knowing where to go, when one of the women told her to sit in the area the women always sat in.
She did, and enjoyed the glass of white wine she had ordered.
A little over an hour later, she looked up and saw Luc staring at her. He crooked his finger at her, and she immediately rose to go to him.
“It’s time to eat,” he said, and took her hand to lead her to the back patio.
With a plate full, the two of them went back to where she had been sitting, and they enjoyed a meal together.
It was almost eleven at night when she said she had to go home.
He walked her out, grabbed her helmet and leather off the bike, and walked her to her car.
They made out for a good ten minutes before they sighed heavily, and he stepped back to allow her to enter her car.
He stood there in the dark as he watched her drive away.