Chapter 6
Chapter Six
LEO
“You didn’t expect to spend your whole night in your hotel room?” Jacqueline asked me, brushing her long hair over her shoulder to conceal her breasts from my view.
“No,” I admitted, before gently reaching forward to skim my fingers on her bare shoulder, “But I’m not upset about it at all.”
* * *
I haven’t wanked this much since I was fourteen years old and discovered the beauty of deleting the browser history off of my mums’ computer. The weekend went by as normal, now including a recreational rugby match with my new team and slowly befriending Taylor Desmond. Running errands. Going for rides along the beautiful coastline on my bike. And in between all those things, bashing one out to the thought of Jacqueline Williams. It was now Monday morning at 6:13 am, and I couldn’t start my day without releasing this pent-up energy that had been burning in my veins ever since Jacqueline left me in her dust last Friday.
I gripped myself in my bed, prone on my back as I recalled those memories that I constantly tried to push away during work. How soft she felt underneath me, how her voice rang beautifully when I did something just right for her. How she guided me so that she could finally fall over that edge again and again. I had never been with a woman so responsive before. Though I tried to go out of my way to ensure my partners had a good time and reached their release at least once, if not multiple times, Jacqueline was different. It was as if we were two bodies designed for each other. Effortlessly reacting and responding just as both of us needed. I had never felt the need to keep going. To take a break, simply to regain the energy to do it all again.
It was a bloody miracle that I was able to roll out of bed on time the next morning.
Picturing the look in her eyes as I hovered over her, the feel of her soft body underneath mine. Completely compliant, ready for me. It’s what sent me over the edge that morning.
It wasn’t until I regained feeling in my legs and the stars cleared from my vision that I realized my cell was buzzing on my nightstand. I gathered some tissues from my bedside table and cleaned myself up before grabbing my mobile to check the notifications.
It was a group text.
Signe Lange: Hi friends. Jacqueline’s car won’t start this morning, but Zaid and I have the day off and are up in the Bay Area. Can someone carpool with her?
Brandon Moore: I’m already in the office.
Mary Jiang: I’m carpooling with Jamie. I’m pretty sure we live on the other side of town from her, but we could probably swing by.
Signe Lange: That might be good, she’s onboarding a new hire today and doesn’t want to be super late. She just wants to avoid paying for a ride-share.
I sat there, holding my phone, picturing Jacqueline hitting her steering wheel in annoyance and frustration. I guess she didn’t take her car in over the weekend like Brandon suggested.
Me: Where does Jacqueline live?
I watched the three dots of both Mary and Signe’s contact float for what felt like an extraordinary length of time before their responses came in simultaneously.
Signe Lange: Costa Mesa, a few blocks from me.
Mary Jiang: Costa Mesa.
The thing is, I was also a few blocks away from Signe. We had seen each other on the road a few times driving home from work but hadn’t discussed where the other lived.
Me: I can pick her up.
Mary Jiang: You’re closer but let me know if she tells you to fuck off, and Jamie and I will get her.
I smirked, giving the group chat a thumbs-up emoji before opening the company app. I found the employee directory and pulled up Jacqueline Williams’ information, tapping on her phone number and adding it to my contacts.
Me: Your ride is on the way.
Jacqueline: What?
Jacqueline: No.
Me: Do you want to be on time or not?
I finally got up from my bed and started rummaging around for some clothes as I watched the three dots appear and disappear. I chuckled to myself while pulling a t-shirt on over my head. Then her message came in.
Jacqueline: Fine. You’ll need to bring me a spare helmet though.
I raised both of my eyebrows.
Perhaps she didn’t know that I also had a vehicle besides a motorcycle. However, I wasn’t about to correct her assumption. If Jacqueline Williams was agreeing to ride on my bike, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Jacqueline: Also here’s my address:
Jacqueline: I guess you could have looked that up the same way that you got my number, but whatever.
Jacqueline: Also no weaving in between cars.
Jacqueline: Also what do I wear?
I smirked before hitting the dial on her contact and turning on the speaker.
“What?” Jacqueline asked, her annoyed voice rang while I waltzed over to my ensuite bathroom to fix my hair.
“You’re overthinking this,” I replied, turning on the water to tame the ends of my hair that were sticking up all over the place.
“I’ve never—” she stopped herself, but I waited. I set the cell down while I put some paste on my toothbrush and started scrubbing at my teeth, “I’ve never been on a motorcycle. Is my hair going to be crazy by the time we get to the office?”
Perhaps I should have told her that I had a car to drive if she preferred, but I never said I was a perfect person.
“Braid your hair, it’ll fit the helmet better,” I replied before spitting in the sink and rinsing my mouth, then I continued, “Wear jeans, I have a spare bike jacket you can use.”
“Bike jacket?” Jacqueline asked, her voice broadcasting how nervous she was.
“It’ll protect you, and also keep you warm.” It was early in the morning, and the marine layer from the Pacific Ocean still clouded the sky and filled the air with salty humidity.
“Okay,” Jacqueline’s voice sounded a little breathy.
“I’ll keep you safe, don’t worry,” and just because I couldn’t help myself, I added, “I won’t do any wheelies either.”
“Absolutely no wheelies,” Jacqueline snapped, ending the call.
I laughed as I walked out of my bathroom, grabbing my work bag to take her for a new kind of ride.
* * *
This was a horrible idea.
I had just wanked this morning, so there was no reason for me to be struggling with an erection in the middle of the motorway.
All it took was for Jacqueline to walk out of her building, her hair braided over her shoulder just as I instructed her. Her jeans were loose around her ankles but snug against her ass. Her long-sleeved shirt was just loose enough that I could grab a fistful of it and use it to tug her towards me.
But I didn’t do that.
Instead, I offered her the bike jacket that was too big for her but would protect her regardless. I helped her zip it up and strap it over her sleeves. Then I helped her with the helmet. She truly hadn’t worn one before, because she struggled to tighten the strap under her chin. My helmet was already on, so I gently patted her hands out of the way to tighten it for her. Safety first.
Jacqueline nudged my hands out of her way and struggled with the strap again. After watching her for about ten seconds, I shook my head and replaced her hands with mine. She tried to fight me, but I gripped the jaw of her helmet and pulled her close. Making eye contact with her through the visors, silently telling her to stop. She made a frustrated, muffled noise under her helmet before her hands dropped, crossing them over her chest. I immediately tightened the strap under her chin. Once we confirmed that the mics in the helmets worked and we could hear each other, I apologized for not having spare gloves for her.
She said it was fine and listened to my careful instructions on where to place her feet and how to hold onto me.
With her arms snug around my waist.
So not only did I suffer with the feeling of her warm thighs wrapped around mine, but her entire front also pressed against my back. Now, her hands were slowly trying to sneak under my leather jacket without me noticing. Her hands were cold from the breeze riding my motorcycle created.
“Jacqueline,” I spoke into my headset, “What are you doing?” I checked over my shoulder to ensure no vehicles were in my blind spot, before taking the exit into Irvine.
“Please?” Her voice was so small, so desperate, that I immediately gave in. We pulled to a stop light at the end of the off-ramp, and as I loitered with the bike by placing one of my feet on the pavement to balance us, I helped her tuck her hands under my jacket and shirt. The feel of her cold fingers on my bare skin made me twitch.
“I’m sorry,” Jacqueline whispered, as she placed as much of her cold hands on my stomach as possible.
“You’re fine,” I tried to sound soothing, and not like I was trying to figure out how to hide my hard-on as soon as we arrived at work and stepped off of this thing, “I should have just given you my gloves.”
“No, you’re driving. It makes more sense for you to wear them.” Jacqueline countered.
“Perhaps,” I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder. My helmet didn’t allow me to see a lot, all I could see was her leg pressed up against mine, her arm wrapped around my waist, and the hint of her shoulder under my spare jacket, “But now we get to go through the day pretending that you didn’t spend the entire ride feeling me up.”
Jacqueline stiffened behind me, and I felt a sick thrill race through me when her hands under my shirt tightened so that her nails teased my skin, “I’m not feeling you up.”
“Sure,” I nodded, watching the light turn green, “Tracing my abs is a very normal way to warm up your hands.” At that, her thumb stopped its casual, passing movement on my stomach, and I couldn’t hold back the chuckle I released.
God, I loved messing with her.
“That’s not—” Jacqueline sighed, “Never mind.”
“What?” I pressed.
She released another irritated sigh before trying again, “I mean, sure, you have nice abs—”
“You knew that already.” I didn’t try to hide the smile on my face as we wove through suburban Irvine traffic on the less busy streets.
“The point is,” Jacqueline sounded like she was speaking through clenched teeth, “I’m anxious. It’s loud. It’s scary. I’m one wrong turn from being smushed into a pancake on the road.” I frowned, silently scolding myself for not taking her anxiety as seriously as I probably should have, “I’m…fidgeting. Please don’t be concerned about me making a pass at you. I promise I’m not trying to.”
Why not, though? I wanted to ask. Isn’t it painfully obvious that it would be reciprocated?
“I’m not worried, Jacqueline,” I removed one of my hands from the handlebars and placed it over my jacket, right where her hands were slowly warming up under my clothes. I pressed against hers through the material, “I’m just tossing you some banter.”
“I don’t always understand when that’s happening,” Jacqueline replied. It was a quiet reply, I probably wouldn’t have heard it had I not been focused on every hitch in her breath, on every sound that escaped her lips.
“How about this,” I asked, as I turned onto the quiet road that led to our office building, “If you are ever unsure whether I’m taking the piss with you,” I lifted a shoulder, the movement making her fingers flex on my stomach once, as if she was afraid that I would shrug her off, “Just ask me.”
She was quiet as we turned left one last time into the longer drive that led to the car park. The office building wasn’t huge. It was only five stories tall, and there were three other buildings in the same complex. The only indication that Sun Steer headquarters set up shop here was the giant block letters on the top of the building that Brandon ordered, facing the nearby motorway.
“Okay,” Jacqueline finally replied. I wasn’t sure she would. I patted her hand on my stomach once, before pulling into a spot near the front. Other employees were filtering in through the lot, doing double takes when they realized who was on the back of my bike this morning.
I flicked the kickstand open and propped the bike up, before pulling my helmet off and doing a quick pass through my hair with my fingers, attempting to tame the helmet hair as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t until I rested the helmet on my lap that I glanced down and noticed something with a smile on my face.
Jacqueline was still clinging to me, her hands stuck against my stomach. Her front plastered to my back as if we were on the road and not parked.
“Jacqueline?” I called, glancing over my shoulder.
“Hmm?” came her reply from under her helmet.
“We’re here.” I placed my hand on her forearm, my thumb pushing the sleeve of the oversized jacket back so I could swipe gentle strokes against the inside of her wrist.
Jacqueline’s head snapped up as she pulled away from me, cool humid air brushed through our bodies as her heat left mine.
“Oh thank god,” Jacqueline wheezed, as she slid her hands out from under my clothing. Her fingers scraped against my abs; a movement that made me flex against her touch. As soon as her hands lifted to start working on the clasp, I tried to subtly rearrange the inappropriate bulge in my pants as I hopped off the bike. It was awkward, because Jacqueline stayed in her seat, still struggling to remove her helmet.
“What babyproof garbage is this?” Jacqueline grumbled.
I chuckled, setting my helmet on my seat, before stepping forward and grasping her wrists.
“It’s not childproofed,” I replied, “Let me.” I lowered her hands before taking over the clasp, releasing the latch effortlessly because it truly wasn’t that complicated to do. I gently guided the helmet off her head, and the breath whooshed from my lungs at the sight of her.
Her hands lifted to tuck stray strands of her hair behind her ear, at the same time that her dark brown eyes lifted to meet mine. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips a little glossy and swollen. Was she biting them during the ride over? Was she wearing some sort of lipstick designed to make me want to bend down and suck her bottom one into my mouth?
I took a moment to collect myself, backing away a good step so that she had room to hop off the bike. Though she had given me permission to be intimate with her in the past, it was very clear that permission wasn’t still permitted.
Jacqueline had bent over backward to ensure our relationship stayed strictly professional.
…Unless her hands were cold, then she had full access to anything underneath my clothing.
Yeah…I’d take what I could get.
“How was it?” Mary’s voice echoed across the pavement. I held my arm out to help Jacqueline off the bike, as both of our heads turned to see my cousin and her girlfriend walking hand in hand towards us.
“Fine.” Jacqueline shrugged a shoulder, before releasing my hand and shrugging out of her oversized jacket. I held my hand out to take it, and she draped the material over me before seeing the two helmets in my hands.
“Here, I have yours.” Jacqueline turned around to grab both of our bags out of the basket on the back of the bike.
“It’s okay, you don’t—”
“I’m going to,” Jacqueline shook her head once and shouldered my laptop bag on her back, her purse looped on her arm, “Let’s go, the new hire will be here soon.”
Mary and Jamie were grinning at us as Jacqueline marched past them on her way to the doors.
I lifted an eyebrow at my cousin, who wiggled her eyebrows back at me.
Mary had no idea that Jacqueline and I had an intimate history, which made me give her a questioning look.
“I love riding on the back of Mary’s bike,” Jamie spoke up, ignoring the silent conversation my cousin and I were trying to have.
“Oh?” I asked, jogging ahead in an attempt to get the door before Jacqueline, but I was too slow. She already propped the door open and was holding it for the three of us.
“Yeah,” Jamie sighed as Mary dropped her hand her to lower back, guiding her girlfriend through the threshold first, “At first I was terrified.”
“I understand that,” Jacqueline replied as she waited for me to pass her as well. Then she followed us to the elevators, “I think every muscle in my body has been clenched for the past twenty minutes.”
“Now, though,” Jamie pressed the button to call the lift, “I like it. Every time I get on the bike with her, I want to pat myself on the back for stepping out of my comfort zone.”
I glanced down at Jacqueline, and I got to see how her eyes studied one of our sales reps. Did Jacqueline also appreciate stepping out of her comfort zone? I doubted it. Jacqueline seemed like the kind of person who thrived on routine and familiarity. Trying something new didn’t seem like an easy feat for her, now that I know what she was like on the back of my bike.
Shit, I really should have just driven my car .
“That’s a good point,” Jacqueline lifted her hand and patted herself awkwardly on the shoulder, avoiding my backpack, “Go me.”
Mary snorted as we all stepped onto the lift, “I think it’s important to note that I don’t ride my motorcycle to work, because I’m not an attention-seeking douche.”
I lifted my middle finger at my cousin, dropping my hand just in time before Jacqueline turned around and saw the gesture.
“Leo flipped me off.” Mary pointed at me accusingly with a bored expression, which somehow made Jamie laugh. Jacqueline turned to glance at the two of us, me holding my breath, Mary keeping her deadpan expression perfectly in place.
“…I’ll be sure to add it to the long list of complaints.” Jacqueline shrugged before facing forward again.
Hold the fuck up .
“Long list of complaints?” I repeated with disbelief.
“Mhmm.” Jacqueline held her wrist up to check her digital watch, keeping me at her back.
“May I ask who wrote these complaints? Besides…” I trailed off.
“Me?” Jacqueline finished. The lift dinged and the doors opened, allowing the women to step off first, “You can ask, but I will not tell you. Confidentiality, and all that.”
“Sure,” I smirked, narrowing my eyes at her backside before catching myself, “Confidentiality.”
“Of course,” Jacqueline nodded, pulling her phone out of her bag and widening her eyes, “Shoot!” and then she scurried off towards her office. I stood there, standing with my cousin, admiring how her legs looked in jeans. I wondered if there was anything Jacqueline could wear that wouldn’t look flattering on her when I felt a sharp elbow in my ribs.
“What?” I asked my cousin as she glared up at me.
“Stop checking her out,” Mary whispered with an eye roll, “Fucking men .”
I shared a guilty smile with Jamie before the blonde was tugged away past the front desk.
Mary was right though.
I needed to do better.
Progress was being made with Jacqueline, and I didn’t want to ruin any chances of friendship (or more realistically, simple amicability) by letting my mind wander whenever it had the chance.