18. Blakely
Blakely
I t’s been almost two months since I stepped foot in this place. We’re in mid-August and the temperatures are still high yet The Garage is hotter with the number of parties and races we’ve had so far.
Meadow had a competition a few days ago—this one was in Austin, Texas. He has another one a week from now. Our one-night stand turned out to be over a month and still counting.
Yet, it’s not just about sex. As incredible as it is, it was never just that with him. We’re like two flames, igniting each other when the other fades, although between us we never cease fire.
But neither of us verbalize the feelings we have developed for the other. I’m uncertain about many things, including Meadow. With him leaving every month to compete around the world nothing is guaranteed. I don’t want to lose him even if we decide to stop having sex with each other, it’s crazy, but I feel like he’s my best friend.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” I peel my upper lip to a snarl and crinkle my nose. The moment my words reach the bar, Meadow is already towering over the handsy guy who tried to send his hand toward me but I slapped it away. “Or else they would be toast under my bike,” I catch the smirk on Meadow’s face. He knows I can handle my shit but the protective urge in him overcomes all else.
“Next time you’re hitting on my girlfriend I’ll make you the fucking dart board, and aim to the spot between your eyes. Trust me, I never miss.” He finishes by tossing an arrow straight in the middle of the board without looking, bullseye.
That’s right.
Wait… girlfriend?
“I’m good, man, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”
“It doesn’t matter whether she has a boyfriend or not, you don’t touch any woman unless she gives you permission to.” Meadow looks down at him but there’s no anger in his eyes, there’s a warning and lack of respect. “You are to pack your things and leave, we don’t tolerate this kind of behavior here.”
“Wait… you’re one of the owners.”
“I am.” Meadow nods. “And we have a very strict policy. This place is an escape, it’s meant for fun and everyone is allowed to do whatever they want within reason. Understood?”
The guy clears his throat and nods in understanding.
I stare at Meadow in awe and admiration. He truly cares for the people in his life and the safety of others. He is rough and silly and funny and a total weirdo sometimes but he has a pure heart that overflows with love.
Love is his strength .
“Why is there never a dull moment with you two?” Russ shows up next to Meadow after the guy exits the door with a warning.
“Trouble finds us.” Meadow taps on his shoulder and enters the bar. “That’s part of our charm.”
He became friends with my friends and his secret is still safe with me. He’s replacing Lai at the bar because my girl went on a ride with Brook, ever since that first event at The Garage that undeniable spark between them grew. It turns out he is not into group activities but simply likes to sleep naked and has no problem walking around naked—he’s notorious for it.
“Shut your ears if you don’t want to hear my singing skills,” Russ says as a joke to one of the customers and they laugh together.
I avert my gaze to Meadow who subtly raises his brow like he’s contemplating something. “What are you thinking about?” he asks.
I lean against the counter. “I’m glad I came here. It turned out to be the best summer I’ve ever had.” My eyes meet his shades but I know his eyes are roaming all over my frame like they always do. There are days that I still don’t understand why he has to cover his face when no one knows what Bow Reyes looks like, but then I remember that there are people who know and one word could ruin everything he is trying to protect.
In some way, now I understand that keeping your life a secret from the media is not a bad thing. The world out there could be cruel and take advantage of people like us who build their lives around an important value. Family.
We are one big family here and we will stand and protect everyone who enters this place and dismiss those who are not welcome.
“Mine too,” he comments.
His piercings glint and add a level of roughness to his already rough appearance and he taunts me every chance he gets when he licks his lips or bites them.
The top section of his dark hair is tied to the back of his head, making me want to run my fingers through the strands reaching his neck.
“Your eyes are doing that thing,” he smirks, fixing his nose piercing.
I question, “What thing?”
“Undressing me.”
My mouth curves into a smile. “The only thing I’m undressing is the bottle of whiskey behind you, champ.” I mouth the last word.
“Do you always have to say the last word?”
“Do you?” I wiggle my eyebrows once and run my hungry eyes all over his delicious physique. “I kind of had it under control back there.”
“You don’t have to be right all the time.”
“You don’t have to stick your nose into my business all the time.”
“But it’s so much fun with me in it.” His elated tone tickles my ears.
“Ugh, get over yourself,” I say in amusement.
“With you on top,” he whispers so only I can hear, extending his hand across the bar and curling a finger beneath my chin, nudging it upwards until our eyes meet.
I nibble on my bottom lip and so does he.
His cute dimples pop as he smiles, and I prod my index fingers into them right as Chemical by Post Malone starts playing—everywhere we go that song finds us.
“I just called you my girlfriend.” He says as an afterthought in a low voice as if he reconsiders his choice of words.
“But you didn’t mean it, you said it so he wouldn’t dare to hit on me again.” I put it to rest. We don’t need to define ourselves right now.
“True...”
“Get back to work, love birds.” Russ punctures the momentary bubble that sucked us in.
“We’re not—”
“Yeah yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Russ cuts us off.
Slowly pulling away, “I’ll see you later,” I say to Meadow before I head toward the door.
Chaos and Arrow run toward me when I reach the convenience store, jumping on me in excitement. “Girls, I missed you too, I’ll take you to sleep soon.” I glance at the darkening skies.
“What brings you here for the hundredth time?” Milo jokes as I enter. “Let me guess… Pepsi.”
“You got me,” I mirror him, snapping my finger in his direction .
Grabbing one from the cooler, I place it on the counter and exhale a huge sigh, surprising myself at my sudden mood shift. My chest aches and feels heavy. Sadness takes over and my eyes glisten as tears are about to barge. I clear my voice silently, trying to shake it off but one look at Milo and it’s like I can see Dad, and the tears finally flow down my cheeks.
“Hey,” he quickly rounds the counter and embraces me in a big bear hug—the same one my dad always rewards me with. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m right here.”
“I’m sorry, I just miss Dad so much.” It’s so stupid, we text every day and Facetime but it is not the same. I just want him to be here and be happy with all of his friends.
“I know, Blakely, I know that you love him so much, and seeing him in pain hurts you too.”
“It does.” I sniffle. “But this place made him so happy and it has done the same for me, I didn’t know he had all of you when he came here.”
He gives me the biggest, tightest hug I could ask for.
A cry of relief bursts out of me and we stay like this until I relax.
“Lorelai left this for you.” He brings out a photo from behind the counter. “She said she talked to you about it but forgot to give it to you.”
I stare at another photo of Mom and her friends. Their headshots make the necklace around her neck more visible. A bow and arrow. The horizontal arrow looks like my necklace, yet the silver bow looks starkly familiar like the one around Meadow’s neck.
Staring at the picture Milo gave me an hour ago, I try to dissect every crumb of information I have before the footsteps inside the room pull me out.
Meadow enters the bathroom. “I made you some tea, your throat is still sore from last night.” He wears that joker grin across his face.
Feeling giddy, I reply, “Thanks.”
He pulls off his ball cap, flicking it backward to gather his tousled hair back again. “What’s this?” He takes the stick I plunged into the mask bowl that sits on the bathroom counter and starts to apply it all over his face.
I giggle as I watch him mess it all up.
“Not like that,” I say softly as I take the stick away from him, curving my palm beneath his chin and directing him to face me. “You need to apply it evenly,” I slide the stick over his face and circle his eyes and mouth while I cover every inch.
“Look at you, expert.” He leans in for my comfort. “This is like getting a face massage, it’s nice.” He closes his eyes for a moment.
I brush off the hairs sticking to his face and tuck them inside the ball cap.
When he opens his eyes again, he peers into my eyes with an intensity that leaves me breathless before he removes a few wisps sticking to my face. With the hair tie on his wrist, he lifts my hair into a ponytail and ties it for me.
I love those little gestures that come so naturally to him.
Pulling away, “There you go,” I put the stick back into the bowl.
“Thanks.” He directs his legs to face the mirror, narrowing his eyes at himself. “We both look like a Grinch now.” We stare into the mirror and slowly lock eyes with each other as our lips twist and stretch higher at the corners till we burst out with laughter. We can’t stop as we stare at the green mask covering every inch of our faces.
I sniff and a disgusting whiff travels in the air, “What is that smell?”
“Chaos!”
Chaos looks at me with an innocent face but I swear there’s a green cloud around her that fucking stinks.
We rush to get to the opened window and stick our heads out, feeling the night breeze, and sniffing gasoline into our lungs. “Smells like freedom,” we both say in unison before we pivot our heads toward each other and smile.
He doesn’t know it but he gets under my skin and leaves pieces of himself all over me.
He leans in to kiss me and I block him by putting my finger over his lips. “You can’t,” I remind him so he kisses my finger instead.
When I study his features tenderness casts them yet his eyes pour out so many emotions, shifting the energy around him.
“Are you undressing that bike over there?” I nod to the one in front of the window. “I know she’s a beauty but that’s kind of rude.”
He laughs almost silently. “On my worst days, Michael was the one who lifted my spirit.” He shares, gazing outside.
“Is this a bad day?”
“No, just memories.”
“What happened?” I softly ask.
“Last year.” His fingers curl into a ball. “A drunk driver crashed into him when he was on his way back home one night.” His eyes close, covering his beautiful eyes, “The driver died as well but it doesn’t make it better.”
I place my hand over his clenched fist, expecting him to withdraw but instead, he relaxes, opening his fist to weave our fingers together.
“Of course, Meadow. He still took a life with him and it would never make it better.”
“When my dad called to say Michael had an accident, everything turned black. It was during an off-season and we were supposed to meet at my place. I was already on my way to the hospital when my dad informed me that Michael didn’t make it. I stopped midway on the side of the road and broke down completely.”
I can’t even imagine what it must’ve been like for him.
“He is the third friend who was like a brother to me that I had to bury because of an accident. Everywhere I go I’m surrounded by ghosts. Ones I will never forget. The pain of losing them and never seeing them again eats away at my heart. They were my family. The day they died, I mourned my brothers, the home I found in each one, and something in me died.”
Home.
One word that rearranges everything, tattooed on the side of his neck.
“After he passed away, I didn’t take a break. I got back on the tracks and put all the pain to good use. We used to raise hell for all of the other bikers in these summer meetups and put a smile on their faces afterward. I miss him. All of them.” Tears trickle down his cheeks and glisten over the face mask. “I never knew who my real family was but I didn’t need to because I got my parents and brothers that I would sacrifice my heart and soul to. Some of them are gone and I’m afraid to lose the ones who are still here.”
“I get it.” More than anything in this world. “I lost my mom before I knew who she was and I carry her wherever I go because I lost someone who was supposed to be a major part of my life. Thinking about losing my dad is devastating. I would be crushed if something ever were to happen to him.”
He nods in understanding. “You wouldn’t be alone. You will always have us and this place.”
“I’m starting to realize that.”
“My ex broke up with me because I didn’t give her enough attention. What fucking attention, I just lost my best friend. The bit of strength I had, I put into my competitions and she ripped that away from me after dealing with Michael’s death and her leaving me in the most vulnerable state I have ever been in my entire life.”
I feel so bad for him for having to deal with all of that on top of losing someone he loved so much. It breaks my heart.
“You deserved to know, after my ex talked to you I should’ve explained to you but I just wanted to forget all of it.”
I hurry to reply, “You don’t owe me anything. And your ex isn’t a problem. But I appreciate you sharing all of this with me, you know your secrets are safe with me.”
His features soften and a tiny smile stretches across his face. “Michael would’ve liked you. Sometimes you remind me of him. I think he would’ve preferred you over me and made you his best friend.” He chuckles soundlessly and hands me the mug he left on the table for me.
I take a sip, and the divine smell of peppermint floods my nostrils. “I’m sure I would’ve liked him too.”