Chapter Four
Spotting the sign for Lake Donita Flats trailhead, Brett barely held in his sigh of relief. He couldn’t help how uncomfortable Karissa’s continued possessiveness was plaguing him. He enjoyed a pair of boobs pressed against his side as well as the next man, but she was being ridiculous.
Somehow, Karissa had, during the drive, managed to lean across the gap between their front chairs and touch him... a lot . Considering his prick was not interested... at all... the contact was making him feel more than a little uneasy. She was a very pretty woman. He’d always thought so, but she was acting way over the top, in his opinion.
Once Brett had parked, he was more than happy to jump out of his GMC . It allowed him to extricate himself from Karissa’s sudden clingy-vine-ness. He watched her hop out, too, and move around the front toward him, so he headed toward the back and popped the back hatch.
Brett noticed Tyler exiting from the backseat behind him, a smirk on his good-looking features. He could see the mirth in his best friend’s green eyes. His buddy was getting a kick out of Brett’s discomfort, which he knew his long-time friend was able to see in him.
Asshole.
Fortunately, Tyler exiting the Envoy made Karissa detour a little, giving him a little extra time.
Just give me a few goddammed minutes without her trying to rub against me like a bitch-cat in heat.
By the time Karissa reached him, Brett had located her shoulder bag and picked it up. He did his best to smile as he held it out to her. “Here ya go, K.” After she’d taken it on instinct, Brett returned his attention to the other peoples’ supplies that had been tossed into his vehicle and began pulling things out. “Okay,” he muttered, doing his best to ignore Karissa’s hovering. “Who else needs what?”
To his relief, Brett really didn’t need an answer as Tyler slipped between him and Karissa and began grabbing his and Tabatha’s stuff from the back. He took a step backward, watching. Brett felt Karissa grab his arm again, having slipped between the other couple, and he just managed to keep from rolling his eyes.
As gently as he could, Brett extricated himself. “Gotta get my own bag,” he explained as he moved toward his Envoy .
Before more could be said, Brett heard the low rumbles of motorcycle engines. He’d thought about getting one once or twice, but there was no way that he could afford even a halfway-decent one without getting into debt. There really was no way to justify racking up that expense while he was a starving college student.
Brett turned his attention toward the other side of the parking lot and watched three bikes of varying styles and ages glide into the lot. Each had a pair of men on them. Pretty large men drove two of them with much smaller guys on the back. The third was driven by a huskily muscular-looking male with a slightly taller, slenderer guy behind him. All the machines, while older models, appeared to be in great shape.
Nice lookin’ grouping.
Almost as one, the bikers parked. The guys on the backs hopped off, and the men in front followed suit.
As Brett watched, the driver with the thick, gray-threaded beard removed his helmet, then his passenger’s, setting them on the motorcycle’s seat. He dropped to one knee before the small man who’d ridden behind him. He unbuckled the much younger guy’s chaps, then reached down and unzipped them halfway up his calves. Finally, with the smaller man’s hands on the large man’s shoulders, he helped him step out of them, revealing the shortest jean shorts Brett had ever seen on a man.
While the pair had an obvious age difference, they were clearly not a father-son pair. That became obvious when the bearded biker rested his hand on the other man’s calf. He skimmed his hand up the back of the guy’s knee... and thigh... only to palm the younger man’s pert derrière. It was even obvious from the flex of the biker’s thumb that he was giving it a squeeze.
Obviously not shy, the man laughed while grinning down at his... partner. His green eyes were filled with heat, and a second later, he bent and pecked a kiss to the bearded man’s lips. That drew a smile and softening of the big man’s hard features.
Brett thought it was actually kind of... unexpectedly sweet.
“Jason!” Trina cried, skipping across the gravel lot toward the pair, her arms held wide in the air. “You’re here!”
The smaller man—Jason—turned and opened his own arms in welcome, a huge grin on his pretty features. “Trina!”
As the pair crashed together—Jason grabbing Trina around the waist and spinning her around, laughing happily—the bearded man took a few steps back. Obviously, he’d been expecting the display and was ready to offer them room. Preall also closed the gap and held out his hand to the older man who’d been driving the large Harley .
“Good to see you, Michel,” Preall greeted.
Michel grabbed Preall’s hand and tucked him into a one-armed bro-hug with plenty of back-slaps.
“Good to see ye, too,” Michel rumbled, his voice gravelly and rough with a hint of an Irish lilt. “Been missin’ ye, but I understand why.” The big man cut a glance toward where Jason and Trina were still gabbin’ and gossipin’.
“Won’t always be like this,” Preall replied with a wide smile. Then he headed over to the pair and pulled them both into a big hug. “Jason! So good to see ya.”
The slender auburn-haired male laughed and hugged him back. “You, too, man.” Easing away, he tried to affect a stern look that only looked cute on his pretty features. “You takin’ good care of my sister, man?”
Trina hip-checked Jason as she rolled her eyes and puh-shawed. “Of course, he is.” Then she grabbed Jason’s hand and urged him toward Brett’s group. “Come meet my friends.”
Jason grinned and tugged her back. “Just a sec.” He turned back to Michel. “Be right back, Mich,” he told him. Then he pecked a kiss to Michel’s lips again before following Trina’s lead.
“Ugh, more faggots,” Karissa mumbled, soft and low.
Brett barely resisted scowling.
What the hell?
This is Tabatha’s friend from years back?
“Hey. Shut it,” Tabatha hissed, having obviously heard her. “You knew coming up here that Trina’s brother was gay.”
“Didn’t think I’d have their depravity shoved in my face,” Karissa softly snarled back. “Why are you—”
Brett tuned out the rest of that conversation when he saw five sets of eyes focus in their direction—Preall, Jason’s big guy, Michel, the two guys that had been on a second bike, and the blond-haired driver of the third bike. The last man—another cute blond who’d shed his chaps to reveal equally tiny jean shorts—touched the arm of the blond who’d driven their bike and received a whispered comment, which made the guy narrow his eyes. They were all staring at Karissa.
If Brett hadn’t known better, he would’ve sworn they’d overheard her homophobic comments, even from halfway across the parking lot.
So glad I haven’t banged her.
Maybe this’ll help me explain to Tyler and Tabatha why I’ve lost interest. Her attitude leaves a lot to be desired.
After that, the image of the handsome-looking, sandy-blond-haired mechanic drifted across his thoughts. He pushed that away, too. He would have no idea what to do with a guy anyway.
But Ned would, right?
Brett fought the urge to shake his head as he watched the group of guys approaching. At the same time, Tabatha pulled Karissa toward the restroom. Maybe she was going to try to talk some sense into her friend, get her to calm down, be nice.
Hell, if I know.
Closing his GMC ’s rear door, Brett slung his backpack over one shoulder and waited beside Tyler. “So, Trina’s brother’s friends are gay bikers,” Tyler mused.
Shrugging, Brett leaned against his vehicle’s bumper and replied just as softly, “Guess so.”
Before more could be said, the chimes of several cell phones going off filled the air. Almost as one, the six new arrivals pulled out their phones. The brows of several of them lifted in obvious surprise, and the blond pair exchanged looks. The shortest dark-haired man who’d been driving the middle bike smirked and scoffed before slinging his arm around the taller guy who’d ridden with him. Michel, however, his eyes narrowed.
All of them exchanged glances before showing each other their phones. Then they focused on Preall, and a couple of whispered comments ensued. Preall nodded once, glanced Brett’s way, then smiled and shrugged.
Several snickers erupted, including from Trina, who was immediately pulled by Preall into his side. He dipped his head and whispered something. She blushed, and Brett wondered if he was chiding her for something.
What the hell is going on?
A ball of unease tightened in Brett’s gut.
“Well, this’ll be fun,” Michel rumbled, starting toward him once more. Then, to Brett’s surprise, Michel held out his hand to him and even offered a small smile. “Hi. Brett, is it?”
Brett nodded and took Michel’s hand. “Yeah. Brett Robinson.”
“Michel McDover.” The guy squeezed but not hard enough to hurt—as if they were in a pissing contest. “Good to meet ye.” Then he released Brett and held his hand out to Tyler and offered him the same greeting. After that, Michel turned, slipped his arm around Jason’s waist, and pulled him close to his side. “This is me partner, Jason. I gather ye already know he’s Trina’s brother.”
Tyler chuckled. “A little hard to miss, man.”
Nodding, Michel indicated the rest of the group. “That’s Luther with his partner Deke.” He pointed at the pair of blonds. After that, he pointed at the darker-haired couple. “And that’s Jamie and Paolo.”
Just as Michel was finishing up introductions, the girls returned from the two-door unisex brick bathroom. Introductions ensued once more. At least that gave Brett the opportunity to affix everyone’s name to their faces. He’d always had a little trouble with that.
“Jamie and I’ll wait for Nedrick,” Paolo claimed, slipping his arm around the slightly taller slenderer Jamie. “You guys go ahead.” He eyed Karissa’s perfectly new, clean, and pristine, hiking boots critically. “I’m sure we won’t have any trouble catching up.”
Paolo obviously didn’t have much faith in Karissa’s athletic ability. Brett couldn’t say that he blamed him. She’d been the one to insist on an easy hike to a secluded picnic-friendly location.
Fortunately, Preall had known how to fulfill her request.
“You don’t mind?” Paolo cupped Jamie’s jaw as he turned and peered up at him. “Do you, baby?”
“Never mind hangin’ with you, P,” Jamie crooned back.
Paolo hummed before urging Jamie to dip his head. He pressed a lingering kiss to the slightly taller man’s lips, and it almost seemed as if Jamie sank into the shorter, thicker man. Paolo must have taken that as permission to take the kiss deeper, for he notched their faces more fully and did just that.
There were a number of chuckles, as well as ribbings of, get a room . Even a couple of wolf whistles rent the air. Those almost drowned out Karissa’s muttered hiss of, disgusting .
While Tabatha nudged Karissa’s arm and Michel narrowed his eyes a smidge while glancing her way, no one else commented. It also didn’t stop the pair from their make-out session. When Preall laughed and urged the rest of them toward the trailhead, Brett wasn’t certain if he was relieved or disappointed. With bags or backpacks on everyone’s backs, the group—minus the making out pair—followed Preall’s leave.
Watching the pair make-out was a little like watching porn. They were definitely making love to each other with their mouths. They clutched at each other, and Paolo had threaded his fingers into Jamie’s hair in an obviously dominant move to control the kiss.
It was really quite... hawt !
Just... dayam!
“Come on,” Karissa encouraged, reaching for Brett’s hand. “Let’s get in front of everyone.”
Before Karissa could drag him forward, Luther slipped between them, stopping her from grabbing him. “Sorry about that,” he commented, absently glancing Karissa’s way, before focusing on him. “So, Brett, Trina says you’re going into your senior year of college, same as her. What are you studying?”
Appreciating Luther’s move, Brett did his best to ignore Karissa’s annoyed expression. “Uh, I’m getting a degree in engineering,” he told him.
“Yeah?” Luther peered at him with an interested expression. “What do you want to focus on? Houses? Boats? Bridges?” His grin appeared friendly. “What’s your passion?”
“Houses, actually,” Brett admitted. “I love housing design.” After a second of hesitation, he shared, “Especially smaller wood-framed structures.” Indicating the woods around them, which were beautiful, Brett told him, “It’s why I really wanted to get up here and explore. There are so many different styles of homes up here in the woods.”
“That there are,” Luther agreed. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, “Do you know how to ride a motorcycle? It’s the best way to explore these winding roads.”
Brett shook his head. “Uh, no.” With a deprecating laugh, he told him, “Have looked at them. Even picked up the motorcycle license requirement handbook from the DMV.” Shaking his head, Brett admitted, “Never got that far though.”
“Well, no problem.” Luther patted him on the back. “Ned has a motorcycle. A lot of the guys around here do.” Grinning, he continued, “You can ride with him. We’ll find time to show you the sights while you’re here.”
Before Brett could respond in favor of that plan—it seemed these guys sure didn’t have a problem with other guys riding bitch—Karissa ducked around Luther and grabbed his hand. “We’ll be too busy,” she declared. Turning away from Luther—who looked surprisingly amused by her rudeness—Karissa hurried Brett forward. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go.”
With Karissa’s grip so tight, Brett fought back a wince and let her have her way.
Good grief.