Chapter 12 #2
We both sack out on the couch, her sketching, listening to music, and me working on contracts.
It’s the fucking best. I love her inhabiting my space.
In the early evening, I lay down on my living room floor, staring up at the ceiling because my eyes need a break and I need to not be hunched over my computer.
She sets her things aside, laying out on the floor next to me, her head turned toward me.
“Do you like going on runs?” I turn my head to look at her, enjoying that she wants to talk.
“Most of the time,” I tell her honestly. “I enjoy riding, and I can work from anywhere. The only thing that sucks is not sleeping in my own bed.” And being away from you.
“I don’t like that you guys will be gone for a whole week. Why so long?” Her eyes move over my face, resting on my lips as I begin to speak.
“We have multiple stops, SLO, San Diego, Phoenix then Albuquerque and Las Vegas before coming back.” I stretch my arms over head, my back gives a little pop.
She rolls onto her side, her hand presses under her cheek, the other rests against her stomach. “Do you guys party while you are gone?”
“Some,” I answer her truthfully. “We definitely don’t if we are on the road again first thing the next day like much of this trip will be.”
“None of the guys fuck around on the girls, right?” She studies my face, and I know she is evaluating me with that question.
I shake my head then roll to my side, mirroring her. “No, not at all.”
“Even with sweetbutts?” Her eyes meet mine and I know she is trying to decide if I fuck around. I don’t.
“Especially not with sweetbutts. The guys are committed. When you find your person, no one else will do,” I offer, speaking from the very depth of me. Hence why I have only fucked my hand for nearly two years.
“It’s good to surround yourself with guys who support your respect for your chosen partner.” She smiles. “Less room for mistakes.”
“True.” I scoot closer to her. The slow deep beat of her music fills the comfortable silence.
“Have you ever fucked a sweetbutt.” I frown not liking that this is the direction of the conversation, but also, I will answer because I won’t lie to her.
“No. Just not something I could go for.”
“Prefer to date?”
“I have never had a girlfriend.” I slide my hand out between us, resting it on the floor to see what she does.
“Does that mean you don’t date?” Her brows pinch as she seems to be thinking about my response.
“No. It just means I haven’t yet.” I apparently answered right because her hand slides off her stomach to the space between us too. The pointed tips of her nails brush the side of my hand.
“Do you plan to have kids?”
“Fuck no.” I chuckle.
She blasts her pretty smile my way. “Same.”
“Marriage?” I ask her.
She lifts and drops her shoulder. “Dunno. If I do, it will be like Kev and Gracie did, or like a Vegas type thing. I have no real interest in that though.”
“So, you can run easily?” I lift my brow at her.
She snorts. “Hardly. More like… I dunno… marriage just seems unnecessary for the most part, but then again, I have heard it is unnecessary until it isn’t. I am open to it, but it isn’t really a priority.”
“Noted.”
“Care to expand?” She taps her fingernail on the back of my hand, and I love every fucking thing about that action.
“I would say I feel the same way. I would do it, but it doesn’t feel like a priority. I think my parents would like for me to do it.” I chuckle.
“I love your parents. Your dad…”
“Not biological, but my parents got together officially when I was two months old.” I shrug.
“And your biological father?” she gently dances into the topic, and I think it’s adorable how she has gotten so soft to press.
I smirk. “No one has told you, my story?”
Her brows go up. “Apparently not, but I’m not sad about that. I rather hear your story from you.”
“Mom was a sweetbutt.”
Her jaw drops. “Trish was a sweetbutt? No! Damn. Go Trish, get down with your bad self. Okay, your mom totally must have so much self-confidence and a streak of bad in her.”
I can’t help but smile. I fucking love that she wasn’t grossed out, or anything but immediately impressed by my mom having a wild side.
That hasn’t been the reaction of several and I am really protective of my mom.
“She’s an open book, if you ever want to talk to her about it, she would be thrilled. ”
“Wait… do you know who your bio-dad is?” She eyes me.
I shake my head. “You have been around enough, there is no obvious guy. So, no, I have no idea.”
“You don’t seem bothered by that.” Her hand rests on top of mine.
“I’m not. Dad worked at it a little but convinced my mom to give him a real go, that he would take care of us. I don’t think their relationship was love at first, but it absolutely is now. I’m grateful for it. My mom has had a real good life with a really good man. A man I really love.” I smile.
Her hand squeezes on mine. “That’s really beautiful.”
“You should ask me about where I was born.” My smile turns to a devious grin.
Her brow lifts. “Tell me?”
“The pool table in the clubhouse.” I laugh.
“What? No. Seriously?” Her face is astonishment.
“That is how Stork, a prospect at the time, got his road name… and well he discovered he loved the medical field and changed his major to be a nurse after helping to deliver me.” Harry curls in toward me, laughing, looking so full of joy.
I wrap my arms around her, tugging her tight to me. “You like that?”
“Frankie, I fucking love that.” She beams at me. It is weird how much I like hearing her call me by my name.
We have Chinese take-out for dinner at my coffee table, then we fall asleep watching a show on one of the streaming services.
I wake during the night with her curled against me.
I shift us around, so we are laying on the couch, pulling a blanket over us.
I hold her the rest of the night as we sleep.
When I wake, I breathe her in as her hand clutches my hip in her sleep.
She wakes a couple minutes later, stretching against me, buries her nose against my throat, drawing in deep breaths. “I should’ve gone home.”
“Nah. My house is way more comfortable.” I press my face into the top of her head.
“Your house is perfect, but this is a bad idea and Ronny probably missed me,” she grumbles but doesn’t make any move to put distance between us.
“It isn’t. You’re worrying too much. Next time, he can come too.” I press a kiss to the top of her head.
“Until you get embarrassed about me again and shove me away.” She rubs her face against me. “That really hurt by the way.”
“I di?—”
“Hey,” Virus calls out. “Oh. Shit. Again. Interesting. This early? Harry, did you sleep over? Dude, finally!”
I wrap my arms around her tighter as she tries pulling back from me. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“I am just trying to help you save face,” she sasses against my chest.
“Virus, would you mind clicking the coffee pot on?” I call out.
“Got it!” I hear his eager self make his way to the kitchen.
“You want some coffee, sexy?” I press another kiss to her head. “I have the raw sugar you like.”
She huffs out a breath, her head pulling back to look at me. “Yeah, fine.”
We get up from the couch, both of us stretching. “I can take you home after coffee.”
Her head bobs her agreement as we make our way to the kitchen, Virus is getting out three mugs. “We have to be to the clubhouse in two hours.”
“Yeah, I know.” I play it off like I am still planning to go, even though I’m not. I want Harry to think I am, and to be fair no one but Jolt knows yet. Oh, and Dad, I did text him, he is, of course, onboard.
On the way home, we stop in to get her a breakfast sandwich then pull up next to her car in the apartment complex. We both get off my bike, I pull her bag and breakfast from my saddlebag. I know the answer but ask anyway. “You work today?”
“Mmhmm.” She collects her things from me. “Well, thanks.”
She shifts to step away from me, but I grab her by the hips. “That’s all the goodbye I get?”
Frowning at me, her head tilts. “I am still deciding how I feel about this.” She waves her hand about in the space between us as a general ‘you’ sentiment. “You are acting weird.”
“I feel more me than I have in a long time.” I give her a thoughtful look as I watch her.
“Well, please ride safe. Watch out for my brother and Wally. I am a bit jealous Meadow is tagging along. Which… why are they, oh, that was stupid and not my business.” She shakes her head.
“Was that about Vegas?” I ask instead of silently debating it.
She nods.
“Mint and Wally, along with Meadow, are going to skip out on the Vegas leg of our trip. Meads doesn’t go there, well not since the court case. Everyone will ride safely,” I assure her.
Her head bobs. “Good. Well… bye.”
Holding her hips tighter, I pull her toward me, pressing my lips to the side of her head. “Bye sexy girl.”
She rolls her eyes and huffs out one of her excited annoyed breaths.
My hands release on her hips, and she walks backward from me a few steps before giving me a tight smile and darting off.
Hanging back, waiting until I see her enter her apartment before leaving.
I spend my time while she is at work, working.
When she is getting off, I watch her movements.
When she is safely in her apartment according to her car, phone, and security system, I relax on the couch with a movie, keeping an eye on her still.
The next day goes much the same. Then the next day when her car stays at home, but she goes to work, I roll by, seeing she is in fact there, she is but her car is still in the parking spot at her apartment.
Keeping an eye, she doesn’t go home after work, so I take off after her. I know exactly where she is heading.
Careful to keep my distance I don’t let her get too far ahead.