Lennon
IHAD JUST finished folding a load of laundry when there was a knock on my door. Thinking it was probably a package delivery for one of my roommates, I checked the peep hole, surprised to see Snarl standing outside.
I swung the door open. “What are you doing here?”
Snarl leaned down and kissed me. “I came by to give you a going away present.”
“You have a present for me?” I asked, tentatively.
“Don’t worry,” Snarl said, waving his hands. “This isn’t like the last present. You’ll see. It’s out here, but I’m gonna need to blindfold you first.”
I laughed. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, pulling a blindfold from his pocket before tying it over my eyes. “No peeking,” he said before guiding me carefully down the stairs and out to the street. “Okay, are you ready?”
I nodded excitedly.
Snarl removed the blindfold, and it took me a few moments to fully realize what I was looking at.
Parked at the curb was the Red Rider. Not as I’d last seen her, broken down in the Saddle Rack parking lot, but fully restored.
In fact, not only was she restored, but it looked like it had been improved.
From the brand-new wheels and tires to her shiny new paint job, the Red Rider looked better than ever and ready for another two hundred thousand miles.
“I can’t believe you did this. I mean, how did you manage to do this?”
“I had some help,” Snarl relied casually.
“Sundance wants me to stick around and help the club with a few things, so I asked for a favor in return. I had some brothers who work at our auto body shop tow her in the morning after she broke down. Then they got to work repairing or replacing everything that wasn’t tip top.
In the end, she got a new motor, a rebuilt transmission, as well as a few new added features such as a top-of-the-line navigation system and a custom candy apple red paint job.
“I’m…I’m…speechless.”
“I didn’t want you to have to worry about transportation when you get back from Africa. I could have just bought you a new car, but you told me about the bond you had with this one, and I got the feeling that you and the Red Rider weren’t quite through with your adventures together.”
Tears streamed down my face. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. How in the world did you manage to do all of this?”
“I had a crew wrenching on her the next day after she broke down.”
“This must have cost a fortune—”
Snarl put a finger to my lips. “Not another word. This is a graduation present from me and the Primal Howlers. Maybe one day, you can do a study on a pack of wild bikers in their natural habitat.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me.”
Snarl smiled wide. “Wait ’til you see present number two.
” He then placed two fingers between his lips and let out a loud whistle, which was followed by the distant sound of a motorcycle roaring to life.
A roar that got closer to us by the second until a young man in a Primal Howlers cut drove up on bike and parked in front of us.
“Who’s this?” I asked.
“This is Healy. He’s one of my brothers. He’s great with bikes, an atrocious poker player, and a solid dude, but he’s not what’s important right now.”
Healy climbed off the bike and handed me the key.
It was only then that I realized that the paint job on the bike matched the Red Rider’s new candy apple red finish.
“What is this?”
“This is the Red Rocket. She’s your bike,” Snarl replied.
“She’s my what now?” I asked in stunned disbelief.
“I’ve had this Harley Street Bob in storage for a while and didn’t know what I was gonna do with it, but once I got the idea to restore your car, I knew this bike had to go along with her. New plugs, a tune up, and a custom paint job, and now she’s yours.”
“She’s absolutely beautiful, but I don’t know how to ride.”
“I’m gonna teach you when you get back.”
“But, I thought you said you’d be gone by the time I got back.”
Snarl put his hand to my neck. His thumb on my pulse. “I’ve decided to stick around for a while. Even after this thing with Sundance and the club is done.”
My heart raced. “Really?”
He nodded. “I’ve even had my first consultation with a therapist. Her specialty is agoraphobia, she thinks she can help me. And because of you, I have a reason to fight my demons with everything I can.”
I burst into tears and Snarl pulled me into his arms.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said.
“That’s not all.”
“Oh, my god. If you have any more surprises I might pass out.”
“That’s my dizzy girl,” he joked before pulling an envelope from his back pocket. “How’s this make you feel?”
Snarl handed me the envelope which I opened. “This is a plane ticket to Kenya.”
He smiled and nodded. “I’m going to join you for the last two weeks of your trek.”
“Are you serious?”
“As long as it’s okay with you. I thought about just showing up in Africa, but I figured I should check with you first. It’s your work, after all, and the last thing I want to do is get in your way.”
“A thousand times yes, I want you to meet me in Kenya!” I threw my arms around Snarl’s neck and pulled him close for a deep kiss. After a few moments Healy coughed, and Snarl instructed him to drive the bike back to the clubhouse.
“I can’t believe you did all of this for me,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.
Snarl pulled me close. “I would do anything for you, Lennon. I love you.”
“You do?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” he replied.
“I love you, too,” I said, welcoming a fresh batch of tears. “I have a surprise for you too?”
“You do?” he asked.
I nodded. “The faculty review board called, and you may now call me Dr. Whitman.”
“Dr. Kickass more like it,” he retorted, picking me up. “Congratulations, baby, I’m so proud of you.”
I blushed. “Thank you.”
“I know we’ve both got a healthy wanderlust in us, which is gonna create some challenges, but I love you and want to be with you as much as I can. I know that with all my heart.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I replied.
Snarl pulled me close, and I can’t remember a time when I ever felt so safe.
“My, what big arms you have, Granny,” I said.
“The better to hold you with, my love. The better to hold you with.”
I grinned, grabbing his hand, and leading him back inside.
Thank you for reading!