Page 22 of Rox

He winces but then smiles, “That’s the right answer, Roxie. There’s always someone in a shop that you won’t vibe with, but continue to do what you’re good at. It’ll work out. Come by tonight, and we’ll get started.”

“Wait, how? You don’t know what I want.”

“If you think I can’t access what you’ve planned out, you’re crazy. Come by after work, Roxanne, and we’ll start.”

He winks and walks off as I stand there, wondering when he found the back piece I drew out. I can’t be bothered for toolong by it. This is my family we’re talking about. If they want something, they’ll get it. Angel is no exception. With newfound happiness from getting my friend back and knowing my back piece is finally happening, I make my way back inside.

Twelve

Mimic

Imay look calm, cool, and collected, leaning against my bike under the spotlight of the streetlamp. I’m anything but. I’ve mastered putting on a mask so no one can see the truth beneath the surface. To the outside world, I’m a very picturesque version of a bad boy coming to steal your daughter away. I know what I look like to others, and I accept it. As long as others don’t see the truth, which is nothing but anxiety. I’ve missed her more than anything, but the truth is that seeing her for the first time in a week is setting my mind on fire. The panic I feel stems from the fact that I’ve been away from her for so long. Mentally, I needed the space, but I’m fully aware I didn’t give her the explanation she deserved. So here I am, trying to make up for the space I asked for. It’s been seven, almost eight, days since I’ve laid eyes on her.

I don’t deserve her or the way she accepted my needs. Out of respect for me, even though I’m positive I didn’t deserve it, she didn’t message me after her initial ask. I read her words, and my heart melted. She made it clear I should take the timeI needed. Her support and her not fighting me on the space my soul needed made me fall deeper in love with her. Something I’m going to keep close to my chest. For now, anyway.

As I wait for the love of my life to come outside, I think back throughout the days I spent away from her. One in particular stands out. I’d been coming and going at the ranch. Doing my time and leaving. I didn’t want to be around anyone if I couldn’t even bother to be around the one person in the world who means the most to me. But I wasn’t going to abandon the animals or the families we were helping hide from their abusers. I was there, but I wasn’tthere.

It was easy for Angel to corner me in the barn a few days ago. My mind was so focused on what I revealed, and being away from Rox, I didn’t notice him until he was in my face. My first reaction was to think he was going to hit me for something. Maybe he remembered his drunken rage and was ready to finish it. I was prepared to fight back. I wasn’t prepared for him letting me know he’d done his part in getting her to forgive him. I didn’t understand why he was telling me this. As far as I was concerned, it was way past time for him to apologize for how he’d treated her. Did he tell me that because he knows how close Rox and I have become? Prez might have a better idea, but unless Rox has been talking about me to them, neither of them should know.

“Good for you, brother. I know you guys have been close for years, and this has been killing you both, " I told him, going back to the stall I was mucking.

“You need to make her smile now.” How can something so innocent and straightforward make me feel as though my life has been truly threatened? Before I can ask him about it, he turns and leaves the stall. Leaving me even more confused.

Add that moment to the guilt I’ve felt, and I’ve been a goddamn wreck.

I watch as she finishes up with a client. It’s late, but she isn’t alone. Duncan is still with her. I’m hoping I won’t have to teach the twig a lesson about treating my girl right. Something tells me I won’t have to. At least not today. Even from this distance, I can see the twinkle in her eye. The smile on her face tells me she’s on a high from creating artwork. This is what she was meant to do, and watching her in her element twists my heart in the best way.

Seeing her happy brings some of the heaviness off my chest and gives me some hope this talk won’t turn into me getting my heart ripped out of my chest. I’ve been letting her know she’s on my mind. She is the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing as I close my eyes at night.

As much as it pained me to be gone, I know I’m not the only one who needed it. For her to be able to love me, we needed me to have a better mindset for this relationship to work. If I hadn’t given myself the time to clear my head, I would have ruined the best thing that’s ever happened to me before it even started. After the week of fighting with all my new emotions and old ones that I thought were dead and buried, I’m now in a place where I can tell her about the battle we’re going to face now that I’m being my authentic self with her.

“Mimic?” Her sweet voice cuts me from my thoughts. I was so locked in the memories of the past few days that I didn’t even notice her leaving the shop. Looking at her now, it’s clear the smile that was shining in the shop is still out, and now, it’s directed right at me.

“Hey baby,” I stand from my leaning position as she runs towards me.

I catch her on the jump as she wraps her long legs around me. She’s holding me as closely as I am her. Her lips drop to mine in a soft but powerful kiss. Her lips are doing a fucking fantastic job of letting me know how much she missed me. I feel born again in her arms. The distance helped me gather theclarity I needed to deal with the onslaught of emotions, but having her back in my arms had me feeling like I was coming home.

I lean forward, her legs refusing to let me go. Her arms wrap tighter around my neck, and she buries her face between her arms and my neck, shaking her head. I can’t help the bark of laughter that comes from my mouth. You’d think we have been apart for years and not a week.

“Baby, I wanna take you for a ride,” I tell her, trying to pry her off me enough so she can look at me.

“That sounds almost too indecent for these public streets, even this late at night.” Rox’s voice vibrates on the side of my neck, sending a chill straight through me.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert.” I laugh at her again as I try to pry her koala-like grip from my body. “I want to take you somewhere special so we can talk. I owe you a long explanation.”

With that, she pulls back and lets her body slowly drag down my own. Full transparency, it’s not helping me stay focused, and I think her devious mind knows that. But when her eyes meet mine, I don’t see mischief. I see my sweet, beautiful woman looking up at me with worry tinged in those beautiful blue eyes.

“You know I’m not mad at you, right? I understand that was a lot, and you needed to deal with it. You don’t need to apologize.” Rox tells me as her soft hands rest on my rough cheeks. She keeps me in place, forcing me to hold her gaze.

“Hop on baby. We’ll talk about it more when we get to where I want to take you. I know I don’t deserve it, but trust me, please.” I lean down and brush my lips across hers.

Stepping back, I lead her to my bike. I secure the helmet I bought her to her head, even though I’m fully aware she knows what she’s doing.

Feeling her pressed against me as we speed off from the shop fills me with something new. Something I’ve never felt before, yet I’m positive I’ve yearned for it. This feeling is something I’ve craved before, but I never understood what it was. Rox wrapped around me has finally put a name to the feeling I craved—lust, love, perfection.

It doesn’t matter that she’s been on the back of someone else’s bike. I can’t be mad at her for riding with her dad or Angel. They were in her life long before I was. Now that I have her on the back of mine? She’s never going on the back of another man’s bike ever again. No matter who it is. Her holding me as she presses her body against my back feels like the start of something great. I don’t think I can ever be in a cage with her again unless it is the only way to travel.

Once we hit the deserted highway, I sit up a little taller. Rox runs her hands from my abs to my chest. I rest my left hand down on her knee before I shift and rub up and down her calf and squeeze it playfully. I’m met with her hands, taking my pecs and squeezing them before I feel her chest vibrate with laughter against my back.

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