Page 28 of Pining for Pierce

“Nothing. But I can find my own way home, thanks.”

He glances down the street toward the doctor’s office, his face clearing. “Of course. You’ve got your car.” He turns and sets off. “I’ll walk you down there,” he says over his shoulder, expecting me to follow, and only stopping when he’s realized I’m still standing here, looking at him.

“I don’t have my car here,” I say and he comes back, looking down into my eyes.

“Why not?”

“Because Kaiden picked me up from my place.”

He looks confused. “Then how are you planning to get home?”

“I—I’ll call a cab,” I say, thinking that through as quickly as I can.

Pierce steps closer, his eyes never leaving mine. “You really wanna stand out here, waiting for a cab?”

I guess thinking things through too quickly doesn’t pay, and I shake my head, as I contemplate the prospect of Kaiden coming out and finding me, asking why I left, and dragging me back inside… or worse still, straight to his car, and back to his place.

“N—No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

He takes my hand in his again, but I pull it free. “Stop it, Pierce. I’m not your problem.” I may be grateful that he got me out of there, but that doesn’t entitle him to make assumptions. Not anymore.

“Yes, you are,” he says, raising his voice just slightly. “How do you think your brother and your parents would react if they knew I’d left you here to fend for yourself?”

I stare at him for a moment. So that’s what this is about. Of course. It would be, wouldn’t it? I feel oddly upset about that, although I don’t know why. After all, it’s not as though I mean anything to him. We’re not even friends anymore. But for the sake of his job, and his apartment, and his friendship with Ben, I can’t make this any harder for him, can I? Even if our relationship has changed beyond recognition, he doesn’t deserve to lose everything, just because I got myself into a situation and needed rescuing. And he would lose everything, because he’s right. My parents and Ben would be livid if he left me here… even if I asked him to.

“Okay,” I whisper, and he takes my hand again. This time, I let him pull me over to his bike, although when we get there, he confuses me even more by unlocking his helmet and handing it to me. “What are you doing?” I say, glancing up at him.

“What does it look like?” he says.

“It looks like you’re giving me your helmet.”

“Exactly. Now put it on.”

“But…”

He shakes his head. “I know you’re gonna say you’ve got a helmet of your own just across the street, but I don’t think we have time to waste going to get it, do you?”

“Probably not. But that wasn’t what I was gonna say.”

“Oh?”

“No.” I hold out the helmet to him. “This is yours, Pierce, and you’re gonna need it.”

He shakes his head at me, surprising me as he unzips his jacket, shrugging it off, and handing it to me, too. It’s padded in the back, shoulders and elbows – kinda like his jeans, which may look quite ordinary, but have protection on the knees, hips, and ass. I have identical clothing myself, but that’s at home, and I look up into his dark brown eyes, the lights from the bar making them sparkle.

“You’ll need that, too,” I say, distracted for a second by his tattoos. There’s something about them I’ve always loved… which could be just that they suit him so well. He hasn’t always had them. I can still remember what he looked like before he got them… his skin clear and clean, and utterly divine. When he graduated college and finally came home for the last time, pulling up on his motorcycle and taking off his jacket to reveal what he’d done, I remember thinking how great he looked. He’d taken something that was already perfect, and enhanced it. Naturally, his dad hated it, but I think that made Pierce love his tattoos even more. The patterns are made up of intricate swirls, starting at his wrists and covering the whole of his arms. Because I’ve seen him without a top occasionally, I know they go right up onto his shoulders and meet in the middle of hisglorious chest. I’ve often wanted to kiss my way over them… although I mustn’t think like that. Not now…

“I’m fine,” he says, bringing me back to reality, which is probably a good thing in the circumstances, and I drag my eyes away from his arms and up to his face. That doesn’t help much. I still want to kiss him, and I swallow hard, shaking my head.

“No, you’re not. I know how particular you are about wearing the proper clothing when you go out on your bike.”

He steps closer, tilting his head to one side, studying my lips for a moment, and then moving to my eyes. “Nowhere near as particular as I am about you wearing it. Now, put that on,” he says, nodding to the jacket I’m still holding in my hand. “It’s bad enough that you’re wearing standard jeans and sneakers, but I guess we’ll have to make do… unless you want your boyfriend to come out here and find us.”

It seems odd that Kaiden hasn’t come out already, although I’m not complaining..

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say, shrugging on Pierce’s jacket, juggling the helmet from one hand to the other.

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