Page 64 of Dealing Dirty
“Where we headed?” Cooper asks, straddling his matching Harley. It’s the same style as Hazel’s except for the dark red covering the outside.
“Somewhere I can get a stiff drink,” I mumble.
“Oh, no, no. You two aren’t coming with us,” Hazel tells him matter-of-factly.
Cooper throws his head back, barking a laugh. “That’s cute. Your dad will chop me up and feed me to the yard dogs if I let you out of my sight.”
Hazel glares. “Cooper, please. Do this for me?”
Wow. I’m impressed with that lip tremble she’s working.
Cooper stares off before turning to the man beside us. The guy shrugs, and Cooper rolls his eyes. “Look, you two can go wherever you want…but,only on the condition that we at least drive by. I want eyes on the place in case you get yourself into trouble.”
“Pshh.” She brushes him off. “You know me.”
“Yeah, I know your crazy ass, and trouble is your middle name.”
Is this actually going to work?
I make a mental note.More pouting.
The man I’ve yet to be introduced to shirks his leather jacket and reaches out a glove-covered hand.
Hazel throws a lean leg over the back of her motorcycle. “You can wear Lucas’s jacket while we ride, but I don’t have anything to cover your legs. Sorry.”
Knowing this is their way of showing me respect, I smile at Lucas. “Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.”
The body heat clinging to the oversized jacket has me fighting a moan as I follow Hazel’s lead, straddling the seat and pressing my chest against her back. I don the helmet she gave me before wrapping my arms around her thin middle. The rumble of the bike vibrates through my thighs and torso as excitement blankets my anger toward Derrick.
Thick exhaust stings my nose, and I shift in the seat when Cooper raises his voice. “Don’t go far, Haze. We’ll be on alert should you need us, okay?”
She blows him a kiss, and to me, she hollers over her shoulder, “Hold on!”
I squeal when she guns it out of the parking lot, and the boys peel out behind us.
The wind whips my hair around wildly. Laughter bubbles in my chest before forcing its way up my throat, and getting lost in the wind.
Holy shit!This is invigorating.
I cling to her as the dark of night gobbles us up. The air is somehow fresher and the world somehow newer. The scent of dirt and grass permeate my senses like I’m discovering the big wide world for the first time.
My cheeks and legs grow numb from the cold, but I’m too consumed by wonder to care. We’re flying across the interstate as free as birds, and the desire to release my hold on Hazel and throw my head back toward the inky sky above us overwhelms me.
“This is amazing!” I scream into the wind. Her knowing smile is infectious, and I wonder if she’s forgotten what it’s like to ride for the first time—to feel these new sensations and this buzzing beneath her skin.
Hazel guides us along not far from The Pound to the only other bar this side of town. Cooper and Lucas zoom past us with a loud roar, shifting gears before gunning it back down the main street.
The engine of her Harley sputters to a low hum as she pulls into a spot closest to the front entrance of Lucky’s.
“Here we are,” she says, loosening her long brown hair out of a braid.
I unstrap my helmet and hand it to her. “That was…”
“Incredible? Exhilarating?”
“To say the least! Honestly, I’ve been curious about you and your crew. Mostly what makes y’all choose two wheels over the stability and functionality of a car, but man, now I know.”
We slide off the back of the motorcycle, and she stuffs her keys into her jacket pocket. “Nothing compares to being on the road with your bike. Kind of like the first time you have sex.”
