Page 5 of Her Mysterious Biker
“It’s about time you showed up to protect Stevie," I snap my head to the side, my gaze locking onto the gruff voice of none other than Richard Alterman, the owner of Bloom & Bounty, a retired military man and Stevie’s boss. He tosses a bag of garbage into the dumpster. “Come on in.” He holds the back door open, gestures for me to go in first, and adds, "We should probably have a talk. Rock called me and told me about the plan.”
I walk into the brightly lit storage room and notice the organized shelves. “So, Prez called you.” I turn to face Richard.
“I called him first. Stevie is a Godsend. I don’t know what I would do without her.” He nods toward the well-organized shelves. “This place was a mess before I hired her. None of my other employees took the initiative to do anything more than stock shelves or work the cash register. Stevie came in like a curvy tornado, getting everything organized so it was easier to know what we needed to order and what we didn’t. It’s saved me time and money. If I were twenty years younger, I’d throw my hat in the ring for the chance to be her boyfriend.”
A low growl escapes my lips before I can stop it, making Richard bark with laughter.
“No need to get yourself all worked up. I think of her as a daughter, and nothing more.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed by my possessiveness, I shift the conversation. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Rock’s plan is a good one, but you boys aren’t used to wooing women, even if it’s fake like in this case.”
I hold back a laugh, first at him calling a group of gruff old asshole bikers, all pushing mid to late thirties, some already in their forties, boys, and at imagining any of my brothers ‘wooing’ a woman, let alone me wooing one.
Thanks to the burns on my face and arm, I’ve never been comfortable around women. My brothers would have a field day if they knew I was a thirty-three-year-old virgin.
When I stay quiet, he keeps talking. “Flowers. You have to bring Stevie flowers. But not roses. Those are too predictable for her. You need to pick something unique, like her. Take her out to eat. Hold her hand whenever you get the chance. Go dancing. Take her to that bookstore, Tall Tales & Turned Pages. She loves to read—she always has one of those romance novels out during her lunch break, reading. You know the ones, with the muscular man on the front without a shirt.” I remember the book on her nightstand with the bare-chested man on the cover and the title—"Seduced by the Biker." He keeps rattling on about his ideas, catching me off guard with the next one. “Kissing. Don’t forget you two will need to practice kissing so it will look believable when you do it in public.” I swallow hard at his words. I hadn’t even thought about kissing Stevie in public, but it makes sense. If she were really mine, I would kiss her every chance I got. “Now, run along and get her some flowers before you tell her the plan.” Richard makes a shooing motion with his hands.
With a nod, I rush out the back door, leave my bike parked out back, and walk the short distance to the flower shop around the corner. After thirty minutes of searching for the perfect bouquet for Stevie, my eyes landed on a beautiful arrangement that the clerk called Stargazer lilies, reminding me of Stevie’s constellation comment from yesterday.
I make my selection, pay the clerk, and walk back to the grocery store, determined to make our fake relationship as real as possible since it’s the closest I’ll ever get to having Stevie for real.
five
Stevie
My cheeks start toburn from the fake smile I’m wearing. I can’t let my boss or any customers see that I’m a nervous wreck, thanks to the unsigned note I found in my work locker today.
The day started off badly when I woke up and saw that Orion was gone. I’m not sure what I was expecting. It’s not like we’re dating — he was in pain, and I let him stay at my house to sleep it off.
Unfortunately, gossip in this town spreads faster than the blink of an eye. I’ve already heard the rumors from my coworkers and some of my customers that Orion and I are dating, all because they saw his motorcycle parked in front of my house all night.
Most were words of congratulations, with a few ‘You get it, girl,’ comments and only one disappointed look from Pastor Wilkens. I’m not sure I’ll be able to show my face at church on Sundays ever again.
I didn’t have the heart or the energy to correct them. Besides, it feels good to have a boyfriend—even if the relationship isn’t real.
Maybe if the rumors spread quickly enough, the person who left me the threatening note will be scared off by me dating a big, tough biker. The idea doesn't hold up for long when a man I’ve never seen before walks into the store. His long, greasy blonde hair hanging over his shoulders looks like it hasn’t been washed in weeks, maybe even months.
I look around the store and realize we are the only two up front—no one else is in sight, not even my boss. My heart races. Is this how it will end? Shot point-blank in a grocery store. Dying a virgin.
He reaches for a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf of the liquor display before turning his full attention on me. “You could be fucking the whole lot of those asshole Savage Kings, and we’dstill be coming for you.” He slides the whiskey bottle inside his battered leather jacket with a ragged-looking patch that reads, ‘Sons of Decimation.’ “You might want to watch your back and your front.” He snickers, leering at my chest. “I’m going to fuck those big, fat, tities before I kill you. Maybe I’ll be generous and stick my cock in all your holes before I end you.” With a humorless laugh, one that will haunt my nightmares, he turns and walks away, leaving me shaken.
Run.
The word flashes in my mind, but I realize I have nowhere to go and no reliable transportation. Sure, my scooter was parked outside my house this morning, with a new tire and everything. I’ll need to figure out how to contact Diesel so I can pay him for fixing my tire. But that’s the least of my worries right now.
I blink back tears. I finally found a place where I belong, and I’m going to fight for the life I deserve. I just need to come up with a new plan. One that doesn’t involve getting killed or fucked by the creep that was just here or any of his friends.
***
My hands are still trembling an hour later when Orion approaches my checkout counter with a bouquet and hands them to me. “These are for you.” The right side of his cheek flushes pink, while his left side tilts away from me, hiding the scars from my view.
“Stargazer lilies.” I accept the flowers offered to me, bring them to my nose, and breathe deeply. A wave of calmness washesover me as I inhale the scent of the flowers. “My favorite.” I sigh, realizing it’s the first time I’ve ever received flowers from anyone.
How pathetic.
Orion shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Can we go in the back and talk?”
