Page 18 of Dare You to Run
Dagen giggles at Malik, and he leans in to kiss her cheek. When he pulls back I can see her face flush and a shy smile that she tries to hide.
“Are you coming on a ride with us, Dagen?” Danté asks Dagen the question but looks at me as he does.
“Who said we were going on a ride?” I ask them.
“We did. Now get your gear. Dagen can ride with me.” Danté grabs her hand and starts to pull her towards where their bikes are parked.
“Oh. I don’t think I can. Kinsley is–”
“On her way over. She heard we were going for a ride and said she and old blue would be right over.” Malik smiles, proud of himself for thinking of reasons Dagen may protest and covering his bases.
“I don’t think I’m dressed appropriately. I mean…” She looks down at her body –leggings, sports bra and sneakers– and we all do the same.
“You look pretty damn good to me.” Danté licks his lips then bites down as he rubs his hands together.
I smack his shoulder and he glares at me.
“Don’t be scared. We’ll show you what to do. Just hold on tight and we’ll do the rest.”
“I know what to do,” she tells Malik. “My dad and uncles all ride. They ride Harley’s, but I imagine it’s the same. Right?”
Her eyes flit between the three of us, a smirk plastered on all of our faces.
“Not the way we ride, little mouse. The Dare brothers ride hard, fast, and dangerous,” I tell her, the nickname rolling off my tongue like it was just waiting for the right time to pop out.
She purses her lips and rolls her eyes in response. “I think I can handle it. And if Kinsley is going, then so am I.”
When her arms cross, they push up her perky tits and I just can’t stop my eyes from soaking in the round mounds that sit perched high on her chest.
“Then you ride with me. No more discussion. I made a promise to your father that you would be safe while under my watch.”
“Yourwatch? You act like you’re on babysitting duty. I’m not a child.”
“You sure about that? Daddy dearest seems to think you are. I’m surprised he didn’t ask me to set up a nanny cam so he can keep an eye on you.”
A comeback sits on her tongue, but she doesn’t get the chance to spear it at me because just then, Kinsley comes rolling up, the loud rumble of her truck drowning out everything. We all turn to watch her park and jump out of her beast on four wheels. With a wide smile, she comes bouncing over to where we stand, still on my front porch.
“Hey y’all. We ridin’ or what?” Her arms rest on her hips and she looks from one person to the next.
“Hell yeah we are. Are you riding with me, sweet thing?” Malik winks in the way that only he can, making Kins blush.
“Of course. I wouldn’t ride with anyone else, King.” Kinsley winks back, using the nickname that women in Cattywump Bay have monikered him with.
Kins hops back to her truck, and climbs into the passenger side to retrieve her helmet and jacket that we insisted she purchase if she was going to ride with us. And by purchase I mean we gave her a custom DareBros Inc. gear, because we can’t have her wearing a competitor's subpar gear.
“Okay. Then let’s go.” Malik grabs Kinsley’s hand and pulls her over to his bike while Danté stares at Dagen and I.
“She’s riding with me, D.” My eyes shoot fire at him, letting him know to back the fuck off.
I love my brothers and would slit a man’s throat for them. But I’m not afraid to throw down if need be. And this is one of those times that I’ll go toe to toe with him because I gave Dagen’s father my word.
I quit my stare down with Danté and take Dagen by her wrist and start pulling her to the garage.
“I have stuff you can wear. Your shoes are fine.”
I stab at the keypad and the whir of the opener sounds. The lights flick on when we step in and I continue to lead her to where my bikes sit, now covered and guarded against a spec of dust.
Letting go of Dagen’s wrist, I pull the cover off one of them, revealing it like a magician would, and smile when I see her all shiny and waiting for me to ride her.
