“Will do, can we keep this between us for now?” Juliette tossed a pair of cut-off jeans on the bed and grabbed a black tank top.
“Always, now go make Momma proud,” Joey said. She hung up and Juliette continued to laugh. Encouraged by the pep talk, she quickly dressed, pulled her thick hair back into a high ponytail and made a dash for the door. Today the only thing she needed to focus on was fun. The “f” word had been severely lacking from her world. Its time to get it back. She left the house, happy to make the final step of recovery, moving forward.
* * * * *
“Are you seriously bringing the bitch from the club to the lake today?” Moose said as Shooter cleared out space in his saddlebag for her things.
“Yeah, I told you that.” Shooter said, shaking his head.
“I thought you were kidding?”
“Why?” Shooter said.
“Cause you’re a cut-and-run kind of guy, and she’s a ring-and-wife kind of girl,” Moose said.
“That’s your opinion of her so far. That girl has secrets in her eyes, and I want to know all of them. “
“Are you kidding me with this shit?” Moose said. His eyes were comically wide, reminding Shooter of the animal he’d been named for.
“Nope.”
“You sound hung up on this bitch already.”
“I’m interested, not hung up, there’s a huge difference.” Shooter said walking to his room with Moose on his heels.
“Not from where I’m standing.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Shooter dumped the clothing onto his bed and left the room, locking it with his key. “Random and available sloppy pussy got boring. I’ve had all the bitches in the club, and yeah, I could bang new ones but what’s that going to change? At the end of the night I’ll still come home to nothing.”
“ A week ago I would’ve agreed with you.” Shooter shrugged.
“What the fuck? I think those bitches are a coven, ’cause clearly she’s cast a spell on you,” Moose said.
“No spell, brother, she just grabbed my attention and hasn’t let go. Today we’ll see if she can handle it in our world. I’m going to go pick her up. I’ll meet up with you at the lake.”
“All right,” Moose said, shaking his head as Shooter walked from the club. His phone vibrated, and he removed it from his pocket, praying it wasn’t an emergency situation that needed his immediate attention. The 513 area code made him roll his eyes. No way am I letting this ruin my day. He hit Ignore, sending the call to his voice mail and continued to his bike.
He pulled up in front of the library twenty minutes later and let out a wolf whistle when Juliette walked out of the building in a pair of cut-off blue-jean shorts and a black tank top that showed off her breasts.
“Stop,” she said shyly as he laughed.
“Just showing appreciation for beauty.”
“Thank you.” She stopped in front of his bike.
“Let me guess, you’ve never ridden one before?”
“No.”
“Hand me your stuff and I’ll give you a crash course.” He took her rolled-up towel and wallet, impressed with her ability to follow the command to pack light. Securing his satchel, he sat up straight. “Okay, first thing, put this on.” He handed her the matte-black helmet he’d brought just for her. She put it on and latched the chin strap. “Good, now, these,” he pointed to the silver prongs on the bike, “are pegs. Put one leg on, grab my shoulder, and hoist yourself over. You can use them to rest your feet on while we ride.” Her face took on a determined expression, all wrinkled brow and pursed lips. He bit back his smile to keep from embarrassing her. “Ready?”
“Yep.” She gripped his shoul
der tight, wobbling slightly as she positioned herself on the back of his bike.
“Not bad for your first time,” he said.
“Thanks, this is incredibly awkward.”