There was no way to describe how good it felt to be on that motorcycle back then. It was freedom like I’d never known, and I was tasting it for the first time. It meant everything to have Mia there sharing that moment with me.
She threw her hands up in the air and screamed, “Faster!”
I gave the throttle a little more gas, and it wasn’t long before she was shouting, “Whoo-hoo! Yeah, baby!”
We rode a little longer, and then I pulled off near a creek bed where we could stretch our legs and walk a bit. As soon as we parked, Mia jumped off the bike, removed her helmet, and threw her hands up in the air as she spun around. I got off my bike to join her, and the next thing I knew, she was in my arms with her legs wrapped around me. “That was amazing!”
“You liked it, huh?”
“Liked it? I loved it!”
The words had barely left her lips before her mouth was on mine, and she was kissing me, and I was kissing her back. It was difficult to explain what that moment felt like for me.
Something about Mia made me feel like I could do anything, be anything. In her arms, I felt so alive—like I was exactly where I was meant to be. Her fingers tangled in my hair as I delved deeper into her mouth, and when she inched closer, pressing her warm body against me, I could feel her heart beating next to mine.
We were so caught up in the moment that neither of us thought about the consequences of our actions. We weren’t thinking about Camden or the future or even five minutes from that moment. We were just relishing the feeling of being in each other’s arms.
Sadly, it wasn’t a moment that lasted long.
Mia placed her hand on my chest and gently pushed me back as she whispered, “Thatch, we have to stop. This isn’t right.”
“Feels pretty right to me.”
“What about Camden?”
“What about him?”
She shook her head. “Don’t do that.”
“Camden will understand.”
“Understand what exactly?” Mia cocked her eyebrow. “Because the way I see it, this kiss doesn’t change anything. It was just a kiss between friends.”
“Between friends, huh?”
“That’s right. Really, really good friends, now and forever.” She slipped on her helmet and added, “I don’t ever want that to change, so we’ve got to forget this ever happened. It’s the only way.”
“And what if I don’t want to forget?”
“Forget what?” She gave me a playful smile. “Come on, Thatch. Let’s head back before you get mad at me for being right, considering I’m right, and you know it.”
I was trying to shake the knot building in the pit of my stomach when I felt Mia’s hand on my shoulder. “You okay down there?”
“Yeah.” I gave the wrench one last turn, then said, “Turn on the water, and let’s see if that did the trick.”
After several minutes, Mia knelt down next to me. “Well?”
“I think you’re good.”
“That’s great! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Thatch,” she said as we both stood up
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, it’s a big deal to me.” She gave me one of her looks—the one where I knew she had something on her mind but said nothing. Instead, she reached over and grabbed a loaf of bread wrapped in foil, then offered it to me. “I made some of your favorite lemon poppy-seed bread. I thought you might like to take some home with you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” She smiled as she handed it to me. “Anyway, it was really good to see you.”
“Right back at ya.” Eager to get going, I grabbed my things and started out of the kitchen. “You have a good one.”
I was walking down the hall when Camden stepped through the front door with several bags of luggage in his hands. As soon as he spotted me coming towards him, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Thatch, what are you doing here?”
“I was helping Mia out with the sink.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah—something you should’ve done before you left.”
“It wasn’t broken when I left.”
“Like you would’ve known if it was.”
I wasn’t always so curt with him. There were times when I could have an actual conversation with my brother, but today, I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit.
So, without saying anything more, I continued past him and out the door. I tossed my tools in one saddlebag and the loaf of bread in the other, then seconds later, I hopped on my Harley and started the engine. I glanced up at the porch and found Camden standing in the doorway with a somber expression on his face.
There was a time when I hated my brother. I wanted to rip his heart right out of his fucking chest and watch him bleed for taking Mia from me.