“Looking for a bit of our lost youth," Dad said with a chuckle. "I'd commission you myself, except my wife would change the locks."
"Used to have an old Indian back in the 60s," Pa said. "Loved that bike, until I totalled it trying to impress your Nan."
"Beautiful machines, sir. I'd love to see any photos you have. My own granddad had one himself. I've still got it at the garage, fully restored."
"Call me Eric," Pa said. "So, where is this garage of yours? I'd love to take a look."
"Out in Rosemead. You could come and take it for a spin if you like."
"Bill!" Mum said in alarm. “Talk some sense into your father.”
"Any chance I could take it out as well?" Dad asked with a smirk.
I slipped down in my chair slightly as the conversation devolved into tales of thrills and spills on the back of a motorbike and Mum's attempts to get a complete picture of Gabe's financial status. Tess kept looking meaningfully at me, obviously wanting me to slip off to the loo, so she could have a quick debrief. I ignored her, drinking my drink and burying my fingers into the bunch of roses until the thorns dug into my palm.
“How’re you going, love?” Gabe bent down, dropping a slow kiss on the side of my temple, then my ear, his voice a ticklish rumble in my ear.
“I am going to beat you, slowly, for this," I whispered under my breath.
“Hmm, didn't figure you for a kinky chick, but sure, I'm willing to try something new."
"Seriously, how did you work out where I was? Why did you come here?"
"Google, and I wanted to declare my intentions. Figured this would be as good a way as any." I looked at him, wide-eyed. Intentions? What the hell were his intentions! I looked at Mum and Dad in alarm, they'd been trying to settle me down with someone for ages. They were just desperate enough to think a biker with a business was a good catch and go about setting the date. "So, how do you feel about that?
"Trapped, hysterical, ready to create a complete scene and run from my parents’ house, screaming."
He chuckled at that, "It's as bad as all that?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but he took the opportunity to give me kiss as I did so. It wasn’t quite tongues down throats, due to being at my parent's table, but his lips were firm and slow, capturing mine and sucking on it. The conversation around the table dropped away to nothing as I became overwhelmed by his musky scent mixed with crisp citrus cologne, the rasp of his breath, the silky sensation of his lips against mine. He released my lip with a pop, grinning as I sat there panting. Gods, every dumb move I'd ever seen a woman in a romantic movie make now made sense. They were drugged, drunk on insanely intense sex. My nipples burned, the texture of the lace on my bra enough to make me want to whimper. I fought the urge to shift, to try and furiously resolve or abort the throb between my legs. I was at my parents’ house! I didn't make out with guys at my parent's table. As if sensing my discomfort, the arm moved from around my shoulders to rest on my thigh, under the roses. I nodded along to the conversation, barely taking it in, just aware of the slow strokes along my leg, each one placed a little higher, a little closer to my groin.
"Ashley?" I snapped to attention, seeing Mum and Tess standing up and looking expectantly at me. "Coming to help bring out the salads?"
“Yeah, sure."
Mum’s kitchen was flawless, big wide open windows with custom frames Dad had created to let natural light stream in, illuminating the butcher’s block bench tops and whitewashed cabinets. "Here, I'll put the flowers in a vase for you, until you go home." Mum busied herself with prettying the arrangement. She couldn't help herself, she had to have everything just so. We both went straight to the fridge and started pulling out the
salads, putting them on the bench until we had it all. Get in, get out, I hoped, prayed.
"So, Gabriel, he seems lovely, a perfect fit for you, Ashley."
"He's a great guy. He got us all coffees–" Tess started, but Mum held up her hand to stop her.
"When did you meet?"
"Not that long ago. He came into the shop and we hit it off. We've been seeing each other for a bit, so I figured I'd bring him by."
"Really? Usually, it takes a carefully orchestrated 'surprise visit' to actually meet your boyfriends."
"Maybe I'm maturing."
"I wondered at that. The tattoos and hair are hardly business casual friendly, but the world is changing rapidly and niche businesses can be very lucrative. The website was expertly done and I've noted his ABN. I'll do a credit check on him when I get to work, see if there's any hidden issues."
"Mother!"
“What? You're my daughter and this is the most promising specimen that you've brought into this house. Obviously, I'd prefer someone like Jillian's son, the stockbroker, but that was hardly likely. No, he seems strong and healthy enough, a successful businessman, polite and," her eyes twinkled, "very into you. This is not someone who will marry some floozy, twelve months after you broke up with him.”
"Carla is not a floozy. Jimmy and I had been growing apart for some time."