Nothingscaresmemore than an unexpected visitor. When I hear the front door close, I quickly climb out of the shower, stomach turning at the thought of an unwanted guest.
Quietly, I wrap a towel around my waist and grab my gun from the bathroom counter. As I prepare for an enemy, I turn the bathroom doorknob. Peeking out, I catch a glimpse of the back of the brunette’s head on the couch in my living room and let out a sigh of relief. I finish drying off, and put my gun away, then head for my girl.
She may know me as Colby, the dangerous biker, but I don’t need her to know that I’m always carrying. It would just make her uncomfortable.
“Something smells good.” I reach the living room and Andi turns and smiles, holding up a cheeseburger wrapped in a familiar In-N-Out designed paper. She tosses it at me, and I catch it as I sit beside her on the couch, wearing only the towel wrapped around my waist. She glances at her own attire, clad in jeans and a loose t-shirt, then back at me, grinning her sweet smile.
“Looks like I’m overdressed,” she says softly, biting her lip.
“You are.” I cup the back of her head and grab a fistful of her hair. She leans into me as I pull her in for a kiss.
“So fix it.” Andi sits up and swings her legs over mine, so she is straddling me. Soft lips press against my shoulder and her hands run down my arms.
I wrap them around her, clearing my throat. I have to end things with her now. My undercover stint is over, and it kills me to do this. I hate that I’m about to do this to her. “Andi, we need to talk.”
“Oh, God.” She sighs loudly, moves to sit beside me on the couch and crosses her legs. Now, she’s nervously chewing her upper lip, waiting for the inevitable. When we first met, almost a year earlier, I hadn’t been wearing a patch, but the next day, I was initiated. Ever since then, I’ve made plenty of comments about how the biker life was too dangerous for her. I’d been preparing her for the inevitable. The end.
“It’s time, isn’t it?” She asks when I don’t break the silence. I don’t want to break up with her, but I don’t have a choice. It’s for her own good, to protect her. I’ve already put her at too much risk.
I toss her a sympathetic look, trying to remain indifferent. She can’t see that I’m upset, that I don’t want to do this. Regret fills me from not being honest from the start. Finally, I get the words out. “I’m sorry. We can’t see each other anymore. I wish we could... you deserve someone so much better than me. I can’t give you the things you want in life. I’m gonna be in and out of jail. And you...”
“Hey. I’m going to be a lawyer, so I can get you out of jail.” She elbows me in my side.
I grab her hand and interlace my fingers with hers. Placing them softly on my lap, I press on. “That’s sweet, but... we can’t, Andi.”
“You were the first person to call me that.” She changes the subject. Her teeth dig into her cheek, and she closes her eyes, shaking her head.
I nod, unable to form many words.
“Please, don’t do this.” Her head falls into my neck.
I rub my hand along her arm.
“One more night.” She presses her forehead against my cheek and grabs both my hands, folding our hands together again. “Please, Colby. I don’t want to leave it like this.”
I know it isn’t a good idea, but I don’t want to leave her either. “One more night,” I whisper. “What do you wanna do?”
“Stay in.” She kisses my shoulder. “Memorize your face. Your body. Your voice.”
“I like that idea.” I’m relieved Andi had taken the break up easily. I was expecting tears and her leaving after an argument. I knew she was rational. Even so, I wasn’t expecting such a smooth breakup.
Andi brings her lips to mine, parting my mouth with her tongue, panting as the passion intensifies. My hands gravitate to either side of her face, holding her. We only part to take large breaths. Andi leans back, and grabs the burger she’d given me a few moments ago, and pulls her face from mine, then quickly presses the burger into my face. Sauce smears my eyebrow as my nose leaves an imprint in the bun.
She cries in a fit of laughter as I grab the burger from her hand and toss it to the floor. I pick her up as I stand. “Colby!” She shrieks when I spin around so her back is towards the couch.
I push her down, then climb over her, my fingers wiggling between her armpits as I tickle her. “No!” she gasps between bursts of laughter. She’s too weak to fight me, so she curls into the fetal position as I continue my assault.