Rough Ride (10 page)

As he neared the table where she sat he realized she was now soaking wet and he soon would be.  His heart tore nearly in half when he heard her sobs.  Stepping up on the opposite bench and then onto the table he sat down behind her and pulled her back into his arms.

“Hey, hey… what’s wrong?” He said rubbing his hand over her wet hair as she leaned into his chest.

“I forgot…” her voice broke and she sobbed harder.

What could she possibly have forgotten that would make her this upset?  He smoothed one hand down her back and cupped her head in his other hand.  He had never liked to see a woman cry, but her sobs cut at him like a saw cutting through a tree. 

Each one was like a fresh slice and he would give anything to make her stop.  All he could do was to hold her though until she told him what was wrong.  Then he could do something to fix it. 

Eventually the sobs subsided and her breathing stopped hitching.  The rain continued to pound them both until they were soaked to the skin.  Digging around in his pocket he found the shop towel he’d stuffed in there earlier and handed it to her. 

She blew her nose and then said “I’m ok now… you can go back inside” as she tried to pull away from him.

He pulled her head back against his chest again and leaned his face against the top of her head.  “What did you forget that would make you so upset, Lilly?” he asked.

“My husband…he died two years ago today… and I forgot.” She finished with a whisper he could barely hear from the rain that fell.

“Do you miss him?” He asked even though he didn’t want to know the answer.  He didn’t want her to miss or want another man… even a dead one.

“That’s the bad part… I don’t miss him as much anymore… I’m just so angry at him.  I can’t seem to let it go.” She said “I got so busy this past week and then this trip… I forgot until I opened the email and seen the date on it.”

“You’re allowed to go on with your life Lilly.  I don’t know what kind of man your husband was but you married him until death do you part.  Now that he’s gone you have to learn to live again… on your own…apart.” He said.

She pushed back from his chest and looked at him.  Even with her red rimmed eyes and an even redder nose she was the single most beautiful woman he’d ever seen… bar none.  Somehow the rain only seemed to enhance her beauty and he had to fight himself to keep from kissing the last of the tears from her face.

“Can I tell you something?” She asked “And you won’t think bad of me or judge me?”

“Yea, tell me.” He said.

“He wasn’t a good man.” She said quietly.  “I thought he was while we were married but after he died… I found out all this stuff… things he’d done.  He stole money from people and used my name to do it… he lied to me repeatedly and cheated… and I never knew.  I trusted him… loved him and he betrayed me… once by dying and then again when he left me to face the wrath of our friends.  I tried for so long not to be angry at him… I mean he’s dead… who thinks ill of the dead?”

Her blue eyes shone in the last of the day’s light and he felt lost in them.  He wanted to tell her that she had every right to feel like she did but somehow it seemed like she already knew that and was just now allowing herself to. 

“After the investigation ended and I was cleared of any wrong doing… I packed up all the household stuff in a storage unit, my clothes in my car and headed down here to stay with Sherri.” She said “I feel like the last ten years of my life I spent living a lie.  Now that I’m here I don’t know what to do… where do I go from here?”

“You start over… find a new path… maybe a biker’s path…” He said

She stared up at him as though she was still trying to decide the direction of her life.  Then with her eyes still open and gazing into his, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.  Her kiss was gentle and soft and he realized that she was thanking him.  He didn’t want her thanks; he wanted her heart, her fire and passion.

When she ended the kiss that had barely began he said “Your welcome, but don’t kiss me unless you mean it… like I want you to mean it.  I’m a man with very little self-control… especially where you’re concerned.”

“What do you mean?  I did mean it.” She said looking away from him.

Catching her neck in his strong hand as though he meant to choke her, he captured her mouth and released it and then captured it again a little rougher and again released it.  He heard her small whimper and watched as her eyes closed at the pleasure of his kiss.  There was passion in there… he just needed to jump start it.

“When I kiss you I mean it… understand?” He whispered against her mouth.

He felt her body shiver.  “Come on let’s get you inside and dried off” He said

She was surprised to see all the guys asleep when she entered the camper with Bobby right behind her.

“I just need a towel and I can change in the bedroom so you can have the bathroom” She whispered.

He followed her the short distance to the bathroom and after handing her a towel from the cupboard; he put his hand on the side of her face and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip.

“Good night Lilly” He whispered.

She closed the sliding divider door to the room and after towel drying her hair she changed into her night gown and combed through her hair until it was mostly dry.  His kiss had turned her inside out.  She could no longer deny that she wanted him.  He was a playboy but she wanted him.  Somehow it no longer mattered as much if she were to become another notch on his headboard.

He changed and after heading back to the bunk beds he whispered “She’s ok, but she rides with me tomorrow and we need to keep her real busy this weekend.”

“I must be getting old or something cause’ riding in the comfort of this home on wheels sounds mighty good compared to being hunched over that bike for the third day in a row.” Dickie whispered.

“Thanks man.” Bobby whispered lying back.  What was it about her?  She was too high class for his taste…
wasn’t she?

As they pulled into the area where their booth was to be setup, he felt a little disappointed when she pulled her arms from around his waist. 
God Almighty
the feel of her against his back had been like suffering Priapism.

An hour into the trip she had begun to relax from her normal rigidity and by lunch time she was fully pressed against the back of him, with her arms around his waist rather than high on his chest… her hands nearly touching the place he wanted them to touch…

Occasionally she would lean even closer and ask questions about landmarks.  Her heated breath on his neck was enough to make him want to detour to the closest hotel and show her just how much he meant those kisses.

Now that they were here work would take over for the majority of the weekend.  His plan was to keep her so busy she had no time to focus on anything other than either working or having fun.  After giving the guys a brief synopsis why she had been upset, they had all been more than eager to help keep her busy for fear she would quit in her emotional state.  They felt that she was doing a bang up job of running the office.  They all liked her and were prepared to do whatever it took to keep her as part of the team.

The day before had been full of rainstorms bad enough to force them to pull over for long stretches at a time.  He had offered Lilly a rain check on the bike ride only an hour into the ride and was surprised when she took him up on it as they left out this morning.  The rain had slowed down the trip so they didn’t arrive until after lunch on Thursday. 

The setback gave them until dark to get the booth setup and the custom bike signed in for the competition.  He and Tommy got the bike started and he rode it down to the tent area designated for the entries.  The walk back to their booth area gave him time to re-focus his thoughts on the show and all that needed done before opening day, rather than the feel of Lilly’s hands on him.

As he neared the tent that the guys had just finished setting up he could see her standing on a folding chair inside reaching up to the metal poles that acted as the frame for the tent.  She was attempting to loop a hook over the pole that ran the depth of the tent.  She was balanced precariously on tip toes and he could see the chair wobbling as he entered the tent.

Walking over to her he looped an arm around her waist which was chest level to him.  He must have startled her because she yelped and then quickly turned in his arms and put her hands on his shoulders.  He put his other arm around her and cupped her bottom and pulled her to him.

“You’d have to check with my office manager, but I’m not sure my workman’s comp is paid up so I’d hate for you to fall and hurt yourself.” He said with a grin.

With that he grasped her bottom tighter and lifted her down off the chair, allowing her body to slide down his own, as he placed her on the ground.  Taking the hook from her he reached up and placed it over the pole.

“It fits around that rod perfectly, doesn’t it?” He asked her.

Turning to look at her, since she’d stepped back out of his way, he could tell that she had taken his comment as he’d intended it.  She tried to look anywhere but at him as he stepped into her space.

She stepped around him and grabbing one of the posters she had taped to a piece of cardboard she hung it on the hook by the string she’d attached to the back. 
She was ignoring him!
  Stepping up close to her he could feel her body tense up as she moved the poster a little one way and then the other way.

“If that satisfied you and you want some more… just come and find me.  I’m always willing to help where I can.” He whispered against her bare neck.

Hearing her small gasp he smiled as he turned and headed out of the tent to help get the tables unloaded.

The sun was setting in the sky as they finished setting up the booth.  The lights, neon signs, posters and merchandise looked great.  They had roped off a small section to park the bikes, as they each owned a custom bike that he had designed and the team had built.  Lilly had confiscated Dickie’s leather jacket to hang behind their table and was busy trying to find the information on where they had ordered them from on her laptop.

The guys all wanted to ride and hit up some of the local bars so Lilly offered to take the RV back and see about getting Gretchen bedded down since tomorrow would be a long day.

“I’ll lead her to the campsite and make sure everything is hooked up and then I’ll catch up.” He said.

Tommy winked at him as the guys all took off on their bikes.  Her face burned as she caught the look Tommy had given Bobby. 

Gretchen willingly showered and lay down to watch her movie and was already asleep as she finished up her shower.  Having nicked herself on the inside of one knee shaving in the minuscule shower, she put on her knitted shorts and a tank top and decided to see about starting a campfire.  She grabbed a tissue to use on her cut and headed outside to get a chair from the back.

As she stepped outside the camper she could see that Bobby had setup the overhang, strung lights along it and started a fire.  He sat in a chair near the fire with another chair beside it and a small table in between.  She walked over and sat down in the empty chair.  He appeared to be drinking liquor from a bottle.

“Sorry no wine but I’m willing to share.” He said offering her the bottle.

She had never really been a drinker, other than a glass of wine with her strawberries…something her college roommate had turned her onto.  Once she’d started dating Darren he had always frowned at her drinking wine, so she’d never tried anything else.

“Does it taste like wine?” She asked.

“You’ve never had whiskey before?” He asked in amazement.

“No.” She said

Shaking his head he took another swig from the bottle and looked at her again.  Wanting to listen to some music and relax she stood up and headed back to the camper.