Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (10 page)

NINE

Rex

A
my ignored me the rest of the night, which the guys thought was pretty funny. The group of younger motorcycle club members harassed her every time she went over with drinks. But after Smokey yelled at them, she seemed to be able to handle them. I couldn
’
t understand why she flirted with the one that seemed to be the leader when he
’
d been the one to crowd her in the first place.

I wondered if the band would back me up if I went over to tell him Amy was mine. As if she would put up with it. I had no claim on her, but my gut burned every time they got too close to her. Who was I kidding, though? There were seven or eight of them. I might get Axel or Cole on my side, but Kirk and Ike, definitely not. So it would be two or three to seven or eight, and those motherfuckers looked like they knew their way around a fight. So as long as Amy didn
’
t show any signs of distress, I
’
d let her handle it. First sign of trouble, though, and I
’
d wade in. I didn
’
t have to worry about messing up my hands since I didn
’
t play on stage.

After one last exchange with Amy that made her smile, the gang left, and it was just us remaining in the bar. Smokey didn
’
t come right out and say so, but he started cleaning up all around us, and I thought he wanted to close. We still hadn
’
t come up with a good idea for percussion tomorrow. If we couldn
’
t borrow a drum set from somewhere, we were screwed. We were also stale from sitting around this place for the last three days. It was time to get some sleep and start fresh in the morning.

I thought I might fall asleep, since I
’
d been up most of the previous night. I
’
d given up the mental struggle to figure out how to get to Seattle, so I was relaxed, or so I thought. But sleep didn
’
t come tonight, either. I remembered I
’
d promised Amy I
’
d see her tonight. I sat up in my bunk and listened. Soft snoring was all I heard. The guys would ride me like a bareback pony if they heard me leave and I came back too soon, but it was worth the risk if I could get inside Amy
’
s defenses.

I knew she wanted me. There was plenty of evidence she wasn
’
t a prude or a virgin. So why wouldn
’
t she be up for a little fun? There wasn
’
t any reason. Quietly, I opened the door to the bus and slipped out. Sharp gravel cut into my bare feet, but I wasn
’
t going back into the bus now that I
’
d gotten out without waking anyone. I eased over to the wooden walkway that surrounded the bar and brushed the sand and gravel off the bottoms of my feet. Stupid, coming out without shoes.

It was also probably stupid to be starting something up with a girl who
’
d already proven she was no groupie. My dick didn
’
t agree with my logic, though. I was already hard, just thinking about the sweet armful that waited for me in the shack. I even convinced myself she
’
d already said yes.

I winced as I crossed the bare sand that separated the back of the bar from the shack where she lived. A soft glow through the crack between the door and its frame convinced me she was awake and waiting for me. I knocked softly on the door.

I heard the scrape of a chair before the door opened no wider than an inch.
“
What do you want?
”
Her cold question only fazed me for a minute.

“
It
’
s Rex. You know what I want.
”

“
I thought I made it clear that I didn
’
t. Go back to the bus, Rex,
”
she said. If we hadn
’
t shared that kiss earlier, I might have believed her.

“
You made it clear earlier that you want me as much as I want you. Let me in. At least let
’
s talk about it.
”

“
There
’
s nothing to talk about,
”
she said, but with a heavy sigh she stepped back. The door resisted slightly as I pushed against it, and then the chair behind it scraped across the floor again. I stepped in and looked at the chair.

“
Did you think that would keep out anyone who really wanted to get in?
”
I asked. I smiled my most charming smile to take the threat out of it. She snorted.

“
Come on, Rex, I
’
m tired. Why can
’
t you take no for an answer?
”
she asked. She was standing straight and tall, but looked adorable in a pair of baggy boxers and an old Dallas PD t-shirt with holes in it. One hand was on the door, and the other she held straight down and slightly behind her.

“
Nice shirt. Where
’
d you get it?
”

“
From a friend. What is it with you? Answer my question. Why doesn
’
t
‘
no
’
mean no to you?
”
she demanded.

“
Because your body didn
’
t say no. Your
body
said
‘
take me now
’
. I
’
m here to oblige, ma
’
am, and I brought my best persuasion with me.
”
I gestured to my groin, where the evidence of my arousal tented my sweatpants. Looking up at her face quickly to catch her reaction, I wasn
’
t sure what I
’
d seen. Was that a smirk at the corner of those luscious lips?

“
Hey, it hurts a guy
’
s feelings when you laugh at his package,
”
I said, pretending to be wounded.

She laughed out loud.
“
That
’
s not what I was laughing at. You
’
re pretty sure of yourself, aren
’
t you?
”

I doffed an imaginary hat and swept it in front of me as I bowed.
“
Sure am. Works every time.
”

“
Not this time. Go back to the bus, Rex. I
’
m in charge, not my body. You
’
re hot and all, but I can
’
t afford to get involved.
”

I grinned again.
“
You think I
’
m hot.
”

“
Come on,
”
she said, pulling the door open a few more inches.
“
I know you
’
re too much of a gentleman to force a lady against her will. The kiss was nice, I
’
ll admit. But I really can
’
t
…”

Her voice cut off abruptly as the asshole from earlier shoved his way into the room.
“
What
’
s this, Bunny? Peddling it outside the club when you act all above it with us?
”
To me, he said,
“
Get out.
”

I had no time to react before Amy brought up the hand she
’
d been holding behind her. In it was a wicked-looking knife that
snicked
when she pushed the button to extend the switchblade.

“
You
get out, Jake. I
’
ve made my position clear. Touch me and you
’
ll never fuck a woman again.
”
Her face had transformed in rage. I fully believed she could castrate him and would. I froze.

Jake
’
s face was a mask of rage as well, with fear mixed in. He made a swipe at Amy
’
s knife hand and in a flash was nursing a bleeding palm.
“
You
’
ll pay for that, bitch.
”

Amy just stared at his face, but kept a defensive stance. Jake looked at me, snarled, and backed out. Only then was I able to move, and I took two strides toward Amy, who turned the point of the knife toward me.

“
Easy, sugar. I just want to make sure he
’
s gone.
”
I looked outside, and he
’
d disappeared already.
“
All clear.
”

Next thing I knew, she
’
d dropped the knife and was in my arms, sobbing. What the fuck? She
’
d driven off a dangerous character, with a knife no less. And now she was falling apart? I
’
m no hero, but I knew what to do when a damsel in distress threw herself into my arms.

I closed them around her and gathered her in.
“
Hey. It
’
s going to be okay.
”

TEN

Amy

“
I
hate you!
”

“
Get back in this house you little whore. I
’
ll teach you to bring boys in here when I
’
m at work.
”
Dad
’
s temper when he was sober was bad enough. Right now, he was drunk. My new boyfriend had fled at the first roar, and I knew if I went back in the house Dad would beat me bloody. Might even kill me, as mad as he was. This was it.

Instead of going inside, I ran. Before Dad could get the car, I ducked down an alley and into the back of a liquor store where I knew there were hiding places. I cowered between high stacks of cardboard boxes until the lights went out. Then I got scared I was locked in. I went out the same back door I
’
d come in, and ran again when the alarm sounded. By the time the cops got there, I was hidden again, this time in the restroom of a convenience store at an all-night gas station.

I hadn
’
t planned it this way. I
’
d been saving money I took from Dad
’
s wallet while he was passed out. I was going to go to California, where it was always warm and I could get a job if I could pass for sixteen. Now my plans were screwed. No money
…
not even any extra clothes. I couldn
’
t go home, though. He
’
d kill me for sure after I defied him like that. I couldn
’
t go to school, either. He might be waiting for me there. There was nowhere.

A loud clang sounded as I crept out of the convenience store and around the back, where the light from the windows didn
’
t expose me to passersby. I stopped when I saw the clerk who
’
d been in the store when I went in dump a box of something into the dumpster. She was an older woman, and as I watched, I saw she couldn
’
t close the lid. After a few minutes of trying, she muttered something and then went back into the store. I waited until she was gone, wondering if any expired snack food had gone in. When I was sure she wasn
’
t coming back, I climbed up on the wood pallets stacked by the dumpster and looked in. Wrapped sandwiches! They were lying right on top of the almost-full dumpster. If they
’
d been on the shelves today, they probably wouldn
’
t poison me. I grabbed two and ran.

I walked for hours that night, heading for the high buildings of downtown when I could see them. I didn
’
t know why, exactly, just that there was probably something to give me some direction somewhere in the business district. When the sky started to get light, I hunkered down under a hedge in a park. It looked like I wasn
’
t the only one, since I found some filthy blankets there. Before the person who lived there came back, I moved. But it made me think. If I was going to live in a park, I needed blankets, too. And more clothes. Maybe a grocery cart, like I
’
d seen homeless people pushing, to keep my stuff in.