Old Ghosts: Gypsy Riders MC (8 page)

At least most of it.  I did have a date with Daisy tonight, and as far as I was concerned that was the only thing good that came out of yesterday.

When I saw the hurt in her eyes when I pulled away from her, I felt like an asshole.  I had almost kissed her.  When I saw her looking up at me, the sunlight steaming through her blonde hair, her flowing dress swaying in the breeze, I was mesmerized by her beauty and sweetness.  

I wanted to taste her, to kiss her, to sink into her - hell, I just wanted to touch her!

She had a way of making the world around us melt away when I looked at her, and outside of a whole lot of whiskey and a very long ride on my bike, or spending some quality time with Rosie, there wasn’t much in my life that allowed me to turn everything off.

But Daisy did.  She made me want to throw her on the back of my bike, and ride far, far away from the outlaw life.  

I hardly knew her, but she made me want to forget everything terrible in the world.

And she certainly made me want to kiss her.

And I almost had.  Until I remembered.  

Kelly.  

I had just come from Kelly’s office, and I had submitted to her ridiculous demands - going down on her until she was satisfied and then pounding into her with rage until she was reduced to a quivering pile of evil on her desk. 

When I got to Daisy’s, I still smelled like her.  I could still taste her on my lips.

I wasn’t about to press those very lips against Daisy’s beautiful, pure, innocent mouth.

I was glad I had remembered before I was overtaken by desire for her, because as bad as I felt about having to fuck Kelly, I would have felt a whole lot worse if I had made the mistake of kissing Daisy in that moment.

No, Daisy deserved better.

Hell, I deserved better. I spent many nights staring up at the ceiling, in complete disbelief that I was the one in this situation.  I was the president of the Gypsy Riders — I wasn’t supposed to be forced into any situation I didn’t approve of or create myself.  And yet here I was.  Stuck.  

At first, it was easy to just fuck her quickly, leave and forget about it.  I dealt with it like I did all club business.  Do the business necessary, leave, and move on.   And it wasn’t too hard at all.

But now?  Now that I met Daisy, now that all I could think about was finding a way to fit Daisy into my life, it all seemed so wrong and inappropriate.

I would have loved to have someone to talk to about it, Reaper perhaps, or even Sandman, hell, he was the one I was protecting in this situation, but I couldn’t tell them.  Not yet anyway.  Not till I found a way out of it.

I walked around a few blocks with lil’ Mike sniffing intensely at something new and exciting every two feet.  Walking him took forever, as he waddled along, snorting and sniffing and making his way as excruciatingly slowly as he could through life.  

Sometimes I wished the brothers had given us a dog that was a little more athletic, a little quicker on his feet, a lab, maybe.  But I looked down at him, and my heart filled with love for the little bastard, and I smiled.  He had it easy, and I wondered if he even knew it sometimes.  Laying around all day while people rubbed you and fed you seemed like a pretty good life.  Nobody made any demands on him, and that was the thing I envied the most.

It seemed like somebody always wanted something from me.

When we finally made it back home, I noticed a man I didn’t recognize sitting in a black car across the street.  He looked like a cop, but he was dressed in regular clothes, as far as I could tell.  I felt his eyes on me, and I turned to meet his gaze.  I was certain I had never seen him before.  He looked away after a short moment, and turned his attention down the street behind me.

The outlaw life made you constantly on guard, and while his actions were innocent, there was something about him that didn’t feel right.

I put lil’ Mike in the house, collected my gear, and locked up.  He was still there when I got on my bike and drove off.  When I reached the stop sign on the corner, I hesitated briefly to see if he would follow me, and sure enough, he pulled out of his parking space slowly as I turned right onto the main street, into heavy traffic.

I drove a few miles, watching him follow me in my mirror.  I wove through traffic a bit, and then turned right, the opposite direction from the clubhouse, to see if he would follow.  He did, even cutting into two lanes of traffic to be able to turn after me. 

I pulled into the grocery store parking lot a few blocks up and cut off my bike.  Discreetly watching in my rearview mirror, I sat on my bike a moment, instead of getting off right away.  I pulled my cell phone from the inside pocket of my cut, and pretended to text while I watched his car pull into a parking spot a few aisles away.

He watched me for a moment before getting out of his car and going into the grocery store.  He wore khaki cargo shorts, hiking boots and a white polo shirt.  He had a cop haircut, his brown hair cropped short and close to his head.  He looked over at me a few times as he walked across the parking lot, but he saw I was watching him, and he quickly looked away each time before disappearing into the store.

I sat there a few minutes, but he didn’t come back out right away.

It was obvious he was following me, and he obviously knew where I lived.  I wasn’t about to make it easy for him, though.  I started up my bike again and made my way to the clubhouse.  If he wanted to keep following me, he would have to find me again.

When I reached the clubhouse, I sought out Reaper, who was in his usual place behind the bar with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

“Hey buddy, how’s it going today?”  

“It’s slow and quiet around here today, boss,” he replied, pouring me a shot without asking.

“Hey, I was wondering if you could watch Rosie tonight for a few hours?”  I asked.

“Tonight? Yeah, sure of course.  What’s the occasion?” he asked curiously.

“I thought I’d go get a drink,” I replied, knowing he was going to push for more information than that, and of course he did.

“A drink?  You’ve got a whole clubhouse full of liquor, boss.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Oh, what the hell.  Why was I being mysterious?  He was my best friend.  “I have a date.”

He whooped so loudly, I almost fell off my chair.

“Aw, fuck, stop that shit,” I said.  “It’s just a drink.”

“Well, it may just be a drink, but you haven’t been on a date in seven years!” 

“Yeah, I’m fully aware of that, thanks,” I said sarcastically.

“Well, who’s the lucky girl?” he asked.

“Rosie’s teacher.”

His eyes bugged out and he stared at me.

“The hot Ms. Daisy?  Holy shit!”  he said, nodding his head up and down, his unruly curls swinging around his face.

“Shut up. Sure, she’s hot, but she’s also….I don’t know…sweet.”

“Sweet!” he spat out the whiskey he just poured into his mouth. “Yeah, and I bet she tastes real sweet, too, boss!”

“Shut up!”  I was regretting saying anything at all, but he was the only person I trusted to watch Rosie.  My parents had died a long time ago in a car accident, and Rose’s parents lived in New York and while they came to visit every now and then, they were not a regular fixture in her life.  I think it was hard for them to look at Rosie and see Rose in her eyes.  

His cackles followed me down the hallway as I retreated to the privacy of my office.  But, then I remembered the guy following me and I walked back out to Reaper.  Sandman had joined him, and they were talking quietly and laughing together, no doubt about my upcoming date.

“Hey guys.  Have you seen a black sedan hanging around outside at all?  One guy in it — short brown hair, looks like a cop, but isn’t dressed like one?”

They shook their heads.

“No, boss.  Ain’t seen nothing like that,” Sandman replied.

“Me, neither,” Reaper said.  “Why?”

“He was outside my house today when I finished walking lil’ Mike.  When I left, he followed me all the way to the parking lot of Ralph’s.  I have no idea who it is, but just keep an eye out and let me know right away if you spot him.  It could be the DA sending someone to try to drum up some dirt on us.”

“Sure, boss, we’ll keep an eye out.”

“Thanks, brothers.  Reaper, can you come to my house at seven tonight to watch Rosie?”

“I’ll be there,” he said with a knowing smile.

“Thanks,” I grumbled before returning to my office to try not to think about Daisy for the rest of the day.

I failed miserably.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

When I opened the door at eight that night, Mike was standing there with two helmets in his hand and a mischievous grin on his face.

He held up the extra helmet and shrugged.

“I forgot to mention I’d pick you up on the bike. Glad you’re wearing jeans,” he said, grinning like a madman.

“I’ve never been on a bike before,” I said, shyly.

“Never? Seriously? Wow, you’re in for a treat! I’m glad I’m your first,” he said, his expression turning serious as he gazed at me and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

I blushed, my insides melting as I felt the heat of his lips on my cheek. I didn’t pull away, I didn’t lean in, I just let him kiss my smiling face and looked up at him when he pulled back.

“I’ll try not to be afraid,” I said, referring to the bike ride, even though the same could have been said about his kisses. There was something about Mike that drew me to him, made me want to be closer to him, made me want him to reach into my heart and jeans all at the same time.

I hadn’t seen him drive anything else, so I assumed we would be on his bike, which is why I eventually decided to dress down tonight. I was wearing my favorite black, pearl-buttoned cowboy shirt, my best fitting pair of jeans and brown cowboy boots. You could take the girl out of Texas, but not the Texas out of the girl, apparently. I had been in Los Angeles for months now, and I still couldn’t bring myself to wear what seemed to be the style here. The last thing I wanted was a pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps or a Chanel dress. Give me comfort over fashion any day.

I was glad I had made the right choice today, at least in what I was wearing. As much as I liked Mike, I had been wrestling with my decision to go out with him all night and day. Part of me was extremely excited about it, aroused even, how could I not be excited that someone like him had asked me out? But at the same time, I knew I wasn’t ready for another relationship. Not after what had happened with Todd.

In the end, I decided I was jumping the gun. Mike had just asked me out for a drink, that was it. He probably just wanted to get in my pants, anyway. What was I thinking about relationships for already?

Besides, I thought, I could use some fun for a change. I hadn’t explored much of this crazy new city, telling myself I was healing, I was settling in, but in reality, I was afraid. I was afraid of beginning another life. What if I ended up making bad choices again? Was dating an outlaw biker really that much of a stretch to think it might be a bad idea?

Sure, Mike was different. He was sweet, he was kind, but Todd was too, in the beginning. Sure, Mike had Rosie, and Rosie was the sweetest kid ever, but I was her teacher, and that was even more of a reason not to get involved with him.

So, I told myself, I just wouldn’t do it. I’d keep it all superficial and light. I’d keep my heart closed, and just have a good time with him.