Romance: Young Adult Romance: The Perfect Game (A Highschool Football Romance) (Bad Boy Nerd New Adult Romance) (14 page)

“Goodbye,
Buck,
” I said. 

“Goodbye, Tara.” He sighed and gave me a push toward the door.

Now that he wasn’t holding me, I felt something missing.  I wanted to run back into his arms and just run away. 
An overpowering
thought started running through my head; I thought this would be the last time I would see him. 

I turned to look at him while I walked out the door.  He smiled at me.  It wasn’t his
regular
smile; it felt like he trying to say ‘goodbye and thanks for the
memories.'
 

I steeled
myself
and rode home.  I could do little to hide my tears anymore, and they flowed freely.

6.

I tried to take my mind off the events that were unfolding.  I wanted to get on my motorcycle and join in on the chaos that was probably ensuing.  Then I would see my mother, lying in bed, barely able to move. 

I knew where I
was needed,
and it wasn’t in a
warzone
.  Buck could handle himself; I just had to stay
positive
.  I waited by the phone, expecting a phone call at any moment; one that would never come.

“You look nervous, Tara,” my mother said.

“
There’s a lot going
on right now,” I replied.

“What’s keeping you inside?  You used to like going for rides when you were like this, before.  Is it something that Buck did?”

I wondered if I should tell her the truth.

“No, momma, it’s nothing.  Just get back to sleep,” I said in a vain attempt at assuaging her curiosity.

“I’m not stupid, Tara.  You could just tell me that Buck is
off
doing something crazy, like beating up a rival gang.”

I wondered how she knew, and my open mouth and gasps did nothing but prove her point.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“You know I was your father’s wife,” she said, “There’s a reason there weren’t any other motorcycle clubs around when you were growing up.  And, I was there for most of them.  Why aren’t you with Buck right now?”

“He sent me home, he didn’t want me there,” I said honestly.

“He didn’t want you there because he couldn’t stand the possibility of you getting’ hurt, Tara.”

I knew what she was saying was the truth.  Buck
really
did love
me,
and I just seemed to slap him in the face every time he showed it.

“
I gotta
go, Momma,” I said as I ran to the closet and threw on my jacket.

“Take the shotgun with you,” she said, “I won’t need it.”

I did as I
was told
, and lumbered out with the
shotgun
in tow.  My heart raced as I knew that was I had planned on doing was incredibly crazy.  I also was scared of what Buck would do if we
actually
survived this.

I rode as fast as I could; I didn’t
really
know where.  But, the place that was most famous for settling disputes was the old quarry.  I wondered what I would do when I got there.  Sometimes it’s best
not to know
.

7.

I was still half a mile
out,
and I could hear engines in the distance.  The roaring thunder of motorcycles gathered in mass.  It was impossible to make that sound any other way. 

Rounding the corner, I saw Buck and the gang standing in a stalemate on the north side, while Connor and his gang were lined up on the south side.
  I
could see
the two men yelling at each other, but couldn’t make out what they were saying over all the noise.

I cut a path through the bikers, heading straight for Buck, coming to a screeching halt just in front of him.

He looked at me with rage.

“What the hell are you doing here,” he shouted.

“Why the hell wouldn’t I be here,” I shouted in response.

“Because I need to know you’ll be okay, get the hell home, now!”

“I’m not leaving your side, not until this is all through,” I said.

I took my place next to him, lifting the shotgun under my arm.  Connor looked over at the two of us and laughed.

“I guess you guys
really
do
love each other,” he said.

I looked up at Buck
who
didn’t change his expression in the slightest.

“I won’t ever leave my man,” I shouted.

Buck leaned over and pulled me in for a hug.  I forgot how strong he
was;
it felt like he would break me in half with the force of it.  I didn’t want him to stop, and I don’t think he wanted to either.

“Buck, I thought you loved me,” I heard a screeching woman’s voice say. 

Looking over, I saw that Gracie had decided to come.  I wanted to put her in her place, but I didn’t
want
to be the person pulling the trigger first.

“Gracie, you better crawl back into whatever hole you just crawled out of,” I shouted, only for Buck to throw his hand
over
my mouth.

“I can speak for myself, Tara,” he said.

He took a
couple of
steps forward.  The lights of the other cycles were near
blinding,
and I couldn’t make out anyone’s face behind Connor and Gracie. 

“Gracie, you know what we did.  We weren’t
nothin’
more than a good afternoon.  Just tell your brother you’re
done,
and this whole feud can come to an end.”

Gracie started laughing.

“You think we were just some afternoon fun?  I thought we were something more than that.  My brother is going to kick your ass,” she said.

“Connor, can you control that woman?  I don’t think she speaks for you,” Buck said.

Connor rubbed his forehead and clenched his teeth.

“Gracie, shut the hell up.  We’re
tryin’
to hash this out without people getting’ killed and you’re just
makin’
things worse,” Connor said.

“You’re
takin’
his side, instead of your
own
sister,” Gracie said, “what the hell is wrong with you, Connor?”

Connor turned and gave her a good smack
across
the cheek. 

“You heard me, Gracie.  Stop talking,” he said.

Gracie panicked.  She started pounding her fists
into
Connor’s chest, but he didn’t budge.  She cried and wailed, then collapsed to her knees a crying mess.

“Connor, I got no beef with you or your gang.  I just want us all to walk out of here and forget any of this happened,” Buck said.

Connor thought for a moment, looking
to
his sister crying on the ground.  I could see his embarrassment at having her by his side.

“Gracie, get up,” Connor said.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the loose gravel.  She didn’t resist, and just seemed to have lost all interest in what was happening. 

Connor pulled her back and sat her on his motorcycle.  She sat without a sound, motionless.  Then Connor turned back to
Buck and me
.

“Buck, I got nothing against you.  I was just
tryin’
to do right by my sister.  When you said you were
gettin’
married
to Tara,
I thought you were joking.  I had a feeling you were just saying
that ‘cause
you didn’t want to end up with Gracie.  I don’t blame you; if she weren’t family, things would have been different.

“Get outta here, Buck,” Connor said.

He backed up and eased back on his cycle, and kicked it started.

“You got a hell of a girl there,” Connor Added.

“I
really
do,” Buck said.

Buck turned and started walking back towards me.  I was glad things ended so easily and without a fight.  Then again, I did miss watching Buck get ornery.

“I’m the only one you should ever love,” shouted Gracie, then she turned her gaze toward me, “he would love me if you were dead!”

Gracie held up a revolver, taking aim straight at me.  I started to
duck,
and I felt everything start to move incredibly slowly.  I looked at Buck, who had a horrified expression.

I could remember the first time I saw him.  He wasn’t as big then, but he was scrappy.  I wondered if he ever thought about me when we were younger.  There are worse ways to die; I wouldn’t be able to dodge at this distance.

I closed my eyes as I heard the shot, and I waited for the pain that would follow, but it never came.

I opened my eyes a second later to see Buck hovering over me.  Blood poured from an open wound in his shoulder.  I stared into his big eyes and
he
in mine. 

“I love you,” Buck said.

“Don’t die,” I squeaked out.

“Ugh, it’s just a shoulder shot,” he replied, “I didn’t like that tattoo
anyway
.”

He collapsed on top of me.  I didn’t realize how much he
really
weighed until then. 

8.

Everything was a blur for the rest of that night.  We ended up at a hospital where he got his shoulder sewn shut.  I stayed with him the whole
time,
and we exchanged knowing glances. 

He wasn’t the man I remembered at all.  I wanted to hold him and never let him go.  I knew he would always be there to protect me, and that was a feeling I never wanted to lose. 

Connor turned in his
own
sister for what she’d done.  I think he knew that if Buck decided to come after her, she wouldn’t have made it far.  Connor even visited him in the hospital to make amends.

The next morning the hospital released Buck.  He
was built
like a tank, and it would’ve taken a lot more to do
him in
. 

I met him out front with his motorcycle, the old hand me down he received from
father
.  With his arm still in a
sling,
he hopped on the cycle. 

“I think I’ll take the lead on this one, Buck.  You can’t brake with only one arm,” I said.

“This is my
bike;
I’m the only one in this saddle,” he said.

I cocked and eye, the same look my mother gave me a million times.  It always worked
on
my father when he was alive, and it
looked
like it might just work with Buck. 

He let out a drawn out sigh and scooted to the back seat of the bike.  I hopped into the driver
seat,
and he threw his arm around my stomach. 

I finally felt like I was home.

*****

THE END

1

Jennifer Walters groaned as her
six-year-old
son
leapt
atop her. She was in bed, and after opening one eye and squinting at her alarm clock, she saw it wasn’t even seven in the morning. In fact, it wasn’t even six thirty.

“What are you doing up so early?” Jennifer asked the little boy. His name was Jaxson, and he had the same blonde hair his mother
did
though his green eyes were his father's. That man was long gone, out of the picture and out of the state. It was just Jen and Jaxson, together in Arizona, in a small town named Harrisburg. It was dusty and hot, and Jennifer owned a small bar right at the end of the main drag, a place called Chuck’s, the name inherited by the man she had bought
it from
. Chuck’s was the local biker hang out, and there were plenty of bikers in and around Harrisburg.

“It’s not early, is it?”

“Six twenty is pretty early,” Jennifer groaned. “Go back to bed.”

“I don’t want
to; I
’m too excited about school.”

Jaxson was in first grade, and he loved it. He was
bright
and was already reading far beyond his level.

“Why? You go five times a week. How could you be excited?”

“Today is Chris’ birthday, and he’s bringing in cupcakes,” the little boy said with a huge grin.

“You got me up so early because you’re excited about cupcakes?”

“I guess so,” Jaxson said.

“Do you know how late I worked?”

“Yeah, you didn't pick me up until two in the morning. I woke up as we were driving home.”

On nights that Jennifer worked, which was most of them, an older woman named Barbara, who lived down the street, watched Jaxson. After leaving the
bar,
Jennifer would swing by and pick him up. Being a single mother was tough, but Jennifer wouldn’t have her life any other way. Jaxson’s dad had been an asshole, one of those tough guys Jen always found herself chasing after, and when she had gotten
pregnant,
he had disappeared. She was better off without him.

Jennifer’s mother lived across the
country
and wasn’t able to visit much, and had no money to send to help when Jennifer had needed such a thing.

Buying Chuck’s had been a big gamble, but it had
paid
off. Jennifer hadn’t gone to college. She had worked in the dingy bar for a couple of years. And then, when she was twenty-three, Chuck retired and offered the bar to the few employees he had. Jennifer was the only one who expressed interest in buying it. She got a loan, and she did so. She wanted to make a better life for herself, and her son.

Twenty-three turned into twenty-four, and that gave way to twenty-five, and the bar stayed afloat, and she finally had a monetary cushion. She wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck.

But she did stay up late, and she was tired, and she felt as though she was missing out on Jaxson,
particularly since
he was in school until three, and she went to the bar at five, six times a week.

“Turn on the TV, but keep it
low
,” Jennifer groaned as her son cuddled up beside her. He searched for the remote, tossed amongst the blankets on the bed, found it, and turned on the TV that sat on a long dresser against one wall of the bedroom. A blue light flooded the dim room, and Jennifer groaned once more for good measure, before pulling her pillow over her head and going back to sleep.

When she awoke
again,
it was because her alarm was going off. Seven twenty, time to get her son ready for school. Cartoons were on the TV, but Jaxson was sleeping beside her.

“Get up,” she said, nudging her son.

“I’m tired now,”

“Mom’s are allowed to sell kids you know.”

After they had
climbed
out of
bed,
she made breakfast and got him dressed. He was at school by eight, and she was back home ten minutes later. She collapsed into
bed
and went back to sleep.

Jennifer rose again just after noon. Her cell was ringing. She searched for her
shorts; her
phone was still in the pocket, and she had taken them off just before getting back in bed. She found her phone and looked at the screen. A name was there, across it. Ryan.

Ryan was
a nice guy
. Maybe that was why she didn’t like him. He came into the bar sometimes, completely out of place among the blue jeans and leather. He always looked
nice
. He was a fit guy, a bit on the thinner side, and he wore khakis and polo shirts. His shoes were
nice
and shiny, and his arms bare of tattoos or scars. He was wholesome. He had a good job, he was an accountant at a company twenty miles to the east, in a much bigger town called Grove.

And he was interested in Jennifer. He hit on her whenever he came into the bar. In fact, she was pretty sure he only came in to see her. She wasn’t sure how he had come to find his way into Chuck’s the first time, but he had seen her behind the bar, and he had kept coming in. And he had kept asking her out. For over a year. She flirted with him, teased
him; she
found it fun. She was stringing him along, and she knew it. He was handsome, tall and dark, his skin tanned, his smile dazzling. It was just those khakis. She didn’t like
those kind
of guys. Something was wrong with her. She needed a good
guy
. She knew it. So maybe, she would give one a chance.

She answered her phone.

“Hello?”

“Oh, hey, it’s Ryan.” The man sounded
surprised
as if he hadn’t expected her to answer. Probably because she never usually did.

“I know, what’s up?” the young woman asked. She laid back against her pillows, holding the phone to her ear.

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked. Jennifer smiled to herself.

“Lying in bed. I’m not wearing pants.”

She giggled. She knew that would drive Ryan crazy, and she knew that was rude, but she liked messing with the man too much. She heard him gulp, and she found herself thinking it was cute how intimidated he was by her.

“Oh, I can let you go,” Ryan said.

“Why did you call?” she asked.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me on Saturday. I have a work thing, down in Tempe. I know it’s a bit of a drive, but It’s a dinner.
I’m uh, getting an award, and it’s a get dressed up sort of thing, and go have a free meal, and listen to boring people talk about boring accounting things, and I don’t know why I’m even bothering to ask you, because it’s starting to bore me just talking about it.”

“You’re getting an award?” Jennifer asked him.

“Yes,”

“Wow, I’ve never known anyone who got an award. What’s it for?”

“I’m the Arizona accountant of the year,” the nervous young man said.

“Ryan,” Jennifer said, “I will go with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I can pick you up, uh, at three? We’ll be there by six then, and it starts at seven, but we can mingle, grab a drink or whatever.”

“Sounds great,” Jennifer said, and she hung up. She bit her lip as she stared at her ceiling.
She
wondered what she was doing. She needed a good man, a good guy. Someone who had a good job, and had to wear a tie to the office. That’s who Ryan was. She found herself feeling nervous suddenly, her stomach in a knot.

She stood up and took her tee shirt off. Then she unclipped her bra and let it fall to the floor before sliding her panties down to her feet and stepping out of them. She padded into her bathroom on
bare feet
, and stopped in front of the sink. If she backed up far
enough,
she could see most of her body, her face, her chest, her flat stomach. She was attractive. She always had been. She was the first girl in school to develop, and now, at twenty-five, her breasts were round and
heavy
. Her pubic hair
was trimmed
, a small strip above her pink slit. Her hair blonde and long, loose and framing her shoulders. Her lips were plump, and she had a small beauty mark above her lip on the right side. When she
smiled,
there was a
dimple
, just in her left cheek.

She was hot. Beautiful. And she had never been with
a good
man. Ever. Ryan was a good
man
. She was excited to go with him to Tempe that
weekend; she
was excited to go on a real date, with a good
man
. The last man she had
gone
on a date with was named Michael. He was an asshole, to put it simply. He never took her
out; he
just expected sex, and even then he never made love to her. It was just hard fucking. Hair pulling, ass grabbing.

Looking in the mirror, she wondered what kind of lover Ryan was. Would he pull her hair? Would
he
grab her breasts so hard that it hurt her? Would he smile when she yelled out in discomfort, or would he let up? Jennifer found herself wanting to know. She took a hot shower, thinking of Ryan.
She
let her hand fall between her legs, her fingers sliding over her slit. She came, and then she washed, and then she got out and dressed.

She spent a couple of hours cleaning the house, and then she went and collected Jaxson from school. They hung out for a while at home, but soon it was time for Jennifer to go to work. She dropped Jaxson off with Barbara, and then hurried to her bar.

She employed two other night bartenders, a guy in his thirties named Steven and a girl younger than her, with bigger tits and a more vacant expression named Brittany. It was Thursday, and Steven was working. One guy manned the bar during the day, seven days a week, an old man named Bert, who only had to come in from two in the afternoon, when the bar opened, to five, when the night tenders took over. Jennifer liked all of her employees, even if Brittany was rather vapid and airheaded. She also had two cooks in the kitchen who worked part time, alternating days. On that
Thursday,
the cook was Andre, a tall black man who had once been headed to the
NBA
before an injured knee brought him to the world of cooking. He was smoking a cigarette at the rear of the building when Jennifer pulled into the employee lot.

“Hey boss,” Andre said, and he smiled. He was always
smiling; Jennifer
wasn’t sure she had ever met a friendlier person.

“Hey,” Jennifer said. “How’s the wife?”

Andre was married to a petite white woman four years younger than him. She was eight months
pregnant
and looked as though she was ready to pop at any moment.

“Sherry is
fine
,” Andre said.

“I thought you were kicking the cigarettes,” Jennifer said.

“Before the baby comes,” Andre said with another grin. “He ain’t here yet, is he?”

“Not yet,” Jennifer agreed, and she went inside. She got to the bar just as Bert was leaving. Steven was already there, filling a beer for the only customer in the place, an older woman with a tattoo of a rose on her throat. Everyone called her Rose, and she was a regular.
She
came in every day at two, shot the shit with Bernie, and then left half an hour after he did, drunk as a skunk. Jennifer liked
her
though she was pretty sure her name wasn’t
really
Rose. She was also pretty sure Rose didn’t have a
job
and was getting disability
due to the fact that
she hobbled everywhere on a cane, and could afford to do nothing but drink all day.

“Hey kid,” Rose said.

“Hey Rose,” Jennifer replied. The old woman always called her kid. Rose was
a tough
woman
, a biker chick, clad in jeans and a black tee shirt with a Harley on the front, but she was warm and
nice
with Jennifer, taking on an almost motherly role.

The day wore on, and the night came fast, the burning Arizona sun dropping quickly from the sky.
As it grew darker, the place filled up.

If there
wasn’t, at least,
one fight which spilled out into the parking lot, it just wasn’t Chuck’s. That night the fight came early, just past eight, when two men started screaming at each other over a game of pool. Punches flew, Jennifer screamed at them to take it outside, and they did so, with three fourth’s of the other patrons slipping out behind them to watch. Jennifer took advantage of the sudden slowdown and did some cleaning behind the bar. When she spun
around,
she was greeted by Rocky.