Teaching the Biker (Bad Boy Romance)

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.

Teaching the Biker @ 2014 by Kelly Lawson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Chapter 1

The school bell rang a second time, and Elena stood up and started walking towards her classroom. The children would already be lined up outside, but she really was not ready to face another day of trying to instill
the day’s lessons into her students. In fact, she didn't want to even be in the school today. She would rather be moving her belongings out of the apartment and trying to find another home on her minimal teacher's salary.

What had David said, last night?
That I lacked commitment and needed to decide what I wanted to do with my life?
Elena thought, as she made her way to her students.

His comments had made her angry, so she had said that she would be ready to commit to someone who wasn't him. She also told him that she wanted to find someone exciting and good in bed. She had wanted to hurt him, to wound his pride, because their amicable break-up seemed to be turning into a quarrel about whose fault it was. She hadn't wanted to it to end like that because they had always been such good friends. Now, she couldn't stop saying nasty things to him, and they were barely speaking.

She strolled slowly across the playground, watching the stragglers in her class line up before her. The rest waited with their arms crossed, staring at her and shouting, "Come on, Miss Weston." Some of them were shivering, and she realized that they were right. It was very cold, and she should probably have taken them in already. She started to hurry, but the sound of a bike stopped her dead in her tracks.

She turned her head around to see a bike come up through the school gates and right into the yard. The driver seemed like he was about to crash into the kids, so she took a step towards him. He put on his brakes, and a small child slithered out from under his arms, taking off his helmet and saying, "Thank you, Uncle Mike. Hello, Miss Weston. I thought I would be late for class."

"You are late for class, Joey," she said, "but you go inside with the rest of the class. I want to have a talk with Uncle Mike." She waved the class in, and Joey ran to the back of the line, following them in obediently.

"He's a good kid," said the biker, as he got off of the bike and undid the strap on his helmet. Through his raised visor, she could see his flashing, blue eyes. He was staring at her with an intensity that made her shiver.

"At least he has more sense than you. You drove straight at those kids."

"I could have stopped in plenty of time," he responded. His helmet was off now, and Elena saw that he had short, dark hair which had been cut to just above his ears. He smiled at her, but she crossed her arms.

"It is not a matter of whether you
think
you can stop, it is a question of whether you could have caused an accident. Be more careful, or I'll have you banned from the school, Uncle Mike."

He snorted and said, "I was just dropping the boy off so he wasn't late. You can't think that I'd put the other kids at risk. Have you ever been on a bike?"

"Never," Elena said, as she unfolded her arms. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, forcing her to touch the bike. It was still warm, and as he leaned over and started the engine, she felt it shiver under her like an animal.

"She's alive," he said. "I call her Pandora, but she's a Ducati Superbike. I bought her to race rather than ride, but she still needs to be broken in."

"I've heard of a supercar but never a superbike."

"Top of the range," he said, reminding her of how proud fathers talk about their children. "I have another, I built her myself from an old, crashed bike. She's broken down now. The guys call her Bad Babs 'cause she fails so often, but I love her." He stroked the front of the bike, as he said, "Here, get on."

"I've got a class to teach."

He shrugged and then put on his helmet. "I can't help it if you're square," he said and then rode off, his tires kicking up dust in the process. She watched him drive off and then went inside to teach the first lesson of the day.

***

She was still thinking about Mike at the end of the day, as she watched from the window while the parents came to pick the children up from school. His bike was not there, and she returned to grading papers, feeling strangely disappointed.

After a few minutes, she heard the sound of someone coming back up the steps towards her classroom, so she stood and opened the door. Young Joey was standing there, his eyes wide and on the verge of tears.

"Uncle Mike hasn't come back for me," he said, his voice trembling.

She put a hand on his shoulder, told him not to worry, and then they went together to the staff office. Joey's father was regularly late, so he knew his own way to the office. Actually, she was surprised that he had come back into the classroom.

"Joey needs to make a phone call," she told the secretary, and a phone was placed promptly on the desk.

"Would you phone him, Miss Weston?"

"He isn't my uncle," she said scornfully but picked up the phone anyway.

The phone rang three times, and then a woman's voice said, "Yes?" The woman sounded as though she was offended at the call.

"This is Joey Murray's teacher. He hasn't been picked up from school."

There was a hasty conference at the other end, and then Mike got on the line and said, "Tell him I'll be there in five minutes." The phone went dead, and Elena looked at it in surprise before handing it back to the secretary.

"Is he usually late?" she asked, as she walked with Joey to the school gates.

"It's Missy-Ann,” Joey said. "When she comes in to town, he always drops everything," he continued with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Miss Weston. I thought he might like you and that was why I was late today. I know you got dumped by your boyfriend."

She felt herself blush and said, "
That
is none of your business."

At that moment, the bike pulled through the gates. Elena was still bright red, as she watched Joey put on his helmet and climb onto the front of the bike.
The Ducati
, she reminded herself
, the powerful superbike
.

She watched the pair drive off, wondering why she felt such as sense of deflation. After all, it was not as though she had ever been attracted to bikers.

***

Chapter 2

David was slumped in front of the computer when she arrived back at the
apartment. He didn’t look up, but he managed to grunt when she spoke to him. The faint smell of cigarettes in the air told her that Janine had been there.

“Are you dating that girl?” she asked.

“Janine? No.” However, Elena knew that he was lying. They hadn’t lived together for five years without her becoming familiar with his lies. Still, that was in the past now.

“A biker came to school today.”

That made David sit up and take notice. He turned around in the chair and stared at her with his eyes, pale and shadowed after sitting in front of the computer for so long. She couldn’t help but think of Mike’s smoldering eyes. Somehow they seemed to stand out in her memory.

“A biker, huh? They get younger every year.”

“He was dropping off his nephew,” she said, realizing that she sounded defensive.
Why do I even need to defend Mike to him? David doesn’t know him, and he certainly doesn’t care because he has that one-woman chimney, Janine.

He laughed lightly at nothing and turned back to the computer. “I’m going out later to the pub.”

In the past, he would have asked her to join him. Now, there was nothing between them. The sooner she left this apartment, the better. She looked around the room, thinking of all the things she might take with her.

David had put on his coat and was walking to the door. She looked at him, framed by the hall light and wondered what she had ever seen in him.

***

After David left, Elena took out her students’ workbooks and placed them in a pile on the table. She needed to get her grading done quickly, if she was going to have any time to herself this evening. Although she wanted to be finished, she found herself lingering over the pages of Joey Murray’s workbook. It was, as usual, untidy but correct, much like the boy himself. His name instantly conjured up images of his uncle. She could practically see him taking the helmet from his head and shaking his hair, even though it was not long enough to have any effect.

She shook herself and turned back to grading the workbooks, stopping only when she heard a knock at the door. It would not be David. He wouldn’t be home for hours. She rose and opened the door nervously.

Mike stood there, clutching a helmet under one hand and holding out another hand to her.

“Don’t be a square all your life,” he said. She found herself reaching out and taking the helmet, not even asking why he had come to her apartment. For some reason, she was not even surprised that he knew where she lived. It seemed right somehow.

He took her over to the bike and sat on it, leaning far enough back for her to slip onto the seat just in front of him. She felt the warmth of his body through her clothes and felt a shiver of anticipation, as he brushed her arm reaching out for the handlebars.

His helmet was just a few inches from her shoulder, and he was holding her firmly in place as the bike moved forwards. She felt like screaming in fear and delight, loving the sensation of the bike roaring beneath them. Finally, they shot down the street, as the bike carried them away from the house.

Mike didn’t go far, just to the end of the street; but, by the time he stopped the bike, she was panting and breathless. He pulled off his helmet and laughed at her. “If you’re this excitable, wait until we hit the open road.”

“Oh, I can’t,” she gasped. However, she knew that she would go anywhere that he wanted to take her.

“Sure, not tonight,” he said, as though he had already made plans, “but you might ask me in for a coffee.”

She giggled, not sure why she felt so light-headed and amused. He walked down the street with her, as they headed back to her apartment.

***

As they sipped coffee on the sofa, she asked, “What about Missy-Ann?”

He paused for a second and then said, “She’s gone again.” He put down the cup and spread his hands as far apart as possible. “She’s like the wind. She blows in, she blows out. I’ve always been there for her, but it doesn’t really mean anything.”

She couldn’t think of anything to say, so she took a big gulp of coffee. Instantly, she started to cough. He clapped her on the back a couple of times, which only seemed to make it worse. She ran out of the room to try and recover, but he followed her into the kitchen. He placed his hands on either side of her body, as she leaned against the sink.

“Look,” he said, “I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this. Joey was annoyed with me that Missy was there. Plus, I was wishing myself that she hadn’t turned up just then. So, we got into an argument, and she left. Then, I came straight here to explain.”

She took a sip of water, trying to gain some time to think. “To explain what?”

He took the glass from her and turned her around. His hands were firm and yet soft, and he leaned forward and kissed her, gently at first and then more urgently. She was surprised that she didn’t resist more. Instead, she felt her legs trembling, as his lips crushed hers.

He let her go as quickly as he had caught her up, and she had to hold herself up against the countertop. He was looking at her, his dark eyes burning holes into her flesh. They both jumped as the front door crashed open, and David could be heard staggering around the living room. Elena heard him fall over the couch and then fall onto the floor with a resounding thud.

She and Mike looked at each other and then hurried into the living room. David lay flat on the floor, blocking the front door. They tried to move him, but even Mike’s strength couldn’t shift the drunken weight of the unconscious man.

“We’ll have to leave him there for a few hours until he wakes up,” he said. “I’ve shifted some drunk men in my time, but he weighs a ton.”

They stood, awkwardly looking at each other until Elena sighed and said, “You’ll have to sleep in my bed until he wakes up.”

***