“She’s cool, I’d be down to hang out again,” I said. “I thought maybe you two had plans or something.”
Kim was silent for a moment, her smooth brown face utterly still. Then her eyes widened so much I thought they were going to fall off her brow. “Oh my god. You are so smitten.”
“Ok, come on,” I said. “Don’t be such a girl.”
I turned away as if to head back to my bike. I knew it was a low blow to call Kim out on her gender; we were friends in the first place because I didn’t nag her about being a girl. But I didn’t like the way she was bubbling over with excitement. As if the thing between me and Claire was way more than just sex.
“Fuck off, Pin,” Kim said.
She wasn’t angry though. Kim was too excited to be angry, and her hands were clasped in front of her chest. “Claire is, like, the coolest. You should totally go for it. She’s way better than the bimbos you usually hook up with.”
I shrugged off the insult to my history of bimbos since Kim wasn’t wrong. Who cared if someone had brains if I was only fucking them for a few nights?
“I dunno,” I said. “We haven’t talked since the other night.”
“Ok, some advice,” Kim said. I rolled my eyes but nodded to indicate she should continue. “Claire is a straight shooter, she’s not gonna play games with you. So don’t fuck around, Pin. Ask her out.”
I was saved from answering by Raul hollering that it was time to ride. I was glad of it. I didn’t want to tell Kim that I had no intention of asking Claire out on a real date. Now that she had gotten rid of Trey, I didn’t want her to give me an “All Men Are Trash and Claire Deserved Better” speech.
If Claire wanted something better, I knew she was more than capable of telling me. I would respect her wishes. I would make it clear that I could only commit to something casual. If she was down for that, then we were great.
As I pushed down on my bike pedal and the engine roared to life, I avoided thinking about what I would do if Claire wanted something more than casual. If she wanted to do the whole relationship thing. If she asked for commitment.
I let the world blur by as my bike picked up speed, and I focused on the feeling of riding in a pack. I belonged here. I knew who I was when I rode with the Outlaw Souls. And I was a guy who couldn’t commit to Claire. I would never fully trust any relationship. It wouldn’t be a safe haven for me; it would be an Achilles Heel.
I was willing to bet that Claire didn’t want a relationship either. Or, if she did, she wasn’t the type to move too fast. She would be willing to keep things trivial to start. As soon as I sensed her getting too clingy, I could slam the brakes.
That still didn’t solve the issue of how I could reach out. If I buttered Kim up and promised I would be Mr. Good Guy, she would probably be willing to arrange another night out. But I didn’t relish the idea of using Kim as a middleman. She was way too much of a meddler.
After we had gone all the way over the section of the territory and found nothing too out of the ordinary, we pulled into another gas station lot to discuss moves. Raul and Hawk wanted to go grab some food, and I was about to agree when I pulled my phone out. And saw a text.
From Claire.
I grinned and opened it up.
Hey Pin! I had fun the other night.
Was wondering if you wanted to hang again tonight?
I resisted pumping my fist in the air. It was my lucky day. And it was just like Claire to not be awkward or beat around the bush with stilted conversation or vague questions. She wasn’t asking for a date either, I noted. If she wanted to go out, she would have said that. She wanted to “hang.” That was for sure my speed.
I pulled off my riding gloves with my teeth so I could type my response:
I’d be down, I’ve had a busy few days, does take-out and TV sound good to you?
I told the guys I had to head home to take care of some things and leapt back on my bike. I purposely avoided eye contact with Kim. I was scared she would read something in my face. Now that I didn’t need Kim to communicate with Claire, I didn’t really want her big nose in my business.
By the time I had made it home, Claire had texted back:
Sounds perfect! Wanna come to mine around 7?
Twelve
Claire
Daniel had not been kidding. It was a giant case.
The parents had chosen our firm and I had officially been assigned the case only two days ago, but I already had a dozen pages of notes in my leather-bound notebook. I liked to keep all the information in one place and write it down by hand.
