“I know, man, I know, same here.”
We exchanged a quick hug after that. On the way out, I saw Axle on his cell phone. He and I briefly shared a glance on the way out, followed by a curt nod.
The moment shouldn’t have meant anything. Axle could have just as easily been calling a family member or a potential romantic interest as anything else.
But unfortunately, associations and possibilities were a real difficult thing to shake, even in the face of some obvious evidence.
* * *
By the time I was back on the road, though, a lone soldier riding on his motorcycle, I had put the thoughts about Axle to the back of my mind. For now, I was headed to something that I believed would have a much more positive experience for me, something that would warm my heart. Something that didn’t have hidden layers to it.
Kaitlyn.
I had texted her just before leaving to apologize and explain that club business had gotten in the way. Her text message, flat and without emotion, was difficult to gauge, in part because she texted the same time every way—in a straightforward fashion, without emojis, and without many exclamation points, “lol” phrases, or other such signs that she was feeling giddy. In short, her text messages were often devoid of context.
But when I pulled up to her apartment, and I hopped off my bike, waiting for her, I just had a strong feeling that our mutual presence would put each other in a good mood. She’d responded favorably on the phone when I had last called her, and I had to think that seeing me in person would only help.
Seconds after I arrived, she opened the front door and came down to me. A smile gradually crept across her face, the kind of smile that looked like it was trying to hide how excited she was but deliberately failing at keeping face.
“Hello,” she said before pulling me in for a close hug.
The fact that the hug lasted several beats longer than our typical hug told me all I needed to know. Even if she—and I, let’s be fair—was going to throw up barriers at various points in the night, ultimately, the desire was there.
“Hi there,” I said. “I’ve got an offer for you for tonight.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve avoided it so far,” I said. “But I think you won’t regret taking a ride. What do you say?”
Kaitlyn
“Alright, why not?”
The way Michael’s smile broadened, you would have thought that I just agreed to marry him. He looked like he was about to strain a muscle from smiling so hard. It even made me smile a little bit wider.Keep your wits about you, Kaitlyn.
I hadn’t planned on saying yes to the bike ride, but this was a date, and we had dropped all pretenses of it being anything but. In that sense, I knew I needed to stop dancing around the subject, stop trying to act like I wasn’t interested in him, and just push myself a little bit. It was more than a little scary, given my past and my family’s history, but it wasn’t like getting on the bike meant I had to commit to him. It just meant that it was something we could look forward to.
“Great!” he said. “Well, here, first...”
He lifted the seat of his bike, grabbed a spare helmet, and gave it to me.
But as soon as it touched my hands, I froze.
“You OK?”
“Just…”
You put that on, and there is no turning back. You’d better make sure this is what you want to do.
I looked at Michael, holding his gaze, trying to pierce past his eyes and look to his intentions. As best as I could tell, he truly was different than Jason. The risk was enormous and without limit, but the reward…
Fuck.
I put it on—it was a little snug, clearly designed for a woman, but it was clean and without strand hairs from anyone else who might have worn it.
“Safety first, right?” Michael said lightly.
“Really,” I said dryly. “From you guys?”
