“And in any case, I’m not a biker tonight,” he said. “I’m just a guy studying mechanical engineering at UNM who happens to be a little behind the traditional student for when I graduate.”
“Wait.”
Zack was astudent?Ofengineering?Bikers could be this smart?
Apparently, despite thinking that Zack might be an asshole for being a biker, I was the asshole for making all of these assumptions that were rapidly turning out to be pretty judgmental.
“You’re…OK, you’re an engineer. What is it you’re looking to do after?”
He shrugged casually as if he had all the options in the world.
“I would like to work for NME Services if I can since they have the most opportunities for someone like me. I figured Tara or Elizabeth could help, assuming that they are still on speaking terms if their father. And even if not, then I’ll just network in.”
“And how would that work with the club?”
I was apparently hellbent on disobeying every request I had set out for Zack before this date. I was just so utterly fascinated by how different he was that I couldn’t help but ask more questions about him.
“Truth be told, it’s an unspoken point of contention in the club, I think,” he said. “But that’s not something I’m here to worry about tonight. I’m here to learn more about you. First of all, where are you from? Because I could guess about five thousand different places, and I’m not sure any of them would be right.”
I snorted with laughter. It wasn’t even that funny, but damnit, Zack just had me right now.
“My mother is from Nigeria. My dad is from Arizona. And I was born and raised here. So…”
“So if I had guessed somewhere in the Caribbean, I would have been way off.”
“Wouldn’t have been the first person to guess that!”
“And why a doctor?”
I explained how it had always been an interest of mine. Still, I was less interested in telling a story I’d shared as often as I had as in the fact that Zack was so curious about me. I’d told him not to talk about biking stuff honestly half in the hopes that it would neuter him so much I’d move on from this and not put myself in a spot of considering a biker again.
And yet, here I was, having so dramatically underestimated him that I was now trying to loop everything back to his status as a biker. This wasn’t like the night with Brock; that had been alcohol and a desire to let loose after a stressful week got to me. Here, I wasn’t going to have more than two drinks, and while Cole’s coma was affecting me more than I thought, it wasn’t like it weighed on me and kept me up at night.
“And that’s what got me into it,” I said. “But what’s your story, Zack?”
“My story?”
He smiled.
“It’s funny because everyone thinks because of where I am, there’s some deep secret. Like I must have abusive parents or a horrible past or something like that. But with me…well, I suppose it’s a conflict of not quite fitting in both worlds. Not quite ‘biker’ enough to be a biker, and not quite ‘nerdy’ enough to be a smart guy. But sometimes, it’s as simple as I’m a guy who likes to learn and likes to ride bikes.”
And, judging by the grin on his face and the way his eyes remained so heavily locked on mine, a guy who liked to make women happy.
Not that I would mind…
Hey, no, Justine. That’s not happening tonight.
At least, not at this point…
“I grew up in Santa Maria my whole life. My parents moved to a different part of New Mexico, but since I was going to school here and all of the guys were in the area, I just remained here. And that’s what I do.”
It almost seemed too simple, too smooth of a story. Zack was different, but different didn’t mean perfect. Maybe there was more to the difficulty fitting in part; maybe there was something he wasn’t saying yet that I hadn’t parsed out of him.
Or maybe I was getting myself way too curious into something that ultimately didn’t matter.
What could I say? Whatever rules I set for myself were disappearing by the minute here.
“And…argh, I keep saying not to bring up biker stuff, but look at me doing it.”
