“It’s pretty sweet, man. And you don’t mind me renting that space at the back there? I’d cordon it off,” he paused, getting up to stroll over there, while I let his words sink in. When was the last time someone got offered a favour and didn’t take it for granted? He didn’t assume he could use the space for free, which was literally what I’d offered. He expected to pay rent. Huh. Maybe I’d been misjudging him ever since the day he rolled into the compound, mouthed off at Micro, and got laid out. Ha. At least he didn’t punch the Pres, like Grease did.
“This’ll be perfect, man,” Rocket turned to me with a wide grin, while I surveyed the area.
“I could move this storage that way a few feet, and give you a larger space. You could use this counter, or add one of your own along here,” I waved my arms to demonstrate my idea, grinning as his face lit up.
“I’d love to put up my board here with the examples and testimonials. It’s free-standing, so it could go here, with the counter alongside it.” I could already picture it, and I loved the idea. What better way to enhance both of our businesses than to combine them?
“Sounds good to me, man. If you wanna help me move this stuff further down, we can free up the area right away for ya.”
He reached out a hand and I shook it. “Thanks, Harley. For the first time in a while, I feel like things are looking up. This could really work.”
“Yeah, I’m excited too. I mean, this’ll be like a one stop shop, right? Tweak your ride, get it tarted up, all under one roof.”
I could already see it, just how well it’d work. I had a fairly large client list already, and once word spread that Rocket was set up here too, it could bring in more business for both of us.
The door opened, a low buzz humming through the shop, since I wasn’t always in the shop part of the business. That’d be another benefit to having Rocket around too. Extra eyes, and an extra person to greet customers.
“Hey, Harley, is she ready?” I grinned at Jeff, and waved him over to us.
“Sure is, Jeff. First I want to introduce you to my associate. He’s a specialist in custom spray jobs, and he’ll be setting up right here.” Jeff lifted his eyebrows, shaking Rocket’s hand as he introduced himself.
“A match made in heaven,” he commented, noting the patches on Rocket’s cut. I didn’t wear mine in the shop, because it could tend to make customers wary, especially women. We’d have to discuss that later.
“Club brother?” Jeff asked, reading between the lines effortlessly. Hell, that’s why he’s making the big bucks in London. He found me years ago at a show, and had been makingthe trek here to get work done, because you know what? I’m the best, and he can fucking afford to.
“Yeah,” Rocket said, his eyes suddenly landing on my check shirt, over a t-shirt, and he grimaced.
“Shit, did I fuck up?”
We both laughed, and Jeff shook his head.
“Jeff’s been coming to me a long time. He knows I’m in an MC, and that it’s a better one now than it was.”
Rocket nodded, glancing down at his cut, which honestly was a treasured, and essential, part of both of our wardrobes. Taking them off always felt like removing a part of ourselves.
“Yeah, I’ll keep this off when I’m here, man, sorry.” He took it off, and tucked it carefully beneath the counter, spying mine beside it and laughing softly.
“It makes some customers uncomfortable,” I explained as I led Jeff to see his tricked out Night Rod, with Rocket trailing us.
“Fuck me, that’s sweet.” I stayed out of the way as Jeff inspected my most recent mods, and they talked among themselves. Jeff had three other motorbikes, and this was my favourite of the lot. Yeah, one day, I’d fucking get one.
“You could add detail here,” Rocket was saying, already selling his services to Jeff, just as we’d planned. It was already working.
A buzz from the door had me giving them a mock salute, as I strolled back into the shop side, to see who my next customer might be.
Caroline
ILOVED VISITING HARLEY’S workshop, especially when I saved up to get a new modification to my sweet Suzuki SV650. The man knew everything there was to know about two wheeled vehicles, and he was fun to talk to. A lot of men talked down to me, because they figured I couldn’t possibly understand anything about motorcycles, being just a woman. He never did. He’d even offered to teach me how to do some of the repairs and things, which would almost do him out of work. That had to be the sign of a decent person, right?
I loved the freedom of being out on the open road, just me, two wheels, and the thrill of the speed. The fact that any ride could be my last. I never told people that part, in case they thought I was literally aiming for that, because I wasn’t. There was just a special kind of excitement in doing something others deemed so dangerous.
“Well, if it isn’t my favourite customer,” Harley said, offering me that usual easy grin as I approached his counter. I loved the smell of this place, the hints of motor oil, and metals, and all the things that came together to make these beautiful machines. I rested my blue helmet on his counter, and he immediately reached out, moving it further into the centre, preserving the one thing that did its best to protect my head when I was out there.
“How’ve you been, Harley? Bet you’ve missed me, huh?”
He laughed, leaning on both hands as he peered down at me, because yeah, I was about a foot and a half shorter than him. He wasn’t hugely built, but strong and so masculine, I wanted to stroke those firm arms, and see just how strong he could be.
He had dark hair, shorter in the sides than on top, and always shuffled a little to the right. He had the usual scruff along his jaw, and he focused those dark blue eyes on me as he leaned closer.
