Beast grins. “Hey, how about we all take you out tomorrow night?”
I pretend to be shocked. “See each other on purpose? Is that even allowed?”
“Only one way to find out,” Piston says.
“Okay, on one condition. We have to go somewhere my sister isn’t going to immediately hear about it.”
Piston’s expression turns guarded. “There’s nothing wrong with?—”
“I know. I’m not trying to hide anything, I just want to hang out without feeling like I’m being watched.”
“Deal,” Beast agrees. Piston nods as well.
They help me over the ropes and Jerry's there to lend a hand when I hop down. His eyes are huge as I introduce him to the guys, but we get through it. Apparently Piston and Beast train here regularly. They offer to give me a ride home, but I want to stop by and check on Junkyard, and I’ll explode if I don’t talk to someone about what just happened.
I look at Jerry as soon as I’m in his car. “Well, that was something.”
“Understatement of the century. Don’t worry, I have it all on video. I’ll start making your wedding montage now.”
My entire face flushes with embarrassment. “Shut up!”
"But you’re still missing the other guy, right? Ace?”
“Zero.”
“Whatever. This is the most fun I’ve had in years, and—” He holds up a hand when I start to interrupt him. “No, this is the most fun I’ve seenyouhave in ages, too. We can have this, Sandy. We can be stupid and have fun without destroying our lives. I get it. Trust me, I do, but you’re twenty-three, not eighty.”
He's right. I know it in my gut, but this? This feels like it could be a whole different kind of destruction.
9
SANDRA
The golden retrieverwe just got in boofs at me as he eyes his food bowl. He looks a million times better now that he’s washed and brushed. An older couple found him raiding their garbage cans like some kind of raccoon, emaciated and exhausted. He’s one of the lucky ones. He was chipped, and his owners actually kept their information up to date. By this time tomorrow, he should be on his way home. Despite how his big hungry eyes follow the bowl, he still waits for me to put it down and pull my hand away before throwing himself at it.
"Hey Sandra."
I squeak in surprise at the sound of Travis's voice, and spin around to find him leaning on the door into the kennel area. “Oh my God, you scared me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Uh, I work here. It’s not exactly a surprise.”
I suppose not, but he usually leaves us alone to do our thing while he sits in the office doing paperwork. Some days he just works from home, since it doesn’t matter where he’s handlingphone calls or sending emails, and he doesn't want barking dogs in the background.
"What's up?" I ask.
Travis is early thirties, and not bad looking. He’s fit, his short brown hair has just enough product in it to be stylish, and he looks like the kind of guy you can bring home to meet your parents. Boring at first glance, but I know he has at least one tattoo, and he goes to concerts fairly regularly.
We went out exactly twice when I first started working here. The first time I didn’t know his ‘let’s grab a drink’ was meant to be a date, and the second time was to find out if it was a good or bad idea. It turned out to be neither really. We have the chemistry of two rocks on opposite sides of a stream. At least in my opinion. I'm not convinced he felt the same way, but he’s never made an issue of it or pushed for more.
"I want you to take some new pictures and update the website. The gala’s coming up and I’m calling around this week to get our contribution to the charity auction ready."
“Sure. Hey, do we really make much money from the gala?”
Travis frowns. “Some, but the point is to stay visible as part of the business community. Why?”
“I was thinking that maybe we could try something different next year. We could really use some upgrades around here. When I was in college, there was always a yearly charity motorcycle ride in the area. I'm pretty sure we could get the Screaming Eagles to pitch in, and people are always curious about the bikers right? I know some of them through my sister, and I could ask.”
"The Screaming Eagles?" His smile is swallowed by his grimace as he curls his lip. "This is about building local connections and earning money for charity. Not scaring people off. Your sister runs a bakery, doesn’t she? What the hell does she have to do with criminals?" He turns away, not waiting for an answer. "It doesn’t matter. I know you haven’t been here long, but trust me when I say it’s important to be a part of this. Got it?”
