“Everything okay?” she asks, the kids surrounding us as she pushes the stroller Logan’s in.
“For now,” I state as Rex tells her about TJ and what he did. He doesn’t leave anything out as they speak in whispered tones while I keep the kids entertained so they don’t overhear. Not that they’d understand the situation, but we still try to keep some things away from little ears.
Once Elara knows what’s going on with TJ, she leaves the store after Rex promises not to leave me alone. I get a tight hug and she makes me promise to call or go to her house if I need anything. Nadia and David give Rex and me hugs before my best friend takes her kids home so they can nap and she can get somework around the house done. Rex and I work around the store for a few more hours before I decide it’s time to call it quits. He sits in my office with me while I put my riding gear back on. After telling each of my employees goodbye and checking things once more, the two of us leave Fantasy Realm and ride back to my house. For the first time, Rex gets to see my routine. The only difference is I don’t put my heels on in the garage and walk barefoot across the driveway to the front door. The second I can set my bag down, my bra comes off and I go to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Rex starts laughing his ass off the second he sees me. The rest of the night we spend locked away in the house making dinner together and talking about everything we want to happen moving forward. Especially kids considering we never once used condoms yesterday.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Master
THE WEEKEND IS finally here and I’m ready to spend it with Taleah. I’ve put plans in place, though there’s no real destination in mind. After making sure everything at the club is taken care of and no one needs me, I head for my parents’ house to park my bike. Today, I’m riding myDucati. As I park in the driveway and realize my parents aren’t home, I open the garage and look at the two bikes parked next to one another. They’re identical with one major difference. One of them is brand-new and no one has ever ridden on it with me while the other one is the very first bike I bought years ago. I take them both out on a regular basis, but only one of them can be used today. Taleah hasn’t said anything about riding with me again, but I know she wants to. I see it in her eyes every time she sees my bike. So, we’re leaving Glendale behind and going exploring for the weekend. I don’t care if we come back home today or not. If I had my way, we’d stay in a hotel somewhere away from all the chaos life has been with TJ and his parents.
After putting on my riding gear, I remove my bandana and switch out my helmet. When I’m on my sport bike, I always wear a full face helmet. This one is brand-new and matches the current one Taleah wears. After double checking everything is good again since I just did it yesterday, I start the engine and let my bike warm up while I send a message to Taleah.
Me: I hope you're ready. Pack a bag with a change of clothes and get your ridin’ gear on. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
I keep my phone in hand because on the sport bike there’s a holder for my phone right under the ignition. I have a comm on the side of my helmet and I hope Taleah does as well. If not, I have an extra one I can give her under the seat. I changed out the seats yesterday because until now, I didn’t need one for a passenger. I’ve had this bike for six months now and I always knew Taleah would be the only one to ride it with me. Even before we started talking again, I knew in my soul she’d be on the back of this bike.
My phone vibrates in my hand and I look down to see a response from my girl.
Doll: I’m ready. I’ll pack a change of clothes now. Do you need something packed?
Me: Yeah. My bag is in your closet. Everythin’ I’ll need is in it. I’ll need room for my cut in the backpack.
Doll: Okay. I’ll make sure everything is ready to go when you get here.
I place my phone where it goes and pull up a playlist to listen to on the ride. Straddling my bike, I slowly pull out around myHarleyand park so I can move the other bike in the garage out of the way. No one needs to know I’m not riding it either. Keeping my bikes at my parents’ house means I can avoid questions I don’t want to answer. I know King rides a sport bike along with hisHarleybut he also races. One of the girls also rides a sports bike. King’s wife if I remember correctly. Link, Reckless, and Count are the only ones who know I have a sports bike and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. Not because I’m ashamed, but because the guys will have questions and I’m not ready to answer them yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready, but Taleah has shown me in order to move on with my life, I have to deal with the shit I’ve pushed to the back of my mind.
With my bike in the garage, I close the door again and set the alarm before straddling my bike and leaving. Riding through town on this bike feels different and I have a tendency to speed. I won’t now because there’s too much traffic and I’m about to have precious cargo behind me. I won’t speed or take chances with Taleah on my bike. We’ll still enjoy the ride and have a good time.
Pulling up to Taleah’s house, I pause my music and see her waiting outside for me. She’s in full riding gear and I watch her eyes light up as she takes in the bike. I shut the engine off and climb off before walking over to her. Undoing my helmet, I lift it enough to kiss my girl. Taleah deepens it and wraps her arms around me the best she can with her helmet in one hand. When we break apart, she’s breathless and has a large smile on her face.
“Hey, Doll,” I greet her as she pulls back from me.
“Hey, Rex. I didn’t know I’d need my bike,” she says, turning toward the garage until I stop her with a hand on her arm.
“You don’t need your bike, Doll. You’re ridin’ with me. This bike is the same exact one, but no one’s ridden on it with me. The other bike is at my parents’ house in the garage. I told you when we talked I wanted you on the back of my bike and I meant it. This weekend is all about us. We’ll ride wherever and if we have to stay over somewhere, that’s what we’ll do,” I tell her, removing my riding jacket so I can slide my cut off as Taleah turns around so I can access the backpack she’s wearing.
Folding my cut, I place it on the top of the bag before zipping it closed again. Taleah’s body is practically vibrating with excitement as I turn her around to face me again. I slide my riding jacket back on and zip it up as she puts her helmet on. Pushing mine down on my head, I secure it again beforechecking her helmet. I notice she has a comm on the side of her helmet as I open my visor and she does the same.
“We need to sync our comms, Doll. Where’s your phone?” I ask her.
“In the small pocket of the backpack with my wallet. Do I need anything else?”
“No. Turn around so I can grab it.”
Taleah turns around again and I grab her phone. She gives me her code, which is my birthday, and I unlock it before pulling up the app as I walk to my bike so I can do the same on my phone. It doesn’t take me long to group our comms together. I check the lights on hers while she does the same with mine to confirm everything is working before we speak. I can hear her perfectly through my comm.
“You don’t know where we’re going?” she asks me, bouncing up and down on her toes a little bit.
“Not a clue. We’re just gonna head out of town. We’ll stop for food when we get hungry, explore whatever town we’re in, and then find someplace to stay tonight if you want. Otherwise, we’ll ride back here. You good with stayin’ away for the weekend? You can let Sarah know when we stop,” I ask her as I straddle my bike and steady it before Taleah climbs on behind me.
“I’m good to do whatever. I’ll stay away with you,” she responds once she’s behind me.
Starting the engine, Taleah wraps her arms around me with one of her hands braced on the tank of my bike. I pull out of her driveway and our journey begins. Feeling the weight of Taleah behind me is an experience unlike anything else. None of the other girls I gave short rides to in the past compares to the feeling of having the woman I love behind me and loving everysecond of our time on the road. She’s not nervous or scared and knows exactly what to do without me having to say a word to her. Our ride is smooth as she points out various sights along the way once we’re out of Glendale. I wish I would have taken her on a ride when we were younger.
Taleah and I have been riding for hours. We stopped earlier for lunch at a small restaurant and ate outside under an umbrella. She called Sarah to tell her she’d be out of town for the weekend and then we simply enjoyed the sun shining down on us as we shared our food and laughed at random thoughts. When we got back on the bike, Taleah pointed out a few things she wanted to see and we stopped for every single one of them. We walked through a small museum, window shopped at stores that felt as if they were stuck in the previous century, and shared ice cream that’s made in the store and was the most delicious stuff I’ve ever tasted. All the food we’ve had on our trip so far is the best.
Taleah had me stop at this huge candy store. We spent over an hour walking around as she chose several things to buy. I don’t know if they’re going to last in the backpack, but she proved once again how prepared she is. Taleah brought an ice pack with her and the very back of the bag is an insulated pocket. The damn ice pack is still freezing cold after the hours we’ve been on the road.
