Dating Two Dragons (41 page)

She wrapped her arms around his stomach and they took off. Melanie hadn’t grown used to the bike yet, but she didn’t feel as scared as she had when she first rode it.

Swerving and coasting through all of the streets on the way to DC, she looked at the road ahead and thought about what she wanted out of life now that she was free from her husband’s gruff clutches. She wanted a safe home for Stevie and herself. She wanted to be able to afford her own things without needing anyone else’s monetary contributions. She wanted something new and exciting. It surprised her when she thought that.

Doug stopped his bike outside of a burger restaurant in Chinatown called Lou’s. Melanie looked up at the sign, confused. “What are we doing here? You know, I’ve got a whole list of places.”

“I know the manager,” he told her. “He’s looking for a waitress. Do you have any waitressing experience?”

She nodded hesitantly. “A few years,” she said. “But I can find my own job.”

“Fourteen dollars an hour plus tips,” he said.

That was competitive. She thought it over. “Fine, fine.”

She got off the bike and took of her helmet while he did the same. They went into the restaurant together, holding their respective helmets under their arms and looking around. Melanie liked the place’s atmosphere. It was full of old movie posters and dolls. It was the kind of weird that made her smile.

“Angelo!” Doug called over the 1950s music that was playing.

A burly, middle-aged man with graying red hair and a stomach paunch came over. He was also wearing a tiger tattoo.
Of course.

“Melanie Carr, this is Angelo Schwartz,” Doug introduced. “Angelo, this is the girl I was telling you about.”

The man known as Angelo smiled. “Ohio, huh?”

Now that Doug had helped to get Melanie hired, she couldn’t complain about him distracting her. She wondered if this had been all part of his plan, but she was too happy and excited to care. The restaurant was cool and the people there were nice, and it was going to pay her better than she could have hoped for.

She was going to start work, pending a background check, in two days. She could finally relax.

“Now,” Doug said, snapping his helmet back on. “Ohio, will you please go out with me?”

Melanie blushed. He pointed and grinned at her.

“That’s a yes!” he shouted, victorious. “You can’t deny that’s a yes.”

She laughed. “Yes. But only as payback for the job.”

He shrugged that away. “A yes is still a yes. Where do you wanna go and what do you wanna do?” he asked her excitedly, hopping back onto the motorcycle with her.

Thinking about it, she wasn’t sure. There were the stereotypical, tourist things that she hadn’t done since she was little. There was probably a vibrant, raucous nightlife that Doug knew all about… “We should probably take it slow,” she told him, smiling. “After all, I
am
from farm country.”

That made him laugh uproariously. “I think I have a pretty good idea. The first thing we need to do is get some grub. Do you like Korean barbeque?”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had Korean barbeque,” she answered.

“Well, that settles that!”

She held on as he sped off in the direction of something that yet again only he knew about. She was finding that it was easier to trust him, and it alarmed her more than a little because Doug was still largely a mystery to her. She supposed that the time for asking him about himself was coming, since they were on a date. The nagging, more fearful part of herself couldn’t believe that she had agreed to this, while the part of her that was still curious and excited by new things couldn’t wait to see what Doug had up his leather sleeves.

They stopped in a park, which Melanie hadn’t expected. Nearby, there was a statue of a civil war soldier on a horse. That wasn’t so odd, considering their location, but she hadn’t been anticipating a lunch in this park would be Doug’s idea of a good date place.

“This place has the best Korean barbeque I’ve ever had,” he told her, getting off the motorcycle and removing his helmet, attaching it to his handlebars. He helped Melanie down and she attached her helmet near his.

“Which place?” she asked him, confused.

He led her over to a bright yellow food truck. “This place!” There was a line the stretched down the street. Apparently other people liked this place’s food, too. “I have hopped on my Harley and searched the city for this truck before. They’re the best.”

Melanie looked at him, disbelieving. When they finally made it to the head of the line, she looked at the menu on the truck’s door. They made steak and cheese egg rolls. “Those sound amazing,” she said, pointing them out for Doug. “One order of steak and cheese rolls, please,” she told the nice Korean girl.

Doug ordered something that looked like fancily-fried pork. Once they both had their Styrofoam containers of food, they carried them over to the grass and sat down, cross-legged, while the long-dead soldier from the south eyed them from above.

“Oh, this is really good!” she exclaimed as she dug into her egg rolls. “You weren’t kidding.”

“Of course not,” he said, looking proud. “I’m not known for having bad taste.”

That made her blush a little in spite of herself. “I ask one personal question, you ask one personal question?” she offered as they continued to eat side by side.

Doug nodded. “Sounds fun.”

She looked up at him, into his green eyes. “How did you get those scars on your forehead?”

His eyes widened a little, then went back to normal. He looked down at his food, picking out the biggest piece of pork and popping it into his mouth. “Iraq,” he said, swallowing. “I was in the 3
rd
Armored Cavalry Regiment in Operation All American Tiger… Got banged up pretty badly when a mine exploded and was sent home with these scars, a purple heart and a new passion project inspired by my friends who didn’t make it back.”

Melanie stared at him, incredulous. His scars weren’t related to criminal activity or anything like that! Doug Albright was a veteran! “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”

He smiled at her then, appreciative. She nearly melted when she saw his dimple now. “Don’t be,” he said. “I was happy to do my part and I’m proud of my service. That’s why I ride in the Stars and Stripes. We’re all vets from the 3
rd
, all the ones who did make it back in one or two pieces.” He chuckled a little, and there was a note of sadness in it.

She didn’t want to pry further, but she felt so bad for assuming… “I thought you were an ex-con when I met you,” she said quietly.

Doug chuckled at her, seeming a tad shy all of a sudden. “I know,” he said, smiling his cute, baby-faced smile as he looked down at his container of Korean pork. “If it makes you feel better, I was once held overnight for decking a guy in a bar. But he was making fun of my wounded friend, so please don’t be too mad.”

Melanie let out a little cry of protest, shaking her head. She placed her hand on his hand that was holding his fork. “Now it’s your turn to ask me a question.”

“A personal question?” he asked her.

She nodded, biting her lip. She knew what he was going to ask, but she wanted to go ahead and let him ask anyway. If he had assumed something asinine about it like she had about him, he had done a very good job of hiding it.

“Who gave you that black eye?” he asked her.

She took a deep breath, but he went on.

“Do you want me to find him and kick his ass?”

Melanie chuckled softly, feeling a surprising calm about the entire situation now. Doug, Jake, where she now was, all of it. “That was too questions.”

Doug looked her in the eye. “Ohio…”

“It was my ex-husband. Well, my soon-to-be ex-husband… Jake. He used to get drunk sometimes. He had problems with depression. That’s no excuse. I used to feel bad for him, until one day I stopped because feeling bad for him was not helping him and it certainly wasn’t making him stop hitting me. I didn’t want him to go after our son.”

With a surprised look on his face, Doug asked, “Son?” under his breath.

She nodded. “His name is Stevie. He’s two. He’s so smart…” She looked Doug in the eyes again after momentarily looking away in embarrassment and shame.

Slowly, he reached a hand up and gently cupped her cheek, letting his fingertips softly pet and massage her jawline. He rested his forehead against hers. “Oh, Melanie,” he said softly, an earnestness coating his voice as his green eyes gazed into her blue ones. “I really like you.”

He hadn’t used her real name in a while. It kind of shocked her. Blushing, she smiled at him. “I like you too,” she replied. She felt a nervous energy fill her up, making her head spin in a not unpleasant way.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers, kissing her deeper than she expected. She kissed him back, feeling as though little firecrackers were going off inside of her. This was something she had anticipated, somehow. This was something she knew was coming, if she kept hanging out with Doug. But, at the same time, she felt like rejoicing. He was kissing her!

He gently let his tongue slip into her mouth, tasting her momentarily without going overboard. When he finally pulled back to look at her, he was smiling cutely again. Melanie definitely wanted more kissing with him. She wanted more of him in general.

How could she have been so stupid as to assume this sweet guy was a violent felon?

“Now what?” she asked, biting her lip and hoping that he would say ‘more making out.’

But he didn’t. He chuckled. “Climb back on board and I’ll show you something.”

He drove her on his motorcycle through all of the monuments along the Tidal Basin that he was allowed to enter on a bike. They rode past the Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King, and Lincoln, and waved at FDR from the street.

Melanie held onto him, smiling and cuddling against Doug’s strong back. His tiger tattoo made sense to her now. It felt as though everything made sense to her now.

He soon hit the highway again but he was not on it as long as he should’ve been if he was going to drop her off at Casey’s house. He stopped his bike in front of an apartment building just outside of DC.

She was going into the tiger’s den.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Heart of Purple

Getting off the bike, Doug removed his helmet and set it on the handlebars so he could help Melanie off. She took off her helmet and followed him, looking at him as he carried his helmet under his arm to the front door of the building. “This is my place,” he said. “You don’t have to stay over, but you’re welcome to.”

She appreciated that he was upfront about it. No pretense of coffee was involved. “Could I just call my friend first to make sure she picks up my son from daycare?” Tomorrow was Saturday, so Casey would hopefully be able to watch Stevie for a few hours in case… Melanie couldn’t believe it, but in case she slept at Doug’s apartment.

“No problem,” he said, taking her helmet so her hands were free to make the call. He led her into the building’s elevator. “There’s no reception in here, so you might want to wait til we’re in my humble abode before you try calling out.” He smiled at her.

He pressed the button for the fourth floor.

“So,” she said, trying to start a conversation. If there was anything more awkward than a silent elevator ride, she didn’t know what it was. “What sort of work do you guys do in Stars and Stripes?” Now that she knew it was a group of veterans who rode their bikes around, she figured that it was some sort of philanthropic project, not just guys who liked speeding down highways and getting into fights. She had clearly watched too many movies.

“We raise awareness for those injured in combat, and we accept donations when we go to events,” Doug answered.

She smiled at him. “I feel like such a goober for thinking you were dangerous.”

“I’m only dangerous if you’re threatening my loved ones.” He winked at her and she blushed. Now that he knew she had moved to DC to escape domestic violence, he was most likely going to try and be her body guard or something. She liked the idea, but she didn’t want her asshole ex to hurt him.

The elevator stopped once they’d reached their floor and Doug brought her to his front door. He unlocked it and held it open for Melanie to walk through. His apartment was pretty small, with olive green walls and cream-colored carpeting. He had a bed in his living room, behind his couch so that he could vault from one to the other if he wanted to. She would not be surprised if he did things like that.

“Welcome to my abode,” he said, closing the door behind himself and locking it. “This neighborhood’s known for being safe, but I like to be extra careful. Can you get you anything? A Diet Coke?” He grinned at her.

He remembered her less-than-flashy drink request. “Yes, please,” she said. “Thank you.”

“No sweat,” he said. “Make yourself at home.” He went into the apartment’s small kitchenette to pour her a glass of Diet Coke with some ice.

Melanie sat on his tan, leather couch and was amazed how much it sagged when she sat.  It must have been fairly old to do that, but something about it was cozy so she wasn’t going to complain. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and pressed Casey’s name on her list of contacts.