Authors: Marla Monroe
She opted for a shower this morning. While she was showering, a breeze blew through the bathroom, so she was sure someone had come in.
Sure enough, Neal stuck his head around the shower curtain.
“Morning, gorgeous. How are you feeling?” he asked with a silly grin on his face.
“I feel fine. Now go away while I finish my shower,” she said, tongue in cheek.
“Yes, ma’am. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that breakfast will be ready in about thirty minutes.” He immediately moved back when she threatened him with the washcloth. “Just saying.”
Then she heard the door open and close with the cool breeze snaking around her legs once again. She shivered then returned to bathing off.
Once out of the shower, she hurried and dressed in jeans and a light blue blouse. She fingered the top button and, after a moment’s hesitation, left it unbuttoned. After all, she was on vacation. She could afford to be a little less stiff. That was why she was here.
She checked herself in the mirror once more to be sure she was satisfied. Then she opened the bedroom door to the delightful smell of pancakes or waffles. She hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mark stood over the stove flipping pancakes. When he noticed she’d walked in, he smiled and gestured for her to have a seat at the bar. He tossed the two pancakes onto a plate and slid it over to her along with the butter.
“Better butter them fast before they cool off. Syrup is right there. Dig in while they are hot.”
“They smell wonderful.” She buttered the pancakes, then poured syrup over them.
“Sausage is on the plate in front of you covered up. I wanted to keep them hot.”
“Where is Neal?” she asked around a mouthful of pancake.
“Should be here in a second. He went outside to get the paper and check the bikes for our ride.”
“Hmm? Ride?” She swallowed her syrup-covered pancake in a gulp.
“Yeah. We figured we’d go for a ride out to the lake and have a picnic. You’ll love the lake.” Mark continued cooking without looking over at her.
Alexis shivered. Get on the back of a motorcycle? She wasn’t sure she could do it. She had never been on the back of one before. They’d always looked so unsafe to her. Of course, no one she had ever dated rode one. If they didn’t use limousines, then they drove fancy sports cars. Of course, she could count on two hands probably how many dates she’d had in the last year—or two.
With a sigh, she resigned herself to experiencing riding on the back of a motorcycle. She refused to show herself as a coward. Now if only she could swallow down the rest of her breakfast.
Neal walked in with a big grin on his face. He tossed the paper on the couch in the den before walking through to the open kitchen.
“Did you enjoy your shower?”
“Yes, I did.” She smirked at him. “Despite someone opening the door and letting in the cold air.”
“Sorry about that.” He didn’t look in the least repentant about it. “Did Mark tell you what we have planned for you today?”
“Something about a motorcycle ride to a lake and a picnic afterward.”
“Bike, baby. You call them bikes.”
“Oh. Okay. A bike ride to the lake and back after a picnic lunch. How is that?” she asked sarcastically.
“If you’re going to be a biker babe, you have to learn the lingo.” Neal sat down beside her and took the plate Mark held out to him.
“Who said anything about becoming a biker babe? I just want to learn to relax,” Alexis reminded them with a frown.
“There’s not a better way to learn to relax than to be a biker babe. You just ride, take care of your old man, and party,” Neal told her.
Alexis was a little wary of the entire plan. The fact was, she wasn’t cut out to be a biker babe. She was too uptight. Even if she learned how to relax, she would never be able to completely let go. It was just impossible. For a brief moment, she really wanted to. Then it was gone and she was stuck with the same old stick-in-the-mud Alexis.
“I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a biker babe, Neal.”
“Sure you are. It will take a little time and a lot of relaxation, but we’ll get you there.”
“If you say so.” Alexis knew better. She wasn’t going to change this late in life. She was twenty-eight years old.
She scrutinized the men and figured they were both in their early thirties. Neither one seemed all that serious, but they had to be to own a nice house like this. It still took intelligence and knowledge to keep a house, and in as nice a shape as it was in. They weren’t slouches by any means. Maybe she could pull off being their kind of biker babe after all.
I guess it can’t hurt to try, anyway.
“You look awful serious over there. That’s not allowed when you’re relaxing,” Mark said as he set his plate on the bar.
“Sorry, just thinking about what all would be involved to be a biker babe. I mean, there has to be a certain mind-set.”
“Nope. No planning out your reactions. These aren’t acting classes. These are life lessons.” Neal shook a finger at her.
“I wasn’t planning anything.” She pouted.
“I could see the little wheels turning in that amazing brain of yours,” Neal insisted.
“Well, you can at least advise me on what to wear.”
Mark chuckled. “That’s easy. As little as possible.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, her brow furrowed up.
“The jeans will have to do. They could have some ripped places in them, but we can overlook that for right now. The blouse needs some work. Come over here,” Mark said.
Alexis slid down off the stool and walked around the bar cautiously. She wasn’t at all sure she totally trusted Mark like this. When she reached his side, he turned and grabbed her, pulling her to him by the waist. When she was standing directly in front of him, he pulled out her blouse that was tucked in her waist and opened the bottom two buttons. Then he pulled the corners of the blouse out and tied them up around her waist so that a margin of her belly showed between it and her pants. Then he unbuttoned another button that left a glaring gap of skin. She immediately pulled it together. He grasped her hand and pulled it away.
“No altering your appearance from how I’ve set it up. This is a biker-babe-in-training look. You’ll be living in biker clothes soon. We’ll go shopping tomorrow. You’ll need a new wardrobe while you’re here.” Mark rested his hands on her hips.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“Not at all,” Neal said. “He doesn’t kid around with stuff like this. You’re desperate to find out how to become less uptight and more relaxed. Trust us.”
“Mark, you call Casey’s and order the takeout for our picnic, and I’ll show Alexis our bikes and how to ride one.” Neal grabbed Alexis’s hand and pulled her through the back of the kitchen to the door leading to the garage.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said.
Neal grinned at her. “You’ll believe it soon enough. You’re going to have a blast. I promise.”
Alexis wasn’t so sure about that. She still hadn’t quite talked herself into the bravery of climbing on the back of a
bike
with someone she didn’t know that well. It was going to take a lot of willpower on her part and some coaxing on their part.
And new clothes? What would she do with them when she got back home? Well, there was always the company Halloween costume party. She could go as a biker babe and honestly have the experience behind her to pull it off. She smiled. There, she had a plan. Then she frowned. She wasn’t supposed to plan while she was with Mark and Neal. Well, what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, or her.
“What are you thinking about?” Neal asked with a suspicious expression on his face.
“Nothing.” She smiled.
“I sense a plan in that analytical brain of yours. Put it out of your mind. You’re ours for the rest of your time here. No planning. We do the planning, and you follow us.”
“You can’t expect me to just blindly follow you without knowing what you are setting up.”
“Oh, but we do. You have to trust us to relax. You did last night and this morning. That’s a big start.” Neal ran a finger down her cleavage where the unbuttoned shirt allowed him free access.
She felt the heat of a blush creeping up her neck into her cheeks.
“You’re so cute when you blush. Now what do you have to blush about? We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m not blushing. It’s just hot out here in the garage.”
“Right,” Neal said.
“Anyway, what were you going to show me out here, anyway?” she asked.
“Let me introduce you to the bikes. We both ride the same type of Harley. Mine is burgundy, and his is black. You will always know which one of us is on which bike that way.”
“Okay. I’ve got that.” She approached the burgundy one and ran her hand along the seat.
“Next are the helmets. We always wear them. They’re wired so we can talk to each other, and if we change the frequency and are within the right distance, we can talk to the others in our gang.”
“Gang? That’s right. You have a gang of construction workers that ride together.”
“So, first of all, let’s get a helmet on you to see about fit. We have two extras, so one of them is bound to fit you.” He pulled out the two helmets from a locker in the garage.
She tried on the first one and he pronounced it too big for her. The second one fit. She thought it was a bit heavy, but he only laughed.
“You’ll get used to it. Just walk around with it on some. Next I want to show you how to get on and off a bike. There are some key areas you don’t want to touch because they can burn you.” He walked her back over to the burgundy bike.
“Okay, these are the pipes you don’t want to get near. These are your footrests here.” He pointed out the pedals. She followed his instructions and located everything he showed her until he was satisfied she had it down.
“Okay, next, you climb on. You always climb on after me and off before me. I’m always the last one on the bike since I have to keep it steady.” Neal climbed on the bike and took it off the stand.
He nodded for her to climb on. She started to take off her helmet since he wasn’t wearing his, but he stopped her.
“You’ve got to be able to get on and off with the added weight on your head. Try it.”
Alexis sighed and followed his directions and made it on the back of the bike without a problem. He praised her and had her dismount, as well. She had a little more trouble there and nearly ended up on her ass.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure one of us is always there to help you on and off, but you need to be able to get on by yourself in case there’s a problem.”
“Um, what kind of problem?” she asked, a little nervous about the sound in his voice.
“Oh, nothing we should be dealing with, but it’s something you should always be able to do. Otherwise, you’re stuck.” He climbed off the bike after setting it back on the stand.
“Okay, what’s next? I’m not feeling very relaxed right now.”
“Learning something new is always a sure way to have an anxiety flash. We’ll do something about that. Come on in and let’s see what time our lunch will be ready to pick up.”
Alexis followed him back into the house, hoping his method of stress relief involved removing their clothes. She walked into the kitchen with a great big smile on her face.
Chapter Five