Authors: Stella White
“What the hell, Tara,” he said in frustration.
“I know what I want, and
I
know what
I
need,”
I
said, “you’re what
I
want, but not what I need.”
He snapped his fingers to a
couple of
guys in the back of the
bar,
and the two of them hopped right up.
“I’m
goin’
for a ride, and
this time,
I’m
ridin’
solo. You’ll come around, but I can’t be here
waitin’
for you till you do.”
He stomped his way out of the bar, and my eyes followed him. Buck climbed onto the largest bike outside, beautiful and black glossed. The bike
was still covered
in scratches and dings from road wear and tear. It roared to life, a deafening rumble that shook my glass, and he pulled away.
“You probably shouldn’t have made him angry,” said one of the guys behind the bar.
“He’ll go off and do something
stupid
like he always does. Except this time I hope it doesn’t get anyone killed in the process,” said the other biker.
“I’m
leavin’
my number. If he does something stupid, you make sure to call me.” I polished off my beer and
tossed
some cash on the counter.
I had a feeling things were about to get a lot worse.
2.
I wondered how long I would have to wait before getting a call. It was nearly one in the morning when the phone rang.
“Hello?” I said fighting away sleep.
“Tara, you better get down here quick. It’s not good,” said the biker from earlier.
“I’m on my way,” I replied.
I threw on my clothes from earlier in the day and hopped back on my bike. I walked a
couple of
blocks down the road so that I wouldn’t wake up my momma from her sleep.
I was reminded again of when I used to have to sneak out of the house late at night for just this same reason. Buck was more than just a
trouble maker;
he was a trouble magnet. I couldn’t remember a day where he didn’t go off and do something stupid.
I rode swiftly along the road, taking in the night breeze. The crisp air stung my
lungs,
and I loved every second. The moon illuminated the
road
in its faint blue hue.
When I pulled up to the bar, I saw that everyone was there already. I was the last to arrive.
There was a lot of
shouting,
and I couldn’t make out one bit of it. Things quieted down a little when people noticed me walking in. Buck was sitting at the bar in the center of the commotion.
“This
ain’t
that bad, don’t make such a fuss about it,” shouted Buck. His clothes were more disheveled than usual, and I knew what the meant.
“Who the hell did you sleep with now,” I asked sharply.
“What the hell do you care?” he replied.
“I
care 'cause
they care. I wouldn’t expect them to wake my ass up unless this was something important,” I said.
Buck look around the group, and a few of them shied away from his gaze.
“He slept with Gracie,” said one of the bikers.
I cocked an eyebrow.
“Who the hell is Gracie,” I asked.
“She’s Connor’s sister,” replied Buck.
“None of this is making sense. Could you just explain
it,
Buck,” I asked.
Buck crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
“If you
really
gotta know, then I’ll tell you, take a seat over here.”
A chair near the bar opened
up,
and I took a seat. Buck loomed over me like a statue while he
continued on
his explanation.
“There’s another crew in town. They’re big.
Bigger
than this gang, and just as mean. I met up with their leader a while back,
guy
by the name of Connor.
“His sister kept
makin’
eyes at me; even called me in the bar from time to time. I knew she was trouble, and I might do stupid things, but
I’m not stupid
.
“Then you had to show up,” Buck stopped and took a swig off his
bear
and lit another cigarette.
“I was
ridin’
about five miles out of
town,
and I come across Gracie. She’s
lookin’
good, so I pulled up
along-side
her. She just goes and smiles at me.”
“How the hell am I involved in all this, I just showed up this morning,” I asked.
Buck slammed his drink back on the bar.
“You always knew how to make me go crazy, Tara. When you wasn’t interested in shacking up earlier, I was pissed off. Figured I could use a little tail to take my mind off it all. It just so happened that the first tail I found was Gracie’s,” he added.
“So I got you hard, and she got you off,” I said as a matter of fact.
“That’s why this is your fault. You’re supposed to keep me from making stupid mistakes like this, but you just up and left like always. It seems to be the only thing you’re good at,” he said.
“I care about you, Buck. But, I
really
don’t care about your love life
anymore
. I don’t even see what the big deal is
anyway
. You slept with some dumb biker bitch, who cares?”
“Connor cares, and he’s the type of guy who backs up his threats. There’s a good chance he’ll start
comin’
after someone in the gang. Might even be you.”
I sighed. I wanted to hit him for putting me in this situation, but I had a feeling he was in a mood to hit back.
“What are you
goin’
to do,” I asked.
“
Nothin’
, I
guess.
” He said.
Most the guys in the club looked around, a little confused.
“The way I see it is, he doesn’t know. The only way he’ll find out is if his sister tells him what happened. She might be
dumb,
but she’s not an idiot, either. I’m sure she doesn’t want to see a bunch of guys beating the shit out of each other.”
He might be right, but I still had a bad feeling about the entire situation. If Gracie was that crazy about Buck, then she might do something rash.
“I’m
headin’
home for the night. I can’t deal with this right now,” I said.
The door slammed open. Two bikers were making their way inside. One of them
was bloodied
and beaten, and the other was so bruised that he couldn’t hold himself up at all.
“Connor’s gang, they just attacked us on the road,” said the
conscious
one, “they told me to give you a message.”
“What is it,” Buck asked.
“They said, ‘don’t mess with things that aren’t yours’”
Buck polished off his cigarette and stamped it out on the table before lighting another one. I hadn’t known Buck to chain smoke except for
time
when he was incredibly upset.
He stood
up
and
loomed
over the crowd. His rage was palpable, but with a glance
from
me, he seemed to calm down a little.
“Connor needs to pay for this. I say we ride out and beat the ever living snot out of every single one
of ‘em
.”
Buck reached behind the counter and pulled out a familiar shotgun.
“Buck, wait,” I said, running over to him and throwing my arms around him to try to make him stop for even a moment.
“Wait for what, he didn’t wait to start attacking us,” he said.
“Buck, you started this. You slept with the guy’s sister. Will
you at least
talk to the guy first, before bullets start flying?”
He grunted, and let out a puff of smoke.
“Fine,” he said, “but, I’m taking my shotgun with me.”
3.
I rode with Buck for the first time, in a long time. It was another thing that I missed about living here. The drive was long, and I didn’t mind. I got the chance to hold on to the man that I loved for a long time.
I wanted to have him pull off the road and have his way with me like he used to. But, it wasn’t the time or place for such flights of fancy. The vibration of the motorbike hit me in just the right
places,
and I could feel myself grinding my hips into the bike.
I think Buck noticed, but he didn’t do anything to prove it. He just gripped the
choppers
handlebars and carved out a path to the rival gang’s hideout.
It was probably near an hour long ride. I didn’t mind the
time;
I enjoyed
being driven
again.
The tavern we pulled up to was in much better shape than the one Buck owned. The neon sign stood prominently
by
the road, inviting us inside.
As we turned into the lot, we were met by several members of the rival gang. All of them brandishing a weapon of some kind, and I felt helplessly unprepared. Buck seemed unfazed by any of it as he parked in the middle of the entryway.
“Which way is that prick, Connor?” he asked.
A few of their number seemed to be preparing to attack, but a shout echoed out from the tavern.
“I’m in here,” he shouted.
The two of us pressed
onward;
I stayed close enough to Buck that I could smell him. Which
really
wasn’t that close, if
I’m being
honest. I wrapped my arm around his.
The inside of the bar was quite
nice
. The tables were mostly new, the bar
was decently lit
, and they even had a pool table in the back that didn’t appear to be missing any balls.
“You beat up two of my boys,” Buck started.
“And you fucked my sister,” Connor replied.
“Yeah, but she wanted it,” Buck barked out.
“I didn’t,” Connor said.
“And, what does that matter to me,” Buck asked.
“It should mean everything. I have enough guys here to wipe your small club off the map.”
Buck laughed.
“But, you wouldn’t all make it back.”
A girl walked in and sat next to Connor. I could only assume it was Gracie. She was
a petite
thing, and I was surprised that Buck didn’t break her in half when they slept together.
I wondered if that’s what Buck preferred now;
petite women
. He always seemed more interested in
full-bodied
women when we were together. Not that I would consider myself very
busty
in any way, but I still had curves. More guys liked me for my long taught legs, though; even I thought they were my best feature.
“You Gracie,” I asked the girl.
“That’s my name, now what does an old worn out
hag like
you want with me?” she asked spitefully.
I wanted to break her, and Buck could tell. He threw an arm in front of me and shook his head no. I understood what that meant right away, and Buck always made good on his threats.
“I’m glad I got to see the little slut that Buck spent the night with,”
I
said, “now I know what a broken condom looks like.”
Gracie went red in the face and
dang
near
leaped
from her seat
to strangle
me,
if Connor hadn’t held her down.
Connor and Buck just seemed to share a laugh watching us girls duke it out. It probably did well to diffuse whatever animosity was between the two men. Still, the more I looked at Gracie, the more I could see the man Buck was. It was as though I were staring at every woman Buck had ever slept with while we were an item. It only served to make me fume.
“Tara, get your ass outside, this is between me an’ Connor. I don’t
wanna
listen to a shouting match between two bitch seats.”
I exhaled, trying to rid my lungs of the fire that was building. I knew Buck was right; taking his advice I marched out of the bar and took a seat on his bike.