“I’m sorry, Mila. I should have at least told you I was okay.”
Mila is a good friend. She listens without judgment and knows what it’s like to bear so much responsibility. My situation isn’t exactly like hers. She’s a single mom of a beautiful three-year-old girl. She lost the father of her child in a tragic accident before her daughter was born and takes care of her grandma who has Alzheimer’s. She’s a strong woman. We confide and lean on each other for moral support all the time.
“I’m glad you’re okay. Everyone found out what happened the other day. Travis deserved that black eye he got.”
Black eye? I’m just about to ask her what the hell she’s talking about when I’m interrupted by my sister.
Elbowing me, she lightly whispers, “Bella, there’s a fine guy behind us, checking you out.”
I turn to look behind me, and he has his eyes glued to my ass. The first thing I notice is the cut he’s wearing. The patch reads VICE PRESIDENT. The guy is tall, at least six-foot-two, closely cropped brown hair with just the right amount of stubble on his face. Checking the rest of him out briefly, I see he’s built and toned in all the right places. I study the colorful array of tattoos that cover most of his arms.
My breath falters for a moment when our eyes meet. One blue eye and one green. I let my eyes travel down to his mouth which happens to be turned up into a cocky grin. Slightly embarrassed, I give him a small smile then turn around to pay for my things.
“You have my number. Let’s meet for coffee next week,” I say, smiling warmly at Mila.
She smiles back. “Great, I’d like that!”
As my sister and I walk out of the store, I can still feel the biker’s eyes on me.
On the drive home, I can’t stop thinking about the man from the store. I’ve never seen eyes with such intensity.
“Bella, that guy was hot.”
“Practical Magic.”
“What?” Alba says as she reaches for the bag of Doritos in the back seat.
“You know? My favorite movie...Practical Magic? Where the little girl casts the spell for her perfect man?” I glance towards my sister, waiting for it to click. “In the movie, she wished for him to have one blue eye, one green eye.”
“Okay,” she says slowly. “I still don’t see what that has to do with anything?”
“The guy at the grocery store. He had one blue eye and one green eye.”
My sister gives me a look when it finally dawns on her. Smiling she comments, “It’s fate.”
The rest of the ride home I can’t stop thinking about the biker. I can’t say I’m a believer in fate, but I can say I’m a dreamer. Maybe both beliefs aren’t so different.
When we get home, my sister and I spend the rest of the night hanging out and stuffing our faces with junk food while binge watching Golden Girls. I also insisted on watching Practical Magic before finally making myself go to sleep because tomorrow is my first day at my new job.
I pull into Kings Custom Bikes the following morning that’s run by the local MC. Jake said to be here by 9:00 am if I wanted the job, so I made sure I would be here a little early.
Most people would call me crazy for taking a job offer from the local MC. Everyone in town is aware of some of the activities that the MC partakes in, me included, but people just turn a blind eye for the most part. Even our local police seem to brush most of the activities they hear about under the rug.
Sitting in my car, I notice that one of the bay doors is open. I see a guy working on a bike, so I step out of my car and throw my purse over my shoulder. I walk across the parking lot and head in his direction. The guy looks up when he hears my boots crunching in the gravel. I instantly recognize him from last Friday morning and smile.
He stops what he’s doing and smiles too. “Well, hey there, darlin’. You come by to let me replace that spare tire?” He stands up and starts cleaning off his hands with a rag then shoves it back into his pocket.
“I’m here to start my first day of work.”
He cocks his head to the side “Well, damn. You’re the newbie Jake told us about last week. About time we get something pretty to look at around here. Well, no one will be showing up for another forty-five minutes or so. Most days we open at 9:00 am, but this morning we won’t be opening until 10:00 am. Got some club shit that needed taking care of. In the meantime, why don’t you let me look at that beautiful car you have over there? I’d like to see what you have going on under the hood.”
“I’d like that. Thanks,” I tell him as we make our way back over to my car.
He lifts the hood. “Doesn’t look too bad. I can see there are some hoses that need replacing and your radiator cap looks half-ass broke.” He walks around trying to get a closer look. “I’d like to start her up, maybe take her for a spin to hear what she sounds like.”
Quinn is showing me how the motor’s chassis is a bit rusted and starts laughing at the fact that I’m having to climb to look inside to see where he is pointing to.
“I want to help. That is if you would be willing to teach me?” I ask him while climbing back down off the bumper of the car.