5 Bikers for Valentines

“Oh.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m just distracted today.”

“I can tell,” I said with a laugh. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head again. “Just a little foggy today. My last few patients were pretty wearing.”

“Do you want to skip my session?” I asked. “We can always reschedule for tomorrow and go grab some food instead.”

“Nice try,” she said, smiling and leading me toward the bars.

I rested my crutches against the wall like last time and walked over to the bars. This time, Tara let me walk myself. She didn’t offer her hand as I stumbled my way between the bars. I was surprised, but when I looked at her face, I saw that she was barely paying attention to me. Her mind was a million miles away.

My session progressed normally. I walked across the bars a few times while Tara mumbled words of encouragement. She wasn’t into it, though, and I could tell. Her entire body was tense, and she kept glancing at the clock, just waiting for my session to end. I tried not to be offended, but I was getting tired of her pulling away from me.

We had sex again, and already, she was distancing herself. It pissed me off.

“Look,” I said when the session ended. “If you regret last night, just tell me.”

“What?” She blinked. “Caleb, what the hell are you talking about? I don’t regret anything about last night.”

“Then, what’s going on with you?” I demanded. “You’ve been somewhere else. It’s like you’re not even here.”

Tara sighed and closed her eyes. She rubbed her forehead, and when her eyes opened again, they were swimming with emotion. She opened her mouth to speak but never got a chance to explain. The door to the PT building swung open with a bang. I jumped and spun around to see Darren walking toward us.

The same suspicious expression was on his face. I’d grown to know it well, and after everything that happened with Tara that day, I didn’t have time for it.

“Can you give us a second?” I asked. “Tara and I were just in the middle of something.”

“No,” Darren said flatly. “Your mother got pulled in with a patient, so I need to take you home. I don’t have all night, so let’s go.”

“Okay, in a minute,” I said, turning back to Tara.

“Unless you want to walk, let’s go.”

I was livid as Tara handed me my crutches and Darren led the way toward the parking lot. He climbed behind the wheel while I struggled to put my crutches in the backseat, then fell into the passenger seat with a sharp pain in my leg.

“Thanks so much for the help.” I snapped once I slammed the door behind me.

“I’m giving you a ride, aren’t I?” Darren asked. His voice was sharp and juvenile. I hated how much he acted like a child sometimes.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I demanded.

“Don’t talk to me that,” Darren hissed.

“Darren, I’m not a child anymore, okay?” I said. “I’m twenty-seven years old, and if you have something to say to me, then just fucking say it already.”

“I want you to stay away from Tara,” Darren said bluntly. “I don’t like how close you two have gotten since she moved back to town. It’s not healthy, and it’s inappropriate.”

“Why?” I asked. “Because it makes you uncomfortable.”

“Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Darren demanded. “Don’t you remember how much you hurt her?”

“Whose fault was that?” I snapped. “You sent me away to military school because you couldn’t stand the thought of me being with your daughter. You were so terrified that what we had might have been real, that you couldn’t deal. You sent me out of the state just to keep us apart.”

“And it was obviously the right decision,” Darren said. “Considering how long it took her to get over you.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, his words catching me by surprise.

“Nothing.” Darren sighed and shook his head.