5 Bikers for Valentines

My new place was small but charming. The walls of the living room were painted a shade of green that lightened both the space and my mood. I leaned back in my desk chair and stared at the wall in front of me. Dallas was good to me, but there were too many bad memories now.

I needed a change. This place was just forty-five minutes outside of the city. Quaint. Quiet. Peaceful. And, away from pain – at least that’s what I wanted so desperately to believe.

Ennis, Texas, was the last place I ever envisioned myself settling down. I thought I’d spend my entire life in one big city or another, chasing my dream of being a journalist. Now, freelancing was all I needed. Living a quiet life seemed perfect and relaxing. After the last few weeks of hell, I longed for quality alone time.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, there was a loud knock on my front door. I frowned and got slowly to my feet. The only person who knew where I lived was my best friend Andrea, but I couldn’t imagine she would drive all the way down here.

“Hey!” Andrea said when I opened the door.

I laughed and shook my head. Standing aside, I let Andrea pass by me. She quickly made herself at home, kicking off her shoes and collapsing in a heap on my couch.

“I know it’s only like an hour,” she said. “But god, I really hate that fucking drive.”

“What are you doing here?” I sat down in my chair and spun around to face her.

“Ouch.” Andrea placed her hand over her heart and feigned a hurt expression. “Where’s the love, Jules?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I just wanted to check on you.” Andrea shrugged. “I have the day off, so I thought I’d drive down. Are you settled in?”

I nodded. “Getting there. It’s going to take some time to unpack everything, but I love this house. It’s perfect.”

“I thought it would be,” Andrea said with a satisfied grin.

Andrea helped me find my new house about two seconds after I mentioned the move. She, unlike most of the other people in my life, was totally supportive of my desire to get out of Dallas.

“My parents came down yesterday,” I said. “They don’t feel the same way.”

“Like that’s a surprise,” Andrea said. “Frank and Janice wouldn’t know true style if it bit them in the ass.”

I laughed. “God, that’s so true. Do you remember that purple leather recliner they bought when we were in high school?”

“Oh my god!” Andrea groaned. “I forgot about that!”

“I don’t know how you could,” I said. “It still haunts my nightmares.”

“Well, you had to live with the damn thing in your living room,” Andrea said.

We both laughed and continued our light-hearted abuse of my parents. They meant well, but they never truly understood me.

“So,” Andrea said, her tone suddenly shifting. “Have you heard from him?”

I froze. My heart felt like it stopped beating for a full minute. I knew Andrea would ask about him. Still, it didn’t stop me from feeling breathless and blindsided. My ex was the last person I wanted to talk about.

“No,” I said. “I’m not sure he even knows I left Dallas.”

“Of course, he knows,” Andrea said. She rolled her eyes. “It’s all over Facebook.”

“It is?”

“Well, I posted about it,” Andrea said with a shrug.

“That doesn’t mean he’s seen it,” I said. “Besides, why would he care? He dumped me.”

“Trust me, I know.” Andrea sighed and sat up. “How are you doing?”

Andrea’s green eyes found mine. She didn’t look away. She held my gaze until, finally, I felt my entire body cave and my resolve melt away into nothingness. As much as I didn’t want to talk about him, Andrea knew I needed to.