“Hey
sis, Knox went for pizza, he should be back in a few.” I watch
Max take out plates and glasses, laying them on the table.
“Okay,
I’ll just grab a shower.”
“Okay,
cool hey, I swapped shifts with Knox tonight,” he calls out
after me.
“Why?”
“I
need tonight off, sorry sis,” he peeks his head out of the
doorway giving me a cheeky grin. Rolling my eyes I head in for my
shower, where I can de-stress and ask the universe to keep the love
of my life safe. A few minutes later there is a banging on the door.
“Food’s
here darlin’.”
Emerging
from the bathroom I find him waiting for me. A smile lights up his
face and he hugs me tight, causing me to wince.
“Careful
babe, I’m hurting today.”
He
frowns as we walk into the kitchen. “Why what happened?”
he asks.
Lifting
my shirt, I show him the bruise on my hip and ribs. “What the
fuck, darlin’?” Kneeling down he inspects my skin and Max
lets out a slow whistle.
“How
did that happen?” he asks.
“Becky
hits like a truck,” I smile at Max. Knox stands and shakes his
head.
“Why
the fuck does she have to hit you so hard? You’re on the same
damn team,” he complains.
“I’m
fine Knox, stop worrying about me.” I press a kiss to his lips,
stretching myself over his crossed arms. He doesn’t soften his
expression as I grab a slice of pizza joining Max at the table. “Come
on babe, sit down,” I pat the chair beside me. He runs his
hands through his hair and takes a seat.
“I
don’t like it, she never used to hit you that hard before,”
his grumbling continues for five minutes until he finally stops to
eat. Max pulls a face making me laugh at him, he sticks out his
tongue and looks innocent when Knox turns to face him.
“So
are we getting new ink?” Max questions Knox while shoving half
a slice of pizza into his mouth.
“Yeah
I saw a nice one online,” Knox answers, pulling out his phone
to show Max.
“Oh
yeah, that’s sweet bro,” Max nods his head in approval.
Knox puts his phone away without showing me and I kick his leg. He
looks up at me then pulls his eyebrows together.
“Don’t
I get to see it?”
“No
sorry darlin’, we don’t show anyone until it’s
done,” he grins at me.
“You’re
such a douche,” I shake my head at him.
Both
of them laugh at me and Knox continues to tell me it’s a
tradition they have. Each tattoo is done in secret and then they have
a drink to celebrate. I remind them they are twenty-five years old
and both weirdos. Leaving the kitchen, I start to get ready in my
black pencil skirt and white shirt. After I do my makeup and decide
on my sky-high black platform pumps, I make my way back to them.
“So
how do I look?” I ask while twirling. I smile when I stop.
“Where
are you going dressed like that?” Knox scoffs.
“Meeting
with Hero, remember?”
“Fuck!
I forgot about that asshole,” Knox moans and asks Max to swap
back his night in the bar.
“No
babe, I’ll stop by after. Hopefully, he won’t go too
long,” grabbing my purse and my laptop bag, I lean over to kiss
him. “See you later.” I wave on my way out.
“Hey,
hey,” he calls chasing me out the door. He catches me on the
stairs and walks me to my car. “Be careful darlin’,”
Leaning down, he kisses my lips.
“Love
you.”
I
arrive in Marion about an hour later and follow the waiter to my
seat. Andres and Mr. Hero are already seated. They both stand when I
arrive and Andres, makes a point to kiss me on the cheek. Mr. Hero
gets straight down to business. He tells me he is working on a
project for NASA and needs a top of the line security program. My
palms sweat a little and I rub my hands on my thighs.
“So
is this something you can provide?” he asks.
“Of
course, it should be simple enough,” I reply, lying through my
teeth.
“That
settles it then and you can have it ready to run in sixty days?”
I
choke on my water and spill some of it down my chin. Andres quickly
reaches over with his napkin and dabs my chin.
“Thank
you, sixty days is a little soon,” I answer. My mind is
freaking out at this; it’s way too short a time. I was thinking
about six months for this type of program.
“Well,
Frank assured me that you are the best.”
“Of
course,” I smile. “I can get it done.”
We
finish dinner listening to Andres talk himself up. I really just want
to go. After dessert, I make my excuses and leave the table.
“Well
that went well,” Andres says, from beside me. He has a smirk on
his face.
“Thanks,”
I reply, walking to the valet. Andres takes my elbow and leans down
close to me.
“How
about we get a room and have our own dessert?” His eyebrows
wiggle a little and I honestly throw up in my mouth. His face is
close to mine and I notice his too tanned skin, with his waxed
eyebrows. Holding back a laugh, I shake my head no. He pouts at me
and tries the wounded look.
“I’m
happily engaged, Andres,” lifting my ring, I wave it at him. He
takes my hand and inspects it.
“Very
nice, he must be very well off. What does he do?” his voice is
smooth, but there is an edge to it.
Smiling,
I thank the valet when he holds open my door. “He’s a
barman,” I reply, climbing into my car, laughing at his face.
He looks like he tasted something bad and it makes me laugh harder.
When I arrive at the bar, I am weirdly happy. My encounter with
Andres allowed me some much-needed stress relief. Walking through the
doors I find Knox and Chase run off their feet, it’s getting
busier every weekend.
Knox
smiles when he sees me and sighs in relief. He pulls me through the
beaded curtain placing kisses along my jaw line.
“Hey,
darlin’.”
“I
guess you missed me, huh?”
“Yes
I always miss you, but I don’t have time to hang out. I
actually need you to me a favor,” he begs, gripping my hands in
his.
“Okay
sure, do I have to get naked?” I tease.
“No,
Jesus, I wish,” he smiles at me. “I need you to put the
order through for me.”
I
agree and he kisses me, thanking me all the way to the office. He
turns on the computer for me and arranges the paperwork. He is
buzzing around the office.
“Babe,
I’ve done this before. Go, I’ll be out in a few.”
“Thanks,
darlin’, I owe you one.” Opening the door, he steps
outside.
“A
big one,” I shout after him, he pokes his head back inside the
door.
“It’s
what you’re used to darlin’.”
Laughing
he runs off and I settle myself down to do his job. I have everything
ordered for the next week and I added a few new things for fun. After
an hour, I take a seat at the bar. Knox hands me a drink and takes
off just as fast. It stays busy until the very end. Knox and Chase
take a long time to clear the bar while Amber, and I hang out and
laugh at them. Finally the last person leaves and Knox bolts the
door, sliding down to the floor.
“Finally,”
he grumbles, running his hands through his hair. They clean up the
bar and we leave after three.
“I
have my car babe,” I tell him, pulling him around the building.
He sighs and holds out his hands. “I’ll drive,” I
punch him on the arm and laugh at him wincing.
“Hey
that’s spousal abuse,” he cries, as we pull out of the
parking lot.
“Were
not married yet, I still have time to beat you into submission.”
“You
did that years ago darlin’.” Leaning over the seat his
kisses my cheek sending a shiver down my spine. “How did dinner
go?”
“Okay,”
I sigh. Pulling into the parking lot, I park beside the bikes. Knox
exits the car and opens my door for me. Taking his hand I climb out,
the wind is cold, making me shiver.
“Are
you tired darlin’?” Knox asks, with a hint of amusement
in his voice.
“Why,
what do you have in mind?”
He
smirks at me and tells me I have to change my clothes first. We
arrive in the apartment and I throw on jeans and a sweater. Knox
hands me my leather jacket and a scarf. “Where are going?”
He winks at me, pulling a sweater over his head. He pulls on his own
leather jacket and grabs our helmets. I follow him down the stairs to
his bike and watch as he starts it, allowing it to warm up.
“I
want to take you somewhere if you don’t mind.” He says,
helping me tighten my helmet. When I climb on behind him, I wrap my
arms around his waist and snuggle closer. The thrill of the ride
fills me with excitement as we travel down the empty freeway and onto
the Marion highway. We pass his dad’s house and continue along
the ocean front road. Pressing closer to him, I rest my chin on his
shoulder. He grips my hands in his and brushes his thumb over my
knuckles.
We
soon travel up a long driveway, lined with trees and wildflowers. I
notice the headstones when we turn the next bend and get a little
scared. Knox parks the bike under a tree and we climb off. He takes
my hand and we walk in silence through the cemetery. I can still hear
the distance crash of waves and smell the salt in the air. Knox stops
by a headstone and takes a seat on the ground, he pulls me onto his
lap, and I read.
Annabelle Porter. Wife. Mother. Beloved.
1955 – 1999.
“I
wanted her to see how beautiful you are,” he whispers.
“Thank
you,” I whisper back, unable to stop the lump in my throat.
“I
haven’t been here in years. The last time Max and I came was
before we left dad’s.” He heaves a sigh and rests his
chin on my shoulder. We sit in silence for hours. Knox just holds me
and I stare at the rising sun, painting the sky in a gentle pink. “I
wish you could have met her, darlin’.”
“Me
too, babe.”
“I
have something to give you,” reaching into his jacket he
produces an envelope. He runs his fingers over the writing on the
front before handing it to me. Taking it, I notice it has yellowed
from the years. The neat script on the front looks like Knox’s
writing and I frown.
To
the future Mrs. Knox Porter.
“What’s
this babe?”
“It’s
from my mom to you,” he answers. I’m not sure what to do
with it, turning it over in my hands I look up into his eyes. “You
don’t have to read it now, just before the wedding.”
“Okay.”
He
kisses me softly and we stand to leave, he looks down at the
headstone and sadness shrouds him, like a thick woolen cloak. “I’ll
give you a minute,” I whisper and make my way back to the
Harley. Sitting on the seat, I watch the sun climb higher in the sky
and yawn. Part of me wants to read the letter now and part of me
wants to know why he is giving it to me here and now.
I
watch him saunter towards me and smile at his beautiful face. I get
his megawatt smile back and another kiss when he arrives.
“Ready
to get some sleep?” He asks, sliding on his sunglasses.
“Yeah,
babe. Let’s go to bed.”
Six weeks later.
My
fingers are flying across the keyboard trying to meet my deadline.
Dad walks into my office and sighs at me.
“Bailey,
you have about a month’s worth of papers to sign here,”
he taps the pile of files on my desk.
“Yeah
Dad, I know. If you didn’t tell Hero how good I was, I wouldn’t
be trying to fit six months of work into sixty days. And besides, I
am almost done and Knox had his doctor appointment today, so right
now I really don’t care about the files.”
“How
is he doing?”
“Not
good, Dad,” I clear my throat and try concentrate on the code
in front of me. Dad leaves my office without another word. My eyes
blur and I blink rapidly to clear them. I have promised myself I
wouldn’t call Knox and that I’d wait to get home to find
out what is going on. By four, o’clock I am finally done. I
feel guilty about not signing the paperwork, but I rush out of my
office before I make myself stay any longer. Dad’s office is
empty so I leave the building and drive home.
Knox
and Max are in the kitchen both recovering from a day at the tattoo
shop. Knox smiles at me when I rush into them.
“How
did it go?” I ask.
“Good
darlin’, hurt like a mother, but it’s all done now.”
Frowning
I shake my head at him, he stands up and pulls off his shirt. Turning
around I see his new ink, spreading across his left shoulder. A
dragon, with fierce claws and teeth, breathing out a flame of orange
and red, and I’m not sure what to think. Stepping closer, I
look at it, it really looks menacing. In the flame there is writing,
Born as one, live as one, fight as one. Brothers born of flame, bear
pain, and laughter together.
I
look at Max and he smirks, standing he pulls off his t-shirt so I can
see his one beside the other. They face each other when standing side
by side. Knox’s is colored reds with purples. Max has reds and
greens.
“They
are different.”
Knox
turns to me, “Don’t you like it?”
“Yeah
I do, it’s just completely different than all the others.”
He
frowns and pulls back on his t-shirt. Max does the same, giving me a
weird look. Both look at each other, and shrug then laugh, like they
don’t give a shit either way.
“I
meant the appointment,” I say, biting my lip nervously.
Knox
turns his back to me and fiddles with the coffee machine. Max stands
up and stretches, saying he is going for a nap and leaves the room.
“Babe?”
“Yeah
darlin’, I know what you’re talking about,” he
keeps his back to me and his shoulders are tense. I can see the veins
in his forearms standing out as he clenches the counter. I watch his
shoulders rise and fall with each breath he takes. I want him to face
me, to tell me what is going on. But I know he needs time to figure
out how to say it. My hands shake nervously on my lap as I wait. And
wait, and wait. Finally, giving up, I leave him in the kitchen and
walk down to the bedroom to change and get some homework done.