Released: MC Secret Baby Romance (New Adult Contemporary Biker Romance) (66 page)

"The only calling out I'll be doing later is on you and your bullshit," I remarked. I headed to the other side of the bar and chatted to a couple regulars there, pretending that I didn't feel that heat of Gage's eyes on my back — pretending that it didn't feel very good.

Chapter Six

Gage

I found Hayley amusing in a way that I hadn't found anything amusing in a long time. Our little game was exactly what I needed and, though I was loathe to admit it, the music bingo wasn't so bad either.

The second game started off with a bang. I got two squares right away, right next to each other. I saw Hayley eyeing my card again, so I took a long drink of my beer and licked my lips. Pink seemed to be becoming her natural shade.

I didn't get the next couple of songs, but that was okay. I made up for it pretty quickly, and I was only two squares away from winning when the first person yelled bingo. Still, I had a pretty good shot. I got the next song, and the next time Hayley came by, she did a double take.

"You're only one away," she stated.

"Yup."

"Huh."

She ignored the other patrons while we waited for the next song to start. The look she was giving my card — indecisiveness, mixed with longing — was already turning me on. I wondered whether it would be worth it to wait until her shift was over or if I should just take her out back after I got my bingo and have my way with her next to the side of the building.

The next song wasn't one of mine, but nobody else yelled bingo either. The air between Hayley and I was tense. One more square, a bit of ink on a piece of paper, and I'd have her. I could practically taste my success — and I bet it would taste sweet.

The DJ was just about to change tracks when a shout went up through the crowd.

"Bingo!" yelled an old man a few seats down. It was the one who had tried to talk to me the night before.

I ground my teeth. The old drunkard had no idea what he had just lost me.

Hayley let out a relieved sigh, though it was a bit too orchestrated for me to believe that she wholly meant it. It was written all over her face that she was disappointed. Still, she put on a cocky grin and grabbed the dabber out of my hand. "Too bad," she said. "Looks like music bingo's not your game."

I smoothed out my frown until my face was impassive again. "Looks like it's not either of ours."

She went around picking up bingo cards while the doddling old man went to the DJ to have his card checked and collect his prize. He came back holding a Home Depot gift card like he'd won the golden goose.

Hayley went over to congratulate him, and he beamed at her and thrust a couple dollar bills into her tip jar.

When she came back to me, she had an expectant look on her face. "So?"

I leveled her gaze and finished off my pint. "So?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, and my eyes followed the movement before lazily dragging back up to her face.

"Spill, Gage," she said. "I want to know everything."

I tapped on the rim of my glass and she pulled it over to her side of the bar with a frustrated sigh. After putting a new beer in front of me, she re-crossed her arms.

I crossed my arms as well. "I never said when I'd tell you."

The first thing to flash across her face was ire. After a moment though, I could see that she was; at least, a little bit impressed.

"You're an asshole," she said finally. Then, she stormed off to the other end of the bar where the old man was still going on about his Home Depot gift card.

Hayley

I couldn't believe it! After all that — the tension, the indecision, the tortured desire — he had the balls to pull that shit on me? Christ, it was like trying to ask a question to the Sphinx.

I went about my work for the night and made a point of ignoring him. He seemed to find that hilarious, and anytime we made eye contact — he was hard not to look at, okay? — he smirked.

When we were ready to close, Gage slid off of his bar stool with the ease of a trained predator. I supposed that was what he was. Why couldn't it have been that easy to get rid of him the night before?

He sauntered off into the darkness, and I wondered whether I'd ever see him again.

***

To my great surprise, Gage came back the next night — and the next. All week, he came in and sat in the same spot, ordering the same beer, engaging in the same sexual cocky banter with me.

Over the next few days, I would even say we became — maybe not friends — but at least, companions of circumstance. Whatever had brought him to our town and my bar kept bringing him back. Admittedly, I was always happy to be the one in full possession of his attention throughout his visits. The weekend started up, but he never once noticed any of the skinny girls with tiny skirts that flaunted themselves for him. He was undoubtedly the hottest guy in the bar, perhaps the hottest guy that had ever been in the bar, and yet, he only had eyes for me.

I think I began to wear him down too. In between customers, I told him about my plans for the university, and how I was still debating what to do with myself afterward. I said how I had never done much traveling, but how I dreamed of just hopping on a bike and getting out of Dodge one day. I also told him how I'd had to sell my Harley to pay for my last semester's tuition. After the money from that ran out, I had been forced to come home and get a job until I could pay to go back.

I didn't tell him why I'd run out of money so quick. He didn't ask.

He never really asked anything, but he always listened attentively. He didn't volunteer much about himself either, despite the fact that he was in the military and drove a Harley. I'd already surmised as much, so that wasn't exactly soul exposing, but I liked to hear the passion in his voice when he talked about his career or about riding down long stretches of uninhabited road in places like Nevada and Arizona. I'd never been to either. He told me that was crazy, and that if I hadn't been to Vegas, I was sorely missing out.

When Sunday drew to a close, I looked forward to sleeping in the next day, and then having the whole rest of the day to do with as I pleased. I had the next two days off and no plans.

When he hopped off his stool on Sunday night, he said he'd see me tomorrow. I corrected him, said I'd see him on Wednesday.

"You're not working tomorrow?"

"I can't work every day of the week," I replied, smiling.

He frowned. "Who's going to bore me with stupid stories of their childhood?"

He was flirting with me! And, not in the lustful way I was accustomed to. Gage was actually flirting with me in the cute way that a boy flirts with a girl before he asks her out.

Wait. Was Gage going to ask me out?

I wasn't prepared for this. I wasn't on board with this. I shooed him out of the bar before he could say anything else, and I locked the doors behind him.

Darn. There was that disappointment again. I was going to have to do something about all those errant emotions.

Chapter Seven

Gage

I didn't expect to be as let down as I was that I wouldn't get to see Hayley for two days. Of course, it made sense that she would take a day off every now and then, but it still took me by surprise. She had become somewhat of a permanent fixture in my 'vacation' life, and I wasn't sure what I would do without her for the next couple of days.

If I went back to the bar, what if they had some other girl tending it whose face didn't read like a teleprompter? It became obvious to me that I wasn't going back to the bar tonight. There was only one place I wanted to be, I realized — and it was with her.

I shrugged that off as my lust messing with my head. Nonetheless, I still wanted to see her, and there was only one way for me to do so.

I hopped on my bike and rode around to the area she said her parents lived in. She might not have thought that I was paying attention while she rambled on about her life, but I had been. I had every detail memorized in my brain, and could practically visualize the terrain; the benefits of being a soldier.

I knew what neighborhood she was in, but I didn't know the house. That would cause some difficulty. I rode through a couple times, trying to decide whether her parents were more likely to live in a bungalow or a two-storey, godawful, pink monstrosity. There seemed to be no in between.

Luckily for me, the sound of my bike had caused some curiosity for some of the residents. Well, one of the residents — the only one who counted.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Hayley said, walking to the end of her driveway. She was trying to contain the delight on her face, but she was failing miserably.

I assessed her outfit; a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a tank top that showed a generous amount of cleavage, with a satisfied smile.

"I'm ready to tell you my story," I said simply.

She crossed her arms. The effect was even more tantalizing when she wasn't wearing a t-shirt.

I thought she was going to object, and that we would end up bickering in her driveway for a bit before she eventually gave in, but she simply walked back inside. At first, I was at a loss as to how to proceed, but she came out moments later wearing a black leather jacket, and holding a helmet against her hip. Oh, did she look good.

She climbed on the back of my bike without a word, slipping her arms around my sides and pressing her body against my back. The vibrations of the bike hummed through us, and I revved it a couple of times to get the full effect.

She playfully smacked me in the chest and I took off, navigating back out onto the highway, then across it to the coast road.

Her body pressed against mine was delicious, and with every turn, she squeezed a little tighter. She had great balance, and probably could have held on with just those powerful thighs of hers. The squeeze was just for me.

I pulled down one country road, and then another, conscious of the gravel under my wheels. Eventually, we pulled up in front of a thicket of trees. I turned the bike off, and pulled off my helmet.

"Uh..." said Hayley, after she had removed her own helmet. "Where are we?"

She dismounted, and I followed suit. Then, I grabbed her hand and led her through the trees.

When we came out on the other side, Hayley's breath caught in her throat. We were in a small clearing at the edge of a cliff. Underneath us, the waves crashed and roared against the rocks, churning and retreating to do it all over again.

"I wasn't expecting this," was all Hayley said, as she went to the edge of the cliff. She sat down and dangled her feet into the abyss. I knew she would be the daring type.

I joined her, sitting close enough so that our thighs touched. She didn't shimmy away.

"This is where my best friend Eric and I used to come when we first got home from deployment," I explained. "We'd take our bikes and some beers, and come hang out and talk about everything we'd seen."

She didn't rush me. She simply nodded her head and looked out to the horizon.

"That sounds nice," she said when I didn't continue.

"It was."

"So, why are we here now?" she asked.

"Because Eric's dead."

Chapter Eight

Hayley

His words jarred me. I hadn't expected when he picked me up outside my house, that he had actually intended to let me in. Now that he was, I didn't want to scare him off. I wasn't sure whether I should ask questions or just be silent. I decided that he probably wouldn't just offer the story out to me, so I was going to have to take it.

"I'm sorry," I said. He was leaning backward against his hands, and I reached mine back just enough to rest my fingers over his. He didn't shake me off, which I had half-expected him to do.

"Why have you been in my bar for the past week?" I figured that talking about his friend was something that I could come back to. Besides, more than likely, the two topics were related.

He scoffed. "Buchanan pulled rank on me and made me take a vacation." He gave me an amused sidelong glance. "I was getting into too many fights, if you can believe that."

I chuckled. "You? In a fight? I can't imagine anyone wanting to lay a finger on you."

He smiled wryly. "Yet, here I am."

"I'm glad you are," I said.

I think I must have surprised both of us. Gage certainly hadn't been expecting it. His eyes darted over to me, one eyebrow quirked.

To break the tension, I added, "You've been keeping me fed in tips. I was on plain pasta before you came along."

We laughed, and then descended into a comfortable silence. I don't know how long we sat that way. I probably would have been content to sit a bit longer, but I felt like there was more that needed to be aired out first. There was a war going on in that impenetrable head of his; I could practically hear the guns and cannons firing, and the charge of the cavalry. That man hadn't known peace in a long time.