Snow in Texas

Chapter Eleven: Colin

Eleven

Colin

She was impressed, he could tell. The Night Train was a slick piece of machinery, mean in all the right places, simple where it counted. Jenny paced around it, studying with a critical eye. She didn't have that glassy, disinterested look of a woman playing to his ego. No, she liked the bike for exactly what it was, and not because a man rode it.

"Pretty," she finally said, and glanced up to meet his eyes. Hers were an almost translucent blue in the sunlight. "How's she ride?"

He almost said something wildly inappropriate in response. Almost. Instead, he said, "You wanna find out?"

Total shutdown. Her eyes closed up and she took a step back.

Colin clenched his teeth together. He'd thought things were better, that she was less frightened, more trusting. She didn't hate him – he'd thought. So why did she keep throwing up these roadblocks? What the hell?

She glanced toward the clubhouse where her brother had disappeared a few moments before. Candy had bragged on the bike a minute, kissed his sister on top of the head, then headed inside, leaving them alone. If that didn't feel like brotherly approval, Colin didn't know what would.

But here they were again, Jenny withdrawing.

He liked her, damn it. She was hot, and he wanted to peel those tight jeans off of her, yes, but he was building a genuine affection for her too, and he wanted her to come around. Wanted her to like him too, if he was honest.

"Jenny," he said, kindly but firmly. "Do you wanna go for a ride?"

Her head swiveled back, eyes still uncertain, but sparking with something promising.

He gave her his best grin. "I'm gonna bet, you having a Lean Dog for a brother, that you like riding. Am I right?"

"I love it," she admitted.

"Come on then. One quick ride, so you can tell me if I got a lemon bike or not. I promise I'll keep my hands to myself." He showed her his empty palms then tucked his hands in his pockets to demonstrate.

She debated a long moment, staring at the toes of her boots – rich brown today, with pale stitching. Finally, she nodded. "Let me grab my helmet."

~*~

She felt good behind him, her legs jacked up so her feet could rest on the pegs, breasts cushioned against his back, arms tight around his waist. Her feelings about him notwithstanding, she knew she had to hold on, and she did tightly, letting her weight shift naturally with his as he turned out of the clubhouse parking lot and headed up the street.

A gorgeous, cloudless day, the sun hot and the air dry, smelling of desert things. The wind scraped at his face. He felt little wisps of her long blonde hair that were swept forward and tickled at the backs of his ears.

How different it was, riding with a passenger. Alone, there was a sense of weightless freedom. With a woman behind him, he felt this heavy responsibility...but a certain security too. A warm presence against his spine, keeping him company in the lonely bubble that existed on the road, where a man and his bike became something entirely apart from the world around them.

They'd gone about five miles when Jenny tapped his shoulder and then pointed off to a side street that was rearing up on the right.

Colin turned down it, slowing and then gunning the throttle again, the Night Train leaping with a growl. It was a narrow, twisty street, which he hadn't been expecting. They plunged down a sudden hill that made his stomach drop and thick pale rocks crowded up toward the edge of the pavement, jagged, striated formations that cast shadows on the pavement.