Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys

Chapter 18

His dark hair was pushed back away from his face and sunglasses were perched on his nose, blocking the view of his eyes. Eyes that were pointing in my direction, above a set of smirking lips. Mortification hit me suddenly, when I realized he'd caught me checking him out. He was leaning against the back of the SUV with his arms and legs crossed, which only served to draw more attention to the muscles cording his arms.

His lips turned up into a full-blown smile, white teeth shining through, when he saw my face turning what was surely a shade dark enough to rival a sunburn. I blamed the heat for the sudden warmth in my cheeks and quickly made my way across the street, shuffling past him and to the passenger door.

"Ready?" It came out in an overly chirpy voice that gave away my utter embarrassment and I let out a breath as I heard him chuckle deeply, making his way around to the driver seat. He started the car, blasting the air and reversing out of the driveway.

"No." I said, cutting my eyes to him sharply as my face heated despite the cool air blowing straight at me. He'd opened his mouth to no doubt tease me, and he let out a deep laugh instead at my statement. My lips curled up slightly as I watched him, laughing at my expense, and I couldn't help but let out a small one as well.

We pulled up to his mother's house some twenty minutes later. It wasn't tiny, but it was small, and painted an off-white that was starting to peel in some places. The worn wooden porch had two steps that led up to it and an old porch swing that gently moved with the breeze. The front door squeaked when Tyson opened it for me. The strong smell of mac and cheese hit me as soon as we stepped through the door. Mmm. I loved mac and cheese.

The living room was the first room we stepped into, with peach walls and tan carpet. A floral print couch sat up against the right wall and a small tv sat across from it on an equally small stand. The kitchen was just passed that, and a hallway went to the left, to what I'm assuming was the rest of the small house.

Ryan sat on the couch, playing with some sort of contraption of a toy, but shot up and ran toward us when he saw Tyson.

"Ty!" I smiled as he barreled into Tyson's legs, nearly taking him down.

"Tyson? Is that you?" A feminine voice came from the kitchen. Tyson patted Ryan's head as he responded.

"Yea, ma!" Not five seconds later, a woman poked her head around the corner of the wall.

"Hey, baby—" She cut off abruptly when her eyes fell on me. I sent her an awkward smile. She recovered quickly, shaking herself out of it as she wiped her hands on a small hand towel. She smiled politely at me as her eyes darted to Tyson, conveying a message I couldn't decipher. "Who might you be, darling?"

"This is Harley, ma. I told you she was coming for dinner." He responded; his attention focused on roughing around with Ryan, so he missed the look she sent him.

"You most certainly did not." She huffed quickly, then turned her attention back to me. "It's wonderful to meet you, dear. I'm Naomi, Tyson's mother." I sent her another small smile and a quiet hello. "Come on, then, dinner's just about done." As the three of us began to make our way into the kitchen, Naomi leaned toward the hallway and shouted; "Food!"

We took our seats at the small metal table, metal chairs surrounding it. They were covered in cracking pastel plastic that I knew my legs were going to be glued to. I immediately regretted wearing these shorts as soon as I saw them. As we settled in, Nick and Becca came around the corner, slumping into their chairs. Becca smiled at me and waved.

"Hey." I smiled back at her. Naomi came over, settling a giant bowl of mac and cheese on the table and heading back to the stove, coming back shortly after with a platter of baked chicken nuggets. She looked at me, flustered and slightly embarrassed.