Jenna & Tommy: Biker Gang

Chapter 1

            I open my eyes when the light from the hallway spills into the bedroom. I sit up slowly, being careful not to disturb the little girl sleeping next to me. I had been babysitting Claire tonight while Tommy was at meetings with some of the other gang members. She always got fussy at bedtime if he wasn't home, so the compromise was that she got to sleep in his bed. I normally don't fall asleep with her, but I guess the workday caught up to me.

Tommy steps into his room and shuts the door halfway to keep the light from waking up Claire. He smiles at me and I give him a sleepy one back. He glances at his little girl and smiles, "I take it there were protests tonight?"

I brush a piece of hair from Claire's face, "Not too many. I was tired after work, so it didn't take to long to wear me down. She'll be happy to wake up to her daddy in the morning." I move to the edge of the bed as carefully as I can without waking her up. Tommy shrugs off his jacket and goes to hang it up. I watch him for a minute before focusing on getting my boots back on. Tommy was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Add the blue eyes on top of that and he could have been in the movies. It doesn't make it easier to not have feelings for him. So far I've been okay with shoving them down into the darkest part of my brain and pretending they aren't there.

Tommy has been my best friend since I joined his bike gang five years ago. We got close, but nothing ever happened since Natalie was in the picture and pregnant with Claire. Everyone thought they would get married after the baby came. Instead, Natalie went nuts and disappeared. Nobody has seen or heard from her since. People tease me now that Tommy will ask me to be his girlfriend any day now, but I know that will never happen. Sure, we tease each other and every now and then share a flirty moment. But at the end of the day his heart only belongs to one girl and that would be his daughter.

He turns back to me and motions to the door. I follow him out of the room and into the hallway. I blink hard against the light as I lean against the wall. He shuts the door before mirroring me. He sighs and rubs his face with one of his hands. The meetings must have been rough tonight. "Remind me why I decided to be the leader of a biker gang?" he asks.

I shrug, "Beats me. Although you did use to like it before it turned into running a business. Before it was just about hanging out with friends and riding motorcycles, but then someone had to go and start a turf war..."

He rolls his eyes, "That wasn't me and you know it. I'm in meetings almost every night trying to end it. Nobody wants to agree though. As soon as I get my people to agree on terms their people don't like it and it's back to square one. I swear there's no winning with them." He yawns and quickly covers his mouth, "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Is the guest room open?" I ask.

He smirks, "You know it's always open for you."

I roll my eyes at him. I swear the later it gets the flirtier he becomes. "Yeah, I'll stay. But you're in charge of the pancakes I promised Claire for breakfast tomorrow." He raises an eyebrow at me. I raise my hands in the air defensively, "Don't blame me. It was either pancakes or a five-year-old who didn't get enough sleep. I think we all know which option was the better one."

He laughs and shakes his head, "I think I can handle breakfast. It's the least I can do since you won't let me pay you for babysitting."

I shrug my shoulders, "It's no problem. I like spending time with her. You know I love little kids."

He nods, "You probably would have been a mom by now if Matt hadn't left."

I let out an awkward laugh. Tommy didn't know the real reason Matt and I broke up. We told everyone he got a job offer in a different state and I didn't want a long-distance relationship. I haven't dated or hooked up with anyone since, so everyone assumed I was still heartbroken over it.

I straighten up and stretch my arms over my head, "Yeah, I probably would be. I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day."

Tommy shoves his hands in his pockets, "I guess I can't convince you to have a drink with me then. We can catch up like old times."

I hesitate before shaking my head, "Not tonight. Things are really busy at the shop right now. I need my sleep if I'm going in tomorrow. Besides, Claire will be upset if she wakes up alone. We can hang out another time."

He nods, "You're right. I'll see you in the morning. You're staying for breakfast, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not missing pancake day. It's the best day of the week." I smile at him before walking down the hall to the guest room. I glance back at him before opening the door, "Goodnight Tommy."

"Goodnight Jenna." I watch him head back into his room before going into mine and shutting the door. I sit on the edge of the bed letting my mind process what just happened. He was weird tonight, weirder than normal. The conversation keeps playing in my head as I get ready for bed.

'You probably would have been a mom by now..." If only he knew how much I wanted that. I would give up everything to be a mom. Hopefully a better one than my own. I wipe the tear that had escaped off my face before turning out the lights. I check the time and see it's one o'clock in the morning. I pull the covers tight and close my eyes. Sleep. I just needed to sleep. By the time I wake up in the morning everything will be back to normal.