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shoulders so broad she wondered that he didn t have to turn sideways to walk through
doorways.
Stepping into the garage she glanced around. Shelves lined one wall, a workbench
and a roll-around toolbox ran the length of another wall and a pegboard over it held a
lot of tools everything in its place. Three barstools with the image of a skull on the
vinyl seat sat in front of the workbench. Two motorcycles sat in one bay of the two-car
garage, a dirt bike and a street bike. A punching bag hung from the ceiling in the other
bay.
 I bought you a helmet, he said as he walked to the workbench.  I got you a small.
I m hoping you don t wear an extra-small. He opened a box and pulled out the helmet.
She padded to him, the concrete cool under her feet, and took the helmet. It was
pink, but it was far from girly.
 This is really cool. But you didn t have to buy me a helmet 
 Yes I did. You can t ride without one. Here. He took it from her and opened the
straps.  Try it on to see if it fits. He pulled it down over her head and flipped up the
clear visor. Wiggling it, he nodded and said,  Yeah. Looks like it fits good.
 It s pretty tight.
 It s supposed to be.
She pulled it off and shoved her hair from her face and traced the pattern on the
helmet.  It s pretty cool looking. What s it supposed to be?
 Torn skin revealing the muscle and bone.
She jerked her gaze back up to him. He was half-grinning at her and she couldn t
help but smile back.
 Sorry. But at least it s pink, he said, followed by a light laugh.
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Ashlynn Pearce
 Oh, I wish I could have seen that. The mean and bad Jake buying a pink helmet.
 Don t worry. They knew it wasn t for me. He winked at her.
After changing their clothes and grabbing a bite to eat, they were on the bike and
riding. The only thing she had ridden was a scooter and she didn t think he would
qualify it as a motorcycle. Especially when she realized the speedometer on Jake s bike
read 220 mph. And when she asked if he had ever driven it that fast, he only grinned.
After her initial fear, she relaxed. The ride was exhilarating. Freeing. The sound of
the bike, the feel of his abs tightening every time he shifted gears gave her a thrill. She
loved how when they passed another bike they waved. Or at least a biker version of the
wave. Mainly just a hand barely lifted in silent communication. It was like bikers had
their own community, something she d never noticed before.
When they pulled up to Magoos, the parking lot was crammed. He backed up next
to another bike similar to his near the front. Some girls walked by them, smiled and
said,  Hi, Jake.
She noticed he barely even looked at them and said a simple,  Hey. For all he
knew he could have been talking to aliens.
 Here, let me take your helmet. I ll attach them to the bike, he said.
 Thanks. I wondered what we would do with them. Won t someone steal them?
she asked.
He snorted.  No one is stupid enough to mess with our bikes. By the way, he said
and pointed to the blue one.  That s Tony s. He grabbed her hand, which made her
smile and led her into the place. She loved the feel of his large hand encompassing hers.
The music was loud and the interior huge. Rows of pool tables lined the place and
in back she thought she saw a dance floor and stage. Several people said hi to him, but
he just nodded and said his usual  hey and kept moving. After he ordered them beers
at the bar, he turned and spoke in her ear.  Tony is probably over there.
She nodded and they wound their way to the other side. Tony wasn t hard to spot
as they got closer he was taller than most anyone there and laughed the loudest.
 Hey, ya ll made it! Tony said and shook Jake s hand. She was shocked when he
wrapped her up in a bear hug.
 Yeah, we parked by that piece-of-shit blue bike sitting out there. Someone should
have it hauled off, Jake said with a smirk.
 That means so much coming from a Ford freak, Tony shot back.
She felt almost out of place, standing in between these two huge guys. People
laughed at their joking but they stared at her. Jake s hand reached up and cupped the
back of her neck and squeezed lightly. She glanced up at him and he started pointing to
people.
 That s Aaron, his girl Krista, Mike, Travis, his girl Sam, Kevin and Mack, Jake
said.  This is Becca.
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They all smiled and said some sort of greeting but most couldn t hide their obvious
surprise, although she had no idea why. When Jake left to go to the restroom, Tony
leaned down to her.
 Jake doesn t date. At least not in a normal sense. So don t mind the weird looks.
They ll get used to it.
Confused, she was about to ask him what he meant when Tony walked away to
rack balls on a pool table. She followed him and leaned her hip against the table.
 What do you mean, he doesn t date? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]