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"Nope. Hold up." The directive comes hollered from my right.
I glance past Maddie as she turns, both of us staring at her uncle with a mix of frustration and confusion. Perhaps a dash of arousal.Fuck. Kitted out in dark-wash denim and a form-fitting black T-shirt, there’s no denying the powerhouse that lies cloaked beneath the attire.
There’s also no denying why I chose to remain in my room last night when sleep continued to be an elusive bitch.
"What? You can do better?” Mads slams both hands on her hips, seemingly annoyed at having him question her teaching technique.
I'm thankful for a possible escape from this torture, even if it is delivered by the source of my torment.
"The bars need adjusting." Digger strides past her, gaze fixed on the brushed black metal between my clammy fists. "See how she's holdin' it? The reach is too far. When she turns, she loses any dexterity in that far elbow."
The bike refuses to settle back into neutral, my teeth gritting tighter with each pointless flick of my toe up and down. "Fuck's sake."
Digger reaches over my arm to tap a button near the grip. The bike jolts as the engine cuts out. "Go have a rest in the shade." He jerks his chin toward where Harvey sits, now engrossed in his phone. "This'll take me a few minutes before I need you."
...before I need you.My starved ego grasps the words, crying at the fact he's the first person in my life to utter the phrase I've longed to hear.He doesn’t mean it.I shove that trauma back in the darkest corner of my heart and storm past Maddie with a huff to take a seat, grappling at the God-darned helmet the whole way.
“You want a hand there?” Harvey lifts his head when I drop to the seat beside him, amusement in his shark-like eyes.
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
Maddie arrives, reaching to help, yet I jerk back and manage to get the lid off myself.
"You know," I say with what I hope is enough jest to cover my simmering rage. “This would be so much easier if I were to teach you how to drive a car."
"Oh, I know how," she states, moving to the bench opposite us with a chuckle. "I choose not to."
"Why the fuck?" The helmet hits the table behind me harder than I intended.
"They're fucking traps, Rae. I feel as though I'm cornered in a goddamn car crusher every time I'm forced in the truck." She nods toward a beaten-up Ford in the far corner of the yard that's clearly seen better days given the state of its paintwork.
"Aren't you statistically more likely to have an accident on a motorbike?"
"Statistics are bullshit." Harvey adjusts his position, legs slung arrogantly wide, elbows on the table edge. “It’s all relative to how you stack the numbers. Maybe by mode of transport, you're more likely. But that’s purely percentages over a smaller sample. By users on the road, it's all the same, isn't it?"
I guess that's one way of looking at it.
Digger emerges from the garage with a couple of tools in his hand and heads for the bike. "Why did he make me stall it?"
"Because far too many of these fuckers have broken a foot lever by getting pissed off enough to stomp it too hard." Maddie leans forward to watch him work with a sigh. "He was saving himself a job, and you the shame of busting a bike that's not yours."
"Does he do all the work on the bikes?"
"Nope. But he can't help himself. Always tinkering with something." She rests her chin in the palm of one hand.
I lean back and fan the hem of my shirt to get some air moving across my skin. For a fall day, it's unusually hot—and humid as hell, no thanks to the earlier rain shower. The fabric still sticks to my sweaty middle with each wave, so I slouch further down the seat, resting my head on the table to level out my body. Eyes closed, I groan a little at the relief.
"I'm ready for you."
My ass damn near slips off the seat in my haste to sit straight. "Sure."
Digger stands to the side; wrench gripped tight in one fist as he shifts his gaze from my stomach and thighs back to my face. "Have a seat and see how it feels."
My gaze skips past his crotch, conveniently at eye level.Trust me, buddy, if my best friend and her brother weren’t here right now, I would...A giggle slips through my lips, and I do my best to disguise thefaux pasby faking a cough.
Maddie lifts an eyebrow. I glare in return. She smirks.
Digger shadows me to the Harley, standing idle with arms folded over his chest while I mount the bike and pull it upright. Hands on the bars, I feel the immediate relief in my elbows; the whole position just so much... better. "How did you do that?"
