Page 66 of Jerry's Passion (Insurgents MC Romance)
“You sure you’re good?”
Kylie leaned against him and nodded. The tightness of his arm around her brought her out of her daze. She looked up and smiled at him while gently pulling out of his hold. “Let’s get something to eat,” she said, wincing at his disappointed look.
When the hostess showed them to their table at Burgers & Beer Joint, they walked past Jerry, Throttle, Rock, Rags, and Hoss, who were seated nearby. Seeing Jerry made her heart race, but she kept her chin up high as she went by their table.
“Hey, Kylie,” Throttle said. “Who’s your friend?”
From the tone of his voice, she knew he was ribbing Jerry, and she took a perverse pleasure from it. She stopped by him. “Hey. My friend Ricky is visiting from Denver. We just saw a movie at the mall. What kind of burger did you order?” She felt Jerry’s eyes boring into her, but she didn’t glance at him once.
“Plain. I’m a simple guy.”
“Simple in the head,” Rock said, and the other two brothers guffawed.
“Fuck off.” Throttle looked at Ricky. “You having a good time with Kylie?”
Kylie bristled. She’d known Throttle longer than she knew Hawk, and he could be a real asshole. Taunting laced his voice, and she didn’t want Ricky to be the butt end of one of his stupid jokes. “He is. We gotta go. Later.” She tugged Ricky by the hand and they settled down at their table.
“Are those some of the guys in your dad’s club?” Ricky looked over her shoulder at them.
“Yeah. The Insurgents own this restaurant, and there’re always a few of them eating or drinking here.”
“Wasn’t one of the guys the one who I met at the spring festival?”
Her heart squeezed. “Uh-huh. What looks good to you on the menu?”
“I haven’t looked yet. Just so you know, he’s giving me some sort of death glare.” He laughed nervously.
“Ignore him. He’s a jerk.” The words came out harsher than she intended.
“It’s hard to do, since he hasn’t taken his eyes off our table since we sat down. When you were talking to the older dude, he kept staring at you. I noticed you dissed him. You two fighting?”
She shook her head. “We’re not doing anything. I didn’t come here to talk about him, okay?”
“Fair enough.” He opened the menu. “Tell me what you recommend.”
They laughed and talked for a couple hours, and Kylie forgot Jerry was seated just one table behind her. It wasn’t until Throttle yelled out, “Bye, Kylie,” that she remembered they were there.
She twisted around at the waist and waved at Throttle. Jerry tilted his chin to her, but she paid no attention to him. “See you, Throttle.” She turned back to Ricky and the dessert they were sharing.
When they arrived at her house, they were both pretty beat. “I had a real nice time,” Ricky said as they walked up the sidewalk under the moonlight. The heat of the day had been replaced by a cool breeze, and goose bumps carpeted Kylie’s bare arms. Taking out her key, she quietly opened the door.
“I need to talk with you.” Jerry’s deep voice startled them both. She spun around and saw him step out of the shadows from the green bushes, now looking almost black against the night’s sky.
“Go on,” she whispered to Ricky, who walked into the house. She closed the door and ambled down the brick sidewalk to the shadows where Jerry stood. Her heartbeat thumped against her bones, and she was sure he could hear each strike.
“Why’d you ignore me at the restaurant?”
She rubbed her chilled arms and shook her head. “You are too much. I gotta get back in.”
He reached out and gripped her hand, her flesh tingling from the shock of his touch. “How’ve you been?” His breath fanned out over her face, warming her.
“Fine.”
“That’s good. How long’s Ricky staying?”
She gave a half-shrug. “Not sure. We’re having a good time, so maybe another week.” She knew perfectly well Ricky was leaving the following morning. Even though he wanted to stay, he had to return to work.
“Don’t do anything stupid with him.”
