Page 26 of Animal's Reformation
“No. I have to finish up a report before I head home. Later.” Olivia pushed away from the wall and scampered down the hall toward her classroom.
* * *
Olivia sat cross-leggedon a chair, wrapped in her favorite fuzzy green nightshirt. Strewn across the coffee table laid empty Chinese food cartons. She picked up her glass of wine and leaned back against the soft cushion.
“I’m so stuffed,” she said before taking a sip.
“Me too, but then I’ll be starved in about an hour. It’s always like that with me and Chinese food,” Alice said.
“It was so good,” Harper said. “And just what I needed after that disastrous date last night.”
Olivia shook her head. “I still can’t believe what an asshole that guy was. What kind of a guy talks about ways he could get his ex-girlfriend back? And this was your first date.”
Harper sat up straighter on the couch. “I know! And … to add insult to injury, the idiot wanted me to help him come up with ideas on how to win her back.” She groaned and sank back into the cushion. “Why can’t I find a normal guy?”
“Where did you meet this jerk?” Alice asked as she broke open her fortune cookie.
“Online. I’m definitely done with that dating site. I’m thinking of checking out another one. Kennedy keeps talking aboutDiscreet Passion. I’ve stayed away from it based on the name alone, but I may check it out. She says it’s for hookups, one-nighters, but also for people looking for relationships and even marriage. At this point, what do I have to lose?”
“Your life,” Olivia said.
“I’m with her on this one,” Alice added.
“I’m real careful when I meet a guy. I always go to public places for a while, I never give them my address, and I do background checks to make sure they aren’t on parole or have anything creepy out there. Too bad there aren’t ways to check out if a guy’s a jerk before you waste your time on him.”
The women laughed, and Olivia pushed the second bottle of wine toward Harper. “As long as you’re careful then I guess it’s okay. I’m gonna go on one of those sites as research for a paper in my psych class.”
Alice giggled. “That’s a new one, Olivia. Come on, you’re with friends. You can tell us if you’re getting back out there.”
“I’m not, and I’d totally tell you if I were. This really is for my psychology class that I’m taking online. Just one more semester and I’ll have my degree. I can’t wait.”
“You’d make a great teacher. I think you should do that instead of being a school counselor,” Harper said as she filled her wineglass.
“I love teaching, but I’m drawn to guiding and working with troubled kids,” Olivia replied. “Anyway, I’m thinking of setting up a fake profile onDiscreet Passionbecause it isn’t just the run-of-the-mill dating site.”
All of a sudden a deafening roar rattled the windows and sliced through the night air.
“What the hell?” Harper said jumping off the couch.
“It’s a bike,” Olivia said, rising up from the chair.
“A bike? Impossible,” said Alice as she followed Harper to the window.
“A motorcycle—not a regular bike.” Olivia pulled the sheet away from the window and peered out.
Sure enough, chrome gleamed under the soft streetlights, and a big-ass Harley swung onto the driveway of Animal and Lucy’s house. The biker killed the engine and quietness descended once again over the cul-de-sac. Olivia watched as the man walked up the sidewalk, then sucked in a small breath when she saw Animal walk out on the porch. He bumped fists with the man, talked for a few seconds, then the biker went into the house. Before following the visitor, Animal turned around and stared right at her. Olivia’s heart pounded and she tried to move away, but she couldn’t. Instead, she stood transfixed, her gaze locked with his until Harper and Alice’s voice broke the hold. She slowly let the sheet slip from her fingers, shutting out the outside world.
“He’s a biker,” she muttered under her breath. Suddenly it all made sense: his road name, the odd familiarity, the danger he exuded, the swagger—oh, the damn biker swagger—and the attitude.
“That was one loud-as-hell motorcycle,” Alice said as she grabbed the bottle of wine and settled back down on the couch.
“I wonder what makes them so noisy. My uncle had one when I was a kid, but it didn’t sound like that at all.”
Still standing at the window, Olivia slowly turned around. “Illegal aftermarket pipes. Bikers replace the industry exhaust pipes with the aftermarket ones. They say the noise keeps them safe, but a lot of them just like the sound. It’s like holding up the middle finger to the establishment.” She shuffled over to the kitchen and took out another bottle of white wine from the refrigerator, ignoring the surprised expressions on her friends’ faces.
“How in the hell do you know all that?” Harper asked.
“My brother and dad rode bikes. I guess I just learned it along the way.” Olivia refilled all their glasses with Chardonnay.
