Page 65 of Seasons of Love
"Once a Kickstand, always a Kickstand, right? Although it's President Kickstand now."
He turned around to show me his club patch. The Lost Puppies.
"You're not with the club?" I asked.
"Nah, man, the club disbanded after the police got their hands on the president and found out he was involved in a load of illegal shit. Haven't seen any of them for years. Last I heard, half of them had died either from illness or less natural causes, if you know what I mean."
I shook my head. "I can't believe you're here."
"If I'm honest, me neither."
"Let me get us something to drink. You riding?" I asked.
"Yeah. If you have beer, I'll take one and a glass of water."
I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and went back to the living room where Kickstand was inspecting my bookshelf.
"Damn. I wanna make fun of you, but I did a stint in prison a few years back and started reading to pass the time. This A. Lawton guy is good."
I smiled. "That he is. So, tell me, Kick…I don't even know what your real name is."
"Travis."
"Travis, how did you find me?"
"I should be offended that you didn't recognize me, but then again you were with a guy that had the tightest ass I've ever seen, so I don't blame you for not noticing."
I ignored the way he spoke about Aiden and tried to think instead about where I’d been with Aiden that Travis would have been too.
"The roadside bar. Was that you…your club?"
"Yeah. I wanted to approach you then, but I didn't know what kind of life you have now, or who you're involved with, so I took your license plate and did some digging around to find you."
I laughed. "Haven't been involved with anything since I escaped that hellhole. I ride solo these days."
"Yeah, I gathered. Your shop looks great, by the way."
"Thanks. So tell me about your club. President? Who did you accidentally kill to become president of anything?"
He raised a brow and took a sip of his beer.
"Fuck you, Doc. No one was hurt in my quest to be president of The Lost Puppies."
I nearly spluttered my beer all over the couch.
"Okay, please call me Slade. Doc died a long time ago, and I'm an independent now, so there's no formality there. What I want to know is…Lost Puppies? Really?"
"I'll spare you my life story, but we're mainly a child support charity. We organize runs to raise money for kids that need help with medical care, education tools, and we run a Big Biker, Little Biker group for kids without a male role model."
I had no words. I always saw my past as something ugly, rotten, evil. Everyone and everything was bad. Even when I knew I'd met good people, such as my foster parents and my neighbor, they were linked to that time in my life and became mixed in with the darkness.
Maybe I wasn't the only one in the darkness. And maybe just like I'd found something good to hold on to, Ted and Mike, other guys had too.
"How did you get into the club?"
"I married into it."
"Congrats, man."
