Valkyrie

Chapter 5

Trey was leaning on a beautiful custom Harley Street Glide parked next to my bike, arms crossed over his chest, long legs crossed at the ankles while he stared down at his phone. Like my Hayabusa, the paint was matte black but unlike mine, it had a lot of shiny chrome on it. A total attention grabber much like the man that was leaning against it like he had all the time in the world to lurk around in dark alleys in the middle of the night. Despite all of that flashy crap, it was a damn sexy bike. Low slung and stretched out by the swooping lines of the bags hanging off its rear end. Totally custom. It perfectly fit the good doctor's tall frame and it probably cost a pretty penny.

"It should be illegal to be that sexy," I said under my breath as I went to my bike.

"What?" he asked as he stood up straight and tucked the phone away. A blush warmed my cheeks and I was thankful for the burnt-out lights in the alley so he couldn't see it.

"Sorry. Just talking to myself." I set my helmet and my backpack on the seat before I pushed my arms into the sleeves of my leather jacket. It was a little cooler than it had been the night before but it was still a bit warm. "I'm ready if you are."

"Good because I'm starved." He smiled, one lovely dimple peeking out. I smiled back despite my efforts not to.

I pulled on my backpack and my helmet as Trey swung one of his long legs over his bike, pulling on a leather jacket similar to mine that had been lying across the seat. He snagged the helmet hanging from his handlebars and pulled it on, buckling it under his chin and flipping the visor down. I started up my 'Busa and he started his Harley. The booming growl of it echoed off the brick walls around us, completely drowning out the sound of my bike as I pulled out of the alley and headed east, Trey right on my ass.

I flicked through the gears and he stayed right with me. I wasn't going all out, balls to the wall, but I wasn't taking it easy on him either. I could have lost him if I'd wanted to. His pretty bike was no match for mine but his Harley kept up for the ten minutes or so it took to get to the diner. We pulled in side by side and parked in an empty spot close to the entrance. It was only about one so there were still a few other vehicles in the parking lot. The after-hours crowd fueling up on grease and salt to soak up some of the alcohol they'd consumed before they stumbled home and passed out.

He held the door for me as we went inside, the bells tinkling over our heads. I led him past a few tables of people to a booth in the back, tucked into a far corner. It was where I usually sat when I stopped in and wasn't in a hurry to go home to my empty trailer and the girls always saved it for me in case. I dumped my stuff on the bench seat and slid in while he did the same across from me. He pushed his fingers through his hair before he handed me a menu and took one for himself.

"Hey, Han. I'm glad to see you're okay." Melody, my favorite waitress and the diner's namesake, came over with a pot of coffee and two mugs. Her steel grey hair was pulled back into a bun on the top of her head, reading glasses perched on her nose. Her cheeks were rosy from the heat in the kitchen but her hazel eyes sparkled with mirth as she poured coffee in our mugs. Her eyes flicked over to Trey before she did a double take and stared. The red in her cheeks deepened when she got an eyeful of the sexy, tousled vision of a man sitting across from me, one heavily muscled, tattooed arm perched along the back of the seat while he looked at the menu. "Who's your friend?" she asked, voice a little breathy.

"This is Trey," I said. "Doc, this is Melody, the best damned waitress in the state." I liked Melody. She reminded me of my grandma with her sparkling eyes and her perpetual good mood. She was sweet but tough and didn't take shit from anyone no matter how big and bad they thought they were. I stopped in after work most nights and she was almost always there, happy to see me and I was happy to see her. She was a spot of brightness in my life.