The Boy Next Door.

44. True Love

Jared:

When I see Tessa walking away with Cassy, I know what's coming. In hindsight, I should maybe have given Cassy a clue as to what's coming, but I was scared of chasing her off.

About three weeks after I've asked her to go out with me, I had a talk with Gary, our club president. He's like a second father to me. I've been toying with the idea of asking the club to accept Cassy as my Old Lady. The married women in the club automatically get their Old Lady cuts. A single guy can, however, apply for his girlfriend to get an Old Lady cut, only if he is serious about the relationship and sees a future with her. It's like the club's version of an engagement, except you give her a cut instead of an engagement ring.

Someone as independent as Cassy might not like being called someone's Old Lady, but the term means a lot of different things to a lot of different clubs. I know people think Old Ladies are a bikers's property and in a lot of clubs that's true in a negative kind of way for the women, but that's not the case with Megapower.

We're a family oriented club with predominantly Christian values, and because of that, our women are treated with the utmost respect. We protect our women. We don't dominate them.

I know I'm still very young, but I have never felt about anybody the way I feel about Cassy. Before the fiasco with Melissa, I've always considered myself a one woman man. Unfaithfulness in a relationship has always been a deal breaker for me. That's why the thing with Melissa hit me so hard.

But Cassy is different. I can actually see myself married to her one day. I've known her for just over a month, and it scares me to death that I'm already thinking long-term. I just needed to talk to someone about it.

Gary is always telling us how he knew within a week that Tessa was the one for him. I wanted to know how he knew. He, in return, wanted to know what about Cassy is different.

He told me to go think about it and then come and present my case to the officers. After I thought long and hard about it, I presented my case a week ago. I had to write a statement on why I thought she should get an Old Lady cut.

My statement read as follows:

When I first saw Cassy, everything inside me wanted to push her away. I think my subconscious already knew she was going to have a profound effect on me. Physically, I was attracted to her, like no other girl. I wanted her, but only physically. I didn't want to get emotionally involved with her.

But she changed that without me even realizing. We went on a school camping weekend, and by the end of that weekend, I had a full-on panic attack when I realized one morning that I was playing house with her. It was so bad that I got on my bike and took to the road. I ended up in Barrydale of all places, not sure how I got there. That's how much she messed with my head.

I came to the conclusion that somehow she managed to get under my skin without me even realizing it. To protect myself, I decided that we should only be friends, but that didn't work out. I found myself looking for her everywhere I went. I know I hurt her by withdrawing and when I tried to talk to her about it, she said something in anger that hurt like a bitch.

Then to make things worse this guy started hanging out with her. Suddenly there was a real possibility that I could lose her. No matter what I told myself, I just couldn't get her out of my mind. I wanted her, but I was too scared to commit to her. I thought not committing would protect me from getting hurt again. Then my mum said something that put everything into perspective for me.

So I took the plunge and asked her to go out with me. That was almost a month ago. In the month that has gone by, we've spent every minute we could together.

I have never been with someone that is so easy to be with. When I'm with her it feels like I've come home. We laught together, play together. We do everything together and it just works. We respect each other. We can talk about anything and when we don't agree, we can agree to disagree.

She shares my love of bikes with me. Since the first time she rode with me, we moved as one. It just felt right to have her behind me. She knows the models and makes of bikes. She talks shop with me just as well as Neil and Justin. She can even help fix my bike if needed, and the best part is that she likes it.

She challenges me. Intellectually, but also in other ways. She has her own mind, and even though it can sometimes drive me crazy, I wouldn't want her any other way. It's what makes life with her so exciting. I never know what to expect. I'm never bored with her because she constantly surprises me.

When I'm down, just her presence makes me feel better. She's my calm in the storm. Even though this is difficult for me, I'm learning that I can be vulnerable with her. That I can trust her with my emotions and my thoughts. I'm no longer concerned about what I want, but more about what she wants and needs.

Sexually she's everything I've ever wanted in a girl and more, but I've managed to keep my hands to myself because of her innocence. It almost killed me, but it was more important to me that she never felt pressured, a sentiment I never cared about in the past.

We've talked about what we want from our futures, and we talk the same language. I just can't see my future without her in it anymore.

I know I'm still young and I've only known her for a short time, but I also know that I love her more than I thought possible and that all I want is to have her be part of my life.

I want her to wear an Old Lady cut because I want the world to know we belong to each other.

Afterwards, Gary came to me and said, "That's how I knew. If your girl agrees to the rules of the club and she's prepared to commit to the club, I see no reason why we can't officially make her an Old Lady. I'll ask Tessa to go through everything with her."

Now I'm standing here with my eyes glued to the entrance of the clubhouse, hoping that Cassy won't be running the moment she comes out.