Hell For Leather

~ Parents ~

Buckle up buttercups.... let's do this!

Evie's POV:

"Please? Just once and I won't ask again." I rolled my eyes at Gray's attempt at the puppy dog eyes. His brown eyes actually pleading with me to say yes. He'd been trying to get on the back of his bike for the past couple of days and I've adamantly refused to do it. "Those things are death traps on wheels Gray, there's no way you're getting me on the back of that bike."  I huff as inspiration struck. "Remember what happened when Garrett Johnson wrecked on his bike and wound up in a coma for two months? That could be us if we get on the back of that thing." He narrowed his eyes on me as if he was trying to remember who I was talking about before snorting with derisiveness only Gray could pull off. "Garrett was an idiotic adrenaline junkie with a major drinking problem." He squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest a bit as if proud of what he said next. "I'm no reckless like he was and damned sure not when I haves someone on the back of my bike with me." I lift an eyebrow at his words and folded my arms over my chest giving him an unimpressed look. "Proud of that are you? And just how many women have there been on the back hmm?" Gray's eyes widened in surprise at my question.

"Why does that matter to you?" I fought the urge to throw up my hands at him. He may have been smart as a whip but he could be so incredibly obtuse about some things. Typical male behavior. "Because I'm not going to be a biker groupie... what are they called? Club whores?" I saw his mouth go slack at my tirade and a red flush creep up his neck to his ears and growls at me. "While there are women who like to hang around the MC, they have never ridden on my bike. I've had a couple girlfriends over the years but they really didn't ride either." I'd obviously struck a nerve when I said that and I sighed. "Just one time?" The angry flush slowly disappeared as Gray nodded a smirk stretching the corner of his mouth up. The dimple winked in his cheek and I sighed with defeat. "Fine you can take me tonight for dinner at my parents tonight." He grinned but I held up a finger. "I expect you to show me that you mean it and not bragging, Gray. Not to mention Dad's going to have a thing or two say about it." He arched a brow at me and teasingly tapped me on the nose.

I snap my teeth at his hand causing him to withdraw it but not quick enough as they grazed the pad of his finger. "Still the biter I see." His tone was still teasing as he dropped his  hand to the side and wandered down the hall towards the guest room. "And you're still a pain in the ass!" I called  after him his only reply was a chuckle. "Better get ready if we're going to make it to your parents' for supper. I don't know about you but I'm starving." I rolled my eyes at his back and pushed my glasses up my nose and glanced at the time. We had just enough time to change and get there before mom served supper. As I passed the guest bedroom I called out to her. "Make sure you wear jeans and shoes that protect your feet, trust me you don't want to burn yourself." I'd learned that lesson after I'd gotten my first bike, I still had the scar on the inside of my leg from where I burned myself on the muffler. Making it to the guest room I pull out a buttoned down black shirt, a fresh pair of jeans, and slipped on my boots. By the time I finished rolling up my sleeves and making my way out to the living room Evie was waiting on me.

She looked apprehensively at me for a minute then out the window where my bike was parked. "I'm sorry if I got pushy with you, Eve, I just wanted to show you that not all those who ride are reckless jackasses. You're safe with me but if you prefer not to ride then we can take your car." I honestly felt like an ass for pushing her into something that she wasn't comfortable with and I'm honestly mentally kicking myself for it. Evie's head snapped to me, her gaze running along the length of me before biting her lip for replying by shaking her head and squaring her shoulders. "No you were right, I shouldn't let what happened to Garrett rule my life. Let's do this." I beam at her and move towards her. Before I could think better of it I swooped down and picked her up in my arms and gave her a great big kiss on the mouth. Realizing what I'd done I started to pull away from her but Evie threw her arms around my neck and returned my kiss. There was a million reasons why this was a bad idea but the feel of her curvy body against me was more than I could bear. For what seemed like an eon we devoured one another as if we'd been starved for far too long. What saved me from doing something epically stupid was the sound of a cell phone going off in my pocket.