BANE: A Devils' Due MC Romance Novel (9 page)

“‘Ya said you were born in ’98?” he asked, perplexed.

“Yes.”

“That makes ‘ya... seventeen?  Eighteen?”

“Eighteen.”

“Oh... alright,” he remarked in a manner that was kind of weird, as if he didn’t expect me to be that young...
or that old
.  He stopped dead on his tracks for a while, nuzzling the knob repeatedly, before finally leaving the room.

As soon as he closed the door, I began to wonder... what caused him to be all worked up like that when I told him my age?

He was nice, though.  Rough, rugged, insensitive at times, but nice.  At least, nicer than the rest of the people in this clubhouse.

I grabbed the extra pillow and hugged it.  I turned to my side and prepared to go back to sleep.  But slumber escaped me.

I stayed awake until it was time to go to school... with a smile that never left my face... still amused by the sight of a large, hefty man losing his poise for a fleeting moment.

The bell rang to signal the end of school.  My classmates cheered as they rushed out of the classroom.  I went with them, losing myself in the torrent of humanity that cascaded into the hallway, relishing the thought that I was actually with people who didn’t hate or who didn’t want me dead.

Then, a hand held my arm and pulled me to the side.

It was Justin.

“Hey, Lana!” he greeted me as I was still trying to calm my nerves.  I didn’t know it was him.  I almost whacked his face with my bag.  “Sorry... did I alarm you?” he added when he noticed how taut my expression was.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting being snatched into a corner like that,” I told him.  “I could’ve hit you.”

He chuckled.

“I’ll remember that.  I promise to be less... furtive... next time,” he said.

“What’s the urgency?” I asked him. 

“Oh, nothing,” he answered rather apprehensively.  “I was just wondering... if... well... would you like to have coffee with me?”

“C-Coffee?” I repeated.  His question was just as surprising as being yanked away from the throng of students I was with earlier.

“Yeah. 
Beans & Bagels
is just around the block.  We can have some blueberry cupcakes too, if you like.”

I wanted to say no.  There were a lot of things in my mind and I preferred to be alone to sort them out.  I was also adjusting to the new life that I was constrained to live, and I had to think about how I could make it work.

But his invitation... it was a chance to be away from it all, even if it would just be a short while.  It was something that would allow me to escape from the sad reality I was trapped in... something that would make me feel a semblance of normalcy... something that I might even get to enjoy.

Maybe... maybe I deserved that.  After more than a week of torment, maybe my sufferings warranted an hour or two of joy.

“Okay,” I replied, and immediately, he flashed a wide grin to show how much that made him happy.

At the coffee shop, he ordered a cappuccino grande.  I ordered an expresso.  We talked about so many things - his family, his sister who’s studying at Penn State, his plans after high school, the career he wants to pursue, his dreams for himself - and I was so engrossed with everything he shared that I didn’t notice how cold my coffee has become.

It was all about him, though, and it wasn’t because he was egocentric.  He wasn’t.  He kept asking me questions about myself... but I just replied with shrugs and silence.  I was never really comfortable sharing stuff about my life.  Growing up with a biker for a dad makes one a bit reclusive, I guessed.  Most of the things I was familiar with were about my father’s club and the lifestyle he always boasted of... and those subjects weren’t really meant to be discussed with ordinary people.

“Come on, tell me about your family,” he delivered the inevitable question in every
get-to-know-you
soiree.

“Erm...” was all I could mumble. 

“It must’ve been amazing growing up in Willowville,” he added.  “I’ve been there a few summers ago.  That place is beautiful!  I love the lakeside view!  You and your dad did some fishing there?”

“Uhm...” I did accompany my father there once.  He threw a gun, wrapped in aluminum foil, in the water. 
No evidence no crime
, I remembered him saying. 

“Your neighborhood’s so homey,” he continued.  “I’m sure you get none of those gangs and those corrupt cops and those biker dudes loitering in your area, huh?”

“Hmmmm....”  What was I supposed to say?  That I lived with one?

“Anyway, what’re your plans after we graduate?” he changed the topic, thankfully.

“My plans?”

“Yeah.  Have you submitted your application to any university?”

“Just one.”

“Where?”

“UCLA.”

“Whoa!  That’s like... a really good school!  And so far from here!”

Which is exactly why it’s the only one I ever considered.  But I wasn’t planning on telling him that.  I didn’t want more questions about the matter.

“I just wish I’d get accepted,” I uttered instead.

“I’m sure you will,” he replied confidently.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well... you’ve always been a super diligent student, Lana.  And you’re marvelously smart too!”

“I’m not!” I said firmly.  I never thought of myself as
smart
.  I took my studies seriously, yes, but smart?  Nah, I never was smart.

“And humble too!” he retorted.  “You’re smart, Lana.  You’re like... the smartest girl in class... in every class we’ve been together since middle school, actually.”

“Justin, stop it!  I’m not smart!”

“But you are, Lana,” he insisted.  “Remember when you corrected Mr. Reynolds in our Language Arts class?  About that Hamlet thing...”

“Macbeth,” I corrected him.  “He quoted that
tomorrow and tomorrow
line and mistakenly said it was from Othello.”

“Yeah, that one!  Boy, was he flushed after that!  He didn’t come to class for a week and we had to settle for that really weird substitute!”

“Mr. Reynolds just mixed things up.  That happens to the best of us...”

“See?  There you go!  The best of
us
. 
Us
... meaning him and you!  You’re at that level, Lana.  You’re that smart!  And pretty too!”

“I told you, I’m not sma-”

I wasn’t able to finish my sentence.  Did he just say that I was
pretty?
  Oh my God.  My stomach was beginning to twirl and my knees were starting to weaken.  Was I blushing?  Oh please, Lord... don’t make me blush... not now... not in front of him...

He was looking at me, with a smile as bright as the moon in a starless night.  He was expecting me to speak something - anything - to acknowledge what he said. 
That I was pretty.
  He wanted to know how I would react, so that he’d know what he’ll say next.

But what kind of reaction could I give?

It was then when I heard it.

A thunderous roar I was familiar with.  The sight of people looking behind them and scurrying to the side of the road as they saw what was coming.  A lone rider on his iron horse, racing from one end of the street to the other.  He was wearing a black vest, proudly displaying the colors of a group I grew up with, of a group I was living with, of a group that despised me more than anything else.

Long black hair swept back with his Oakley sunglasses, eyes as intense as the flames of hell, a body as big as a mountain and as sturdy as a rock... it was him.

He passed by the coffee shop with blistering speed.

But before he could disappear from my eyes, he turned his head to look towards my direction.

And he saw me.

His bike screeched, producing a blaring sound that could’ve pierced a lot of ears.  He dropped his foot on the pavement and spun his chopper around.  The engine rumbled once more as he rode towards us... towards me.

He parked just outside Beans & Bagels.  The people near him scuttled away as he proceeded briskly to where we were.

“Who the fuck is this?” he asked as soon as he arrived at our table.

Justin was shocked to see him.  Intimidated, even.  There stood Bane, a giant of a man, hovering over my company like a volcano ready to explode.

“Good afternoon, Sir,” Justin immediately greeted the
Devil
.  He stood up and offered his hand.  “I’m Justi-”

Bane didn’t allow him to finish.  He placed his massive hand over Justin’s shoulder and pushed him back down to his chair.

“Shut up, boy!” he screamed at him.  “I’m not talkin’ to ‘ya.”

“He’s my classmate!” I interjected, hoping that it was enough explanation to make him calm down... though I didn’t even know why he was enraged to begin with.

Bane looked at him with the most spiteful glower I’ve ever seen.  Then he turned to face me.  He was expecting me to retreat back to the farthest end of my seat, to gulp, to cower, to show fear.

I didn’t.

I returned his angry gaze with my own.  I wanted him to know that his intrusion wasn’t appreciated at all.

He clicked his tongue and stiffly bobbled his head.

Then he left.  He went back to his bike and rode off... but not before giving us one final stare.

“W-What was that?” Justin skittishly asked as soon as he was gone.

“A...
family friend,”
I simply said.  My eyes followed the bike until it completely disappeared on the horizon.

Justin started to talk with restive animation, but I couldn’t really understand the things he was saying.  My mind was elsewhere.

My mind was with him.

Why did he act like that?

He was like an overly protective father who couldn’t trust anyone who was near his daughter?

No.

No... he wasn’t like a father at all..

He was more like a possessive boyfriend...