Biker Class (36 page)

She gave him a look saying that she was being cautious this time, but
he didn't pull anything. Her mouth closed around the food and he slid the fork
from her mouth. After chewing thoughtfully, she nodded in approval.

"Wow, that
is
really good," she grinned. "I'll
have to get that next time."

"So, there
will
be a next time?" he asked, eyes
hopeful. Melanie sighed and shook her head, smiling comfortingly.

"Of course," she said obviously. "Why wouldn't there
be?"

He shrugged, not making eye contact with her. "I'll behave next
time."

"It's fine," she laughed. "Come on, it's water under
the bridge. Let's forget about it, okay?"

He looked at her, appreciative. For the first time, Melanie seemed to
catch the glint in his eye that Rachel, and apparently everyone else, talked
about. She blushed under this stare, more reassured now than ever that letting
him now how she felt wasn't a mistake, after all.

Jake's bike rumbled to a slower pace as he began the turn to pull into
the Hart's long driveway. But Melanie's whisper in his ear stopped him.

"Stop the bike," she breathed, surprising him a little bit.
He wanted to ask why, but did as she instructed on the side of the road in
front of the gravel. As he cut off the motorcycle, he was about to ask Melanie
what was up, but she had climbed off already. He followed her action.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking up to her with hands in
pockets.

"Nothing," she smiled. "Nothing at all."

His eyes looked around in confusion, eyebrows pulling together.
"...Okay? Then, why did you ask me to pull over?"

Melanie took a deep breath and closed her eyes, exhaling deeply. She
slowly walked towards him and grabbed his wrists out of his pockets,
intertwining her hands with his. "I, um, I just wanted to tell you
something.
But not by my house.
My mom would probably
be watching..."

This caught his attention. What could she
be wanting
to tell him that she didn't want for her mom to hear?

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Uh..." she began hesitantly. "I don't really know how
to say this... but, um... these past few months have been really
great—"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Jake interrupted, a look of
complete incredulousness on his face.

"No! No no no!" she reassured him quickly. She mumbled the
next part. "Quite the opposite... actually..." She took a deep
breath, not sure of what to say. "These past months have been great. And
I've had so much fun with you. We've been through some bad stuff..." she
trailed off, thinking of the night of The Incident, "but it's all been
worth it. And in the end, I think it just made things stronger. That stupid
break that I thought would help was just... well...
stupid
, and I missed
having you around. I was so happy when you came by last night. And, um,
me and Rachel
were talking this morning. And she made me
realize something." Jake was still watching her as if he had no clue what
was going on. "And
..
. I guess what I just wanted
to get out in the open was, um... I
really, really
like you. Well...
more
than like you actually. Oh, God, I'm not making any sense," she shook her
head, laughing in the way she always did when she was nervous.

"Melanie." Just the way he said it made her shut up
instantly. Their eyes met. "You're really not." He smiled and they
laughed.

"What—what I mean is..." she sighed. "I, um... I
love you, Jake."

The smile faded from his face. His eyes grew wider. Melanie's smile
faded as well. Why wasn't he smiling?
Why wasn't he smiling
?

"What?" he asked, as if he hadn't of heard her.

Melanie repeated herself, her heart starting to sink. "I said
that... I love you." He still didn't smile. Jake was just staring at the
ground, mouth halfway open as if he was trying to decide what to say. Every
moment that silence passed was a moment that Melanie's heart sank more. He
released her hands. Melanie's throat ached with humiliation.

But suddenly, he looked up, all smiles, laughing. Melanie did a
double-take
, trying to hold back the tears that wanted to
escape. Did he think that this was
funny
? Was he really that cruel?

"I'm kidding!" he exclaimed, laughing still. Melanie just
stared at him like he was the sickest person in the world, not a trace of humor
on her face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around,
laughing, trying to get her to laugh. "Come on, Hart! Lighten up! I was
kidding!" He sat her back down to judge her reaction, but it was stolid.
Suddenly, he went from laughing to trying to save his neck. "It—it
was a joke! I didn't mean it, Melanie. Come on!" She glared. He pulled her
close and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Melanie.
Come on
,
laugh
! It was a joke. It
was stupid, I'm sorry. Come on."

Ignoring the soaring her heart did at his words, she still didn't show
it. She was as mad as hell. Could he
be
any more immature?

"You... you... jerk!"

"I'm a jerk, but you love me," he smiled comically, brows
raised.

"I might just take that back."

"I was kidding! I love you, Melanie," he laughed
uncomfortably, holding her so close that she almost had to stand on his feet.
His forehead touched hers, looking into her eyes from under his lashes.
"I'm sorry." His voice became silky, the way it always did when he
wanted something. "I love you." Melanie's face still didn't waver,
even though it felt like her insides were filled with melting butterflies. He
began to kiss her, and Melanie quickly realized that she wasn't
that
strong. She soon was kissing back enthusiastically, arms wrapped around his
neck.

He knew he was forgiven.

Jake pulled away, needing to catch his breath. But all it took was one
more look into the other's eyes and they were back at it, quite glad that Melanie
had chosen to break the news to him here instead of in front of her door, where
her mother would have had a full view. His lips were gentle, yet somehow still
full of want. Jake was beginning to smirk at the fact that the more it seemed
they kissed, the less innocent her lips became.

He could still remember when they had kissed for the first time in the
tree house, and it was obvious that she didn't have much experience in the
kissing arena. That didn't mean that it wasn't great, but her lack of
experience was obvious. Every time since then, she seemed to hold back less and
was more eager. He had to say... he couldn't deny that he loved it. It was
starting to become a drug.

Melanie pulled away this time, turning red from the lack of oxygen and
the soaring of her
heart beat
. Predictably, it was
only a few seconds before they were attached again. Melanie started to feel a
familiar feeling that she'd experienced only once before: at the lockers.

Who could forget that day?

As much as her body, heart, and everything else screamed in
frustration when she pulled away, her conscious was clear. She was starting to
think of him in
that
way again...
a lot
... which told her that
things were getting a little too...
far
. Jake's eyes searched hers
questioningly. What could possibly be wrong? He felt better than he'd ever felt
kissing a girl, like he was flying with his heart pounding in his ears.

But, all it took was one look in her eyes, and he saw it. The look
he'd seen in every girl that he'd ever... well... been dating. And in some
cases, not even that. They'd kiss a little too roughly, for a little too long,
and there it was. That infatuated, excited
flash
. He didn't know what
else to call it. Usually, he felt ecstatic when he saw it. That usually meant
good things for him. But when he saw it in Melanie, an odd battle of emotions
was raging.

One side of him was happy and excited beyond belief. It just seemed to
justify that she felt what he felt for her. But then, he remembered the promise
that he made her: he'd never make her do anything that she wasn't ready to do.
And if she pulled away, that meant that she wasn't ready to do it, and she was
stopping herself before all reason left her mind and desire took over.

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a pink, flushed face,
running her hand through her hair and avoiding his eyes. All it would take was
one look... and she'd be gone out of her right mind and driven mad with want.

Jake took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from going overboard
as well. "No, it's my fault," he was nearly panting, shaking his
head.

"We should probably go," Melanie suggested, trying to take
control of the situation before she changed her mind. He nodded in agreement,
and they both climbed onto his bike and took off down the driveway, Melanie
careful to keep her hands around his midsection instead of waist.

Well
, Melanie thought,
that went well
.
Kind of
.

Minus the... ya know... and it did go very well!

Melanie went to sleep that night smiling a lovesick grin. Jake had
shaken hands with her mother and then given Melanie a polite, innocent peck on
the lips, smiling as he backed out of the door.

I'm in love
, Melanie thought, smiling just thinking about
it.
So sue me
.

Epilogue

Melanie stared out of her new kitchen window, almost disbelievingly.
The small but beautiful yard in front of her was
hers
. It was
her
yard. Not her mother's, not her
and
her mother's, but
hers
. And
the fact that she would be spending the rest of her college days in this new
little house made her even happier. Melanie didn't have to stay in some small,
cramped dorm room with a
room mate
. Her mother had
surprised her with some saved money for a graduation present, enough for a
college house. Well, that, and a car.

The car wasn't much. It was a '98 Toyota Camry, but she loved it. It
was comfortable, easy to drive, and the air conditioning worked well enough to
be a makeshift meat locker. Sure, it might not be as new or as shiny as some of
her classmates', but it was enough for her. That was all that mattered.

Her home was nice. Everything a new college freshman could want. It
had
a
open kitchen/living room, two bathrooms, and two
bedrooms. It was large enough to
house company,
but
not so small that she felt claustrophobic. The furniture was comfortable and
clean, filled with warm colors that reflected her personality. A nice, dark
hardwood floor was under her feet, feeling stable and welcoming to it's new
owner.

The University of California was nice place, too. The scenery and
weather was absolutely beautiful. Classes were informative and challenging,
just the way she liked it. She was only one short hour away from her mother, if
Ms. Hart ever needed her. Did she regret not going to The University of
Wisconsin? Yes, in some ways, she thought of what it'd be like to be a student
on that oh-so-familiar campus. She deliberated if it'd be the right decision if
she ever did transfer. But she didn't want to be such a long plane ride from
her mother if she ever needed her. It wasn't like Ms. Hart was like other
parents and had a husband to come home to every day. She'd be alone. And if she
ever needed help with anything or was in trouble, Melanie wanted to be there.

But
the main thing tying her down to California
?

A certain blonde-haired biker that she just couldn't live without.

He would drive by to see her every other day, and they would always
call each other and text constantly. Rachel often rolled her eyes and
went in another room whenever he called, not wanting
to be
around for what she called the 'yuck-fest'. Oh! And yes, Rachel did live with
her. The yard and the house was still
hers
, since she paid for a lot of
it and all, but Rachel helped out with rent. They both got jobs to cover living
expenses. Rachel ran a local car wash on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Melanie was
an
Applebees
waitress that worked night shifts on Mondays, Thursdays,
and Sundays. With the tips, she had to admit, it paid well.

She watched anxiously as a familiar black Harley Davidson noisily
pulled up into the house's small driveway. Her boyfriend, who she hadn't seen
in a couple days, climbed off with a content swagger, signature leather jacket
on, and a pair of shining black Aviators. Putting his secretly sweet
personality and his caring, protective nature aside, Melanie couldn't help but
think...
God,
her boyfriend was
hawt
.

He barely had time to knock on her door before she swung it open,
brilliant smile on her face. Jake matched it as he pulled her into a hug.

As she pulled away, she grinned again. "So, how did your first
big college test go?"

He threw his keys onto a nearby table, plopping down on the cushy
white couch. "I didn't look at my grade yet."