left
alone with his book in a lounge that was so silent he could hear each tick of
the clock on the wall. No sounds came from the room where all the bikers
gathered, which made David wonder whether they had it soundproofed. As little
as he wanted to think of it, his older brother was part of a biker club, and
who knew what went on down here when there were no outsiders around. Cold
shivers were trailing up and down David’s back as he awaited some kind of
movement. He needed to make himself look good when Raja came out of there. He
should know what he missed out on by treating David so poorly.
What did a biker club president even do? Did he
take care of the stock at the bar, organize parties? David didn’t want to think
about more shady possibilities, but he couldn’t focus on his book at all,
instead planning what to say to Raja. He needed to inform the guy that he
wasn’t available, and Raja shouldn’t even try calling him.
His heart leapt when something thudded behind the
doors across from him, and as soon as he heard voices, he frantically
positioned himself in what felt like ‘casually relaxed’. His throat clenched,
and his palms broke out in sweat when the bikers slowly poured out of their
meeting. All of them seemed to gravitate toward the bar, but when David looked
up, searching for black hair and dusky skin, he spotted Raja talking to Hunter,
who had his arm around Raja’s shoulders and spoke lively about something that
David couldn’t hear with all the commotion around.
David needed to speak to Raja alone, so this
wasn’t good at all. Should he just walk up to him or would that raise
suspicions? In the end, he got up and stuffed his book into the bag, trying to
look chilled out as he loitered around the coffee table. Hunter waved at him,
but when one of the older members pulled him aside, David recognized it as his
chance and tried to catch Raja’s gaze. But as soon as Hunter was away, Raja
stormed toward the exit, oblivious to David’s attempts.
David watched that beautiful monster go and gave
his brother a quick glance to make sure Hunter was busy. He had no idea when
he’d see Raja again, and the guy could keep ignoring David’s texts forever, but
face-to-face, he’d have to say something . David made a dash for the exit
and slipped out before anyone could notice him.
Raja was already at the end of the row of bikes in
front of the building, by a Harley painted in black and white flames. David
took a deep breath of air that had a faint scent of gasoline before choosing
his most confident gait and heading Raja’s way.
The man stiffened but then slouched and finally met
David’s gaze. “Hey.”
David looked back at the door to make sure they
were alone. “Hey.” He came closer, desperately trying to remember all the witty
lines he’d come up with in the last hour. “I just wanted to clear up some
things between us,” he said, proud of how confident that came out.
Raja exhaled deeply, which only made the dark blue
fabric slide against his amazing chest. His eyes moved left and right,
assessing their surroundings. “Not here,” he said in the end and walked right
past David, along the side of the clubhouse.
David trailed behind in silence, unable to tear
his eyes away from Raja’s silhouette, his wide shoulders, his muscular arms...
his ass, which hypnotized David with its casual sway. He didn’t even notice
when they reached an old shed made of metal sheets. Raja opened the door and
gestured inside without looking at David.
So maybe this wasn’t the most glamorous place for
a conversation, but it had to do. David pouted at the dirty tools on the wall,
displayed as if they were pieces of modern art. He put his bag on the counter
and looked around for a light switch. It was stuffy inside, but he stopped
thinking about it the moment Raja closed the door and turned toward him. He
slowly leaned against the wall and crossed his arms on his chest.
“I didn’t know you were his
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