16.The chapter of the town festival

Christian

We were almost in the downtown area, we could already see the streets for the festival celebrating the city's anniversary, and I decided to find a quiet place to park and walk on foot. I stopped the bike and Rose and I disembarked, getting rid of the helmet afterwards.

" I have to admit, your Harley is beautiful," she complimented, combing her hair with her fingers after getting rid of the helmet. “What are the chances of you letting me ride your motorcycle?”

" Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before? " I crossed my arms, watching as she used the rearview mirror to fix her hair.

" Never, but I'm sure I could if I tried," she admitted, taking off her jacket before handing it back to me.

" You won't try it with my Harley," I smile, putting it on and walking through the town streets.

" You're a real spoilsport, Davis. After your little exhibition I'll probably get my old high school nickname back, so at the very least you should thank me and teach me how to ride," she insisted.

" What nickname?”

" Basically, I was the bitch," she explained naturally.

" The bitch? " I frowned.

That didn't seem to fit with the relationship the two of them seemed to have at the beginning.

"Long story short, in high school I got involved with her friend's ex-boyfriend and automatically became the bitch in class six. The rest of the nickname wouldn't make sense now, so maybe I'll become the bitch in room 55A," she shrugged.

" Hey, that's a good nickname, can I call you that? " I sneered.

Rose brought her hand up to her chest, stopping her walk with false emotion on her face.

" And here I thought you would never choose a loving nickname for me.”

Standing in front of her, a smile came to my lips at her answer. I couldn't deny that I loved her acid sense of humor.

" I was thinking of calling you a completely insane bitch, but I think the bitch in room 55A is more personal," I shrugged before walking back over.

" What did she want with you?  " Rose followed me, changing the subject.

I watched her out of the corner of my eye, trying to define what her interest was in the story.

" She wanted to apologize for the party, said she wanted my friendship, and all that nonsense.”

" I bet she didn't want to be alone with the sorority girls today," Rose sneered.

That phrase caught my attention. Alone? I thought the whole thing at the party was about her being with Simmons.

" Why would she be alone?”

" Audrey was telling me that the frat boys are organizing a video game tournament tonight," Rose explained.

As we got closer and closer to where the festival tents began, we could already hear country music coming from one of the stages, and Rose seemed very excited about it.

" So she's basically been traded for a video game," I quipped.

" My guess is she got lucky, she'll get a night of freedom before she's completely stuck in the role of trophy girlfriend," she sneered, attracting my attention, causing me to remember Allie's teasing earlier.

Is she really afraid of relationships?

" What is your problem with relationships? " I decided to tease her.

" My problem? I don't have a problem with it." She frowned, putting her hands in her pants pockets, looking at me in a confused way.

" It's not what it seems, you always seem to criticize those in a relationship," I replied.

Rose approached a stall where several hair ornaments were for sale, analyzing each model while answering me.

" I don't criticize those who are in a relationship, I criticize those who accept little " she put a tiara of small yellow flowers on her head before looking at me " what do you think?”

" It matches your tattoo," I shrugged.

That answer seemed to be enough to convince her to buy the tiara, using a small mirror in her tent to fix her hair before we walked back together.

" And what do you consider little? " I resumed the previous subject.

Rose thought for a few seconds before answering that question, as if trying to imagine a logical answer. We had already reached the central area of the festival on the city's main street, and in the distance we could see the meeting point where we had arranged to meet our friends.

" I want someone who treats me like my father treats his girlfriends, you know! When he's in love with someone, he usually looks at her like she's the best thing in the universe, and whenever they're together and she's leaving the room, he stops what he's doing just to watch as she leaves," she rambled.

I wondered for a second if I had ever seen any similar behavior like that between my parents or the members of the motorcycle club, and no. I don't remember anything like it, I had always been taught to treat women with the utmost respect and even a certain chivalry, but all in a rather crude way. Nothing like what she described.

" This explains where your huge ego comes from," I couldn't resist teasing her.

Rose rolled her eyes, giving me a tired look before she spotted our friends waving to them in front of a shooting gallery.

" I don't have a huge ego.”

" You want a guy to stop whatever he's doing just to look at your ass as you leave the room," I returned before thinking a little harder.  “Not that this is a bad thing, I can do this without any problem.”

That statement got a spontaneous laugh out of her, attracting the attention of our friends.

" What's so funny? " Sky asked.

" Christian offered to look at my ass whenever I leave the room," Rose explained.

" She was saying that she wants someone to do what her father does with his girlfriends, and I said that I could fill this position until she finds someone permanent.” I complemented.

" And why didn't I ever know that this position was vacant? I've been sneaking around to look at your ass since we met," Liam complained.

" We're available," Theo commented, leaning back to get a better view of our friend's body.

" You guys are horrible," Sky rolled his eyes.

" That's why we get along so well," Rose winked at her friend.

Rose and Skyller entertained themselves by trying to get a prize at target practice while Liam went off in search of a few bottles of beer. I watched the movement of the festival, before paying attention to the girls' conversation.

" I didn't think you had the courage to wear this in public," Sky pointed to Rose's tank top after giving way to Theo in the tent.

" It wasn't that bad, and believe it or not, Audrey Dixon wanted one just like it. She surrounded me while I was waiting for Christian in the parking lot, and filled me with questions when she saw the acronym of Liam's imaginary fraternity," Rose muttered.

That explained the presence of the girls, Rose seemed ready to run off when I arrived with Allie.

" Audrey wanting something Liam has done? Why am I not surprised? " Theo sneered.

Rose handed me the small pistol after a round without hitting the target necessary to receive the prizes, I focused all my attention on the target, still listening to the conversation of the rest of the group.

" What is it with those two anyway? She seems jealous of him, you should see her trying to convince Susan to make out with Chris today, just to get her out of Liam's sights," Rose commented, drawing my attention.

" What? I didn't see any of that," I decided to join the conversation, without taking my attention away from the game.

" Who is Susan? " Sky asked.

" The girl from last week that Liam couldn't remember the name of, the poor thing was hoping to do it again today, but Audrey tried to take her out of the game while Chris went to get his motorcycle.”

I was about to ask which of the two girls she was talking about, reminding me of how beautiful one of them was, but Skyller decided to satisfy her curiosity about the past of the two of them.

" They dated during their freshman year but, you know how it is…”

" Liam cheated on her?”

" And she cheated on him many times. In the end, they both seem to be not meant for monogamy," Theo added, "but she's not over it yet.”

I gave up trying to hit the target, putting the gun aside before devoting all my attention to my friends.

" Can we get back on topic for a moment? Is Susan the one who complimented my bike? Because she is very pretty," I commented, receiving an amused look from Rose.

" No, this is Savannah, and…”

" That doesn't matter, we are here as a group and we agreed that we would not involve anyone from the outside, remember? " Sky interrupted.

That stupid rule, I was not serious about following it, not least because I planned to keep my promise to Harry.

" Are you sure? Because a friend of mine wants to meet you," I teased, getting a surprised look from Rose.

She seemed about to fill me with questions, but Liam returned, handing out beer bottles to each of us, and I handed mine to Rose, knowing that I couldn't drink that night.

" Who wants to meet who? " he asked, taking a sip from his bottle.

" A friend of Chris's has a crush on Sky," Rose teased.

The expression on the boy's face changed, no matter how much he tried to disguise it, his displeasure with this information was clear. I didn't understand why the two of them didn't assume once and for all that they felt for each other.

" Well, but today we agreed to... " Sky began with a dull smile, which then died.

She didn't finish her sentence, and when we least expected it, Liam was pulled up by Audrey, who then wrapped her arms around his neck, trapping him in a kiss that was not at all appropriate for a public place. Without dropping his beer bottle, Liam wrapped his arms around Audrey's waist, clinging her body to his, and kissed her back without hesitation.

Rose arched both eyebrows at the unexpected scene, while Theo rolled his eyes, not seeming the least bit surprised by the attitude of the two. The worst affected was Skyller, who looked away immediately, forcing a smile in an attempt not to show her feelings.

" Not that I'm complaining, but what is this? " Liam asked with a half-smile as Audrey gave him the tiniest bit of slack.

" I want you in my bed tonight, Van Derr Waal," she declared shamelessly, causing the boy's smile to broaden.

" I'm not going to complain about that," he winked at her.