47 - The chapter with the first part of the trip

Christian

We waited a few seconds, until Rose put on her gloves, grabbed one of the saddlebags to help me, and then we headed to the parking lot.

" You don't wear this jacket often," Rose commented standing beside me as I was lowered onto the side of the Harley, attaching the side saddlebags after securing the larger one to the support behind the backrest.

I was wearing the Wandering Falcons jacket, the same one I had worn on Halloween, it had the biker club symbol on the back and front, on the left side was embroidered C. Davis.

Rose was right, I had several jackets, but that particular one was difficult for me to wear away from the Biker club.

" I'm not yet an official member of the Wandering Falcons, so I'd rather wait until it's for real," I explained, getting up, "Now, I have something for you.”

" Something for me? " She raised both eyebrows.

I took the women's helmet with some red flowers drawn on it that I had bought for her the day before and put it on her head, smiling to see how it looked.

She leaned over to see the result in the rearview mirror, smiling as she turned to me.

" You gave up borrowing Thompson's helmet and bought a spare?”

" It's yours. You should take good care of it," I warned, putting on my own helmet before getting on the bike.

Rose climbed on behind me, not hesitating to hug me, and soon I heard her voice in my ear as I started us up and got us moving.

" You see, I don't have a motorcycle, you do. Why is the helmet for me?”

I drove the bike across the parking lot, thinking about that question. She was right, the logic would be that I should buy a spare helmet for myself, and not present her with one. But in my mind, the answer was clear. As soon as I stopped the motorcycle at the exit of the parking lot to give way to a group of students, I turned my face to look at her.

" You are the only person I don't mind giving a ride to.”

Rose's gaze remained locked on mine, looking as if she didn't know what to say. And for a minute I lost myself in her gaze. I have spent my whole life hearing people compliment my eyes, and when I met Alicia, her greenish eyes caught my attention, and Ellen, the last girl I was involved with, has beautiful dark blue eyes. I couldn't deny that those colors stood out among the rest, but after seeing Rose's eyes up close, I never dared to underestimate the beauty of brown eyes again. I was always surprised by the number of shades when I looked at her irises so closely, and despite the beauty of other girls' eyes, none were as warm and penetrating as hers.

As if out of a trance, Rose blinked dazedly, looking away, causing me to look forward again, realizing that the group was already a good distance away, and setting us in motion again.

The sun was still in the sky, and despite the icy weather, I made the most of the physical contact with Rose, who spent the whole time hugging me, using my body as a shield against the wind, but as night fell, the temperature dropped more and more, and despite my initial plan of not making any stops, we ended up stopping at a roadside café somewhere in Pennsylvania a few hours later.

" Oh my God, I'm dead, how much longer?", she stretched. Attracting the attention of a group of people our age who were standing around a pickup truck a few feet away.

One girl whispered something to another as she watched us, and one of the guys looked at Rose's body in a not so discreet way.

" According to the GPS, about two hours," I warned, checking my cell phone.

" I'm glad you warned me to put on another coat, I think I would freeze to death, thank you," she smiled, moving her legs as I watched her.

Still feeling the group's gaze on both of us, I pulled her close, bringing my hand to the nape of her neck as I pressed our lips together; it had been days since I had last kissed her, and as beautiful as Ellen was, she was no match for Rose.

I felt her hands creep up my chest as she kissed back without hesitation. After a few seconds, I pulled away, smiling as I found her amused gaze fixed on mine.

" Not that I'm complaining, but what was that?”

" I thought we might start to get into the couple mood," I winked at her.

Her smile widened, and I slung my arm around her shoulder, guiding her into the cafeteria, casting one last glance in the direction of the guy from before.

" You can get in the mood by spoiling your temporary girlfriend with a nice donut," Rose proposed.

" A donut, and a cup of coffee. Then we'll get back on the road," I warned.

And so we did, as soon as we finished eating, we returned to the road, and almost two hours later I parked in front of the main house where we had rented a guest house on Airbnb.

After getting the key from the owner at the main house, we circled the place, following a small paved trail that took us to the entrance of the private garage attached to the guest house. We were soon enveloped in the warmth of the heater, leaving the night chill outside for good as we closed the automatic garage door.

" Finally " Rose got off the bike, stretching again as she had done earlier at the cafe, shedding the coat she was wearing as she walked to the door that would take us inside the house,

I took a second, still on the bike to admire every curve of her body enhanced by the leather ensemble she was wearing until Rose disappeared inside the house, snapping me out of my contemplation.

I couldn't believe the folly we were committing. Rose was a superhuman beauty, and despite her annoying personality that clashed with mine several times, she had managed in a few months to become my best friend.

And now I am taking her to my parents' home.

One thing is for sure, arriving accompanied by someone like her will earn me some respect points in the motorcycle club.

" Wow, my parents wasted no time, there are about a thousand messages from them here " I heard Rose's voice coming from the other room, making me get off the bike to follow her.

The place we rented was small and functional, near the garage door there was a sofa with a coffee table, in front of the sofa, closed curtains hid a large balcony door, which according to the pictures on the site would lead us to a small balcony, beside the door there was a kitchen counter with sink, fridge and microwave, and on the other side, a double bed was next to the bathroom door.

" You'd better call and let them know we arrived alive," I shrugged, taking off my jacket and throwing it on the couch, getting rid of the sweater I was wearing underneath.

" It's better, They don't trust your driving skills that much.” She mocked, bringing the device to her ear.

" Very funny," I muttered in response.

I went to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water while Rose started talking to her parents. I decided to follow her example, after checking the time.

It was after ten o'clock at night and they would surely be at the bar by now. Rose was stuck in a senseless conversation with her parents and I decided to go to the garage for a little more privacy.

" Wait a minute," my mother's voice sounded a little harsh, overpowering the loud music in the background before she yelled at someone, "Hey newbie, if you break this, I'll come out from behind this bar and kick your ass myself.”

I waited patiently while a small commotion formed on the other end of the line, and it took a few seconds for my mother to get back to me. My parents ran the biker club bar together, so this kind of interaction was no surprise.

" Hi honey, how are you?”

" I'm fine, Mom. Rose and I just arrived in Toledo, we're spending the night here," I explained.

The sound of clinking glasses, and another commotion sounded in the background, causing her to back away from the phone a little.

" I'm sorry Chris, it seems like you guys are more drunk than usual here today," she complained, "did you have a good trip? Her father saw some rain forecasts for New York and got worried.”

" We haven't had any problems, it's been pretty smooth. The hardest part was Rose managing to pack everything she needed in such a small space," I returned, running my fingertips over the leather of the saddlebag that was attached to the back of the bike.

" She'll get used to it," my mother assured me.

" Do we have newcomers in the club? " I changed the subject.

Of course I wouldn't bring Rose again for Christmas, I wasn't supposed to now. But I wouldn't tell my mother that either.

" A whole family just arrived from Wyoming. They have a pair of twins about your age," she explained.

The sound of Rose's heels hitting the porcelain floor came closer, showing that she had probably already ended her call.

" This is good, I won't be the only one with less than... holy crap," I turned toward the door, losing my speech when I saw Rose standing there.

She was still wearing the pair of high-heeled boots that went to her knee, and apart from the boots, the only other thing covering her body was a leather jacket.

My leather jacket.