Let Me Fly (12 page)

“Yup, I do. It’s right here.” He pulled another key out of his pocket, repeating the motion, chucking it into the lake.

Bryn was so stunned, a stifled giggled came out of her throat. “What are you doing, Charlie?” She couldn’t even come up with a plausible explanation for his behavior, but she had to believe that he had his reasons for throwing his keys into the lake.

“I’m taking away some of your options for tonight, Bryn. The only way that you will get into town now, is if you ride with me. Don’t even bother calling Corey. He’s aware of my plan, and has no intentions of coming to your rescue.”

Bryn slapped her hand to her forehead, leaving her hand there as she shook her head from side to side, “I don’t know whether to be scared right now, or happy knowing that I am dating a complete control freak.”

“You are
exclusively
dating a control freak, Bryn,” he said with his lips turned up in a wicked smirk. “I can be very possessive and would prefer to not maim another man if he touches my girl.”

Charlie’s grin quickly faded as he moved to stand in front of her, grasping the hand that was rubbing her forehead, pulling it to his side. Reaching out with his other hand, he laced their fingers together. He leaned their foreheads together as he spoke, “I love that you are your own person. You don’t need someone to control you like that, Bryn. I just can’t stand seeing you hurting from something that happened a long time ago. I would do anything to erase those painful memories from your mind, but since I can’t, I’ll try to replace them with good ones.”

The words washed over her, causing her chest to tighten, her heart soaring with overwhelming emotions. She had only known Charlie as more than her doctor for two days, but there was no way she could deny the strong connection between them.

Tears threatened to fall as he continued to stand there, rubbing his fingers over her knuckles. Bryn opened her mouth to probably say something that she would regret later, when Charlie cleared his throat, breaking through the silence. “Okay, let’s get your ass into town. I’m starving.”

Charlie came out into the garage wearing his S/S Speed and Strength textile jacket, and a set of yellow hydrophobic night driving glasses on top of his head. In his hands, he held an identical pair of glasses and Bryn’s black fitted leather jacket tossed over his arm. He held out the jacket for her to slip it on, turning her to zip the front. “No helmets, tonight.”

Bryn raised her eyebrows at his words, “What? Why? Is that even legal?”

“Because I think it is hurting you more than it is helping you right now. I want to see if it helps if you can hear my voice, keep your face buried in my neck, skin to skin and all that. We are only going over to the bar in Hampton. It’s only a ten minute drive. And yes, it’s legal in Wisconsin.”

A greasy burger and fries did sound good right now. The bar wasn’t that far to the west of Amulet, out near the unincorporated town of Hampton. It actually was only a few miles north of the farm, as the crow flies. The owner had been a friend of her father’s for years; obviously he didn’t feel the same about her mother, though. As soon as Daddy was gone, most of their so-called family friends stopped coming around. It made the last few years of her life very lonely.

“No problem,” Bryn said as she slipped on the glasses, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She actually wouldn’t mind getting up close and personal with the Charlie’s sensitive ear lobes as they rode. Scratch that, she thought with a smirk.
I don’t want to become road-kill just because I have a sure-fire way to break his concentration. I can make Charlie melt when I tug on his ear lobes with my teeth.

“I can tell when your thoughts turn sexual, Bryn,” Charlie said as he straddled the bike, flipping the kickstand up.

“I was not…” Bryn started to lie, but Charlie quickly cut her off, speaking over top of her. “Your breathing falters, your cheeks flush, and your pupils dilate. You are easy to read, kitten.” Using his legs, he backed the bike up and out from the garage, turning the handlebars as he inched it forward off the cement driveway. He pushed a tiny black button that hung from a carabineer next to the drive column and the garage door started to pull shut.

Bryn shook her head as she walked over to him. “I can’t get anything passed you, can I?”

“Nope, kitten. Hop on, before I decide to become a cannibal and eat you for supper,” he said with a mischievous wink.

Bryn chomped her teeth together, fake biting him as she climbed behind him on the bike. “Aren’t you tired of eating that, yet?”

“Nope, not by a long shot.”

Bryn laughed as she snuggled in closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing her nose against his neck. Charlie flipped the cover on the key panel, starting the bike with a roar. Twisting the throttle, the bike let out a growl as the engine sprung to life. The bike had a shotgun exhaust system, and the muffler had obviously been modified, louder slip-ons being used instead. Bryn was well aware that Charlie’s tricked out bike was worth more than she made in a year.

Charlie eased out onto the highway as Bryn tried to keep her breathing nice and slow. She concentrated on the feel of Charlie’s scratchy skin under his jaw line. He had just shaved, but still she could feel some stubble, which felt like very fine sand paper on her nose. Bryn could feel Charlie’s chest sharply rise and fall as he took a deep breath, reminding her to pace her breathing as well.

It was no time at all before they were turning onto the highway leading straight into Hampton. They had already been riding for four miles, and she was completely at ease. No sooner had she mentally patted herself on the back, that Charlie quickly braked the bike, faltering as the skidded to a stop. The momentum made her tightly squeeze Charlie around his abdomen, holding her body from flying forward. Once they came to a complete stop, Bryn could feel that Charlie’s chest was heaving, obviously something had made him panic. Bryn lifted her head to see what was wrong, catching the hind legs of a deer darting through the tall grass on the other side of the ditch.

“Scared of Bambi, Charlie?” she teased with a smile.

Bryn’s smile quickly faded when she heard the crack in Charlie’s voice, “No, that fucker just about took us out, Bryn. I just about smeared us both across the blacktop.”

Bryn rested her chin on his shoulder as he fought to steady his breathing. Feeling beyond safe with him, she needed to find a way to tell him she hadn’t been worried. In fact, she knew that there was no place safer than right here, riding sans helmet and all.

“Charlie, you make me feel safer than anyone else ever has. You push my buttons, irritating the hell out of me. But in the end, you have a reason for everything you do. Even Corey hasn’t been able to make me to feel this safe. Protected. I really,
really
like you.” Bryn closed her eyes, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Quietly, she whispered as she looked into the grass waving next to them, “I even think that I’m falling for you.”

Charlie didn’t answer her for a long time, the seconds stretching out, making Bryn’s stomach drop in embarrassment. Not wanting to wait for Charlie to utter a rejection, Bryn tried peeling herself off of the bike. Charlie’s strong hands grabbed her wrists, pulling her back into position. He lifted his feet off the ground as he twisted the throttle, quickly accelerating way over the speed limit. Bryn had never ridden this fast before, but it was a heady feeling. The wind was cold as it washed over her face and hands, making it hard to concentrate on holding tight.

It was a mere minute before they made it the last few miles to the bar in Hampton. Bryn was steadying herself for the embarrassment of being discarded by Charlie for her lack of self-control over her emotions. Charlie parked the bike on the far side of the building, away from the lights of the front door. He quickly flipped the kickstand down, sliding off the bike. Bryn kept her head down the entire time, willing her tears back as she waited for the other shoe to drop.

Charlie startled her when he wrapped his cold hands around her jaw, lifting her chin. He leaned down, lightly brushing his soft lips against hers. Bryn kept her eyes tightly clenched shut, knowing that this was a kiss good-bye. “Look at me, Bryn,” Charlie whispered softly. Bryn shook her head, trying to avert her eyes, knowing she would see pity on his face. “Kitten, please. Look. At. Me.”

His voice had dropped an octave, making her feel the need to comply. She took a deep breath as she looked at him through tear stained lashes. His face was soft with compassion, not pity. “Bryn, you make me feel more alive than anyone has in a very long time. You are not the only one making an emotional investment in this relationship. Trust me when I say that I have very strong feelings for you, too.” The pads of his fingertips softly brushed away her tears, as he gently kissed her lips. “We’ll go one step at a time. Together. Okay?”

“Mmhmm,” she said against his lips as he continued to meld their mouths together. Voices were getting closer to them from the front of the bar as Charlie pulled away.

“Damn it, woman. I really need to eat some food before I wither away. Stop distracting me.” Helping her off the bike, he emphasized his point by landing a soft whack on her rear. Bryn could only smile as he waved her in front, leading her with his hand on the small of her back inside.

B
ryn ravenously ate her loaded burger, half-starved from the exhausting day. Charlie quirked his eyebrows when she had ordered guacamole on the side. The combination was delicious, but it wasn’t the only weird food combination she loved. She would have ordered a chocolate milk shake to dip her French fries in, but the bar was out of ice cream.

The rumble of thunder outside made Charlie stop eating mid-chew. “Shit, eat quickly. Otherwise we are going to get wet on the way home.” Bryn swallowed her last fry, chugging down half the glass of ice water to wash everything down. Quickly, Charlie threw money on the table, pulling on his coat as he dragged her out of the bar.

Lightning cut through the sky, illuminating the billowy thunderheads to the west. The wind had picked up, and the temperature had dropped. Bryn counted in her head as she waited to hear the clap of thunder.
One one thousand, two one thousand, thr…
The thunder boomed overhead, signaling that the storm was less than two miles away. Bryn quickly hopped on behind Charlie, yanking her glasses out of her pocket. She barely zipped up her coat before Charlie peeled out from the lot, throwing gravel out behind them. A few rain drops slapped onto their heads before Charlie accelerated again, racing in front of the storm.

Bryn buried her face into his neck, willing herself to keep her fear under control. Charlie would not have time to stop for her; she had to keep it together. It was a lot easier to ride now that she had successfully done it a few times already this weekend. Not ready to test her new found comfort, she quietly held on to Charlie as he barreled ahead of the storm. They pulled in to his driveway right as another clap of thunder split the night air. Charlie pressed the garage door button, rolling inside as the heaven’s opened, and rain poured down like a faucet had been turned on. Bryn laid her head against Charlie’s back as she tried to calm her wildly beating heart.

“You okay, Bryn?”

“I’m good. Feel my heart. It’s thumping through my shirt.”

Charlie practically leaped off the bike, the look of panic was etched on his face, “Did I scare you? Shit, Bryn. I’m so sorry. I was so focused on getting us out of the storm that I forgot to pay attention to you. Did you signal for me to stop? I didn’t even see anything but the road…”

Bryn couldn’t help but laugh as he stuttered, obviously afraid that he had emotionally scarred her. “Really, I’m fine, hottie. Please. Relax. It was a rush, that’s all. I don’t feel the same tightness in my chest anymore when I ride. In fact, that was fuc…I mean that was really awesome.”

Charlie slumped over, his hands braced on his knees as he stared at the floor of the garage. He held his position for a long time before Bryn finally dismounted on the other side, walking over to stand next to him. Gently placing her hand on his back and rubbing up and down, Bryn tried to soothe him. Not exactly sure why he was so upset, Bryn patiently stood next to him, willing him to relax under her reassuring strokes.