“I’m not ready for that. The whole thing with Viper, you know, I’m just not ready yet, Hawk. You’ll have to be patient with me.”
He hugged her. “Take your time, babe. I’ll always be here for you.” Even though my cock wants your pussy in the worst way. He wished he could have saved her the fear and humiliation that fucker put her through. I’m just glad I got there before he raped you. I can’t even think about that. If I do, I’ll break something.
Later that night, they settled on the couch, Cara hugging Hawk’s knees, her head on his lap. He stroked her hair as they watched reruns of The Twilight Zone. They had discovered that they were both huge Rod Sterling fans, so when Cara found out The Twilight Zone marathon was on T.V., she knew Hawk would want to see it with her. It was fun to watch the show with each other.
As they watched the episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” Cara laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I remember watching this rerun when I was a kid. Eric, Sherrie, and I were avid Zone fans, and we’d go through bowls of popcorn during a marathon. We loved this episode, and we’d always laugh when we saw the gremlin. Eric used to say it looked like a guy wearing a shag carpet. It was so cheesy it was funny, you know?”
“Damn, it does look like the actor’s in a shag carpet.” Hawk chuckled as he looked at her shimmering eyes. Leaning into her, he played with her hair. “Babe, don’t let sadness creep in. You have a happy memory of your cousin, and that’s good.”
“Yeah, I know. I did have good times with him in the past. Tonight, you and I are making new memories. I love that.” Cara snuggled into the crook of his arm while she embraced him.
Stroking her cheek with his thumb, he said, “I love you, babe.”
“I love you, too.”
When they went to bed later that night, Hawk cradled Cara in his arms as she fell asleep. He stared at the curve of her breasts as his cock throbbed, but he knew she needed time to wipe out the bad memories so she could begin to trust a man’s touch again. Even though he was ready to explode, he’d wait for her to make the move. Fuck, I love this woman. I never saw this happening in my life. She pulled me in the first time I saw her. Never saw this comin’.
* * *
Cara and Hawk woke up to two feet of fallen snow that sparkled like small pieces of glass under the sun.
“Are you going to your shop today?” Cara inquired.
“Yeah, I got some bikes I’m customizing. I’m behind schedule.”
“I’d like to go. I want to see your bike shop. I want to see what you do.”
“I didn’t think that would interest a woman.”
“You’ve seen me at my office. I want to see you at yours.”
“We leave in twenty minutes.”
Hawk’s shop was full of motorcycle parts, accessories, and several Harley models, like the freewheeler, road glide, and ultra-low. He also carried a Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider Vintage Racer and a 1946 Knucklehead. Hawk had restored both of the vintage cycles. His biggest source of revenue in the shop came from customizing motorcycles.
Cara perused the shelves which contained chrome accessories, bars and grips, windshields, filters, and cam engines. There were shelves which held skeleton hand mirrors and chrome exhaust pipes, as well as various fender ornaments like skulls, zombies, eagles, American flags, and wild boars.
“Where did you learn to repair and customize bikes?” Cara asked.
“I’ve loved motorcycles ever since the next-door neighbor at the trailer park took me for my first ride. My dad was drunk, and my mom had already split. I was about ten years old when I took my first spin. The minute I felt the wind rushing all around me and the sense of freedom and openness, I was hooked. After that, I learned everything I could about bikes. The neighbor, I think his name was John, was a mechanic, and he customized the hell out of his Harley. He taught me how to work on them.”
“It’s good you had him around.”
“Working on bikes with him that summer and riding on his Harley made the shit with my old man tolerable.” Darkness crossed his brow as the cobwebs of the past cleared, making his childhood memories more vivid.
Hawk saw Cara start to move toward him then stop, like she was going to give him a pity hug but decided not to. He was glad she changed her mind because he couldn’t stand that pity shit from anyone, even his woman. He didn’t need any sympathy when he felt the pain of his past.
Cara stood to the side of him, her eyes downcast.
Hawk cleared his throat. “You like the shop?”
“I love it. I can see your mark everywhere.”