Everyone seemed to know who he was except her. They all gave him a respectful distance when he came into the diner and sat invariably at the counter, near the end where the waitresses took their breaks between tables.
That was how she ended up spending so much time in his vicinity. Not talking, just… nearby. She tried to ignore the feelings that he created in her, the nervous, jittery tingles, but it didn’t really work. She looked forward to seeing him, dreading it at the same time. She was a great waitress when he wasn’t in the diner. When else did she drop coffee cups?
She’d decided that if she was going to have a crush, she’d better find out who he was. He rode a bike, she knew that much. He was a little older than her too, in his early or mid twenties. He had a hard look to him but that wavy blond hair was incredibly boyish. Not to mention all those muscles...
No one had wanted to talk about him at first. The name had been hard enough, but finding out that he was the President of the local MC had taken even longer. At 25, he was the youngest President in the history of the club. Devlin was a bad boy for all intents and purposes. Most likely a criminal and definitely the leader of a bunch of criminals and soon to be criminals. Off limits to someone like her certainly.
But dear lord, he was dreamy. As if a model was dressing as a biker for a high fashion photo shoot. He was the real deal though. Dangerous. She could look at him though, right? There was no harm in that… She was subtle about it, just sneaking a peek now and then. That’s until she realized he was watching her.
She’d dropped another coffee cup when she’d caught his eyes on her for the first time. Her whole body had lit up like a christmas tree. He hadn’t looked away either. Just sat there, watching her clean up the mess on the floor. When she stood up a few minutes later, he was gone.
And a twenty dollar tip was on the counter.
That was around the time she started noticing the bikes. It never felt threatening. It always felt more like they were escorting her. They didn't stare or cat call. The huge guy with long curly hair nodded at her now and then. That was it. They were just… there.
She turned around and saw the same curly haired guy who was often behind her. He reminded her of a bear, or a villain from an action movie. The guy looked intense. As soon as she turned the corner to her block though, he was gone. As usual. Well, not gone, but waiting politely around the corner in case she went out again. Kaylie lived on a cul de sac so it's not like she could get past him. Not unless someone hid her in the trunk of their car.
She almost laughed. The whole situation was bizarre. It's not like she could call the cops or them. 'Um, yeah officer? There's this guy-well it's not always the same guy- but anyway it seems like there's always a biker half a block behind me. No, they don't actually do anything…'
Yeah, that would go over great.
She wasn't sure she even wanted to call the cops anyway. Not if the crazy thought she'd been having lately was… true. The crazy thought she hadn't even admitted to herself or the two girlfriends who had noticed the bikes. Janet and Lindsey had been freaked out by it at first but now they didn’t even mention it. Just part of the scenery to them. But Kaylie couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility.
The crazy idea that just felt like it just might be true.
She was starting to believe that they were keeping an eye on her. Protecting her. For Devlin. It was a crazy thought because he’d given her no real reason to believe he even knew who she was. He'd never asked her out or said anything remotely flirtatious to her. He just placed his order and sat there quietly, eating his food, always utterly relaxed and confident. He could have owned the place the way he sat there. He could have owned the world.
But the way he looked at her whenever he came into Mae's… she caught him watching her hungrily constantly now. He’d stopped hiding his purpose in being in the diner all together. Eventually she’d learned not to flinch or drop anything from the incredible heat coming off the man. He was smoldering. For her.
That much she knew was not her imagination.
Kaylie ran to her house and got dressed for work. She had a shift tonight and as usual, they needed the money. She was attending state school starting in the fall. She could commute from here but ideally she'd be able to get an apartment on her own. Never mind books and bus fare back and forth every day. It was over an hour to campus by public trans. She was not looking forward to that.
Besides, once school started she wouldn't be able to work as many shifts. She'd miss it. Mostly because of Mae of course. But if she was honest with herself she'd also miss bumping into him.
I wonder if they'll follow me onto campus?