Page 4 of Rider

I could feel his eyes on my back as we walked a few feet to my station. I had to clasp my hands together to stop them from shaking. I needed to get it together. I directed him towards my chair, gesturing for him to have a seat. He sat down in the chair and met my eyes in the mirror.

“So what are we doing today? Keep it the same but a little shorter on the top?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, just trim the top and shave the sides some. The guy I go to usually uses a zero on the sides.”

I pursed my lips together and tried to hide my annoyance. He must not think I know how to do hair if he thought he needed to tell me how to cut it. I could already tell that’s what had been previously used on his hair. Before I could ask him why he wasn’t going to his usual barber he reached up and grabbed my hand. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that. I was just letting you know and making small talk.”

I mentally shrugged off his comment but my hand remained in his. His big hand felt muscular and rough from the calluses caused by working with his hands so much. It felt warm and having him hold my hand, so much smaller than his own, made the moment feel intimate. When his thumb caressed the back of my hand I smiled and felt myself blush. I dropped my gaze and focused on our hands linked together. After a second or two we casually let each other go and I tried to busy myself with getting ready to cut his hair. I could still feel his eyes on me in the mirror and it forced me to try to focus on anything else but that.

When I glanced up, I could see him grinning like he knew exactly what I was doing. I chose to focus on my work and started cutting his hair. The first touch to his scalp almost had me gasping out loud. His hair was so soft to the touch with the top being longer I could run my fingers through it, and the sides even though short, were just as soft. As I touched his head I heard a small moan come out of his mouth and I could have melted right then and there at the sound. Men would often moan during scalp massages when I’d rinse their hair so this was nothing new but Rider’s moan had me clenching my legs together.

“Mmm, that feels nice. That soft touch alone will have me coming back here instead of the old guy I usually go to.”

The cute compliment made me laugh and it helped ease some of the tension in my shoulders. I could do this. This big, strong, generous man was just like any other customer, but Lord, when I looked at him in the mirror he just did things to me. I stopped looking in the mirror at that point and only stared at his head. I worked in silence for the next few minutes clipping the top and trimming it and then shaving the sides and cleaning up his neck. I only needed to brush and clean him up and then I’d be all finished. I unclipped the smock around him and flicked it outward to avoid his hair getting on him.

As Rider stood up he got closer to the mirror and checked out his haircut. “Looks great Rayleighn, how much do I owe you?”

I shook my head. “Nope, you don’t owe me anything. Cutting your hair for free is the least I can do. That battery had to be expensive. In fact, I probably owe you about ten more haircuts.”

“Nah, I told you before, you don’t owe me anything. I was just doing something good and besides, I get those batteries at a fraction of the price at wholesale.”

We walked towards the front and stood behind the counter as Rider went to the other side. I tried to smile at him but I didn’t know if this was the last time I’d ever see him. I had never seen him before that night at the gas station so it wasn’t likely that we would just bump into each other around town. I didn’t know what to say and the thought of not seeing him again made me sad.

“Rayleighn, did you hear what I said?”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry! I was just off in my own thoughts, sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“I saw the hours on the door, are you getting off work now?”

I nodded and a smile naturally appeared on my face when I thought of being able to go home and finally see Colton.

“It’s like a fishbowl in here once it’s dark isn’t it?” Rider asked as he laughed at his own joke “Why don’t I wait for you to finish up and I’ll walk you out to your car? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

The salon wasn’t in the worst part of town but it also wasn’t in the best part, either so I took him up on his offer. “Actually that would be great. Let me get my purse and turn off all the lights and I’ll be ready to go.”

He smiled at me and shoved his hands in his front pockets. “Perfect. I’ll just wait here at the door for you. No rush.”

I quickly gathered my things and hit all the lights, made my way to the front and we walked out together. I locked the front door and we started off in the direction of my car. It was another cold night and the snow hadn’t fully melted off the sidewalk so we slowly made our way down the block together. I noticed that Rider walked close to me and our arms brushed against each other as we walked. It felt nice to have him walking beside me. Our height difference made it hard to sneak a peek at him as we walked but I liked how tall he was, how broad his shoulders were, and how safe he made me feel.

Before I would have liked we had arrived at my car parked along the curb. We were in between street lamps, making it hard to see. I fumbled getting my keys out of my purse. My mouth felt suddenly dry, I had a lump in my throat. I didn’t know what to say to Rider. See you later? I just didn’t know. I did know that I didn’t want it to be goodbye forever.

His deep voice in the night made me look up at him as he spoke, “Rayleighn I gotta admit something to you.”

Here it was, I bet he was married or gay or just not interested. All the worst case scenarios flew through my mind, a habit I acquired from my ex who always made me feel horribly, as if everything were my fault. I had been working hard to rid myself of this line of thinking—but habits are hard to break. It was something that had stuck and remained in the back of my mind. Most of the time, I handled it well and didn’t let his old words get to me but in this situation, I didn’t have any experience other than my ex, and I hadn’t been with anyone since. Putting myself out there was scary as a single parent. I was just like everyone else not wanting to get rejected.

“I’m really attracted to you and I think you’re a nice woman from what I know and I’d like to get to know you better but we’ve got a few years between us if you haven’t guessed.”

I smiled so hard that my face hurt from stretching so quickly. He was actually interested in me. I felt like I could float away I was so light with happiness. All those negative thoughts vanished into smoke. It warmed me everywhere to think this big, strong man could be interested in someone not so put together and struggling to make it with a small child.

Before I could even say anything, he reached out and took my hand, a warm smile reflecting back into mine. We stood there looking at each other as he rubbed slow circles on the back of my hand. It just felt right. I didn’t know how to explain it but I felt like it was meant to be. Us. Here. Now.

Slowly, our bodies met and I didn’t know who was leaning into whom. When our bodies touched and he leaned down and softly grazed my lips, I knew I was in a whole world of trouble. This man had the potential to make my heart soar but he also had the power to make it ache.

Rider

I didn’t want to let her go. It wasn’t my plan to pull her towards me and kiss her but there was just something so special about Rayleighn. I don’t know how I did it but I forced myself to only give her that slow, soft kiss. What I really wanted to do was ravage her mouth, taste her, spread her mouth open with my tongue and embed her in my memory. She was the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen, and from what I could tell she had a heart of gold too. I bet her young son adored her and everyone else she had in her corner.

I had spent the last three days thinking about her constantly, to the point that the guys in the shop had started commenting on my daydreaming and wondering what was up with me. I kept my mouth shut with the guys for several reasons. I didn’t need the relentless ribbing and jokes that would come from it and frankly, I didn’t know if I even had a shot at something with her. I was older and in a biker club and sometimes those were turn offs instead of turn ons. I had never been in a serious, committed relationship, yeah I had girlfriends here and there but no one really stuck and I hadn’t wanted them to. I had my bike, my shop and the club. My father? Who knew where that fucker was wasting air. I hadn’t seen him since the night he walked out on us at thirteen. Up until three years ago, I had my mom and my sister, but a drunk driver going the wrong way on the freeway had stolen away the two most important women in my life. Since then I hadn’t let anyone in.

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