Page 50 of Dash

He offered a salute type wave to their table, before facing the barista to get his black coffee. There was no avoiding it now. Out of social pressure, he had to go over there. If she had been alone, he might have been more willing.

Chapter 25

Gingersnap

“Okay, so I know you said he had a bike, but you didn’t say he was a real biker,” Pupper accused, as though she had withheld the secret to eternal youth from him.

“She is under no obligation to tell you anything,” Ane interjected with a playful slap to his arm. “Now me.” She turned her narrowed eyes on Liz. “Bitch, why are you holding out on me?”

Still openly staring, practically gaping at the logo on the back of his leather vest, Liz was at a loss for words. Tell them? She couldn’t tell them what she didn’t know.

“Odin’s Fury.” Pupper read the top rocker. “Sounds so angry, and sexy.”

With that, as though he had heard the sexy comment, PRK turned, catching the three of them leering at him. Heat blossomed in Liz’s cheeks, but she couldn’t find it in her to look away. Not when his smoldering gray eyes found hers. She squeezed her thighs as he gave the salute.

“He’s coming!” Ane whisper-yelled, as though they weren’t watching him move toward them. “He’s coming!” She slapped both their arms. “Look away. Act natural.”

“He caught us.” Pupper lifted his latte and took a sip. “I think staring at a man in leather is quite natural.”

“Happens a lot,” PRK said in a tone of amusement, not having broken his gaze on Liz.

Proximity seemed to intensify his presence, so she lowered her gaze, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“I’m not,” Ane declared defiantly. “The way I look at it, you don’t wear something like that unless you want people to stare.”

PRK chuckled. The throaty sound caused the butterflies in Liz’s stomach to flip. “Well, leather is the best thing to wear when riding,” he explained. “It helps the body slide on the pavement in the event of a wreck.” He took a sip of his coffee. When he lowered the cup, a devious smirk appeared. “The badass factor is just a bonus.”

“And the patches?” Ane challenged.

“Oh my God!” Liz slapped her best friend on the upper arm. “Give him a break. The poor guy was just getting coffee.” Turning her focus back to PRK, she smiled, trying to feel less awkward. “If your thing is done for the night, did you want to join us?”

“Thing?” Pupper repeated with exaggerated interest.

The chair scraped along the floor as PRK pulled it out. He groaned as he lowered his body into it. “I was at a wake earlier.”

His buddy had died. Looking him over, he didn’t look any different from the few other times she’d seen him. Casual attire, with the only addition being the vest. It made her wonder about how long ago the wake had been. Surely he would have worn something a bit more formal to attend.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” her friends echoed one another.

Liz offered him a comforting rub on the forearm. Switching his attention from her friends back to her, PRK smiled before taking a sip of his drink. “Thank you.”

Again, the heat rushed up into her face. She wasn’t sure if that ‘thank you’ was for her friends, or for her. It didn’t matter. She’d take it for herself. Deciding to pull her hand back, she took a deep breath. Time to change the subject. No need to keep it on the heavy, somber one of a funeral. She looked around, trying to think of something.

“So, how long do you think it will take for him to play Free Bird?” she asked the table as she gestured toward the guitarist.

“It’ll probably be his big finish.” Pupper said.

“I would love to get through one acoustic set without hearing that. It’s been done, overplayed to the point I can’t enjoy it.” Ane added.

PRK focused on his cup, turning it with a contemplative expression. “I think it’s a song that you hear differently depending on where you are in life.” Taking his eyes off his beverage, he took a moment to meet each of their expressions. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it the same way twice. Maybe because it’s so long, but each time I listen to it, a different part of it resonates with me. When it’s over, I have a new appreciation for them as musicians.”

The three of them exchanged looks, as though unsure how to process the deep philosophy of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird.

“Okay, listen.” Pupper leaned over the table toward PRK as though he were about to let him in on a highly protected secret. “If you wanna fit in with this group,” he waved a hand, gesturing to Ane, Liz, and himself, “you can’t be all smart and talking deep shit like that. We do gossip and petty bullshit.” Pupper sat back, crossed his legs, and clasped his knee, giving PRK the look of ‘you get me?’

Biting her bottom lip, Liz looked from Ane, who was having the same difficulty in holding back that she was, to Pupper, who had no problems holding his bitch face. It bubbled up from her belly and finally exploded out of her mouth. She laughed so hard, her head fell forward onto the table. It wasn’t long before Ane joined her, and PRK followed suit.

“You know, you two are bitches,” Pupper said, waving his finger between the two women as laughter seemed to bubble in him. “You could have at least backed me up.”

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