Page 53 of Her Demanding Biker
Whatever her husband had done to make her want him to be an ex?
I was fucking thankful for his mistakes.
I didn't know the whole story about why she left him, but that wasn't important at the moment.
I had to get her to give me a chance.
Even if it was a temporary one.
My mom had once said something that I'd thought was kind of crazy.
She liked to say things she saw as life lessons, but it had to have an animal in it.
It probably explained why she read me Aesop's Fables like it was going out of style.
One of her old adages came up in my head as I was trying to figure out a way to get my big, booted foot into the door.
She'd tell me about how to boil a frog.
Yeah, it made me want to throw up when I was a kid. I focused on that poor damn frog more than the lesson behind it. But I was a kid.
What the fuck did I know?
She said if you tried to boil a frog in water that was already heated up, he'd just jump out.
I thought that meant that the frog had some good sense and the person that tried to put him in the water was a complete asshole.
Something I didn't bother to tell my mom 'cause she would have made me clean my mouth out with soap.
But she said if you put the frog in regular water and slowly heat it up, he'd end up boiled to death before he realized what was happening.
Why hadn't I seen it before?
Maybe because Arlys was so damn sweet and loving.
How had she grown up that way with a father who acted like he was God almighty?
A cold, loveless sumbitch.
When I'd met her, she'd just turned sixteen.
She'd lived with her despot of a dad for that many years with only a part-time housekeeper who made meals and signed school slips.
Arlys had been in that pot of water with the temperature going up and up for sixteen years and had stayed an absolute sweetheart. It was a damn miracle.
I knew I didn't deserve Arlys.
I never had.
The fact that she'd fallen in love with me was a gift from God even though I'm sure I tested his patience more than anyone should. Maybe he had plans for me in the future, but I only had one plan.
Making life so damn good for Arlys that she wanted me to stay with her.
When I asked her for a chance, I didn't think she'd give it to me.
I just wanted a chance to finally show her that she could have a life where she was with someone who put her first.
I would be that man.
