Ride or Ruin

Wild

The next morning, I woke before Lily, who was stretched out in the small bed. With only her fishnet stockings and a bra on, her makeup was smeared from the shower and she snored with her mouth slightly open and pushed into the pillow. I unpacked the rest of my bathroom supplies and took a shower.

I walked down to the diner to pick up some coffee and breakfast to surprise Lily with. The waitress was a young blonde with hair too big for her body and boobs to match. Her personality matched her looks as she was bubbly and bright. With a "What can I get you, hon?" I placed my order and waited by the bar while looking around the place.

It was a rectangular room with booths on one wall, tables in the middle and a bar along the other wall. When the waitress came back with my order, I inquired about a job. "Well, sure, hon." She said excitedly and pulled an application from beneath the cash register. She handed it to me, "Now, you bring that back by anytime and I'll set you up with the owner. She'll just love that you're back in town." Taking the application and my order, I left the diner confused. How did the waitress I'd never seen know who I was, and who was the owner?

When I arrived back at the apartment, Mrs. Baker was out front, bent over a planter box, tending to brightly colored flowers. "Good morning, Mrs. Baker," I told her, so as not to spook her while walking by. "Oh, goodness. Good morning dear. How was the first night in your new home?" she cooed.

"It was wonderful, thank you for letting me rent the place. Mrs. Baker, could I ask you a question," I began. "Of course, dear." She paused her work and sat back on her heels. She seemed too old and too round for the position she was in but perfectly content in it. "Do you know who I am, like who my family is?"

Her permanent smile grew more tender. "Why, yes I do." It wasn't a surprise, it was the answer I was expecting. "Why does everyone seem to know who I am here, even people I've never met?"

"Oh, dear, that's small town life. Everyone knows everyone here, gossip spreads faster than wildfires, and all secrets find their way into the open." Her explanation made me feel oddly at peace. Content with her own answer, she turned back to her gardening, "You have a good rest of your day now. Go enjoy this weather!" Not wanting to bother her further, I made my way into the apartment to wake Lily.

Lily was, in fact, already up. She had just come from the shower and was patting her hair dry with my purple towel. "There you are, ooh what did you bring?" I handed her the coffee and a to-go container of what was advertised as the world's best biscuits and gravy. She was wearing one of my more casual outfits and I made a mental note to keep some of her clothes here for her, since this probably wouldn't be the last time she crashed here, especially since I was only a five-minute walk away from the bar.

"What are your plans for the day?" I asked. I needed an excuse to be alone tonight so I could sneak away to the bonfire with Cole. "I need to check on my mom but after I could help you find stuff for your apartment. I love you Harlow, but this place looks like a mid-century ghost decorated it. You need to zazz up the place a bit." I chuckled, "Zazz?"

"Yeah, zazz it up. Throw around some pink, maybe glitter." She put her fingers up into the shape of a square and looked around the room. "I can already picture it."

Now I was laughing at her, "For someone who looks goth, you sure are a girly girl." She threw a playful punch at me, "Shut up, and don't judge me."

"Fine, we'll go shopping and get the place set up but then I need some alone time to settle in. A calm evening by myself and no bars or biker drama." I felt bad lying to her, it wasn’t something I was used to and I hoped she couldn't tell. "Ugh, you're such a buzzkill. Fine, shopping, then you can grandma it out all night."

The choices for decorations were pretty slim. There was a gift shop, a boutique, a second-hand store, a hardware store, and a mercantile store. I was able to find the chair and small table set for outside my front door as well as some indoor plants and a purple throw for the couch. I bought some fancy homemade candles from the gift shop and Lily found a large cursive "Wild" sign that glowed in neon pink and took up almost half of the living room wall.

It wouldn't fit in Lily's car, so we had to walk it to the apartment and go back for the car. I had sold my own car before leaving Washington and now was seriously considering getting a truck. For anything else I needed or wanted would have to wait until I wanted to take a day trip down to the nearest city.

Lily helped me unpack and arrange things for a while and I made us a late lunch in my new kitchen. Afterward, she finally went home and I went through the difficult process of deciding what to wear to the motorcycle clubs' bonfire by a river. I was never a very outdoorsy person. My hobbies included cozying up on a couch with a good book and a late-night snack. I can't remember ever having actually gone to a bonfire.

I went through my entire wardrobe and still couldn't decide what to wear. My style felt too out of place here, too innocent. I decided to go back out to the mercantile shop that held some more local choice clothing. Making my choice, I went back to get ready. I watched a few makeup tutorials on wings and siren makeup. After a little trial and error, with some contouring and styling some quick wavy curls, I finally was happy enough with my look to put on the matte black denim skinny jeans with a tight leather corset top.

Looking in the mirror, I appeared to be a different person. The girl looking back at me was dangerous, bold. It didn't feel like me at all. I would fit right in.

With it nearing sunset, I grabbed my purse, deciding to go to the bar since I hadn't exactly thought about how I would get to the bonfire. The river campground was on the outskirts of town and too far to comfortably walk. I was hoping Dozer would at least be at the bar if Cole wasn't. I took a shot before heading out the door in an attempt to gain more courage. If no one I knew was at the bar then maybe my new outfit would buy me a ride to the bonfire. With that thought, I also grabbed my mace and slipped it in my purse.

As I was locking up, the sound of a motorcycle came from behind me and I turned to see Cole pulling up. I smiled as I walked up to him, his mouth agape as he took in my new look. "Damn, Low," was his only comment. "Where's the helmet?" I asked and he chuckled. "Just hop on." Part of me wanted to yell no and run back to the safety of my apartment but the shot burning in my stomach allowed me to swing my leg over the back of his bike.

The seat of the bike was made to where I naturally sat right up against him. Even trying to scoot back, I would slide right back into him. He revved the engine and kicked up the kickstand, the motion making me squeeze my arms tight around his chest. I could feel the vibration of the bike beneath me as he peeled onto the roadway, the roar of the engine drowning out my quickening heartbeat.