The Beauty and the Biker Alpha

Chapter 2: Alpha?

Chapter 2: Alpha?

“Here?!” Asked Nick in surprise. “As in the diner?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Wow,” said Connor. “Are all the Biker Beasts coming with him?”

“Duh, Alpha Callum never leaves home without ‘em,” said Milan, taking a compact out of her designer purse and checking her makeup in the mirror.

“Alpha?” I said, confused.

The three of them looked at me in surprise like they had forgotten I was there.

“Get back to work,” snarled Nick.

“Why do you call him Alpha?” I asked. “Is he very commanding? That’s so dramatic.”

I knew the place was called the Road Alpha Diner, but that was different. This was a single human being lauded over, or, so I thought.

“Work!” Snapped Nick.

“There are no other tables to wait on,” I mumbled.

Taylor had taken care of the three occupied booths while I had been apologizing to an undeserving Connor who hadn’t actually ordered anything yet.

“What would you like?” I asked, taking out my notepad.

“Two hot chicks tied together with a big bow,” said Connor. "I like them thick like a milkshake where the straw just stands straight up as soon as you put it in."

“What would you like to eat?” I specified.

“Nothing, just go,” said Nick.

“I’m hungry,” whined Connor as I walked away.

From behind the counter, I saw Nick glare at him.

“You need to be more careful!” admonished Nick, practically hissing at them.

“Yeah, Connor, be careful,” muttered Milan.

“Both of you!” Said Nick.

Milan pouted in reaction to being scolded by Nick. They all fell silent again when they noticed me lingering behind the counter. Nick gave me a pointed look. That was my cue to exit stage left.

I took one last look back at Milan. Like I said, we used to be friends until I realized she secretly hated me for some reason. In kindergarten, when we were four years old, she put chalk and markers she had taken from the teacher’s desk in my backpack along with several snacks swiped from other kids’ lunch kits. I was labeled a thief for the rest of that month until the other kids forgot. Thankfully, kindergarten kids didn’t hold grudges for long. On my twelfth birthday, she threw a pool party on the same day and bribed our classmates to go to hers, telling them the party favours included iPads. She hadn’t been lying. Her Mom had actually bought iPads for everyone invited. By the way, everyone in the class had been invited except me, even though she was supposedly still my friend back then. She had told me she didn’t want to offend me by inviting me to another party on my birthday. When we became teenagers, she began telling all the boys in school that I was a lesbian, and that I was in love with her. I had nothing against lesbians, but the rumour upset me because I wasn’t one, and if I were one, I’d have much better taste than to fall in love with her. She had chosen that specific lie in the hopes of stopping me from dating a boy she liked who liked me, even though I had already assured her I wouldn’t go out with her crush. My loyalty to her had been misplaced. I should have gone out with her crush. She went out with my crush the following year.

One hour later

“And why is this diner called the Road Alpha diner?” I said to Sailor.

We were in the diner’s kitchen washing wares even though the official dishwasher, Sonia, was here.

Sonia was asleep in a chair she had dragged in here from one of the tables outside. Her head was on her outstretched right arm. Even with drool coming out the side of her mouth, she still looked pretty. Sonia was about five foot nine inches with long thick jet-black hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her brown skin was blemish free. She had a baby face similar to mine with large doe eyes, full cheeks and pouty lips. People always thought we were teenagers despite the fact we were both in our mid-twenties. That was where the similarities ended though. I looked at myself in the surface of a very reflective pot. My olive complexion and brown eyes rippled in my reflection as I turned the pot to and fro. I had tied up my long brown ringlets into a messy bun as we were out of hair nets.

I could tell Sailor wasn’t going to tell me anything I didn’t already know. Every time I brought up the idiosyncrasies of this place and the people here, she had very little to say. Could I really consider her my friend if she was keeping something from me? Maybe, I actually was just paranoid, but my intuition kept telling me otherwise.

“Washing wares is kinda therapeutic for me,” I revealed. “It’s the only chore I ever liked other than pet-related chores which I don’t mind either.”

“Huh?” She said.

“I said washing wares…” I began repeating myself.

“Wares? What are you talking about?” she asked.

I smiled.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot that was more of a Trini saying,” I said. “Washing wares means doing the dishes.”

“Trini?” she replied.

“As in Trinidad. You know Trinidad and Tobago, right? It’s the place my Mom is from, in the Caribbean,” I said, trying to jog her memory. “It’s two separate islands that make up one country. Trinidad is the bigger island and Tobago is the smaller one.”

I missed the tropical environment my parents had raised me in. The sea breeze was always refreshing. The Road Alpha Diner was in the California desert. Here, the breeze blew hot. There were expanses of sand and rock formations for miles and miles. Not a tree in sight. A cactus could be found here and there. It was quiet at night if the wind was still, but if it picked up, the wind would howl.

“That howling night wind you guys get out here is so loud sometimes I think there’s a pack of wolves out there,” I said with a laugh.

“There is!” Said Sailor quickly. “There are wild grey wolves out there.”

“I’ve never seen any,” I said.

“They’re stealthy,” she said dismissively.

“A documentary I watched about the area said there are lone wolves here, not packs,” I said, just making conversation.

“Well, that’s wrong!” She snapped. “There are wolf packs out there! Why do you not believe me?” She said, her voice becoming a bit shrill as her anxiety level rose.

I dropped the topic, opting for silence. This was the weirdness I was talking about. She and the others would get worked up about the strangest things. I wasn’t trying to challenge her knowledge. I was just talking to keep my mind at ease. I used a reflective plate to fiddle with my hair a little. Something about the news that this Alpha Callum was coming made me feel like I needed to look my most presentable. I also felt like I needed to run for the hills. There was an ominous undercurrent in the diner today like the calm before the storm. I should have known everything was about to change.

“Why are they calling that guy coming here Alpha?” I said.

Silence.

“Sailor?” I said.

More silence.

“Hello,” I said, tapping my knuckles gently on her forehead. “Is Sailor at home?”

“Your hands are wet,” she complained, pushing my hand away.

“Do you know why they’re calling him Alpha?” I asked. “Is that like his social media handle or something?” I wondered.

“Yeah, probably,” said Sailor, still focussing way too hard on scrubbing the pots.

“Is he an influencer?” I said. “What if he’s a jerk like Connor? Connor has a lot of followers online, you know.”

“Hm,” she said absentmindedly.

“Okay, I’ll just talk to the wallpaper. I’ll have a better chance at getting a proper reply,” I said, annoyed. I addressed the floral brocade pattern on the wall. “What do you think about Alpha Callum? Did he call himself that because he’s a cocky douchebag or…”

“Don’t talk about Alpha Callum like that,” snarled Sailor all of a sudden.

What the hell?

“What’s your problem?” I said.

“You need to show him some respect,” said Sailor sternly.

This was so unlike her. I hoped she was kidding.

“Okay, I’ll practice my curtsy,” I said.

“I’m serious, Calla! You don’t want to anger him,” she said. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“Oooh. Dr Jekyll and Alpha Hyde,” I said, referencing one of my favourite books.

“Take this seriously, Calla,” she said.

I frowned, realizing she meant that in earnest.

“Okay,” I said softly, feeling uneasy.

I suddenly felt like I barely knew my own so-called best friend. I frowned at her.

That was when it happened. The diner, the desert, everything and everyone fell eerily silent all at once. Then, I heard the roar of about a dozen engines. They were coming. The Biker Beasts and, of course, Alpha Callum.

Sonia and Sailor made a mad dash for the door that led back into the diner. When had Sonia even woken up? There was a glass window in the door they had just left swinging. I held the doorknob, keeping the door ajar and peeked through the window. The automatic double doors at the main entrance opened and in stepped a colossal black boot. One and then another. His footsteps seemed to shake the earth. I moved my eyes upwards. Above those black boots were powerful legs under faded black jeans. His belt buckle was shaped like a wolf's head. I scanned his tapered waist underneath a V-neck T-shirt. He was wearing a leather jacket, but I could tell by the size of his neck and jawline that his biceps and triceps would be intimidatingly large. He seemed to take up so much room. He had to be at least six feet seven inches as he was taller than all of our security guards. I took a step back instinctively, feeling a little afraid. Despite how rugged he looked, he was undeniably handsome even with those dark shades on. I wondered what colour his eyes would be. His posse was just as fearsome as he was. The Biker Beasts flanking him were all a bunch of hulking masses of leather, muscles, spikes and studs. There was not a single smile amongst them. Everyone was stone-cold serious.

I had been so focused on Alpha Callum that I hadn’t even noticed that the diner was suddenly packed full of people. It was almost as though they had all come to gawk at him. Milan was doing everything possible to draw attention to her huge breasts. I huffed to myself and Alpha Callum’s head turned sharply in my direction as if he had heard that tiny noise. I panicked and ducked down behind the door so he wouldn’t see me peeking in through the door’s window. Damn. My heart was racing like I had just run a marathon. It was pounding in my chest. This was ridiculous. I felt like I had a fever all of a sudden. What was wrong with me?