Page 13 of The Biker and the Loner

Once I'm out of there and on my bike, I let the wind take over.

This.

Missed this.

The wind. The ride. The thrill.

If nothing else,thisis worth being alive for.

~

I let myself into Grunt and Toni’s house with the spare key they gave me this morning. It's well after midnight, so the quiet darkness inside is expected.

Little brother’s done well for himself—landing a classy, rich, educated woman, getting college degrees, a good job, having a son, and moving into a mini-mansion in Greenwood Village... After the shit life we've had, I couldn't be prouder.

Head pounding from a migraine, I navigate through the darkness, trying to remember where the kitchen is. After a few seconds of fumbling and shuffling, I switch on the lights and begin searching the cupboards for painkillers.

"That you, Scratch?" Grunt's voice sounds from somewhere to the left of me.

Nabbing a bottled water from the fridge, I head in that direction until I see blinking blue light. Family room.

He’s on the couch, sprawled on his back, watching a muted TV.

"Yo," I mumble as I stride to the recliner and throw down.

He angles his head to look at me. "Thought the club was throwing you a hog-roast."

"They did." I twist the cap off the water bottle. "A couple rounds of sky shots sorta triggered me so I took off."

"Shit." He pushes up on his elbow. "You good?"

"Yeah. Got a nasty migraine now, though. Just rummaging through your kitchen for painkillers."

“Ah.” He reaches above his head to the side table on the left of the couch, picks something up, and throws it at me.

I catch it. A bottle of painkillers.

"Came down here 'cause I couldn't sleep. Awful headache,” he tells me. “Swallowed two of those and was just waiting for the magic to kick in."

"Thanks, man." I pop the cap and knock back two of the pills with a gulp of water, then close my eyes and lean back in the recliner. "Mind if I crash on this tonight? Don't wanna go back to all that noise and shit."

"Wouldn't have given you a key if I did, bro."

After a few moments of silence, he says, "I bought a ring."

"Took you long enough."

He laughs. "I was giving her time. She was in a shitty marriage for a long time, you know. Just wanted her to feel ‘free’ for as long as possible."

"Congrats, man.” I pop one eye open. “Even though she can do better than your sorry ass."

He throws a pillow me. "Asshole."

"Kenny’s heading down the same road judging from the looks of things with that nerd she's all moony over."

"Yeah," he says with a fond grin. "I keep waiting for that call where she’s telling us she eloped."

"Yep. That's def her style. Can't see her going any other route."