“Where are you guys staying?” Tse asks.
“Red Rock Motel,” Brick responds. “It ain’t the Ritz, but it’s got a king-sized bed so you’re not gonna hear me complain.”
“Oh, you’ll be complaining tonight, Brick Paver,” Lisa hisses at him, and it’s all I can do to keep from laughing.
Tse, however, doesn’t hold back, barking out a laugh as he claps Brick on the shoulder.
“Burn, brother.”
“Nah,” Brick says with a warm smile for his wife. “Plenty of time to turn her around.”
“Good luck with that.” Tse grins and turns to me. “Drink, Fee? Lisa?”
He tilts his head in the direction of the beer tent. I’m pretty sure that’s the extent of what they serve as well.
“Sure, I’ll have a beer,” I tell him.
When Brick ends up walking to the bar with Tse to give him a hand, I ask Lisa, “Where are the restrooms?”
“I’ll come with you.”
She leads the way through the crowd, keeping a firm hold on my hand. Around the side of the visitors’ center is a row of portable toilets and I’m almost tempted to turn right back around, but the pressure on my bladder is already uncomfortable. There are only three people waiting before me but something tells me as the afternoon progresses and the beer flows, that will change.
Lisa is waiting for me when I step out, grateful for the bottle of disinfectant gel left on the small ledge inside. A line has started to form behind her already.
“Figured I’d be smart to go now. This’ll only get worse.”
I nod my understanding and point at a spot a few feet away from the line.
“I’ll wait over there.”
I notice the stares and do my best to ignore them. I guess Lisa and I make an odd pair, both of us looking a little out of place. Pulling my phone from my pocket I shoot off a quick text to Mack, who is covering for me.
“Hola, Mamacita.”
I lower my phone and look up at a handsome, dark-haired man with a smile blinding enough to star in a Colgate commercial, but I note the smile doesn’t reach his dark eyes. They appear to assess me. I’d guess him to be around my age, and by the leather cut sporting a patch saying ‘president’ on his chest, I conclude he’s used to getting his way.
Not with this girl.
I straighten my back and turn fully toward him, raising an eyebrow, something he appears to find funny.
“My brother and I always had the same taste in women. Tits, ass, legs, a sweet pussy, and plenty of attitude. I see he hit the jackpot with you, but I’m here to tell you, you could do a whole lot better.”
I know instinctively it was him calling out to Tse in the parking lot.
It’s difficult not to laugh when he slightly puffs out his chest. His arrogance is ridiculous, but I also realize men with big egos can be dangerous when provoked.
“I appreciate your input, but I think it all depends on your point of view,” I tell him sweetly, “and the way I see it, I already broke the bank.”
With relief, I see Lisa coming this way and shoot a saccharine smile in the man’s direction. When I start moving toward her, a strong hand around my upper arm holds me back.
“Give my brother my regards,” the asshole says before letting me go.
“Who the hell was that?” Lisa asks when I reach her, and I glance over my shoulder to see him walking in the opposite direction.
“Nobody I want to know.”
Tse
Sophia has been quiet most of the afternoon, and by the time we get ready to go out on a late afternoon ride through the park, I wonder if I made a mistake bringing her here.
I asked her a few times if she was okay, was having fun, and she’d smile at me and assure me she was, but I didn’t miss the furtive glances she cast around all afternoon.
It was good to catch up with some of the guys I haven’t seen in a while, but I’m eager to get back on my bike, with only Sophia for company. Other than that quick glimpse earlier in the parking lot, I haven’t seen Manny around. I fully expected him to make his presence known but I wasn’t about to go seek him out. A former brother, he tends to bring out the worst in me and that’s not something I want to expose Sophia to.
We have quite a history, he and I, going back decades. For part of that history I was Ben, a fact he likes to remind me of. He’s always been Manny, while I embraced the name the club awarded me. For me it was a way to leave the rocky start I had in life behind. Manny’s hadn’t been much better, but he seemed to use those darker days as justification for who he is now, which is why our relationship has been strained since he left the club.
I catch sight of Brick and Lisa getting ready to get on his bike and turn to Sophia, who is already fastening her helmet.
“Are you up for this? We can go back to the cabin, or home, if you prefer.”
She seems genuinely shocked.
“Are you kidding? I’m looking forward to this.”
I’m relieved to hear her say that and bend down to brush her lips with mine.
“Good.”
The ride is north along Arches Scenic Drive to where it loops around Devil’s Garden. Then we take smaller side roads to take us back to Highway 191 and south to Moab. The entire loop takes about two hours including a stop or two, and the vastness of the scenery is perfect to take in from a bike. It’s one of my favorite rides, especially when the sun is starting to set in the sky.
Sophia snaps a few pictures on our stop at Devil’s Garden, including one of Brick and Lisa with their arms wrapped around each other as they take in the rock
