Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
So Rude
Shay
After the way he treated me when he dropped me on Nina’s doorstep, I shouldn’t want to be anywhere near him. I should have told Bowie to kiss my ass and kept making cookies, but here I am on the back of his bike. Just like last time, I feel free. There is nothing like riding down the road, the wind whipping through my hair. The vibration of the motor hums through my body, leaving warmth in its wake.
Time flies by as I watch the scenery change from fields full of tobacco plants to the city streets of Owensboro. After what seems like just minutes, but was probably more like an hour, Bowie turns the bike into the parking lot of a barbeque restaurant.
As soon as he kills the motor, he taps my leg. “Hop off, baby.”
I wiggle until I can get my legs from around him. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, my legs turn to jelly. I’m about to go down when he reaches out to keep me standing.
“You’ve got to get used to being on my bike,” he says with a chuckle before wrapping his strong arm around my shoulders and heading toward the restaurant.
“I thought we were going for a ride. You never mentioned stopping.”
He shrugs but doesn’t stop walking. “Gotta eat.”
I follow along, knowing there is no use arguing. With every step I take, I ask myself questions. Why the heck am I here? Why did he want me to go for a ride? I’m so confused; it’s like he is a whole different person. The asshole that dropped me at Nina’s without a second thought is gone, and this nice guy is in his place. The change has me off balance, and I don’t understand it at all.
As we step inside, the smell of smoked meat and spices reach my nose. “It smells good in here.”
“Moonlight has the best barbecue in the entire fuckin’ world. Traveled a lot, but never had anything like it.”
I look around and see pictures of pigs and moons covering the walls. How strange. “It’s called Moonlight?”
He chuckles again, obviously hearing the skepticism in my voice. “Trust me, baby. You’re going to love it.”
The hostess leads us to the table, stealing looks at Bowie the entire way. As we take our seat, she looks to me then back to him. “A waitress will be here to take you and your sister’s order.”
Her voice sounds hopeful as she smiles an obvious invitation to him. He doesn’t explain that I’m not his sister. He doesn’t flirt, just dashes her hopes with two words. “Go away.”
Her face instantly falls before she turns away and stomps back to the front of the restaurant. My eyes jerk to him. “You didn’t have to be so rude to her.”
He stares at me for a long moment before mumbling, “You’re shitting me, right?”
“No, you hurt her feelings.”
He shakes his head, letting out a nearly silent laugh. “You realize she was hitting on me, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “You still could’ve been polite.”
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind then smiles. “Okay, baby. Next time some chick tries to throw her pussy in my face, I’ll try to be nice.”
Now, it’s my turn to stare at him while thinking he’s a crazy man. “She wasn’t throwing her… you know …at you.”
His smile grows. “Yeah, she was. Problem is that I’m only interested in one pussy right now. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
I slump against the back of my chair, mouth hanging open. I know I should say something, tell him that he’s being crude. Instead, I just start to laugh. “You are terrible.”
“Nope, just honest,” he replies with a wink as the waitress approaches our table.
Neither of us says another word as we look over our menus. I have trouble focusing on the options, though. Instead, I keep wondering why the warm feeling I felt on the bike hasn’t disappeared. I catch a glimpse of Bowie’s beard covered face and think I know the answer.