63: Leather and Lies

Quincy St. Martin

Caspian’s closet is huge! It’s about the size of Jonah’s house. Everything is neatly organized. Color-coded, even. Lights turned on as soon as you step in.

Each cubicle, shelf, and drawer light up. Then there are his shoes. Oh, my God, his shoes! Just how many pairs of shoes does one man need?

I find my own clothes and a few new clothes my size already hanging and folded nicely on one side of the closet. There are a few pairs of shoes next to my old Converse.

I have a feeling I should thank Penny, Genesis, and Serena for this. They’ve also offered to take me shopping tomorrow.

After the shower, I explore the closet. I have no idea where Caspian is taking me.

It’s already 9:50 a.m., so finally, I put on a new pair of blue wash designer jeans, a cute fitted white V-neck top, and a pair of black Converse.

Jeans never looked or felt better on me.

I spend the next minute brushing my hair while debating whether my outfit is too casual to wear for a date. I should have asked him where we’re going.

I feel his presence before I see or hear him.

“You look perfect, ~moya printsessa~,” he says.

Our eyes meet in the mirror. It's kinda creepy but also very fascinating how similar our eye color is.

He lifts my hair up before placing his lips on the side of my neck, never taking his eyes off of me.

We’re dressed almost the same. He’s wearing a pair of blue wash jeans with a white T-shirt that hugs his body, black biker boots, and a black leather jacket.

“All you’re missing is this,” he says, draping a black leather jacket on my shoulders. “We look good together.”

Surprisingly, we do. I always thought he was way too good looking for me. A god among men. Looking at our reflections in the mirror now, we look like we belong together. How is that possible?

Maybe it’s just my wishful thinking, because he still looks inhumanly gorgeous.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he replies with a wink. He grabs my hand, and we both make our way downstairs.

“Have fun, kids!” I hear Constantine yell before we enter the garage.

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!” adds his mate, Genesis, cheekily.

“They’re not going painting, that’s for sure,” mutters Penny. Darius, Lazarus, and Serena burst out laughing.

“Owwww, Genesis! What the…? What did I do?” I hear Penny yell a second later.

Caspian chuckles, but he doesn’t say a word as he leads me to a row of motorcycles on one side of the garage.

“Wait! Are we going on one of those?” I ask him, pointing at the motorbikes.

“Yes,” he says, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. “Problem?”

“Hell no! No problem at all.” I’m practically jumping up and down like a kid hopped up on a sugar rush. “Let’s go!”

He laughs as he ushers me toward a chrome olive-green Harley.

“Harley-Davidson Road King Special,” he says, stroking the handlebars and touching the leather seat lovingly. “It has a 1747 cc engine, four valves. It’s not the fastest bike but—”

“Excuse me,” I interrupt him. “Are you going to start making love to it, or are you going to take me for a ride on it?”

***

“I can’t believe you’re jealous of a motorbike,” he says three hours later when we stop to grab our lunch. He’s grinning mischievously as he takes off my helmet.

“I can’t believe you named your motorbike Monique,” I return.

It’s not that I’m jealous of Monique. It’s just that he won’t stop talking about how great she is. Hmmm, now I’m thinking about my teddy bear, Oliver.

It’s been so much fun so far. We’ve been cruising around on the bike for a while. We even stopped by the Santa Monica Pier. I wanted to eat there, but Caspian said we have another plan, and now here we are.

The sign above the restaurant says ~Jon’s Pizzeria~.

“Wait! This is the place where you got our pizza when you took me up that hill,” I say, gripping his hand.

“Yes, the very same,” he replies, kissing the back of my hand before ushering me through the door.

It’s a very small restaurant with very limited seating. The smell of pizza makes my mouth water.

“Good afternoon! Nice to see you again,” says a girl behind the counter, smiling widely at Caspian.

She’s about my age, I think. Her eyes shine brightly when she looks at him. Right now she doesn’t even seem to notice me.

“Yeah, we’re here to pick up our order,” replies Caspian, pulling me to his side.

Her big smile falls as she spots me. “Oh, right,” she says. “I’ll be right back.”

She disappears into the back. Not a minute later, she’s back with a bag that looks similar to the one Caspian brought to our hill outing.

Her eyes are going back and forth between Caspian and me while he is paying the bill. “Is she your sister?” she blurts out suddenly.

Caspian raises his head from the credit card machine at her question. He stares at her blankly for a while before a slow mischievous smile takes over his face.

“Why, yes. Yes, she’s my little sister,” he says, wrapping his arm lightly around my shoulders.

“Yep, this is my brother,” I say, placing my hand on his chest, raising myself up on my tiptoes.

He turns and meets my lips with his halfway. He tilts my head, and I let him take over the kiss, devouring my lips like he’s starving. I open my mouth for his onslaught, meeting his tongue with mine.

By the time we pull back, we’re both breathing hard, grinning at each other.

We both turn at the same time to look at the girl who is now staring at us with big shocked eyes and a wide-open mouth.

“I just love my brother so much, you know,” I explain to her as I lean my head on his chest and wrap my arms tighter around his waist.

Poor girl.

We’re both laughing hard once the door of the pizzeria closes behind us.

“You’re a little devil.” He grins as he stores the food into one of the panniers.

“So are you, though you’re not so little,” I tell him. “Admit it. You enjoyed it.”

“Oh, you know I did.”

“Where to, big brother?” I ask him as he secures the helmet back on my head.

“Up the hill and into the woods,” he answers, giving me a swift kiss on the lips.