The Biker and the Gamer - S. Ann Cole Page 0,4

chirpy. Too nice, for me. But it’s in Cherry Hills Village, where all the “proper” folks live, and it’s gated with security cameras everywhere.

And I’m sorely underpaying for it all.

Directly across from the large pool is a mansion of at least six bedrooms. Home to only two people, Leyana and her step-mom. I don’t know much about them because I don’t ask questions, but I think she told me once when I was half-listening that her father had died a few years back and her stepmom's been supporting her since.

The atmosphere is tranquilizing, and I’ve been much better since I’ve moved here. Sleeping more, less jumpy. And, most of all, I feel safe.

Stumbling sleepily through the sunlit apartment, stripping my clothes off as I go along, I head straight to the shower, making it cold and brain-jolting. That’s the only way to convince myself that I’m still alive these days, to galvanize myself to live another routine 24 hours all over again.

Half an hour later, I’m showered, dressed and heavily made-up for work. I’m in the living area throwing crap into my backpack when I spot her coming toward the pool-house, balancing a covered dish and a glass of orange juice.

This happens at least three mornings per week. She brings me breakfast even though I’ve told her it’s not necessary. We’re not friends, but I've warmed up to her somewhat since moving in. She’s a little weird and gazy, a loner of sorts. But, for the most part, she’s the most giving and nurturing person I’ve ever met. Of course, she’s also private and secretive, so it’s difficult to tell what her intentions are, what she truly wants from me—because let’s face it, nobody’s this nice.

A cool breeze hits me as I flip the lock on the French doors, smiling to myself as she approaches. She’s got the sexiest walk. An evenly paced roll-and-sway saunter, almost as if in slow motion. Her small waist and Latina curves don’t help either. Endowed in all the right places. Long, waist-length dark hair. Leyana’s just…sexy. Even I, a straight-as-an-arrow woman, can admit that.

“Morning, Kenny!” she chirps as she enters my apartment. “Crepes, spinach rolls, and fruits today.”

“Mornin’, Ley,” I return, shrugging on my leather jacket. “Thanks. 'Preciate it.”

“Oh…” She sets the contents down on the small eating table and withdraws a little baggy from her back pocket. “I got some of Kathy’s Grade A stash for you.”

“Sweet,” I say, snatching the bag from her hand. Kathy is her stepmom. Leggy, blonde, privileged, and perpetually high. Don’t know who’s her weed connect, but I love it when Leyana steals her stash for me because it’s no exaggeration when she says it’s Grade fucking A.

Stuffing the stash in my pocket, I plop down at the table, uncover the dish and begin eating. “So, what’re you up to today?”

We’re the same age, pushing twenty-four. But while I have to work my ass off to survive, Leyana just…lives. I have no idea what she does or really if she does anything at all.

“Well, it's great that you asked,” she says slowly, “because I want to ask you a favor.”

“What's that?” I ask around a mouthful of crepes.

“So, Kathy doesn't want me to get a job. She doesn't think it’s ‘necessary right now,’ or whatever. Plus I have to be here to take care of her and make sure she doesn’t OD anyway.” She mutters the last part more to herself than to me. “But, her sister is flying in from Europe in a couple of days and she’ll be staying for a few months. When her sister is here to distract her, she usually doesn’t pay much attention to what I do. So, I’m thinking about getting a part-time job!”

What I’m thinking is that there’s a whole lot that’s wrong with all she just said, but it’s none of my business. “Good idea. But what do you want me to do about it?”

“Um, maybe you could ask Toni or Cookie if they’d be willing to hire me?”

I give her a dubious glance. “Not sure Toni’s gonna want you around her man, Ley.”

Toni is Grunt’s woman and the mother of his child. During a brief period when Toni and Grunt were “sorta” broken up, he claimed Leyana as his Steady. (A “Steady” is the Den of Heathens MC’s term for “exclusive girlfriend.”) After Toni and Grunt’s predictable reconciliation, Grunt, of course, had to drop Leyana.

Now Toni owns a wine-cream shop in town, “Tipsy Scoop”, and has joint ownership