BMB: Version 3-1

"Apparently you told Dad your plans for coming to New York, and when he realized you were doing it all yourself, he refused to allow that. And then he hatched a plan to get you checked out and helped out at the same time. All this happened without my knowledge. So, I was told that I was being sent to see Mike Pedersen about something for work. I went with it because one, I was told I got to be gone for three weeks, and two, Dad's my boss, I kinda had to do it, and I didn't have a reason to not take the trip. I rode my bike because I could, and because I had a place to store it when I got here. It's not often I get to ride for the sake of pleasure and not just for work."

"Bike," I said aloud. Holy crap. BMB stood for Build More Bikes. I mean, I knew it was motorcycles, but I had literally made mention of my love of that sound. He had just smiled. "You heard me say something about loving that sound when I heard the motorcycle during lunch the day after we met. You had the opportunity to share with me anything about it then, and you kept it quiet."

"I hear you, but how exactly did you want me to present that? Oh, you like bikes? I have one parked at a shop in town. I built it myself. In fact, I came here on it to meet you and bring you safely back to the shop where you're going to be working, not that you've told me any of that because at that point of our relationship, which was about 19 hours after we'd met, I didn't know anything about your New York plans at all."

"Fair enough, Tom," I told him and sighed. "Continue, please."

"So, my instructions were made clear by my dad that I was to locate you," he continued. "Well, that turned out to be easier than I had realized. I mentioned your name to the guy at the shop, and it turned out that he knew you and Mark. He even offered to bring me over to introduce us. We were in the car as he was driving me to your house when he spotted you walking into the bar."

"He was going to bring you to my house, and what? Introduce you to me as a friend? What was his line going to be? 'Hey, Trin. This is Tom. Thought you two might hit it off. Ope! Gotta run! See ya!'"

"We hadn't gotten that far into planning," Tom admitted. "But when I saw you after he'd pointed you out as you walked from your car to the bar, I knew I needed to meet you and thought maybe I'd take a chance and meet you the old-fashioned way. I just thought that meeting you by 'happenstance' as you called it seemed better than some random introductions by a guy who had no other reason to bring us together except that he happened to know us both.

"Yes, I knew you were planning to move to New York," he continued. "Yes, knowing that fact made it a lot easier to hear what you weren't saying when you thought you could keep that information to yourself. Shit, Trin. By then, I already knew I was falling for you. I don't think I would have handled it all that well otherwise. Can you imagine?"

"So, you followed me into the bar," I declared to keep the story moving. "You saw some guy hitting on me. Then what?"

"I did what I would have done for anyone," he admitted as he'd told me two weeks prior. "I moved in to make sure the guy didn't get too close or stick around. And within a few minutes, I began liking what I heard, what I saw, and when I saw the chance to get to know you better, I did that." He shrugged.

"I'm not an idiot. I wanted to see where things would go. My job was to find you, meet you, and help you move. The moment I met you, all the other stuff that could have happened or might have happened or would have happened had I not been the one to meet you went out the window.

"From the time we met and went out to dinner, that was the real deal. That was, and is, our chemistry. That was, and is, real, Trinity. I fell in love with you. I made a commitment to be your boyfriend the night we met, though I didn't say it aloud until I asked you to be my girlfriend the following Monday. I love you, and I believe you love me too.

"I know you feel betrayed because all of this wasn't disclosed, but I didn't want you to think that I approached you in that bar simply because it was my job. I didn't want you to think I fell in love with you to get some ass while I was here for two weeks. None of what happened was ever expected.

"You've given me two weeks of your life here. I've learned so much about you, and I've only grown to love you more. I plan to give you a lifetime with me in New York. I'll see your two weeks and raise you a family and a future." He sniffed a laugh at his poker reference and shook his head which I saw out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't looked at him since he'd asked me to put my phone down.

"I need to think about this," I told him as I got up. "I need to take a walk." Tom got up and reached for me. "Tom, no, don't. I'll be back. I just... I need some time."

"I'll be here," Tom promised.

"I'll be back," I told him again.

I left the house and walked down the driveway. I wanted to talk to Jen. I called her and told her about the news I'd just discovered, about my mom's reaction to Tom, how she did her whole high and mighty act, and how I was on a walk to process the whole situation. I knew it was dark, but I felt like heading to the field next to the park in the neighborhood. It was quiet & safe.

Jen was quiet as she thought about what to say to me. I knew Jen was relieved to know that Tom was going to be with me for the whole move. It had been one of her many voiced concerns while we'd discussed my decision to go forward with the move and new job and new life.

"Oh, hey," I told Jen to break the silence as I crossed the street. "The twins are parked up ahead. Weird. I wonder what they're up to." The twins were from our school and were known around town as local troublemakers. Nothing dangerous or crazy, but they'd been known to be an issue on the police radar for as long as I could remember.

"So, are you gonna be OK?" Jen asked bringing me out of my thoughts about the two men parked near the park. They were probably waiting to go to the playground to vandalize it with lewd images spraypainted onto the slides. It wouldn't be the first time. It made me roll my eyes. Jen continued, "Do you want me to come meet you there?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna be at our usual place in the grass. Might be safer if two of us are together since it's dark. Then you can come and yell at Tom after we're done." We both laughed.

"I'll be there in five," she promised. I heard her turning on her car as she'd spoken her final sentence. I told her I'd see her soon and hung up. I set the phone on the grass and laid down facing up at the stars.

When I heard footsteps only three minutes later, I was surprised. "Geez, that was fast!" I told my approaching friend. But then I heard two familiar laughs as one grabbed my legs and the other covered my face with a cloth. Strong smell... oh... fading fast...

***

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this next installment of the BMB series. I'm so excited to finally be sharing my works. I hope you enjoyed getting to meet a different version of Tommy and Trin. Oh, how I do love them, and with each version of their story, I hope you'll find yourself rooting for them too. The next part will bring us to the second part of this third version. The more I write about them, the longer the versions seem to get.

The basics throughout all the stories will remain solid. Trin is a young widow who lost her husband and two young daughters. That never changes, but details about the loss aren't always as detailed. Tommy (though he's mostly Tom in this one!) and Trin will always be the main couple. Jen is Trin's lifelong best friend, and, as promised, is showcased well! Most other details will be played around with amongst the upcoming versions. Patience and trust, I beg of thee!

All my best to you... I'd better get back to work now! Lots to add so you readers can enjoy! - CILMArae