Hog Wild Ch. 03

"Hush," Alex said, pressing his finger against her lips. "Trust me, this will go a lot faster if I do the majority of it." He nudged her toward the bed, adding wryly, "I may be an old man, but I'm not the one having problems here."

Holly snorted, taking a seat on the bed and rubbing her hip lightly. "Sure, Pops," she said, smiling when she saw him grimace at the nickname. "Whatever you say."

She closed her eyes again, listening to Alex root around in her closet. She heard him throwing things into a cardboard box, and her muscles began to relax as took a much needed rest.

"Are these your parents?"

Her muscles tightened again. Her eyes shooting open, Holly saw that Alex was holding up a framed photograph, looking at her questioningly.

"Yes," she said, pushing herself off the bed and limping toward him. "And quit snooping," she snapped, snatching the picture out of his hand.

"I'm not snooping," Alex replied, annoyed at her sudden change in demeanor. "It was lying on the floor, in plain sight. What's the big deal?"

Holly was staring at the photo; she hadn't known it had been in the closet. "I've been looking for this for months," she said quietly, running her fingers along the glass of the frame.

The picture was fifteen years old. Holly, seven at the time, was sitting behind her father on the Harley, her tiny hands resting on his shoulders as they both smiled hugely into the camera. Her mother was in front of the bike, leaning over the handlebars and kissing her husband on the cheek. They all looked so happy. Holly hurriedly swiped at the tears that had come to her eyes, but Alex had already noticed.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face. "What's wrong?"

Holly shook her head, handing the picture back to him. "My parents are dead."

Alex let out a whoosh of breath, looking with renewed interest at the photo. "Wow," he said. "I'm so sorry, Holly."

Holly sighed. "They were killed in a car accident when I was sixteen," she said, not knowing why she was divulging this information to him.

Alex looked at her, his expression unreadable. "So that's why you're so attached to that bike of yours," he said, like he'd had an epiphany.

"Yeah," Holly confirmed, swallowing against the lump in her throat.

"So what have you been doing these last six years?" Alex asked. "Who took care of you?"

"I have aunts and uncles," Holly said, clasping her hands nervously. "I took turns living with each of them. I've moved around a lot these last six years."

"Ah," Alex said, looking at the picture again. He seemed satisfied with the information she had told him, but for some reason she wanted to tell him more.

"I moved here four years ago, to go to college," she said, causing him to meet her gaze again. "I put myself through school, but as you've probably guessed it's been a bitch trying to make a stable life for myself."

Alex nodded, gently placing the picture on top of the pile in the box. "You look like your mom," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "You're both beautiful."

Holly blushed, averting her eyes to the floor. "Thank you," she whispered, feeling a flood of warmth run through her.

Before she could register what was happening, Alex nudged her face upwards and placed his lips tenderly upon hers. It was a sweet kiss, very unlike the first one they had shared.

And then just as quickly as it had started, it was over. Alex stepped away from her, his breathing a bit more labored and his hair askew.

Holly raised a hand to her lips, feeling how warm they were. "What was that for?" she asked, confused.

Alex smiled. "I don't know," he replied. "I just felt like doing it."

Holly grinned timidly, self-conscious now that he had kissed her. "Okay," she said, looking at the mess that was still her closet. "I guess I'll finish up here, you can go pack up the kitchen."

Alex headed for the door, his fingers brushing against the back of her hand as he moved past her. Holly restrained a shiver as she felt an electric-like current shoot up her arm.

"You're a muse, my dear," Alex called over his shoulder, grabbing another cardboard box from the living room as he disappeared from sight into the kitchen.

Puzzling a moment over his cryptic words, Holly shrugged and went back to packing with renewed energy.