The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,29
stops.
I know instantly that it’s her by the bounce in her step. My first instinct is to jump off my bike and rescue her because the girl she is with looks scary as hell. Maybe even scarier than some of the guys I’ve been away with, but then I see them laughing together.
As she gets closer, I think to myself that she is more beautiful than I remember, if that’s even possible. She’s older, more mature, like the day I had seen her at the museum working. What was the word I used? Sophisticated. Yeah, that’s it. My stomach twitches, hoping that she didn’t completely outgrow me. I get a better look at the girl she is with. Beneath the black, the piercings and the purple streaked hair, she’s actually kind of cute in a strange sort of way. Besides that, they seem to enjoy each others’ company as they talk comfortably together. Not a mugger, I conclude.
Her smile melts me. It takes everything I have not to call out to her. I hang back and watch her until she enters the building and is no longer in sight. Seeing her today makes it that much harder to wait any longer.
As I pull into the parking lot in front of our condo, I’m happy to see that Mikey’s bike has been delivered and is sitting in the visitor space. I pull in next to it.
Mikey’s back from his road trip and greets me as I enter the house.
“Hey, how does it feel to be home?” he asks, pulling me into a bear hug.
“It feels great. Thanks man, for everything… my room… awesome. It felt good to come back to something familiar. I appreciate it. You could have packed up my shit and took the bigger room.”
“Nah… What’s the difference? I had the whole place to myself.”
“It means a lot, you know? Everything you’ve done for me. The ring… how’d you—”
“I picked it up off the floor, after she…” He pauses.
“Thanks for keeping it for me. You’ve done so much—”
He holds up his hand, cutting me off again. “C’mon, we’re brothers. That’s what brother’s do. Where were you? I’ve been tryin’ to call,” he asks.
“Uhhh… My phone was off… I forgot to turn it back on,” I answer, not ready to elaborate on where I just came from. “Oh, by the way, I picked ya up a little somethin’ today to try and somehow thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I turn away to try and hide the grin on my face.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Here. For you.” I pull the keys from my pocket and dangle them in front of him.
“What’s this?” he asks, taking them from my hand.
I lead him outside and across the lot to the two shiny new bikes, sitting side-by-side. I sit on the midnight blue bike I picked for myself and motion for him to sit on the solid black.
“What the hell did you do?” Mikey asks, looking at me as if I’m nuts. “Did you fuckin’ lose your mind again?”
“Maybe a little. I don’t know. I was feelin’ a little irritable after practice, and on the way home the cabbie drove past the dealership. I made him turn around and drop me off. I don’t know… I just had the urge to do something…”
“You felt a little irritable, so you figured you’d just buy a couple of Harley’s?” Mikey asks, laughing.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I love it. That’s something I would do,” he says, shaking his head. “Holy shit! This is awesome!”
“So anyway, it’s my way of sayin’, thanks. Remember when we talked about getting them that summer?” Mikey nods, remembering the conversation. “Let’s go for a ride.” We rev up our engines and cruise along the highway.
When we finally arrive home, I remember that Deanna is flying in.
“Yo, are we supposed to be picking De up at the airport?”
“No. I talked to her earlier. She should be here any second. I took care of it. I have a limo waiting for her.” He laughs. “The guy’s gonna be holding up the sign with her name and everything.”
“You’re nuts. Why’d you do that?” I ask, laughing.
“I was planning on waiting around the airport for her to get in, but I was beat from my trip. I didn’t feel like sitting in the airport for three hours, so I got her a limo. I was planning on coming home to rest up, but then you walked in with your awesome gift.” He laughs. “Anyway, it’s funnier this way.