Riggs

R iggs had been at work all day and there was really no end in sight. He had two more bikes to check out for his brothers down at Savage Hell, but they’d have to wait until tomorrow because he planned on showering and sleeping for the rest of the night. He loved doing side work for the guys down at the club. It helped him stick some cash in the bank for a rainy day—even though he didn’t really have any of those. Things were going well at work, and owning his towing company came with some challenges, but he loved being his own boss.

As soon as he got out of the shower, his cell phone chimed with a text, and he picked it up, noticing that he still had some grease on his fingers. That shit was hard to scrub off and it seemed to get everywhere. It was a hazard of his profession and one that he really didn’t mind. He quickly read a message that had come through from Phoenix. She wanted him to go to Savage Hell with him and have a few drinks. That wasn’t something that he could do. Phoenix was still twenty and he wouldn’t betray Mrs. Aggie’s trust in that way.

He quickly fired off a response to her. It was a simple, “No,” and he knew that it was going to get him some shit from her, the next time he saw her, he couldn’t give her any other answer. Even if she was twenty-one, he still wouldn’t make a move on Mrs. Aggie’s granddaughter.

He watched his phone screen, almost afraid of what she was about to text next. The little dots appeared on his screen, telling him that she was typing, and then they just stopped. They started again and quickly stopped. felt as though he was holding his damn breath waiting for her to send him something—anything.

“She’s toying with me,” he mumbled to himself, tossing his phone to the bed. He just wouldn’t read her text. That would serve her right.

He decided to try to ignore the fact that she was jerking him around and went down to the kitchen to grab a beer. That’s when he saw her. Phoenix had stepped out of Mrs. Aggie’s house, onto the front porch, and was staring over at his house. ducked out of the window, trying not to catch her attention, but he was pretty sure that wouldn’t stop her from coming over. He had all the downstairs lights on, and he knew that she’d have some choice words for him—probably not any that he was going to like. Maybe just telling her “No” to her offer of a night out at Savage Hell wasn’t his finest idea, but it was the only answer that he planned on giving her.

held his breath as he watched Phoenix Walk across the yard between his and Aggie’s houses. She looked determined by the look on her beautiful face, as she walked with purpose. He just wondered what her purpose was for storming over to his house.

He ducked out of the window as she stomped up his porch and rang the doorbell. waited a few minutes before going to the front door, hoping that Phoenix would just go away. She banged on the door, and he sighed. There was no way that Phoenix would give up if she was there for a reason.

He got to the front door and took a deep breath as he put his hand on the doorknob. “I know that you’re in there,” she insisted. “Just open the door, .” He pulled the door open, and she crossed her arms, scowling at him from the porch.

“I asked you out,” she started. He was well aware of her invitation to go to Savage Hell to get a beer. The problem was that Phoenix was only twenty, and there was no way that he’d rob the cradle.

“I’m aware,” he said, “and I replied with my answer.”

“You turned me down without any explanation and I’d like to know why,” she spat. God, she was beautiful when she was mad.

“I don’t think that my answer needs much explanation,” he insisted. Phoenix pulled her cell from her pocket, found his reply, and held it up for him to be able to see the screen.

“No,” she shouted. “One word—that’s all I got. I’d like a reason why you won’t grab a beer with me down at the bar,” she said again. With any other woman, he’d tell her to piss off, but Phoenix was different. Plus, there was no way that he’d want to make her grandmother mad.

He let out his breath and looked her dead in the eye. “I turned you down because you’re only twenty,” he said.

She barked out her laugh, “Age is just a number, ,” she said. “Besides, I’ve been through more in my twenty years than most people in a whole lifetime.” He knew that she was right about that. From what Mrs. Aggie told him and what he picked up from Phoenix, she had been through a hell of a lot.

“And for the record,” she continued, “I’ll be twenty-one in two weeks.” He wanted to tell her that didn’t matter to him, but it did.

“I’m thirty, Phoenix,” he said. “We still have a ten-year age difference and there’s no way that I’m going to go up against your grandmother if she doesn’t approve.”

“Aggie doesn’t get to pick who I go out with anymore, ,” she said.

“I guess she doesn’t,” he whispered, “but I still don’t think that us going out together is a good idea.”

“Well, I think that it is,” she insisted. “How about you take me out on my birthday and buy me my first drink?” she asked.

Now it was his turn to laugh. “You don’t expect me to believe that you’ve never had an alcoholic drink, Phoenix,” he said.

“Okay, how about you take me out and buy me my first drink of the night?” she asked. “Come on, it will be fun, and you’ll see that age is just a number.” Maybe she was right. Maybe he could get away with dating Phoenix, but the little voice in the back of his head was telling him that he was too old for her. It told him that he’d make a full of himself in front of his club brothers if he showed up at Savage Hell with Phoenix on his arm. His little voice never steered him wrong before, so he was going to stick with it, even if it meant hurting Phoenix.

“No,” he breathed. “I won’t take you out, Phoenix. You are too young for me, and I won’t make an ass out of myself by dating a younger woman. You need to find someone your age to date.”

She shook her head at him, and for a second, he thought that she was going to just walk away. But Phoenix wasn’t going to make any of this that easy for him. “Coward,” she breathed, “you’re being a giant coward, . But that’s okay. I’m going to take your advice and start talking to some of the other guys down at Savage Hell, but they won’t be my age. Men my age are immature and once I tell them that I have a toddler, they make up an excuse to leave. I like older men for a reason, —they have the balls to put up with everything that I’ve had to deal with in life and not be scared off by my daughter.” She turned to leave, and he felt bad letting her go like that.

“Phoenix,” he called after her. She didn’t bother to turn around. She just kept walking over to her grandmother’s house.

When she got to the porch, she turned to look back at him and smiled. “Your loss, ,” she shouted. Phoenix walked into the house and slammed the door behind her. She was probably right—it was his loss, but what was he supposed to do? If he gave in to her now, there would be no going back, and he couldn’t risk that.