Page 33 of Misadventures And Ms. Demeanor

He looked at the gnome again, then agreed. "Do you want me to drive?"

"No. I'm fine now, I think. I just need to stop sweating so I can grip the steering wheel."

"Then I'm going to walk around and make sure everything's secure outside."

While he did that, I went to my bag and changed my pants. A taser didn't bring about an incontinent problem but a feral cat and a flying garden gnome did.

The highway startedto fill up with traffic, even in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, all headed to Sturgis. Where we hadn't seen one motorcycle before, they were now on the road in droves. The RV wasn't quick moving to begin with, but our pace slowed the closer we got to the Rally. Traffic also slowed when it started to pass us, taking in the dents and scrapes, then the gnome in the windshield. We ate some of the chips Goldie had packed, but neither of us wanted to deal with making food, sowe found a stop that had a gas station, a motel and a small restaurant that advertised it served breakfast all day.

We didn't talk about the kiss. We didn't talk about anything. That didn't mean I couldn't think about it and how crazy it had been. I didn't even like the guy! But man, he could kiss. I'd felt more in that short kiss than I had sleeping with Roger. Of course, it could be that it had been so long that my memory was poor. Either way, it made my nipples perk up and my lady parts come out of hibernation. But JT was ditching me in Sturgis for a woman named Sarah. A dentist who he figured could give him what he wanted. He wanted the whole picket fence thing, but he'd probably just end up getting sex. Most guys were fine with just that. JT would probably just be fine with that too, but he'd still go looking for it again with the next woman. Perhaps he just hadn't found the right one yet.

Perhaps I never found the right guy. Was it as simple as that?

I didn't have a chance to consider this because a group of six or seven Harleys pulled up, their engines loud.

They dismounted, then came over to us. "Dude, that's a shame about your bike," one guy said. They all were typical bikers, jeans, black boots, either a white or black t-shirt. One had a beard, another a handlebar mustache, another had a red bandana around his head. They stood around the trailer staring at JT's bike in mourning.

"It's getting fixed in Sturgis."

"What happened to your RV?" Another guy walked along the Titanic side and joined us by the trailer. "What the hell is stuck in your windshield?"

"That would be a garden gnome," I muttered.

I shouldn't have spoken up because the men shifted their attention from the dead bike to me. "Holy shit, you're Silky Tangles."

"Dude, you lucky dog."

JT was getting his back slapped and I was getting ogled.

"We didn't know you were headlining in the area. Where's your show? The Ripe Peach?" Different men were talking and I couldn't keep up.

"Are you two stopping for lunch?"

"Yeah, join us."

"Shit, we're having lunch with Silky Tangles!"

Like a pack of wolves, I was culled from JT and led inside. The men were nice enough, courteous and thankfully kept their hands to themselves. They introduced themselves: Frank, Digger, Trey, Arty, Tom, Mike and Patrick. After about ten seconds, I forgot who was who.

Once inside, word spread like wildfire. I was placed in the middle of a large circular booth, three men on one side of me, four on the other. I wasn't going anywhere unless I wanted to slip beneath the table and crawl out, and I wasn't going to do that because it would give them some really pervy ideas.

JT stood at the table, hands on hips.

"Is he your manager or something?" one guy asked. I think he was Arty.

"Something," I replied. JT eyed me, probably trying to read my mind. I just rolled my eyes at him and shrugged my shoulders, which had him going over to a seat at the long counter, the waitress dropping a menu in front of him before wandering off.

"Please don't say he's your boyfriend, it would ruin it," Frank said hopefully.

"Ruin it?" I repeated, and I saw JT tilt his head to listen in. He wasn't far away. I felt safe, considering I was surrounded by a bunch of strange bikers. It wasn't the fact that they were bikers, it was more that they stood up for each other, like brothers, even if they were strangers. The guys who sat with me weren't the only bikers in the restaurant and I worried for JT. If someone didcross the invisible line, it would be him against a whole band of biker brothers.

"We know it's all an act, but I like knowing I've got a shot," added Tom.

I think I heard JT chuckle, but it was hard to tell.

"It's every guy's fantasy to be with Silky Tangles."

I felt myself flush, even though I wasn't her. "You know Silky Tangles is a stage name?" What her real name was, I had no idea, but no mother would strap her daughter with that from birth.