Emily nodded, already starting to clean the grill.
Fixing herself an order of nachos and taking a bottle of water, she left the concession stand. Seeing a small table with a view of the game, she sat, picking at her nachos. Watching the crowd more than the game, she spotted Loker talking to Ben Stiles, a member of the school board. She wondered what they were talking about that had them looking so serious. Winter saw Ben say something before going to the restroom a few feet away, leaving Loker standing alone.
She rose from the table carrying her empty containers to the trash can, stopping in her tracks when the Last Riders walked by Loker. The motorcycle club had moved into town three years ago. Since then it had become a familiar sight to see them riding throughout the town on their motorcycles. Every so often, a group of them would attend a sporting event in town. They had so far, to Winter’s knowledge, never caused any trouble other than nailing every female that threw themselves their way.
It was the look that Loker was giving one of the women in the group that had Winter coming to a full stop. His usually cold expression changed into one of predatory intent and the slight smile on his lips left no doubt as to what he was thinking. The woman was everything Winter was not. She had short spiked blonde hair and was wearing tight jeans with high heeled biker boots. Her white shirt was low cut, showing an abundance of cleavage that Loker seemed unable to keep his eyes off. Any doubts she had about his sexual preferences were laid to rest with that look. The woman gave Loker a provocative smile, but continued to follow behind her friends. Loker continued to watch her until Ben returned, and then his expression once again became an impassive mask.
Winter went back to the concession stand sick with jealousy. Loker had never looked at her the way he had looked at the seductive blonde. She helped Emily finish cleaning up, and laughed when she left with a determined look on her face. Winter turned off the lights, locked the door, and began to walk towards her car when she saw Loker standing in her path.
“Busy night?”
“Yes,” Winter responded nervously as she started walking briskly towards the parking lot. Loker, calm like always, leisurely followed by her side.
“Would you like to get something to eat before you go home?”
“No thanks, I’m not hungry,” Winter answered.
“I have to go out of town tomorrow, but I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Your cousin Vincent is having his birthday party the fifteenth, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” Loker gave her a sharp look at her curt reply.
“Do you need a date?” Her cousin was president of the local bank and a member of the local school board. Loker was constantly asking to go to the various functions that Vincent invited her to, but she couldn’t stand Vincent. She often only attended because of Loker’s insistence.
“I don’t plan on going.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to Loker. Now if you don’t mind, I’m tired and want to go home.” Loker took her arm, preventing her from getting into her car.
“Are you mad at me for something?” He asked sharply.
“Why would I be angry?” Winter snapped.
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
Winter sighed to herself. He was clueless. For the last two years she thought they would eventually move toward a more intimate relationship, but after seeing his reaction to the blonde, she was finally admitting to herself that nothing was going to change.
Over her shoulder she saw Emily getting inside the football coach’s car as he held the door open. She was blatantly flirting with him, perhaps that had been where she had gone wrong.
“I could fix us dinner at my house,” she said with a soft smile, ignoring his question.
Loker’s eyes narrowed and his hand dropped from her arm.
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble. I thought we would just grab a quick dinner. My plane leaves at six in the morning, so I need an early night.”
“You could stay at my house tonight and leave from there,” Winter suggested. She had shamelessly asked him to spend the night with her. Holding his eyes with hers, she felt her checks redden in embarrassment.
Loker studied her flushed face for a minute before replying.
“That’s a tempting invitation, but I haven’t packed yet. I’ll call you when I get back in town. We could go to Vincent’s party and make a night of it.”