Carl placed his hands on the wall, pinning her to his center. She steadied her breathing, trying hard to keep calm.

“I promise to fix your phone. I juggle schooling with a part-time job. I’ll make sure I take several jobs and shifts just to pay back for the damage I caused to your phone. Please.” She pleaded while Carl shifted his gaze to her cherry heart-shaped lips, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lip.

He could still remember how she pulled him and planted a kiss on him. Those soft lips of hers. They were like magic.

How can a nerd like her taste so delightful and heavenly at the same time?

His gaze lingered on hers, and she could feel a bead of sweat trickling down her spine. The air became heavy like lead and she held her breath, her heart pounding crazily like a tsunami.

His musky, scented cologne was so strong and it filled her lungs as they stood within the radius of a handshake. Placing his hands on hers on the wall, she could feel those soothing warmth and she silently cussed herself for remembering such detail in a tense situation like this.

Lowering his face above hers, she could feel his breath on her skin, but she tried hard to remain calm as possible. . .

“How will you pay back for the damages?” He asked, his words lighter than a feather yet somehow heavy enough to crush her.

Her chest tightened, and she rubbed her clammy hands together under the heat of his gaze. It felt like her air plug was cut off as she panted to catch her breath.

Pulling herself together, she forced herself to speak. “I work at a restaurant near the school’s museum. I will ensure I take extra hours of work so I can get enough funds to pay for those damages..”

Carl’s smirk turned into a frown and she blinked as she tried to understand the unreadable expression on his face.

“And when will you be able to come up with the money to fix the phone? This phone, Barbie doll, is f**g pricey. The cost of repairs is significantly more than the purchase price. How are you going to do it?”

Amanda’s jaw dropped slightly. She tried to mask the shocked look on her face with a serious gaze, but Carl was no stupid. He could sense her fear and how scared she was to hear his statement.

“How- much - will - it - cost - for - the repair?” She asked slowly, her words slurring with each syllable with her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Carl could feel the fear in her voice and he knew certainly well that she wouldn’t be able to afford the costs for the repair.

“It’s an iPhone, and it costs three thousand dollars for a repair. Now tell me, while you work at your restaurant, will you be able to cover the cost within a month?”

He asked, his tone heavier than a stack of bricks.

She glanced up and her jaw dropped, eyes widening to twice their size when his words registered in her brain. She gasped, taking her bottom lip in her mouth, nibbling on it until she could feel blood slipping into her mouth. There was a lingering silence as Carl awaited her response, the silence thick and almost enough to choke her.

She works at a restaurant and as a delivery girl just to earn some little change. Even though she was on a scholarship, she still needed to pay for food, items, groceries, and her apartment. The few bucks she earned could barely cater to her needs, but it was enough to keep her soul and body together.

Although she knew the job was enough to sustain her, she couldn’t deny how time consuming and stressful it was. How the hell will she be able to come up with three thousand dollars in a single month?

Beads of sweat rolled down her face, and she tried to calm the raging displeasure and troubles in her heart before returning her gaze to Carl, who had been waiting patiently for her response.

“I will pay it back, but please, give me two to three months. My boss is yet to increase my salary and I have some bills as well.”

Indeed, she was right. She had a lot of bills. Even in school, she would typically send her mom and her cousin, who also resides at her mom’s apartment, the little change she earned. Her little cousin, a teenager, is an orphan whose parents died in a car accident. Her cousin’s late mom was a younger sister to Amanda’s mother. Since the poor girl had no parents, she had to live with Amanda’s mom. Because of their poor condition, her cousin wasn’t able to go to school, so Amanda has been trying hard to save for their necessary bills and her education.

“You could have thought about your bills before getting all drunk and damaging my phone, Missie..” Carl whispered coldly in her ear, his cold voice sending chills down her spine.

She couldn’t look at his face. Her eyes were on his broad chest, which was designed with a lot of tattoos.

“Face me,” He ordered, and she forced herself to look up at him.

“I can’t wait for three months before getting my phone repaired. You can’t expect a famous biker like me to be phoneless. We’re having an upcoming contest and I need to train my members with a video I saved on that phone…”

“Please.. I’ll. I’ll do all I can to pay back, but please just give me some time. I promise,” Amanda implored, hoping to elicit some sympathy from him, but his cold expression was a stark contrast to what she expected. She was hoping her pleas would soften his heart, but it did nothing.

“Let’s do it this way. You work at the bar in my clubhouse for two months and pay back the debt. I’ll even lower the amount you have to pay. That is contingent on your employment here. How do you see that?” He conditioned and her eyes sprang wide like saucers. Her heart had a struck as she looked sideways, taking note of the enormous lousy clubhouse filled with some rugged tattooed bikers dancing to the beat of a rock music.

She noticed three ladies were staring at her with disgust at a corner. Their stares held jealousy, contempt, hatred and more..

If looks could kill then she should be six feet below the earth from their gaze..

Why would they hate her this much when they aren’t even acquainted with her? Do they think she’s trying to steal their vice president? Fine..she admitted that she acted wrong by kissing him last night but she was too drunk to think properly.

One of the girls raised her middle finger to Amanda’s face and with gritted teeth, she mouthed the word ‘Fuck you.’

Amanda understood what she meant at that instance. They definitely did not give her a warm welcome there and they do not want to see her face either. How on earth will she be able to work in a toxic environment like this? She remembered how she crossed paths with bullies on the first day of college. She hasn’t healed from her frequent tortures she receives from her bullies and she doesn’t want to cross paths with new ones.

She took a deep breath as she came to a conclusion..

“Thanks for the offer, but um.. I don’t think I can work here.”

“Why?” Carl asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ears. He caressed her jaw, and she cussed herself inwardly for having some kind of reaction to his touches.

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ She asked in her mind.

“I can’t work here. Just want to work at my own space and convenience. I promise to cover the costs myself. I will get the mo–”

“---When? Till when?”

Amanda swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at him sternly, “Next month.. I’ll get it within a month,”

She saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes, as if her words had struck a nerve in his heart. Amanda didn’t know what gave her the courage to make that decision. She had undoubtedly chosen to work hard and obtain loans from others in order to repay them. She’d rather do that than work in a toxic environment and a world that reeked of alcohol, sweats, smoke and filled with mean girls with bitchy sassy attitudes.

Smiling, Carl mumbled and concluded, “Okay then.. Let’s see..”

He released her, and she pressed her lips before making her way out of the noisy clubhouse. She could feel his gaze burning on her back as she left the building.

When she was miles away from the clubhouse, she ruffled her hair and screamed in the thin air, letting out all of her frustrations.

“See the mess you got yourself into, Amanda? Why are you this useless?!”

When she heard footsteps and chortles, she raised her head, curious to see who it was.

Her heart hammered hard in her chest and her eyes widened when she realized that it was those three girls from earlier. Those mean girls with tinted hair, pierced nose, tattoos on their bodies on sexy tight clothing. She pondered what they might be planning and what they possibly want from her.

As she tried to skirt past them, one of them yanked a fistful of her hair, dragging her back to their side.

How mean can they be?

“What do you want from me?!!” Amanda screamed loudly, getting tired of their harassment. She doesn’t want trouble for herself, which was why she refused Carl’s offer of working in his clubhouse even when he agreed to reduce the amount she’s paying back for his phone damages.

“I see you love being famous, urh..” Taylor spat, grabbing Amanda by the wrist with her amber eyes brimming with hatred and scorn..

“You’re all over the news, Missie. I guess you should be happy now that you finally got to kiss Carl. The famous Biker, every girl’s crushing on urh?” Kate scoffed, spanking Amanda on the shoulder.

“You acted drunk, or maybe you purposely got drunk so you could achieve your goal of kissing him. Only God knows how long you’ve been planning or wanting to kiss him. I know girls like you. Aren’t you the nerd on scholarship? So you also have a thing for bad guys?!”

Taylor taunted, yanking Amanda’s hair.

“I didn’t mean to do it. You should know I wasn’t in my right mind at that moment..” Amanda countered, glaring at each of their faces with gritted teeth.

Jade, who hadn’t spoken, narrowed her eyes at Amanda. Her face darkened, and she stepped towards her before grabbing her throat.

Amanda’s eyes bulged as she stared straight into her deep black eyes, which shone with contempt.

“Let me warn you, idiot. Carl is my boyfriend. So get the f**k off him!”

She tightened her grip on Amanda’s neck and asked, “Now tell me, what did Carl say to you back there? What did you both discuss? Tell me every f**g thing I need to know. If you dare lie, I will cut off your tongue, bitch!”

ASPHALT WARRIORS MOTORCYCLE CLUB.

President, (Mr Sam)

Vice president. (Adrian)

Enforcer. (Craig)

Sergeant at arms. (Jasper)

Secretary (Hilary)

Assistant secretary (Piper)

Treasurer. (Chase)

Assistant Treasurer. (Orland)

Road captain (Andrew)

And Other members………

Blaring music echoed in the lively clubhouse. The members of the Asphalt warriors MC were having the time of their life, celebrating their president's birthday in a grand style. In the center of the clubhouse was a massive cake on a table, and most of the members took turns taking a slice of cake. While some of them danced to the music, others chatted dirty and fondled themselves while lounging on the sofa..

Piper, a Blondie with numerous piercings and rings on her face, stood at a corner, making barbecues. Another table was set up on the opposite end of the clubhouse, and a bunch of people played beer Pong.

The robust disc jockey busied himself with playing several pieces of music, with his mouth moving as he chewed the cake he was given. A set of people held the mic, each of them rapping with the rhythm of the beat. They were on the stage and so many others cheered them on as they vibed and danced to their rap.

Some sat in twos, with their entire attention on the card games they were playing,

“Enjoy everyone!” Craig, the enforcer, exclaimed before taking a mouthful of barbecue.

The activities continued, and just then, Mr Sam, a bearded man with long blonde hair and tattoos on his face, grabbed a gun and cocked it. Even as he cocked it, no one could hear it because of the blaring music and the loud noise that filled the clubhouse.

Adrian smirked as he watched his boss keenly, knowing full well what he was about to do.

Mr Sam cocked the gun once again and aimed it at the ceiling before shooting not once, but twice. Everyone's attention was drawn to him immediately and there was this hush silence that lingered as the disc jockey turned off the music. Everywhere became silent, no murmurs, no raps, no chatters. All eyes were on the president, Mr Sam, who paced in front of them with his deep blue eyes flicking at each of their faces.

Every of the Asphalt warriors members was used to being silenced with a gun by their president, a no-nonsense and friendly man. That was his signature move. He was a man of few words, but his actions can be deadly and daring.

“I'm not here to ruin the party, I mean, my party, but I just want to remind us about the upcoming contest.”

He disclosed, slipping his fingers into his hair.

Piper, who was busy with the barbecues, rolled her eyes and lamented, “Oh, F**k! You reminded us about this before!”

Mr Sam glanced in her direction and cocked the gun before shooting the both sides of the wall where she stood. She clenched her lips in a mocking surrender.

“Now you shut that carven you call a mouth and f**g listen to what I have to say!” Mr Sam growled in a cold tone before shifting his gaze to the rest.

“Following the celebration and all, you guys should engage in a little bike race among yourself. You all need to wow me because I want to choose the best among the best today, even though I know you're all skilled at creating stunts.”

They all nodded, and he snapped his fingers before shifting his gaze to Collin, a new member.

“Hey champ.”

“Yes, Mr Sam..” Collin replied with a smile, but when he saw the rage on Mr Sam's face, his brow shot to the roof.

“You still haven't fixed your bike?”

“Urmm. The thing is…”

“---Have you gotten a new motorcycle gear?”

“Mr Sam.. I want—”

“---OUT!” Mr Sam yelled, his tone heavy like a stack of bricks as it resonated in the club.

Collin remained at a spot and protested, “You have to hear me—”

“--- Get the f**k out of here and fix that damn bike, jackass!” Mr Sam snapped with gritted teeth before aiming his gun at Collin’s forehead. Collin nodded curtly and raised his hands in a mocking surrender while the rest chortled silently.

When Mr Sam turned to face them, they pressed their lips tightly, pretending to keep serious faces. The sound of Collin’s feet dragging on the floor grabbed their attention again, and they couldn't help but burst into another fit of laughter.

Mr Sam got mad and shot the door twice with his gun, causing Collin to hasten his step.

“Next time, I'll aim for your butt whenever I see you drag those damn feet on the floor.”

Mr Sam blurted before turning to face his crew with raised brows.

“How the hell did he even join us?” He asked and laughter erupted from everyone, breaking the silence that had ensued a while ago.

“As I mentioned earlier, let's get ready for tonight's practice. I want to see perfection. No f**g flaws, okay? We don't want to slack in our training sessions and let the Wild Hogs win against us. Do we?”

“Never!!” the crew chorused with determination on their faces.

“Good! So y'all have fun for the next two hours. After that, we gather around here and start our training. I believe you guys have lectures on Monday, don't you?”

They all nodded while Hilary cut in, “Well, not for me.. I've never attended lectures and I don't think I will till we graduate from college,”

“Ohhh..” The rest hyped and cheered her with a loud roar.

“Well, I never influenced your decision, do know that. You made your choice, not me,” Mr Sam said hoarsely, while she winked at him seductively.

“As long as I'm in this club, I see no reason why I should sit in a lecture hall and listen to boring lectures from nerdy professors,”

She added while Mr Sam rolled his eyes before turning to face the others.

“Keep that in mind, everyone. Once it's four on the dot, I want everyone to be here. If you don't show up here at the exact time, I'm sorry, but you're disqualified from following us to the event. And if you keep being unserious and lackadaisical towards everything pertaining to this clubhouse, oh, but you're so going to get disqualified forever as well. And once you join the wild hogs, prepare to be our enemy. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir!” They all chorused while Mr. Sam fired the gun once more and motioned for them to carry on with the celebration.

The loud music spilled the clubhouse, and everyone proceeded to their various activities. Adrian leaned against the wall while Craig, his best friend, approached with two beer cups in his hand.

“Here, have one!” Craig mumbled, passing a beer cup to him.

“Thanks,” Adrian replied with a grin before taking a sip.

They sat at the entrance of the clubhouse to discuss a few things, but Adrian wasn't paying full attention since he got distracted with something else.

“What is it?” Craig asked and followed his gaze. It centers on a Blondie who was being bullied by three mean girls who appear to be from the Wild Hogs team.

Adrian clenched his fist because he hated how rude they were treating the victim. Not only were those girls sassy and rude, but they were also pretenders. He couldn't count the number of ladies who had been flirting with him from the wild hogs’ team. Even as they claim to be their rivals, the girls there are madly hitting on him.

Why won't they?

He is a moderately built and heavily inked lad with strikingly cool features, like a deity. He had chiseled jawline, flawless white skin, deep blue eyes and a nice crew cut, which suited his face perfectly. He was the epitome of perfection itself and one of the famous sexiest bikers in college.

Carl was his rival because they both have the same talent, good looks and a few similar qualities.

“I know it's Jade…” Carl growled amidst clenched teeth when he saw the faces of one of the bullies.. “That two-timing asshole! She almost got me laid a few weeks ago.”

“Really?” Craig asked with a raised brow and Adrian nodded in confirmation.

“She spiked my drink, and I pretended to be drunk because I knew she was up to something. That stupid whore used her fingers to push me into the bed after reserving a room for the two of us. I took hold of her hands and shoved her away from me before she could reach for my d**k in my pants.. You need to see how surprised she was! Bloody Bitch!” Adrian cussed, while Craig laughed.

“I thought she was Carl's girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend my foot. Those bitches are horny as ever. Do you think only one d**k can satisfy them?” Adrian scoffed, sinking his fingers into his blonde crew cut hair.

They both watched the lady who was bullied by those bitches with sympathy.

Those bitchy bullies weren't stopping anytime soon.

“Hey! Isn't it that nerdy girl? The one who kissed Carl at the club last night?” Craig hinted after studying Amanda’s features closely. He shifted his gaze to a shocked Adrian, whose eyes shone with curiosity.

Adrian sat still, eyes wide as he took in her appearance.

Craig smirked and nudged him a bit and he immediately turned to face him.

Craig winked and said, “You've always had an eye on her. You know she's beautiful but different from the kinds of girls you date. What do you say? Why don't you try to get close to her?”

A sly smile tugged at Adrian's lips, and his eyes went back to Amanda.

“She's not my type of girl. No doubt she's beautiful but…..”

“But what? You're scared she might snub you or never even fall for you?”

“Tttch! All girls fall for me…” Adrian boasted, crossing his arms.

“I doubt that..”

Adrian's brows furrowed at Craig's statement.

“Maybe not all girls. Maybe she is different.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah! Why don't we place a bet?”

“Whatchu mean, dude?!”

“I'll give you two months to make her fall madly in love with you.. you can ditch her afterwards..” Craig suggested with a wink.

Adrian rubbed his jaw with his fingers, a devilish smile embracing his lips.

“What do I get if I succeed in getting her attention?”

“Not just getting her attention, silly. Make her crazily in love with you… I want to see if someone like her will ever…you know,”

“Fine. I'm in. What do I get once I finally win her heart?”

“You'll get three thousand dollars from me, Adrian. I promise. I give you just two months to do this.”

“Make it four months.. you know I have to pretend to love her and pretend to have an interest in those boring stuff she does.” Adrian implored while Craig nodded in agreement.

“Okay… now why don't you start by saving her from those bitches? You can step in that way and get to know her better. Saving her will make her indebted to you and you can, you know.. Move further and do as you please.”

Craig winked while Adrian smirked before getting on his feet.

“You're a crazy bastard!” Adrian said before making his way to Amanda.