AN: I did go and check if the ezboard is still around where I used to post this. It hasn't had a new post on it in several years, and the format of the old thread for this story is seven kinds of messed up. Sorry folks. I didn't ever think it'd take me so long to finish writing and posting it that it'd fall off the face of the earth. I have written several new pages! That is a breakthrough for me. I hope I can keep it up. Either way, here's the next chapter. And thanks to katbaby for taking the time to review almost every chapter as she/he read it. Much appreciated!

The Funeral of a Good Girl

By – TempestRaces

Chapter 65 – Of Wild Rides and Being Multifaceted

On the way to where ever he was taking her, he lived up to his word. He made the ride quite interesting for her. She didn't let on to being nervous at any point, but it had been a long time since she'd been on a motorcycle and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not, at this point in her life. But she just held onto his waist and leaned back a bit, attempting to enjoy the wind blowing past her body as they flew. It was a different kind of reckless than she perpetrated in her car. More wild, less safe. Though perhaps due to the lack of safety equipment available on the bike, Bryce was more cautious on the road than she.

When they ended up at the same bar that she'd been to with Vince before, a puzzled frown filled her face. "What're we doing here?"

"This is where we're going."

"Why?"

"Do you ever just accept anything at face value, or must you question everything under the sun?"

"Well excuse me if the fact I told you I just wanted to stay home and you more or less forced me out of the house and onto your bike makes me question your motivations for doing it."

"I have something to show you."

"I've been shown this before."

"Not everything you haven't. Come on." He helped her off the bike and took her helmet from her hands, hanging it off the handlebar along with his own.

"All I wanted to do was spend Friday at home doing nothing," Tempest mumbled as she allowed herself to be dragged across the parking lot and into the bar.

"God you're bratty."

"Whatever," she answered in the same mumble. It was a sure fire sign she was getting frustrated with the situation to the point of shutting down about it.

Bryce just shook his head, never released his grip on her wrist. He propelled her into the bar, and into a back booth that the current occupants vacated the moment they saw him coming. Or perhaps when they saw the look on his face. Either way, the booth at the back of the smoky room was relinquished for their use.

Tempest threw herself down onto the vinyl padding with a sigh and looked up at Bryce. "Ok, now what?"

"Now I'm going to get you a drink and hope to god it puts you in a better mood."

"Better make it a double then," Tempest called after him as he walked away toward the bar. Bryce seemed to decide that his best option was nonresponsiveness. With a barely perceivable shake of his head he kept walking toward the bar.

Once he was underway, Tempest unzipped his jacket and shifted around on the vinyl seat to tuck her legs under her. She glanced around the room, not noticing anything different about the place this time from the last time she had been there. So she really had no idea why Bryce had insisted she get dressed over again when she'd been in for the night, let alone jump on the back of his bike and get dragged through the night to the same dive as she'd already seen. Really, seen the place once, you'd seen it enough.

She did note the addition of a stage to the front of the large room but didn't make too much of it. Bryce was back with a beer in one hand and a glass of something whose primary ingredient was coke before she could think about it too much. As he took a deep pull of the beer bottle on his way down to the seat opposite, Tempest assumed she was correct in assuming the other glass was for here. She picked it up when it was set in front of her and sipped on the straw. So, when you gonna tell me what I'm doing here?"

"Not. Just sit there quietly for a few and you'll figure it out."

"What? Can't get a date any other way but abduct one?" she teased, one eyebrow cocked in open invitation to have something to say.

"Like I'd have it in me to date you. I don't need a headache that bad."

"Guess it's a good thing I never found the motorcycle riding rocker dude type all that appealing then."

"We can only hope one outta two ain't bad," Bryce answered enigmatically, taking another drink from his bottle.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Bryce only shrugged in answer and Tempest fought a very real need to scream at him. She was the brat?

"Wish you looked your age. I find it hard to remember that you got a right to act like a spoiled brat on account of how you are one when you sit there looking old enough to be up in here legally and shit."

"'Scuse me?"

The icy cold tone of the question made him check himself. Had he stepped over some line in the sand? He answered the question with 'um' and waited to see what would happen next.

"You don't know shit all about me. Don't sit there an judge me like you got some call. Fuck you."

"What's not to know? You show up in a car worth more than some people make in a year, drop all the cash you want. You must have something to flash around with. Given you're what, 18, it musta came from somewhere and I doubt it was from a job."

"For your information I did save the money to buy the car from the almost full time job I worked all through high school. From the time I was 14 if you really must know. For your information I made the money to buy everything I have myself and the money I've been 'dropping' down here was all cash I earned racing and working for Harry. So fuck you. And I'm 19, practically 20."

"Jesus, my bad Trouble. Don't take my head off."

"Don't sit there and judge me like I've had some sort of fairytale life just because I have a nice car and took a vacation. Shit. What gave you the right to figure you know my whole history? Cause you talked to me for a sum total of two fucking hours in a few bars?"

Bryce simply shrugged and turned sideways on his seat so he could see the little makeshift dais at the front of the room. It was even worse than he thought. He liked the kid. The kid liked Vince, and the kid wasn't some spoilt princess slumming for the weekend either. Before he could have anything to say back to her the lights dimmed and a band walked out onto the stage and started fiddling with the instruments there.

"You dragged me out of the house to come watch amateur night at some shitty bar?" Clearly in an even more evil mood than before due to his imprudent words, the question was snarled in his general direction with a sneer.

"Kinda," he answered, shrugging. "Just try to kick back and enjoy it why don't you?"

"Whatever. I'm gonna go get myself another drink." She slid out of the booth and strode to the bar.

Bryce watched her go. Her walk was purposeful. She didn't look around. Just crossed the room and leaned on the bar. Walked back with the same purpose when she had drink in hand and slid into the booth opposite him again. "They're not bad. But I woulda rathered stay home."

"They're just the first. Hang in there."

"Your hour's almost up pal."

"Face it trouble, you ain't goin anywhere til I wanna take you, so you might as well settle in to enjoy the show, doll."

"Why do all ya'll macho types always think I can't take care'a myself without one of you? You think I can't find my way home without you? I do know how to use a telephone and a phone book. They're called cabs. I can take one. For that matter I can just call Jess or Leon to come get me."

"Yeah, but you'll have to go through me to do it."

"You say that like it's a problem of some sort." She shrugged.

He laughed, couldn't help himself. What an arrogant girl. No wonder Vince had a thing for her. "Just drink up and hold your fucking panties on for another ten minutes ok?"

She shrugged again, a one shouldered deference. "Who says I'm wearing any?"

He sputtered on a mouthful of beer before choking it down and laughing harder. She was so perfect for V it wasn't funny. Too bad he felt like the only one who could see it. She couldn't, V couldn't, it seemed like all the hot dogs Vince lived with couldn't either, coming between them, trying to stop the inevitable. He shut his mouth, still smiling even if he was shaking his head.

The current band finished up and the next one took the stage. Bryce looked over at Tempest to find her staring intently at one of his empty bottles which she was busy shredding the label off. Then the band on stage started to play and her head snapped up. Either she somehow recognized the playing or she was a Zakk Wylde fan.

"That sounds just like Zakk Wylde playing that guitar. Who covers Zakk Wylde songs?"

Well, that answered that. "Um. Doesn't look much like him though. Who do you think covers him?"

"Jesus, is that Vince up there?"

"Um." Again with a grunt in answer. He figured it was pretty rhetorical anyway. Given how much of Vince she'd seen in the last week, it had to be pretty obvious who it was.

"This is the thing he had to do?"

"Yeah." She seemed mad but she kept quiet, simmering in silence through several songs. The hour she'd agreed to stay was long since over.

"Why'd you take me here?"

Wow, she was really pissed. Bryce had to double check to be sure. She was pissed to the point of scratching someone's face off pissed. And it would seem she was that pissed with him. "Why not?"

"Because he didn't want me here. He said he had 'a thing.' He implied it was another thing like the thing I found you two doing before. He didn't ask me, he didn't tell me what he was going to do so he didn't want me here. Which means he didn't want to share this with me. And if he didn't want to ask me here I don't want to be here."

"Tough. Sit down and enjoy the show."

Something in his tone had her denim clad ass back on the vinyl seat in a flash, but she sat back down with a mutinous look his way, clearly still incensed. "He's good. Why would he keep this a secret from everyone else? I know Leon would enjoy this."

Bryce seemed to think for a moment about her question. "I guess because Vince keeps his life with the team and his life in the real world separate."

Tempest looked up at him. "So you're saying the life he has with my cousin, and Leon and Letty and Mia isn't real?"

The hurt in her eyes filled in 'with me' even if she left it unsaid. He sighed, unsure how to dig himself out of the female quicksand mire he found himself standing in. One foot wrong with women and you were fucked. And not in the way you wished for. "That's not what I mean. I guess this is just a side of who he is that he never decided to share with them."

"I'm leaving." She slid to the edge of the seat, prepared to stand. And then the band stopped playing and the lights came up. She stood beside the table, looking at Bryce in a mix of anger and something that might have been panic. Now she was basically caught and obviously didn't know what to do about it. He didn't have to wait long for the drama to play out. "Take me home, now," she ground out.

He'd never responded well to orders. Not from anyone. So if he'd intended to fill her in on that, at least she could have taken comfort in the fact it had nothing to do with her being a chick. And everything to do with him just not taking that kind of talk out of anyone at all. "There are things that need to be finished here."

"There are things that got started here by you and you had no right," Tempest growled in retort. She managed to mess around in her own life enough. She didn't need any help from outside third parties.

"You're making too big a deal out of this." They were so deep into their heated argument going on in hushed tones as he sat and she stood they never once broke eye contact to see Vince headed their way. It might have been better for them if they had, so they would have had time to prepare for how irate he was.