27 - Midnight Pancakes

What do you two do that you’re here so late? – Danisha
Ending the call with Camille, Darkness debated what he should do. Something was bothering Camille. He heard it in her voice when they talked before her last class. She insisted that everything was fine. It was just stress from the first day. Finally, she told him that they would talk about it when he got back.
If that was how it was going to be, then fine, he was going back home.
Glancing at his watch, he estimated that with traffic and construction, he could be home around eleven. If getting out of the Austin area took longer, and lord knew that Houston traffic *never* stopped, it would be closer to midnight. He was good with that time.
Obviously, neither of them would be asleep at that point.
If he headed back no later than two, he’d be back in Austin by nine. The other Baton Rouge Cajuns were enjoying the hospitality of the Austin chapter of the Texas Renegades and their bunnies. And the many bars and clubs that the Tomlinson family owned. Most of the Cajuns were not up before ten in the morning. He could do it.
Walking out of the room that he was staying in, he headed for the bar in the clubhouse and found Zydeco and Gator with women in their laps. There was an unwritten agreement between Gator and his wife, when he was at other clubhouses without her, what happened there stayed there. And he didn’t ask what she did while he was gone.
“I’m going out,” Darkness told the table at large.
“You want company?” Gator asked as he scooted his chair back.
“I think that’s why he’s headed out,” Zydeco chuckled and Darkness grinned.
Gator shifted uncomfortably before shooing him away.
“You going to a bar?” Swamp Thang asked, and Darkness simply shook his head.
“You wouldn’t like where he’s going.” Zydeco warned as the large man headed for the door.
He knew what they all thought and where they believed that he was going. If his dark fetishes kept them from asking questions, he had no problems with that. None of them had enjoined Demonz and knew that they would not follow him if they believed he was going to the BDSM club.
Stopping in a Buc-ee’s just outside of Houston, he filled up his tank and emptied his bladder. Before leaving, he grabbed a few bottles of water and a Snickers bar. He tucked one bottle into the saddlebag and the other into his cupholder near the handlebars.
He stopped again in Lake Charles and repeated the process at a Love’s truck stop. Closer to home he received fewer side looks but many people still gave him a wide berth. He was big, intimidating and a black biker. The permanent scowl that he wore probably did not help either. As his little Cam phrased it, ‘Your RBF does not give off the warm and fuzzies.’
That was fine with him.
Darkness arrived back from Austin late the night of the first day of classes. He didn’t bother with checking in, he wasn’t even supposed to be there. The other Cajuns were still in Austin believing that he was at one of the local sex clubs. Since they operated on discretion, no one would be able to verify one way or another if he was or was not there.
He did the seven-hour drive straight through, only stopping for gas twice. And, in a few hours, he would make the return trip the same way. Hopefully avoiding the construction and morning rush hours.
Once again, he had ignored the Renegades and Cajuns rule of never riding alone. He did this frequently. After all, he was the Darkness, and nothing was scarier than the dark.
“Ummm… are you here?” Peanut asked as he walked over to Darkness as he stopped in front of the gate.
With a smile, Darkness handed the man a hundred-dollar bill.
“Never saw you. Give me a second and I’ll reboot the security system. It’ll give you about ten or fifteen minutes.”
Darkness rolled through the partially opened gate and stopped in front of the clubhouse. He slipped into the building and down the hall. He knew where to find his little Cam, his bright guiding light in the dark world in which he lived.
Camille sat in her regular spot on the back porch. Her laptop sat on the table from where she had probably been working on her homework and the business she shared with Priscilla. Now she sat reading her history book. It was doubtful that she even needed to read it.
But he loved watching her.
“Pancakes?” he asked softly.
She turned and looked at him in surprise. Then she hopped up and ran to him. He caught her as she flung herself at him.
“You’re not supposed to be back yet.”
“Officially, I’m not here. We have about five minutes before the bribe I gave Peanut wears off.”
“Then give me two and I’ll meet you out front.”
It didn’t take long for her to stow her belongings in her room and change into jeans. She stepped out of the front door to see that he had already placed Tink in his safety harness and the dog was secured in his custom seat. They slipped out of the gate just before Peanut finished rebooting the system and turned the security cameras back on.
Darkness took the long route to IHOP because Camille seemed to need the time on the bike. Once they were settled in the booth, their regular waitress, Danisha, confirmed their orders and went to the kitchen, stopping briefly to check on her young son who was sleeping in a booth.
“Somethings bothering you.”
Camille nodded. “Did you ever meet Molly and all his pretties?”
“Has about a dozen daughters and half as many wives?” Darkness said with a smirk. “They’re having the big wedding later in the month.”
“Yeah. My friend Priscilla, Molly’s oldest, said that they got bad news from the doctor today. She had cancer when Priss was born. It killed Becks’ only baby.” Camille sighed. “Becks was diagnosed with cancer again at the beginning of summer.”
Darkness moved to her side of the table and pulled her to his side. Sitting on the bench seat with her, he thought about how small she was compared to him. He was tall, broad and muscular. She was slim and trim, and at five feet six inches, she wasn’t exactly short, but she was when compared to his six feet four.
She fit him perfectly. Right now, she was snuggled into his side, her arms wrapped around him. He held her with an arm around her shoulders and his other hand gently caressed her arm at his waist. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he closed his eyes and took in the vanilla scent with a slight scent of chlorine.
“The doctor has promised to do everything that she can to give Becks one last Christmas with her family.”
“Do you want to go home? I’ll take you home.”
Camille shook her head. “No, we’ll be going home in a few weeks. Besides, classes just started.”
“You let me know if you ever want me to take you home.”
“My dad would pay for my flights.”
He used a knuckle under her chin to make her look up at him. “I said that I would take you home. Doesn’t matter how we go. Bike. Cage. Fly. I’ll take you. Just tell me.”
She smiled at him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He never thought that he would feel this way. The giant void in his chest was much smaller. He no longer felt lonely and lost in a crowd. And it was all because of a woman two decades younger than himself.
“Are you still going to go to the wedding with me?”
He brushed tears off her cheeks. “I’ll go wherever you want me to go.”
She smiled at him as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Her arms slid up around his neck and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
The sound of plates being placed on the table and Danisha speaking to a new customer caused them to jump apart.
“Hey, Johnny! There’s a rag and some soap in the bathroom if you want to clean up.” Danisha said to the homeless man that frequented the restaurant.
“Danisha,” Darkness said, not moving away from Camille, only looking at the waitress, “put his meal on my tab. And give him a gift card of fifty.”
After eating, they rode back to the clubhouse for a serious make out session that Peanut chose not to see. He arrived back at the Renegade clubhouse just before eight the following morning.
Isaac Tomlinson grinned at him. “Have a good night?”
Darkness just grinned and nodded.