Nikki was shocked that her parents were ready to kick her out, but she understood that her lifestyle wasn’t for everyone. She would be going off to Princeton for orientation at the end of the week anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal to her.
Since the prom, Nikki had been making a significant amount of money with high school kids. Enough that she could trade her car in for a new Ford Explorer and when she got to New Jersey, Nikki planned to make another purchase. So during her week, she planned so she could get into her apartment at school a month sooner than originally planned, which also meant she could arrange things how she wanted before her roommate arrived. It also gave her time to plan out how to not only move her business to a bigger market, but how to help it evolve.
Nikki loaded her belongings into her new SUV without a word. As she loaded the last of her things into the back, she turned to her parents, who standing in the driveway watching.
“I’ll be back for the rest of my shit before school starts,” Nikki said as she hopped into and pulled out.
On the way to her new home, several things went through Nikki’s mind as she smoked a seemingly endless amount of cigarettes on her drive. One of the things she began to think about was her future with Mark and her association with the club. It was beginning to bother her that she would never have an equal ground as a man and never reach her full business potential with them in the way. She was also upset they would allow them to bring someone to her home that was so disrespectful. Now that she was going to an Ivy League school, Nikki also wondered if Mark would fit into her new world. He was a low-level member of the club and her business aspirations went well beyond his ambitions.
When Nikki arrived at her new apartment, she was impressed with the place. It was her first home of her own. She had a couple days before her orientation and her new roommate would be staying with her during that time before going home until school started.
After spending the night unpacked her belongings, Nikki awoke the next morning and she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to buy her own motorcycle. Sure riding on the back of Mark’s was great, but Nikki wanted to try driving for herself. She had gotten her license unbeknownst to everyone during the summer and since Mark wasn’t here, she decided it was time. Nikki had even spent a significant amount of time researching which kind to buy and how much it would cost.
It was about a 45-minute drive to the Harley Davidson store so it gave her time to rehearse her plan so she didn’t get swindled by a salesman. In the end, though, it wouldn’t be necessary as Nikki was confident in what she wanted and was clear. She was only in the store for 30 minutes and arranged for her new Fat Boy to be delivered the next day.
Nikki could hardly sleep that night thanks to the excitement of her first motorcycle being delivered in the morning. She awoke bright and early with hopes it would be delivered on time, giving her the entire day before orientation began to use her newest toy to explore the area.
After emerging from the balcony after a series of cigarettes and a cup of coffee, Nikki decided it was time to get dressed. She peered into her closet and chose a tight white Harley Davidson tank top, tucked into a pair black bootcut jeans, tied together with a thick black leather belt and chose her black cowboy boots. Next came her necklaces, white bandana and her watch and bracelets. Nikki then picked up her vest and the name emblazoned on the back. She took a pocket knife out of her purse and cut off the name stitched on. She had decided it was time to move on.
Her motorcycle finally arrived and she couldn’t wait. Nikki wasted little time taking it out for a ride and it was one of the most liberating feelings of her life. The wind racing past her face and being in control of the bike for the first time gave her a bigger rush than riding on the back ever did. She loved revving the engine at stoplights and getting stares from women and looks of envy from women. This was the perfect purchase.
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When Nikki awoke the next morning her roommate had not arrived yet, so she decided to get dressed for her orientation after getting her nicotine levels up to par.
Wanting to look nice for the occasion, Nikki chose a dressy light blue tank top tucked into a pair of dark blue bootcut jeans, using a thick black leather belt to piece the outfit together, along with her black high-heeled leather boots underneath. She also added her jewelry for the finishing touch. Nikki went on the balcony for one last cigarette before checking her watch and deciding to head to campus.
She put her purse in her saddlebag and strapped on her helmet, firing up the thunderous engine and sped out of the driveway. When she hit a stoplight just before campus, Nikki reached into her vest and lit a cigarette. Pulling into the parking lot on campus, she certainly caused a commotion, but not the kind that she was used to.
Her new Ivy League classmates and their rich parents stared. Who was this tattooed biker with a cigarette burning between her lips? Was she lost?
Nikki pulled into a parking space and killed the engine, taking her helmet off and shaking her hair free, cigarette still dangling between her lips. She hopped off her hog and let loose a massive exhale as she pulled the cigarette away from her lips. Nikki put replaced her purse with her vest in her saddlebag and headed into the main building, cigarette between her fingers, full shield sunglasses covering her eyes and a trail of smoke and dirty looks behind her.
The morning moved along as Nikki sat in orientation seminars quietly, as she kept to herself. Nobody had yet to approach her, aside from a few acknowledgment smiles from classmates. By noon, she was dying for a cigarette and desperately wanted a break for lunch to quench her nicotine thirst.
As she was heading out the doors after the seminar came to a close, she was already pulling a cigarette out of her pack as she walked when a group of four clearly rich girls stopped her.
“Are you really going to be a student here?” One of them asked abruptly.
“Yes,” Nikki responded shortly.
“I didn’t know bikers went to Ivy League schools,” Another laughed. “Are you sure you’re not going to be the janitor?”
Nikki had the urge to throw each of the girls through the wall, but she knew this wasn’t the time or the place for a physical altercation. So for once, she used better judgment and played the situation coolly.
“I’m sure,” Nikki said with a smile. “I didn’t even need my daddy’s money to get me in.”
She proceeded out the door and lit a cigarette, allowing the smoke to race through her starved 18-year-old body. She noticed she was the only one outside smoking. As she dug into her purse for her cellphone, a tall girl with dark brown hair walked out the door behind her.
She was at least six-feet tall and muscular. She was thick, but certainly not fat. The girl was wearing a plaid button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and open, showing a white tank top tucked into her blue jeans and a brown leather belt with a big belt buckle and brown cowboy boots on her feet.
To Nikki’s relief, the girl reached into her back pocket and produced a pack of Marlboro 100s and placed it in her mouth.
“Don’t worry about those girls,” She told Nikki as her cigarette bounced between her lips. “They’re just stuck up bitches.”
“I’d like to break their noses,” Nikki laughed through an exhale. “But their parents would just get them new ones.”
“They don’t know what workin’ hard is,” The girl responded. “I grew up on a farm so I ain’t afraid of gettin’ a little dirty.”
Nikki could tell she had an accent, but couldn’t quite figure out where it was from.
“I’m Nikki,” She said. “I’m from Buffalo.”
“Alessandra, but everyone calls me Al,” She said. “I’m from Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. I moved here a couple years ago to go to school, but it didn’t work out, so now I work maintenance here.”
“Well I guess we should probably stick together if we want to survive these bitches,” Nikki said. “Do you want to get lunch?”
The two girls began to hit it off at lunch. To Nikki’s relief she not only enjoyed Al’s company, but she liked her no-nonsense attitude. It didn’t hurt that she kept up well with Nikki’s smoking pace.
Once the orientation was finished, Nikki texted Al and asked if she wanted to grab dinner. Al agreed and her new friend had her meet at a local restaurant. Nikki arrived at the restaurant and waited be her bike for her new friend to arrive. When she did, she received a major shock.
Al pulled into the parking lot on a Harley Davidson of her own, much to Nikki’s pleasure. Given Al was a bit taller, hers was a bit bigger.
“You ride?” Al asked surprisingly before Nikki could beat her to the punch. “I didn’t think Ivy League girls did.”
“My tattoos didn’t give me away?” Nikki laughed as she pulled on her cigarette.
Over dinner Nikki divulged her entire story to Al. From her association with the club and her desire to move away from it, although she didn’t tell her exactly why she wanted to. Al told her she had never dated any in a motorcycle club, but had some experience with seeing how they operate just from riding to various places.
When dinner was over and the two departed, Nikki knew that Al would be a great addition to her business. She knew it couldn’t be done alone and that Al would be good backup, but she didn’t know how to approach her about it. That was something Nikki would need to ponder, but first she had to go home to meet her new roommate.
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Nikki roared into the parking lot of her apartment, she waited in the parking lot to have a cigarette. She didn’t know much about her new roommate, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to endure constant criticisms about her smoking or her lifestyle.
When she entered the apartment, she found a beautiful girl sitting on the couch. Her new roommate was about 5-feet-5, with black hair and a natural tan.
“Hey, you must be Nikki,” The girl said in a thick Long Island accent. “I’m Erica.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nikki responded, extending her hand.
The two girls got to know each other for about an hour. Erica came from money, her father a prominent investment banker, and she dressed like it. Nikki was relieved her roommate was pleasant, although a bit snobbish.
After a bit of talking, Nikki rose from the couch and reached into her purse for a much-needed cigarette.
“I’m going to step out for a smoke,” Nikki announced. “Do you want to join?”
“Oh, no I don’t smoke,” Erica said as disappointment came across her face.
“OK, no worries,” Nikki said.
“Can you make sure you always have the door closed? I don’t want it stink in here,” Erica said with a bit of a condescending tone.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nikki said, annoyingly. “Are we going to have a problem here?”
“Just as long as it doesn’t smell in here,” Erica said. “And could you make sure you don’t smell like smoke when you sit on the couch?”
“Look, I’m not going to a shower every time I have a fucking smoke,” Nikki barked. “I smoke a lot, so you’re just going to have to deal with it. I won’t smoke inside so I don’t need to hear your shit.”
“Wow, no need to talk like a trucker,” Erica snipped. “I knew you weren’t rich, but I guess Princeton needed your demographic.”
Nikki did everything she could not to throw Erica through the wall. She could feel her blood bubbling beneath her skin as she got into the girl’s face.
“How about this? You stay out of my business and I stay out of yours,” Nikki snapped. “It’s a plan you should agree to because your daddy is going to have to spend an awful lot of money buying you a new nose if you don’t.”
Erica was not nearly as intimidated as Nikki would have hoped, but she knew that she wasn’t going to overpower her tattooed roommate.
“OK,” She muttered.
What had started as a promising conversation turned into Nikki’s worst nightmare. How was she going to make it through an entire school year when her roommate was already annoying her and classes were a month from starting?
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