Page 3 of Trip
“He might have,” she replies with a shrug. Her gaze lingers on my features for a moment. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so grumpy about getting a free meal.”
“Who says I’m grumpy?” I reply, knowing I’m just proving her point. I take the remaining two fries on my plate, biting into them in an attempt to hide my scowl.
“You’re right,” she says, rolling her eyes playfully. “You seem absolutely ecstatic. My bad.”
“I am,” I say as I stand, pushing in my chair and offering her my hand. She hesitates for half a second before taking it and allowing me to start leading her out of the diner. “I’ve never been happier.”
Now that I’m taking this beautiful woman on a ride, that’s the truth. Even though I’ve never been a fan of having a backpack on rides, I won’t deny my excitement at taking Julia out for her first ride. I’ll take her out on as many rides as she wants, actually.
“Wait,” she says suddenly. “Do you have a helmet I could use?”
“Shit,” I say, though I wouldn’t be opposed to taking her without one, but it’s clear she wants one, so I say, “Stay here,”and sprint back inside to grab one of the spares that I know Rock keeps in the back room.
“Where did you get that?” Julia asks when I hand her the helmet.
“This is an MC diner,” I say with a shrug, grabbing my own helmet from my bike and slipping it on. “Rock keeps spares around.”
“This is an MC diner?” she repeats with a tilt of her head.
“You didn’t know?” I ask as I get onto the bike. “The Riders of Retribution own this place.”
“Oh,” she murmurs. “No, I didn’t.”
I realize at that moment that she has to be new here. Just about everyone in Rio Lunas knows that this diner is run by the MC. I tuck that away in the back of my mind as I gesture for her to get on behind me.
“Hold on tight,” I instruct, loving the way her body feels pressed against mine. She’s still not holding on tight enough, though. “Come on, Julia. Don’t be shy. We can’t have you falling off the back now, can we?”
She giggles as she complies. When her arms are practically strangling my waist and her front is firmly against my back, I kick the bike to life. From behind me, she makes a delighted noise. So, I rev the engine, drawing another sound of excitement from her.
“Keep holding on,” I yell over the engine.
Then, I take off, going slowly at first to let her get accustomed to the way the road feels beneath us. I stop before getting onto the main road, letting her readjust her grip before turning onto the street. The speed limit is low, and I’m already raring to get going faster.
I drive toward the outskirts of town, leaving behind the residential neighborhoods. As soon as I get to the open road, I start to speed up. Behind me, Julia presses herself in closer. She makes a delighted sound from under her helmet, and I can’t fight the grin that plasters itself on my face.
The sun begins to dip below the horizon as we get further away from town. I take a turn, deciding I’m going to show her one of my favorite places to visit. I’ve never brought anyone else out here, but I think that Julia will enjoy it.
She holds onto me tightly even after I stop. It isn’t until I kill the engine and tap her thigh that her grip on me loosens. And, even then, she keeps one hand on me as she dismounts.
“Where are we?” she asks as she removes her helmet and holds it awkwardly in front of her.
“Somewhere I like to come to think,” I say, putting my own helmet on my bike and plucking hers from her hands. “There’s a bench over there behind that grove of trees.”
“Oh,” she says, squinting in the direction. “I would never have known.”
“I don’t think most people know about it,” I say, grabbing her hand and leading her through the small wooded area. “I found it on one of my solo rides.”
“So, I take it you ride a lot, considering you're in an MC,” she says as she joins me on the bench. Her gaze drifts upward at the stars that begin to freckle the sky. “I’m guessing you didn’t join to spend time with your pals.”
“You seem to know a lot about me already,” I tease, loving the way the corner of her mouth tugs upward.
“Only that you ride a motorcycle and hate getting free food,” she quips.
Seems like Julia’s a bit of a jokester. I could get used to that. I already want more.
“That’s about all there is to me,” I say, resting my arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. I know the stars are probably breathtaking right now, but she looks even better. “But I don’t know a damn thing about you. So, tell me Julia, when did you move to Rio Lunas? I don’t really get out much, but I’ve never seen you around.”
“We moved pretty recently,” she says after a long pause, her eyes still focused on the sky above her.
