Page 93 of Wild Love
He rests the helmet on his thigh and flashes that Maverick smile that makes me want to roll my eyes and kiss him in equal measure.
“Want a ride, baby?” His tone is all sorts of innuendos.
“Where did you get this?”
He swings a leg over and stands in front of me. “Declan is letting me try her out. I’m thinking about getting one. What do you think?”
“I think they’re dangerous.”
“Worried about me?”
“Worried about the bike. It’s so pretty.”
“Come on a ride with me.”
“Where are we going?” I move the strap of my purse, so it’s across my body.
“Don’t know. We’ll just see where the night takes us.” He lifts the helmet carefully onto my head, then stands back and looks at me through a window he makes with the thumb and pointer finger of each hand. “Sold.”
He gets on, and then I do, tucking the hem of my dress under me so it won’t blow up, and then wrapping my arms around his waist. A thrill shoots through me as he starts it up. I tighten my grip, and he takes off. Johnny navigates through the busy city traffic, and then I lose track of where we are and what direction we’re heading.
On a quieter road, he turns his head and yells, “Hang on, baby.”
Then, the bike accelerates, and we’re moving fast. The wind whips my hair around, my heart hammers in my chest, and the smile on my face never leaves. At one point, one of his hands drops from the grip to stroke my leg, then rests on top of mine clasped around his chest, and I thinkI could get used to this: the spontaneity, the fun, spending evenings with Johnny.
There’s good and bad to knowing the end point of a relationship. On the one hand, it forces you to really appreciate every moment, but on the other, each moment feels bigger than it might if you didn’t know it could be the last. I guess it’s just that summer is coming to an end, and I’m sad about leaving my friend.
Johnny slows inside a little town and pulls off into a parking lot, and kills the engine.
I remove the helmet and stand on wobbly legs.
“What’d you think?” he asks, taking the helmet and setting it on top of the bike.
“I think you’re going to pick up a lot of girls driving that thing around.” It’s the first flash of jealousy I’ve had, thinking about him doing this with someone else when I’m gone.
He laughs it off. “Come on, let’s grab dinner and have some fun.”
When he walks into the restaurant and gives his name, it’s clear that this was not just a joyride. It’s a small, cozy place, but it’s packed and obviously by reservation only. We get a table for two in the back corner, and Johnny stretches out his long legs in front of him, circling mine.
He stares across at me with a smirk.
“What?”
“You’ve got sex hair. Another plus for the bike.”
I run a hand along my knotted hair. I don’t think there’s any fixing it without a brush. I have a serious rat’s nest. “This is a plus?”
“Hell yeah. Just fucked is my new favorite look on you.”
My body tingles, and thighs clench. Umm, check, please? Why are we so far from the apartment where I can kiss him? The bike suddenly seems like the worst idea he’s ever had.
* * *
After dinner,we get back on the motorcycle, but instead of heading toward the apartment, he heads farther in the opposite direction to a bowling alley.
“Seriously?” I ask. “You bowl?”
“This place is supposed to be fun.” He slips on a baseball hat, pulls it down low on his eyes, and then takes my hand.
