For once, Ellie didn’t immediately say what she was thinking. She pondered his point. Considered telling him that she would rather be alive and bored then dead on the street. But the rigidity of her routine kept rearing its head and silencing her. She hadn’t realized it, but she was bored. She got up, went to work, juggled her bills, maybe talked to Tessa, then went to bed and repeated it all.
Every.
Single.
Day.
The only reason she’d tiptoed into the online dating thing had nothing to do with hoping to find love, it was because she wanted—no, needed—to shake things up in her life.
She took a deep breath. “You promise not to go too fast?”
James smiled and Ellie immediately felt better. It was contagious. Warm and happy and genuine and she wanted to see him look like that more often.
He has, you know. Since he started hanging out with you.
Ellie pushed the thought away as James held out his pinky finger.
“I promise. I’ll start out slow.”
There was a glint in his eye, a glimmer of excitement, like he was about to let her in on some clandestine secret. She balled her hands into fists and released them, rubbing her palms against her shorts. James led her outside, waited as she locked up, then handed her the helmet as they reached the bike.
“Do you have anything to tie your hair back with?” he asked as she eyed the helmet. “Your hair might thank you if you can braid it or something.”
So much for the extra time she’d spent shaping her curls that morning. “I always keep a hair tie in my purse.”
She dug through the months of old receipts and empty gum wrappers she kept meaning to throw out as soon as she got home and found a black rubber band. It would’ve been nice if she had a mirror to make sure she wasn’t making a disaster out of her hair, but she settled for using her reflection in the window to separate her curls and braid them together. She slung her purse strap across her body and turned to James for approval.
Something warm softened his eyes. “You look nice like that.”
Ellie blushed. She never wore her hair back. Parasite Steve had always told her she looked like a Chia Pet because of the way the curls broke free and gathered around her face.
“Thanks,” she said, patting her temples, checking for frizz. The helmet squeezed her head a little and pressed her earrings against her neck. She reached into the thing and tried to rearrange them, but it was awkward, working blind and feeling like Darth Vader. Once her ears were comfortable, James helped her hook the chin straps then showed her how to operate the visor.
The helmet made it hard to hear him, and somehow, his muffled voice made her even more nervous. James slid the key into the ignition and Ellie put a hand on his arm before he could turn on the engine. “Anything I should know?”
He grabbed both her shoulders and held eye contact with her, his dark gaze soothing. “Most important, hold on tight. Hug me and don’t let go.”
Well, you can bet your sweet ass I’ll be okay with that, Ellie thought.
She nodded as he told her not to fight the lean when they turned, nor to help with the lean, just to keep her body pressed to his and to move with him.
“Also, after I park, don’t get off the bike until I offer you my hand. Other than that, just relax and have some fun!”
He swung his leg over the bike, flipped the kickstand up, and offered Ellie his hand. Using the passenger foot pegs, Ellie climbed onto the tiny seat and took a minute to adjust herself, simultaneously unnerved by the way the bike shifted as she wiggled and pacified by how easily James seemed able to control the movement.
He turned the key and the engine didn’t roar to life, not like the big black and chrome monstrosities she associated with biker gangs.
The Ducati purred, quiet and powerful, eager to move.
Ellie wrapped her arms around James’ waist, mindful not to let her helmet bounce into his, and he rolled the throttle twice, revving the engine. The bike shifted as he put the thing in gear, and she had a split second of complete terror and regret before he ever so smoothly pulled onto the road. He maneuvered them through the quaint streets that qualified as downtown Bliss, obeying the posted speed limit of twenty-five miles per hour.
The bike did lean as they took the corners, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as she expected and her fear began to dissipate. In fact, she started to feel pretty damn powerful sitting on the back, clutching James’ waist. She caught their reflection in the shop windows and couldn’t believe the chick she saw was actually her.
He came to a stop at a red light on the outskirts of town and turned to her. “So what do you think?”
“It’s not scary at all! And it’s so cool, feeling the breeze, and hearing the engine and the sounds of the road.”
James bobbed his head. “Here’s the thing. We can turn off here and head straight to the beach and start wandering the Shrimp Fest, or, we could take a slight detour and enjoy a ride with, uh… higher speed limits, if you’d like.”
“That sounds awesome. Do you mind?”
“Do I mind taking my bike out for a ride with a hot chick clinging to my back on a gorgeous September day?” As the red light turned green, James turned back around. Ellie readjusted her grip on him as they rolled through the intersection and turned away from the beach.
As soon as they were out of the city,
