Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
She was not going to dwell on it. It was way too easy to be sucked into the past, and she refused to go down that rabbit hole. The only place she wanted to live was in the present. She didn’t even want to think of her future.
“Hawk,” she said, moving toward him.
“Your ride awaits,” he said.
“My ride? I’ve got my car.” She held up her keys and pointed to where her car was parked in the shade.
The sun was glaring down, and it was getting too hot. The supermarket shirt was a little uncomfortable.
“And I’ll bring you back to get your car. For now, come and take a ride with me.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse. She looked at his bike, and in all honesty, she had assumed all bikes were death traps. She’d never wanted to ride a bike. Maybe it was the little devil on her shoulder, encouraging her to climb on top of that bike, but one moment she was on the pavement, and the next she moved behind Hawk.
She didn’t know where to put her hands, and she let out a little gasp as he reached for her and wrapped them around his waist, taking her completely by surprise.
“You’ve got to hold me like this,” he said.
She had to shuffle a little closer to him so she wasn’t completely uncomfortable. This was fine and felt normal.
She wrapped her arms around Hawk, and it was only as they started to take off that she let out a little scream. There was no helmet. What was she thinking, riding without a helmet? The bike wasn’t even going too fast, but she quickly squeezed her eyes closed, hoping it would help, or do something to defend her against the forces of nature.
Hawk chuckled. She felt him along with the vibrations of the bike as they rode out of the parking lot. Maybe she started to relax, or maybe she felt totally silly, or maybe she just wanted to sit with her eyes squeezed closed.
Slowly, she opened them, and sure enough, she was able to look over his shoulder. They were not going too fast. They were not going overly slow, but it was somewhere in between, and it filled her with excitement to be moving. It felt good. Better than good. She didn’t let him go. That would be crazy.
She held onto him and felt the power of the wind zipping through her hair. This was something else. She saw the appeal of being on the bike. It felt so freeing, so amazing, so alive, and it was like she was on fire. This was better than she could have imagined.
Nikki didn’t pay attention to where they were going. The scenery went by, and she couldn’t even remember if it was beautiful. Riding on the back of a motorcycle had to be one of the most exhilarating experiences she ever had.
Was this lame? She hadn’t even had sex, and she knew she hadn’t lived an exciting life, but this was incredible.
Time didn’t matter. In that moment, she didn’t know if it was frozen or ticking merrily on by. All that mattered to her was this very moment. That intense and magical feeling of being free.
She might understand a little of why men rode bikes. Why they joined clubs. Just a little, but for now, it was enough. This was amazing.
She didn’t know how long they had been riding until he started to slow down, and they came to a small van that sold ice cream. There were several cars parked and a few bikes. It looked like a small parking zone for walkers.
Hawk turned the bike off, and without waiting for his instruction, she climbed off and fell to her knees. She was not expecting her knees to feel so wobbly.
Hawk was there, pulling her back to her feet. It was strange. She wasn’t used to anyone helping her up. She’d already pulled her bag to lie across her chest, and she offered him a smile.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled at him. “Why did we stop here?”
“It’s hot, and everyone loves ice cream.” He took hold of her hand, and she expected him to let her go once they got to the van, but he didn’t. They stood in line, and it was like her hand was burning. Not in a bad way, but she was very much aware of him.
She tried not to look at him, tried not to draw attention to what they were doing. Were people staring? This was stupid. She never cared what people thought any other time, and she was not going to start now.
They were next, and Hawk ordered a giant, four-scoop ice cream, and although it looked delicious, she went for a modest two scoops, with chocolate and sauce. Hawk paid, and she tried to pay for her own ice cream but he wouldn’t allow it.