“Ok, I don’t have skills,” Pin said. “I just know how to make a few solid dishes. Breakfast omelet, pasta with sauce, chicken and pesto. That kind of thing.”
“That’s more than I know,” I said.
Pin gave me a wry look. “I’m not surprised after I saw the random sweaters in your oven.”
“It’s ideal storage space!” I protested.
Pin just shook his head and continued his work. We sat down at my small table to eat, and I had to give him credit. The eggs scrambled up with the onions, cheese and tomatoes were amazing. I told him as much.
“Would have been better with bacon or ham,” he said.
“Next time.” I didn’t miss his pleased expression at the idea of a next time.
“Your coffee is good too,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said.
After we had finished eating, we cleaned up. It was nice, but it was getting all a bit humdrum. I had never acted like this much of a married couple with a guy I had just met. I was wondering what came next. Did we just say goodbye? Or were we going to make plans?
Pin lingered over drying the final dish. He pursed his lips as if he was trying to make a tough decision. At last, he spoke. “So have you ever ridden a bike before?”
“No,” I said. “They’re just so loud and I never knew anyone who had one.”
“Mine’s outside now,” Pin said. “Wanna ride somewhere?”
A giddy surge of excitement rose within me and I clapped my hands in excitement. “Really? Right now?”
“Sure,” Pin said. “I always have an extra helmet, and you don’t need to worry, I’m an experienced rider.”
I was practically hopping from foot to foot with anticipation. I was born a thrill-seeker, so I never said no to something that might give me a rush of adrenaline. I had tried skydiving, rock climbing, and plenty of cliff jumps. But a motorcycle was unexplored territory.
“Ok, what shoes should I wear?” I asked. “I don’t own a leather jacket, is that ok?”
“Sneakers or boots are fine,” he said, chuckling at my rapid questions. “And a leather jacket is not required. Just wear something sturdy that will protect you from the wind.”
I let out a little cry of excitement and ran to my room to get a jacket and shoes. I had abandoned my cool girl detective visage, but I couldn’t help it. He probably thought I was a total dork.
When we went outside to the bike, Pin gave me a quick rundown of all the parts. The brakes, gas, gears. I appreciated the lesson. I wouldn’t have wanted to just get plopped onto a machine without knowing how it worked.
When he was done with the explanation, Pin got on the bike and told me to hop on behind. I made sure the helmet was secure before sliding into place and wrapping my arms around Pin’s chest.
Not even my glee over the motorbike could make me unaware of how close we were, with my chest pressed against his back. It felt good, like I was about to be hurled into the unknown, but I had Pin as a life raft.
Then with a huge rattle of noise, the bike came to life. I gripped Pin even harder as he pushed the bike out onto the road. Then we were off, accelerating faster than I thought possible.
The rush hit me even harder than I had expected. As we picked up more and more speed, I felt like I had left all the pesky heavy parts of my body behind on the curb. As if my body had been reduced just to movement, so it could run as fast as my spirit.
I gripped Pin’s jacket in my fists and let out a yelp of joy. The wind yanked the noise out of my throat, and even that gave me another jolt of adrenaline.
Then I leaned my head against Pin’s upper back and closed my eyes, just letting the sensations wash over me. It was different from skydiving. The rush was more contained and controlled. It felt safer, but the feeling that you were free and alive was the same.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were riding along the coast, the beach stretching in front of us as far as we could see. I soaked in the view from this new vantage point.
Pin pulled into a small lot by the boardwalk and parked. I jumped off the bike and pulled the helmet from my head. My hair was probably a mess from being stuck under the big black helmet, but I didn’t care. “That was incredible!”
“You liked it?” Pin asked.
“Liked it? I loved it,” I said.
