“Have you ridden before?” he asks once I’m settled.
“A time or two with Calloway when we were younger. Don’t worry, I’ll be the best backpack you’ve ever had,” I tease.
“You’re the only backpack,” he says as he turns the key, his bike roaring to life.
His only backpack.
The only person to ride on the back of his bike.
Giddiness rolls through me. Why the hell does that please me the way it does?
“Ready?” he asks.
“Ready.”
And off we go with me feeling lighter than I have in a long time.
I could get used to this.
We ride around for hours. My ass is numb, my hair is a mess, but I’m happy. I forgot how amazing it feels to ride around on the back of a bike.
I always enjoyed riding with Calloway when we were younger, but with Asher, it’s different. He holds onto my leg as we ride, and when he’s not doing that, his hand is covering mine where they rest on his stomach.
It almost feels like a dream. One I never want to wake up from.
When he pulled over for lunch, I almost begged him to keep riding and to never stop, but hunger won out. Especially when I saw we were stopping at a taco truck. Everyone knows taco trucks have the best shit and for cheap.
“This is delicious,” I tell him as I take another bite.
“I forgot how good it was, honestly,” he says, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“You’ve eaten here before?” I ask.
He nods as he wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, my sister doesn’t live too far from here.”
Sister. He has a sister. Did I know that or did I forget she existed?
“You’ve never told me about her.”
“I don’t talk about her often, if at all. It was safer that way for her with what I used to do.”
“That makes sense.”
I duck my head.
What else don’t I know about him?
“You’re not married, right?” I blurt out before I can think better of it.
Asher jerks back like he’s been hit. “No, why would you ask that?”
“Well, I realized that I didn’t even know you had a sister, or I forgot you did. Then my mind started to spiral, and I started wondering what else I didn’t know about you and…”
“Which led to you wondering if I was married…”
“Yeah.” I wince. “My mind is a crazy place. Sorry.”
“Well, to answer your question, no, I’ve never been married, and before you ask, yes, I would like to be someday. I’d also like to have kids if my wife wants them.”
