‘I promise I’ll drive slowly.’ Jacob held out a helmet for her to take.
‘No.’
‘Comeon,’ he whined, ‘it’s the only way we can get to where we’re going. Unless you want to walk for five hours?’
‘Obviously I don’t want to do that.’
‘Well then’ – he gestured to the bike – ‘I promise it will be worth it.’
Olivia stared at Jacob. The glint in his eye and the grin on his face were doing nothing to help her defences, but she remained standing, feet planted wide, hands on her hips. There was no way in hell she was getting on that bike.
‘Comeon, Olivia,’ Jacob urged, throwing his hands to the sky. ‘Be reckless! Be bold! Bebrave!’
Leah’s words hit her square in the chest.
Go. Travel. Explore. Enjoy this thing called life!
What would her sister say if she could see her now? Rejecting the offer to ride off with a gorgeous man to a mysterious location in a foreign land? It was the stuff of any young girl’s dreams, and Olivia knew that, if Leah were here right now, she would already be on that bike and halfway down the road.
‘Fine,’ Olivia caved, ‘but there are rules.’
‘Go on …’
She hardened her stare, which was extremely difficult when Jacob was looking at her so intently. ‘If I ask you to stop, then you have to stop. If you try to be clever and go too fast, I’ll get off and come home. Do you understand?’
Jacob held his hands up in front of him. ‘Completely. Your wish is my command.’
‘Good. Now let me get my stuff and we can go.’
Olivia turned her nose to the sky and stomped back into her hut, her heart racing and her palms sweating. Was she really going to do this? Ride on the back of a motorbike with a stranger?
It’s technically a moped and he’s not a stranger.
She cursed her own thoughts, hauled her bag over her shoulder, and made her way back outside.
‘Christ, how much stuff are you taking?’ Jacob baulked as she dumped the bag on the back of the bike. ‘It’s an afternoon trip, not a week away.’
‘Don’t look at me like that. I had to prepare for all eventualities, didn’t I? I have no idea where we’re going, remember!’ She tentatively seated herself on the bike, her feet barely touching the ground.
‘True, but trust me, the surprise will be worth it.’ He passed her a helmet. ‘Here, put this on and hold on to me tightly.’
Olivia did as she was told, looping her arms around Jacob’s waist, feeling the warmth of his skin seep into hers.
‘Now, sometimes I’m going to ask you to lean in the opposite direction than the one you’re going to want to, but just trust me and follow my lead, OK?’
‘I’m not very good at trusting people.’ She adjusted herself, her legs already suctioning themselves to the leather.
‘Well, this will be a great lesson, won’t it?’ Jacob shoved his helmet on and turned the key in the ignition. The bike roared into life and Olivia felt the engine vibrate through her entire body. ‘Are you ready?’ he shouted over the noise.
‘Kind of …’ She squeezed him tighter and closed her eyes.
‘Let’s do it then!’ he yelled, turning the bike around and speeding off down the path towards the ocean.
Olivia
‘Stop!’ Olivia screamed, her hair lashing her cheeks as it whipped around in the wind. ‘Jacob, I feel sick, we need to stop.’
‘Again? But we’re so close.’
