We sat there in shock for a long moment, the mortification falling off me in waves.
“See? I told you you were fun.”
I squeezed his thigh with my shaking hands, trying to settle my pounding heartbeat.
“How about I get us going and you take over when you’re ready?” he said.
“Deal.”
I wasn’t sure I was going to like riding the motorcycle. I had only said my bucket list item on a whim, after all. But it took about two whole seconds for me to realize I loved the carefree way the wind blew against my face, taking my hair with it. The smell of dirt and hay breezed past as Duke flew us down the trail. It took ten seconds before I regretted that my entire life so far had been missing this experience. There was a beautiful weightlessness about the ride that I hadn’t been expecting. Of course, Duke’s arm wrapped tightly around my waist could also have had something to do with that.
“You ready?” Duke asked as he slowed the bike down to a meandering pace.
“I think the question is, areyouready?”
“Been ready for a while.”
Before I could dissect his words, he brought my hand to the throttle, covering it gently with his, giving me time to get a feel for the movement and speed. Once he felt certain I was ready, he removed his hand and allowed mine full control. I sunk back into his chest, our proximity a definite highlight of the ride for me. The bike wobbled a bit but straightened out as I drove us through small hills and bumps, testing my newfound skills as a biker. Turning became the hardest part for me, knowing I had to lean into the turn but never completely trusting the bike to hold us up.
“Gotta trust the bike,” Duke said in my ear, his hands at my waist. “Lean into it. You won’t fall.”
As we rode down the dirt pathway carved off the side of a hay field on a warm summer night with Duke’s arms wrapped around me, falling seemed...inevitable.
20
I wasn’tsure what I was expecting the pond to look like, but it wasn’t this. A small crop of willow trees surrounded a glimmering pool of water, their branches dipping softly along the surface. Across the way, a small dock stretched over the water. The years had weathered the wood, and some of the planks looked uneven. On each side of the dock stood two imposing willows with entwined branches acting like an umbrella across the edge of the dock where a long rope swing hung, swinging lightly with the breeze. For a moment, we both stared at the scene before us, where patches of sunlight cast their glow through the trees, setting the pond aglow.
“This is not real life,” I said. “Nobody has places like this in their family.”
Duke pointed toward a haphazard picnic table on the left side of the pond. “That’s where I saw my brother sneaking a kiss with the farmer’s daughter from next door.” Then he motioned toward the rope swing. “That’s where I broke my arm when I was seven.”
He stood up, lending me his arm to balance myself as I gingerly climbed off the motorcycle, my legs feeling stiff and unnatural for the first few steps.
We walked toward the pond, the sound of birds chirping through the trees and the smell of mud and hay setting our scene. A thrill of anticipation began trickling through me as we picked our way between weeds and wild sunflowers toward the outer bank.
My steps slowed as I examined the entire dock stretching out a few yards into the water, the lonely swing swaying in the breeze and the weeping willows surrounding.
Duke had walked a few paces ahead of me when he realized I was no longer beside him, and he turned to see what I was looking at. I didn’t really want to swing in. Did I? Things were confusing when I was with Duke. I was beginning to remember that now. Who I thought I was and who I thought I wasn’t always seemed to clash.
“You want to swing in?”
His eyes were patient as I looked from the swing to him and back again. My heart pounded, but I couldn’t keep the smile from forming on my face.
“It just feels like a romantic-comedy moment that shouldn’t be missed.”
“Aromanticcomedy, huh? Interesting.”
I pretended not to hear his comment and turned from him, picking my way through the weeds. He caught up to me easily.
“Care to make this interesting, Kiss Cam?” His hand brushed against mine as we walked, while his low voice sent tingles shooting down my spine. One glance at his mischievous face and alarm bells began to sound.
“I’m about to jump in a pond with you to reenact a questionable scene from a movie. I feel like that’s pretty interesting.”
His eyebrows raised. “Eh, but is it something we’ll remember in five years?”
I shook my head, attempting to hide the thrill coursing through me, trying to stay strong, even when I knew he already had me. He had me the second he saidfarminIdaho.
“Something to write home about?” I said.
