I stopped counting the time after three months. It made me angry to count the time after three months.
“You okay back there?” I asked.
Chloe strengthened her grip around me. “I’m perfect. You can go faster if you’d like.”
A grin spread across my face. “Your wish is my command, Miss Chloe.”
I cranked it up a notch and went the speed limit the second we got onto the highway. We had to pull off on a couple of exits just so I could hop onto the stretch of highway I actually wanted to travel. And the second that salted wind wafted up my nostrils beneath the creases of my helmet, I felt at home once more.
I felt at peace as Chloe scooted her body closer to my own.
“Wow, it’s beautiful up here,” she said softly.
With the cliff line to our left and the ocean sloshing against the bare, abandoned beaches that the cliffs protected, I wanted nothing more than to pull over and go skinny-dipping in the ocean. It didn’t matter that the water was ice cold. I missed the salted water against my skin. I missed the peaceful bliss of floating over the crests of the small waves that donned the shoreline.
“I miss it here,” I murmured.
“Me, too,” Chloe whispered.
She leaned her helmeted head against my back and allowed her hands to wander. She twisted her fingers into the excess of my white t-shirt, and for the smallest of moments it lifted from my skin. Every time she moved her hands, her skin caressed my own. Every time she shifted, I imagined her clothed pussy heated against my leather jacket.
My cock twitched with a need I hadn’t satisfied in a very long time.
And it took all of the energy I had to keep my attention on the road.
“You up for some coffee?” I asked.
“Does coffee come with food?” she shot back.
I smiled. “It sure does. Hold on.”
I merged over three lanes before taking the next right. A few minutes after that, I pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop that I missed more than my own fucking home. I parked and helped her off the bike, trying to ignore the frustration that wafted through my body every time she hissed in pain. I wanted to take it away from her. I wanted to shoulder her burdens so she didn’t have to deal with them. After all, this wasn’t her fight; it was ours.
And she shouldn't have had to pay such a price for it.
“What do we do with these?” she asked as she slid her helmet off.
I tucked mine beneath my arm. “Just take it inside. That’s what I always do.”
We were pretty silent as we stood in line. The manager behind the counter flashed me her big smile when she saw me walk in and a couple of the regular employees even came over to hug me. They greeted us warmly and immediately got started on my regular order: an iced black coffee with a hint of sweet cream and two of their BLT sandwiches with a side of fruit.
And it wasn’t until Chloe spoke up that I turned my attention to her. “Didn’t take you for an iced coffee kind of guy.”
I grinned. “It’s hot as balls outside. You really think I want to drink something hot on top of it?”
“So,” she said as she nudged me playfully, “what’s good here?”
I shrugged. “Everything. You can’t possibly go wrong.”
“And he knows,” the manager said as he dished up my drink, “because he’s tried everything.”
Chloe’s eyes searched the menu. “Then, I’ll have a caramel macchiato and one of your strawberry chicken salads.”
“Hot or iced?”
Chloe snickered. “Hot. Iced coffee is weird.”
I shrugged. “More for me, then. Where would you like to sit?”
