"Give me a number—let’s say one through ten?" he asked, after a quick count of the bikes in front of the shiny glass display windows.
"Three, why?" She bounced on her toes.
"Left or right?" he asked, still scanning the bikes.
"Right," she said with confidence, her gaze trailing to the same spot where his settled.
"You have excellent taste." He strode forward, shoved his hands in his pockets, and checked out the motorcycle third from the right. Their new ride.
"You’re going to buy it?" she asked, eyes wide.
"You willing to ride on it with me?" he asked, studying the way a ray of sunshine fell over her hair like a halo.
She nodded. "Sure."
"Then, yup, I’m going to buy it." He grinned. Then he made the purchase, and they were ready to head out.
Two helmets in his hands, he pointed to her, "Quick. Don’t think hard. First place that comes to your mind when you hear the words Los Angeles."
"The beach," she said without hesitation.
He handed over the shiny new helmet he’d bought just for her. The kind with an intercom so they could talk back and forth—change things up if they needed to.
"Let’s do it," he said.
Chapter Thirteen
DARLA
Yesterday morningshe’d basically lost her job. Temporarily, sure, but it counted.
Today, she flew down the I-5 on the back of a brand-new motorcycle with her guitar-playing rock-star tour guide.
Was this really how some people lived? Picking a number and then buying something so expensive just to have fun? Even though she was experiencing it firsthand, she still couldn’t wrap her head around the reality that this was not a dream.
She dated a guy before Tom who rode a motorcycle. They’d gone out a few times, so she had been on one before. But that bike was nothing like this. The speed and the hit of adrenaline with Mach had her gripping her arms around him, pulling herself tighter to his back. The wind whipping her hair around where it escaped from the confines of the helmet, the freedom of letting someone else be in control, and Mach’s strength under her arms—everything together made her feel invincible.
He gripped onto the handlebars tightly, his abs taut under his T-shirt. The flutter in her stomach was not from the wind or the exhilaration of the ride. No, it was from Mach.
"Doing okay back there?" Mach asked through the headset, his voice kind of muffled.
"Better than okay," she replied, unable to filter out her breathy awe.
He laughed, totally free and without any cares.
"I've never experienced anything like this," she said. "It’s amazing."
He chuckled, low and deep. The combination of his chuckle and the scent of his leather jacket with the motor between her thighs was a total sensory overload.
And then her throat went dry as she recognized or remembered that this wouldn’t last. A cold splash of water that it was only a blip in the fabric of her life. A twinge of sadness settled in her heart because this adventure would eventually have to end. She would eventually have to go home, back to work, and face reality again. Yes, she understood that. But she smiled, because that day wasn’t today.
"Hold tight," he said. "We’re gonna turn here."
She did as he told her and exiled her train of thought to another day.
"My mantra is going to be living in the moment," she said. "Especially if the moments are like this."
"Don’t settle for less," he said, the words husky. "Never settle for less."
