Page 64 of Brutal Captivity

“Because I figured we could do something fun in case this is my last day on Earth. I promise we won’t do anything extreme. I just want to teach you how to ride around a little bit. Nothing fancy, just something for you to remember me by, you know?” Leo’s tone is much too chipper for such a sad statement, but his voice cracks on the word ‘remember’, and my heart cracks with it.

“Okay. Yeah.” I try to keep my own voice from breaking. It doesn’t work. I have to force the words around a giant lump that won’t go away.

I don't want to think about the fact that Leo may be dead in a few short hours. My heart and brain literally can’t handle that information. I try to breathe evenly. I force my eyes to stay open, a weak attempt to battle back the tears that are there. I try to push the sad thoughts from my mind as I slip the sock on my left foot followed by the shoe.

Once I’m done, I stand up. The boots fit perfectly, and I find them very comfortable despite how stiff they are. I follow Leo to the secret door that’snot very secret. It’s right there in the kitchen. I had always assumed it was a storage closet.

We walk down the stairs, and I look around, shocked to find Leo has strung fairy lights all around the gloomy garage, giving it a gentle glow. It’s huge with so many tools and other trinkets filling the walls that I could never learn all of the names. Near a table covered with oily mechanical parts is a large table, with a ramp leading up to it. There are two garage doors, both cracked, a cool draft coming through.

“Okay. So first I’m gonna walk you through the important parts of the bike and what everything does,” Leo starts, quickly walking toward the motorcycle propped in the middle of the open space. I am already unsure about this.

Leo straddles the bike as if it's an extension of himself and not a powerful machine. It might be the sexiest thing I have ever seen, my mind quickly going back to climbing on the back of his bike, holding on to him tightly as we rode through the city.

Leo points to a few different areas of the bike, showing me what they are and what they do. I try to pay attention, I do, but I’m so distracted by the way his tattooed, muscled arm flexes when he grabs the handle bars. The way his thick thighs squeeze the beast between them.

God, I want him to bend me over this thing and fuck me into oblivion. Jesus where had that thought come from.

“Okay… first things first, you have to learn to balance on the bike first.” Leo swings his leg, getting off the bike with the grace of a figure skater. He gestures to the bike, and I look at it forlornly. It feels like Leo is asking me to mount a dragon. When I do move, Leo’s big hands envelop my hips, and gently push me toward the seat.

I take a deep breath, then swing my leg over the bike, much like I had done when I rode on the back with Leo that day. This feels entirely different though. Leo isn’t in control of this monster, I will be. A thrill shoots up my spine.

“Okay, now you’re going to stand with your legs out,” he instructs, and I stand, my feet planted on either side of the bike, my stance wide. “Yeah, like that.” He nods with a smile. It’s a tiny detail, barely the beginning of the lesson, but if Leo is proud of me then I will gladly take it.

“Tip the bike side to side,” Leo says, kicking the stand out from the bike and grabbing the bars. He encourages me to take them from him, and when I do, I then tip the bike from side to side, feeling it shift under my body. Once I’m comfortable with that feeling, he has me apply pressure to each handle.

“This sort of mimics counter steering,” he explains. I nod, not understanding what that is. “But you don’t have to worry about counter steering today. That’s more for when you’re on the road. Maybe you can get your own bike after tomorrow…” He trails off, his voice thick before he clears his throat.

He clears his throat, “All you need to remember is press right, go right. Press left, go left.” He demonstrates with his warm hand over mine.

“Okay… are you ready to turn it on?” he asks.

“No,” I answer, voice wavering.

“Come on, Princess, I thought you liked having a beast between your legs,” he chuckles and my cock twitches. “Here, put these on.” He smacks me in the chest with some leather biker gloves. I slip them on my hand, trying to get used to the feeling of something covering my fingertips. I’m a very tactile person, so I don’t love the feeling.

“I don’t know about this,” I say, staring at the button on the right handle bar that he said turned the bike on.

“I promise. I won’t let you get hurt. Trust me?” Leo asks, his eyes wide, and I do trust him. Fully and completely.

I trust this man with my life. I kind of already knew that. I knew that when I made the decision not to leave with Daron last night. I knew I trusted Leo when I chose to stay with him and go to my parent’s house with a bomb strapped to my chest. However, until now, I’ve managed not to actually think about the implication of those words. I trust Leo so much it makes my arms shake and my stomach flutter.

I swallow around the lump in my throat, nodding. “So, I just check if I’m in neutral, then press this button?” I ask, pointing to the red button on the right handle bar.

“A star student,” he says, and I blush with his praise. I take a deep breath, then push the button. The bike roars to life, deafening in the echoing of the garage. Now I understand why the doors were cracked, it allows some of the air to be released.

“Okay… now put it into first gear. Do you remember how to do that,” he gestures down to the pedal in front of the left footpeg.

“Yeah, I think so,” I say, using my foot to awkwardly shift it into first.

“Okay… so now we are going to play with the friction zone. Which is all your left hand,” he taps my left hand for emphasis. “Rest your right hand on the throttle, but don’t try to turn it. Let the clutch out until you start to feel the bike creeping forward.”

I slowly release the clutch, and when the bike starts moving forward, my breath leaves my lungs and my stomach drops. Panicking, I remove my hands from the handles, standing up. The bike doesn’t fall to the ground like it should have.

I crack my eyes open to find Leo in front of the bike, leaning over and holding it up. He’s gazing up at me, his eyes more blue than gunmetal gray right now. Like the sky, on a stormy day. I never thought he would see the sky below him like he does now. His eyes are the sky, and he is the sun, and I am falling into them. Falling into the sky and being burned alive by the sun. I’m fine with that.

“It’s okay, that’s what it was supposed to do. Wanna try it again,” he asks, smiling encouragingly. I shake myself from my thoughts, and my nerves, and nod. I do it again, this time not panicking.

“Do you hear the engine dipping a little?” Leo asks, yelling over the roar of the engine. When I nod in confirmation. He says, “That’s the friction zone.” We play with the friction zone for several minutes, letting the bike rock back and forth. I’m getting to the point where I can let it out more quickly, comfortable with the feeling of it.