Page 37 of Mommy

My stomach drops, when I feel the speed pulling at my guts. Forcing my eyes to open, I almost scream, seeing everything drift by us in a blur. Not just the trees to the side, but other cars too.

We are so. Much. Faster.

Faster than anyone else on the road.

We are just… flying by the other cars as if they’re not even moving.

“Ready?”

Derek must be screaming the word, because the wind howls around my helmet but he still manages to make himself heard.

“Yes!” I yell back, hoping he’ll hear me too.

His leg twitches, telling me he’s switching gears.

Again?

I thought we’d have reached max speed by now.

I was wrong.

So. Wrong.

The engine howls and the front wheel of the machine loses grip with the street. It goes up in the air. We are only on the back wheel. It’s just a second, but this time, I scream.

Fear and excitement tear out of my chest in an exhilarating yowl.

The front wheel returns to the asphalt and I feel Derek lean forward. My fingers get squished between his abs and the gas tank and I follow his movement to stay in the wind shield his body provides. Glimpsing past his large shoulder, I see cars and trucks as we weave through the crowded highway like a shadow.

Someone honks, but the sound barely reaches us before we are past the car and on the open road again. Nothing ahead of us except empty asphalt.

With no one in our way, Derek leans to one side and then to the other, making us go in a slalom that has my stomach lurching and laughter bubbling in my throat.

This is the best feeling on earth.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this. Like nothing can reach me. Not the bad of the day, not the shadow of the past or the fear of what tomorrow may bring.

The wind howls around us, pulling on my hair, and the street beneath us gleams like water in the sunshine.

Derek slows down way too early for my liking and only when we lean into the curve of the exit, I realize how fast we must have been going. It feels like we are moving through syrup, as if we’ll drop onto one side if we slow down any further.

We pull into a parking space and when Derek kills the engine and gets off, I pull my helmet off my head.

“That was great.” The grin on my face hurts my cheeks, it’s so wide.

Derek’s head tips, indicating that he’s looking at me even though it’s hard to tell with his dark visor still down. His arms reach out and his hands curve around my middle, but he doesn’t lift me off the bike.

For a moment we stay frozen. Just staring.

I can see the reflection of my smile in his helmet. The wild gleam in my eyes and the slight scrunch in my nose.

Derek moves first, finally lifting me up and off his bike.

Once my feet touch the earth, I step into him, my fingers reaching and flipping his visor up, so I can see him. His eyes reveal nothing though. No smile, no frown.

“Come on.”

I think I can hear a smile in his voice, but I’m not 100% sure so I just nod.