She swung her leg over the back of my bike and whispered ‘let’s ride’.
I gunned the throttle and took off down a narrow side street. I could feel her body against mine, through two layers of leather jacket I pretended I could hear her heart beat. Her dark hair whipped around both of our faces my own red hair too short to get in my way. The wind was harsh on my sun worn face and beat against my tinted sunglasses.
I listened, above the engine, siren sounds but the world was silent outside the bubble of our roaring bike. A Vincent Black Lightning, a limited edition. She leaned with me as we whipped around turns. We went fast, probably too fast, fast enough to draw attention. But our bodies moved together through motions we had done hundreds of times and I couldn’t stop the excitement, opened the throttle wider, moved against my better judgement but in accordance with her.
We took a sharp left onto the interstate ramp and pulled onto the interstate. I opened the throttle fully, finally giving into all the speed the Vincent craved and I felt her shift positions, settle in for the long haul. The sun shone directly into my eyes as it set in front of us and I squinted into a glaring sunset.
*****
When we finally stopped the sun had been well below the horizon for hours. There was no moon, but the stars shone bright. I pulled off the interstate and onto a long stretch of road. She had fallen into half a doze against my back and shoulders and as I slowed the bike and the hum of the bike changed pitch I felt her sit up. We turned left, following the green reflective signs pointing towards a truck stop. Gas and greasy food to fuel us and the bike, after a long time running.
I slowed the bike and brought it to the stop in front of the pump. I slid off the bike and she slid off after me, her leg bumping the heavily laden panniers as she swung off. We filled up the bike and it made a hungry, glugging noise. The smell of gasoline was sharp in my nose. As the pumped worked.
She sauntered ahead of me into the diner. I knew she would save me a seat. While she ordered food I parked the Vincent and paid for the gas. By the time I got inside she was sitting at the booth with two plates heaped with greasy food in front of her. A burger and fries for her and fried fish on a roll and ‘slaw for me. Two huge neon yellow slices of pie in the middle of the table, still steaming.
We both wolfed our food, barely pausing to breathe, let alone talk. When I next looked up at her, her dark eyes glittered in the dingy light of the diner. The table left a layer of grease on my hands as they dragged on the table. They shoveled the food into their mouths with their hands, bypassing the dull silverware.
Finally, I took a breath. All that remained of my fish and slaw was a few slivers of cabbage and crumbs of breading on a plate. I felt the silence on the air, thick and heavy like a blanket. The night itself was warm and humid, we hadn’t gone far enough West to reach the plains yet.
Suddenly her laugh broke the silence. High and wild. Bright against the quiet clanking and buzzing of an all night diner. It rang loud and clear and seeing her face folded up in joy, made me laugh too. I felt it rising in my stomach up through my throat and out my lips. They drew up in joy and her skin crinkled around her dark eyes.
“We did it!” She wheezed breathlessly through her laughter. “We got away with it! We did it!”
*Inspired by this song*
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