The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 37

The first thing I felt was the wind pushing my head and arms and body back. As we picked up speed and left the neighborhood, I increased my grip on Dominic's rather tight stomach by a lot. The only thing between me and the asphalt was my weak handhold, so I locked my fingers together around him like they were iron and unbreakable.

I closed my eyes for a second as we took the road that led to the freeway, but that felt even scarier, so I opened them again. My stomach was clenched for a while until I realized we had been riding for a couple of minutes and hadn't fallen yet. We hadn't even wiggled; the bike under us felt as stable as a chair.

I took a couple of deep breaths as we shot past noisy cars and hit a couple of bumps in the road and then I realized something: I was actually enjoying myself.

The air felt amazing as it hit us, and it felt sort of like flying! The hum of the bike was almost peaceful as we sped along and the world around us was vibrant. Green grass, blue sky changing into beautiful colors. The cars around us weren't as close as I thought they'd be, and Dominic was really in control of the thing.

My mind began to wander as the silence registered and I realized I was finally getting a moment of peace. I'd always perceived motorcycles to be hectic and wild but they were exactly the opposite. They were calm and steady and strong. We were a little too close to the concrete divider for my grip to loosen, but I did feel a strange calm as we sped up and hopped onto a side road.

The street hit some curves and Dominic slowed and bent us to each side as we went. I realized if I dropped my foot from its perch, I could touch the ground and so I tightened my grip again, squeezing my thighs tightly to the seat. Dominic laughed aloud and spun his head around to see if I was doing okay. I made a moaning sound as I worried that he'd wrap us around a tree or something, so he faced the front immediately with an eye roll. He looked at me in the side mirror with an eyebrow raised as if to say "Better?"

I gave him a nod and a tiny smile that he probably couldn't see behind the helmet, but which made him grin. It was a real smile, and a big one. Perhaps the freedom that I was beginning to feel only grew when you had your own bike that you could take anywhere in the world whenever you wanted. I made a mental note to get rich someday so I could buy one, too.

We continued down the side roads and I began humming a song to myself that I was sure Dominic couldn't hear as we took in the sights. I don't know how he had found this beautiful road, but it was perfect for bikes. Nobody was out here, and it was basically a straight open road the whole way through. I wondered if his dad had showed him it originally.

I yawned and then realized that the sound of the motor and the calm of the moment were actually putting me to sleep. I blew a puff of air up to push my flyaways back from my eyes and shook my head a little. It probably wouldn't be fair to Dominic if I fell asleep and he had to control the bike and my dead weight.

We passed another motorcycle as we hit a curve, and I saw Dominic drop his left hand and hold it out as if to tell the guy something. The man on the bike to our left did the same and they both nodded at each other, dumbfounding me. Were they saying that the road was okay, or talking about how it was a good day for riding or something? I couldn't argue with that; the sky was pale and soft, and the temperature was just right.

After maybe an hour (although it was hard to tell with no way to check my phone or ask Dom), the bike pulled over to a little dirt shoulder of the road. The engine clicked off and Dominic locked it and put out the kickstand. We tilted a little until the bike stuck and then we both jumped off.

I unstrapped the helmet and pressed the button to get it off of my head, placing it on the seat of the bike and shaking my tangled hair out. He unzipped his oversized leather jacket, so I did the same, and then jumped on him with a hug.