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"Yeah, she's not your friend. So don't go confiding in her."
"Why? What did she say?"
"Just wanted to fill me in on your marriage to that douchebag you used to be with. Told me what a nice guy he was. Don't worry, I set her straight. I told her his loss was my gain and I was delighted he was out of the picture."
Before I could say anything else, he opened a storage box on the back of the motorcycle and dropped my purse inside. I watched him as he took out a spare helmet, came over to where I sat, and held the shiny red helmet above me.
"Now for one of the highlights of the day. Can't think of anything better than having your arms wrapped around me and you clinging tightly to my back," he admitted. He leaned forward and pecked me on the lips before putting the helmet onto my head.
My poor heart raced excitedly until Sawyer snapped the visor down, and my mood became mellow the instant I looked out at the world through the uplifting orange colored lens.
Grabbing his helmet from the handlebar, he pulled it on, situated himself on his ride and reached back to find my hands. Planting them firmly over the center of his abs, he called out to me to hold on tight. Jumping on the pedal under his feet, I felt his muscles flex as the powerful engine roared to life and he loudly revved the throttle.
I was petrified and clung on tight with my eyes closed, pressing my cheek into his back as much as I could, given the bulk of the helmet. What the hell I am I doing, riding on the back of what is essentially a ridiculously fast death trap, with a man I hardly know?
Between the noise of the bike, the speed, and the engine's power vibrating up through my body, it had felt like a terrifying sensory overload. Fear mingled with excitement, and my poor little heart pounded so fast I thought there was a real possibility I might die of a heart attack—if we didn't crash first.
However, our pace evened out once Sawyer had steered clear of the traffic and I quickly got used to the speed. By the time we joined the road to the coast my nerves had settled down and to my surprise, the exhilaration I felt from my virgin motorcycle ride took over.
As Sawyer pulled into the beach park parking lot, I noticed there were far fewer people than I'd expected, but I'd never been that far down the shore before. I felt myself relax at how quiet the place felt.
Crawling to a halt, Sawyer parked his ride and took his helmet off. Once off the bike he turned his attention to me and did the same with mine, stowing them in the top box at the back, and removing my purse. He slipped the strap over my shoulder and once we were all set, he took my hand and led us toward the shoreline.
Sawyer took his biker boots off and stashed them in a small rucksack he strapped to his back before we had reached the water's edge.
Dipping his toes in the water, he glanced at me and smiled. "I love it at this time of the year, when the weather's turning cooler and the waves are rougher from the storms that build out in the ocean. I would take fall and winter any day over weeks of relentless sun," he offered, sharing a part of himself with me.
"I'm the same. Guess it comes with being a winter baby."
"You are? Me too. When? What month?"
"February."
"No shit. Me too," he replied with a wide grin. "What date?"
"Valentine's Day. February 14th."
"No shit, seriously? Me too."
"Liar," I shot back, thinking he was yanking my chain.
"Sorry, but for that, you're going to owe me a kiss. Check this out then," he replied with a smug looking grin on his face. Pulling out his wallet, he shoved his driver's license toward me. "See. We could be twins," he offered, chuckling.
The instant he said it my focus was back on how much younger he was than me, and although I'd already told him my age, I hurriedly scanned his driver's license and calculated how old he was from this. When I realized he was eleven years younger, I almost freaked out on the spot.
"What? What did I say?" Sawyer asked, with a concerned expression, as his serious eyes narrowed when he took in my dismay.
"What are we doing?" I asked, my dejected voice sharing my worry again.
"I thought we were here to have fun." He sighed like he knew my thoughts and shook his head. Grabbing hold of my hand, he squeezed it a little to get my attention. "Get over yourself. You're not the first woman to have a younger boyfriend. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I thought we'd agreed to this last night. If you're not into me that's a reason I'll accept, but I won't allow you to put your age in the way again. You're still continent, right?"
I barked a laugh and stared in shock because his question was absurd. Of course, I could control my bladder.
"That's better. I know how old you are. You said it before. But I'm still here. If we don't work out, age will have nothing to do with it." I was surprised at how confident he sounded about this. "Come on. I'm a responsible person. Look, let me share something with you." I stared into his questioning gaze and saw concern. "I wasn't going to do this today, but I think you need to know a few things about me, to know I'm not just some fly-by-night musician with nothing better to do than play with your feelings."
My brow furrowed. "Okay."
"All right, I need to take you somewhere else." For a good five minutes, we continued to wander down the beach, and I was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable silence that grew between us.
