AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That would take us a mile off the beaten path, polite-conversation-wise.
“Embarrassing, huh?” This was a detour I hadn’t expected.
“So cringe-worthy you haven’t admitted it to anyone.”
“That’s a pretty high bar.” I thought for a moment. I couldn’t remember anything noteworthy I hadn’t told at least one of my siblings—until I remembered Mike and the Honda. “I didn’t do very well the first time I rode a motorcycle because I was too cocky to admit I didn’t know how.” That day had taught me a lesson I still remembered.
She leaned forward, seeming eager for the gory details.
I took a bruschetta. “It was a Honda. I figured since I rode a bicycle, staying upright would be a cinch. All I had to do was wear shades, shift gears, and look studly, but it wasn’t that simple.”
“Doesn’t sound very embarrassing so far.”
I finished chewing. “It was my friend Mike’s bike. So I got on. No helmet.”
She smirked. “You were too cool for a helmet?”
I nodded. “Way too cool, and way too dumb, so no helmet. I lied and told Mike I’d ridden my brother’s Harley. He believed me. Anyway, I got on, started it up, pressed the gear pedal down for first gear, and let out the clutch. But, like a dumb shit, I was holding the throttle wrong. When the acceleration threw me back, I twisted the throttle harder and went hurtling directly toward a tree on the far side of the road.”
She listened in rapt silence, and then opened her hands when I didn’t continue. “And?”
“I ended up only nicking my elbow on the tree, but one foot to the right and I would have face-planted into it at thirty miles an hour with no helmet—like, bye-bye, baby.” I made a slashing gesture across my neck. “Then you wouldn’t have had to endure any of my pickup lines.”
Her mouth dropped. “That’s scary. And you never told anybody about this?”
“Mike saw it, but not another soul, and you can’t repeat that to any of my family. It would kill my mother.”
She made a zipping motion across her lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Your turn,” I said.
She touched her chin. “First, tell me how you got the scar.”
I ran my finger over the scar on my chin and went back to that scary day. “I was just a kid. My cousin and I were out messing around in a dry creek bed. They warn you about flash floods in the desert, but you have no idea what it’s like until the wall of water comes at you. We almost didn’t get out in time, and I fell on the rocks scrambling up the side. That wasn’t a good day.” I took a swallow of wine.Definitely not a good day.
“That’s scary.”
“I had nightmares about it for years. Now your turn.”
She stuffed a bruschetta in her mouth and pointed to her full cheeks to hold me off.
I let her chew for a moment.
“Instead of most embarrassing, something different…” I waited for her.
She tried to drag it out, but eventually had to swallow and come up for air. “Okay, what?”
“Tell me about your last boyfriend.” For most girls, that would only be mildly embarrassing.
Her mouth dropped.
I’d figured it would be a slight embarrassment, but her face showed something much worse—in the direction of truly awful.
* * *
Nicole
I bit my lip,unsure what to do next. How had I been so stupid? Asking him about embarrassing moments would so predictably lead to something about Mo. It was obvious as hell.
