Beautiful Mess(64)

She awoke sometime later to the sound of her name being called softly. She opened her eyes, and it took her a minute to remember where she was. The sound of a heart beating beneath her ear quickly roused her, and she lifted her head to find Cole watching her.

“There you are,” he smiled. “You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t think I’d be able to wake you.”

“Oh, sorry,” Bri blushed. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.” She pushed herself off of him, and thought she saw disappointment flash in his eyes. It was gone too quickly for her to be certain. He followed her, sitting up himself. “What time is it, anyway?”

“About 3:30,” Cole yawned and stretched.

“I’d better get going, then. I promised my dad I’d be back by 4:00.”

“Okay. But before you go, can I please take you for a ride on my bike? It’ll help wake you up.” He gave her his best pleading puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, what is your obsession with getting me on that thing?” she groaned, fighting a smile.

“Hmm, having a pretty girl squeezed up against me, hanging on for dear life? Yeah, I don’t really see the appeal, either! Seriously, though, why am I pushing you to do this?” He eyed her. “I don’t know, maybe I want you to step out of your comfort zone for once. Take a risk. Or maybe I just want you to let yourself go, and have a little fun for a change. Either way, I’m not going to stop pushing until you try it. And I can be very persistent!” He grinned wickedly.

“Cole...”

“Come on, Bri, just a spin around the block! I promise, if you don’t like it, I’ll never ask again.”

She considered his deal. “You swear you’ll never say another word about that death trap?”

“I swear. Please, Bri?” He pleaded.

“Oh, alright,” she relented. Cole’s eyes brightened.

“You’re going to love it, you’ll see.” He pulled Bri up off the couch and led her outside.

“Just promise me you won’t kill me.” She got more hesitant the closer they got to the motorcycle.

“Here,” Cole grabbed a helmet out of the garage for her. “Put this on. It’ll keep the bugs out of your teeth,” he grinned.

“What? That is totally gross!” She was already regretting this decision. She eyed the helmet in her hands skeptically. “Um, has anyone else worn this?” She immediately thought of Serena. There was no way she was wearing anything that had also been on that girl’s head.

“Nope, I bought it just for you. Somehow, I knew you’d be anal about it!”

“Ha ha,” Bri sneered as she put on the helmet. Cole climbed onto his Ducati and offered a hand to her. She took it and climbed on behind him. There wasn’t much room on the back, so she was forced to squeeze as tightly against his back as possible. Not sure quite where to put her arms, she rested her hands loosely on Cole’s waist. He started the engine.

“You’re going to want to hold on tighter than that,” he yelled over his shoulder. Bri had just enough time to wrap her arms all the way around him, before Cole took off down the street. She couldn’t help the scream that escaped her as they drove off. She heard Cole laugh. “Relax, Bri! Just hold on, and try not to fight the way I lean!”

Yeah, that was easier said than done! Every time he turned, Bri was horrified that if she leaned too, they would tip over.

“You’re thinking too much, Bri,” Cole yelled back at her. “Let go, and just go with it. Don’t think, just feel!”

Bri took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She decided to follow Cole’s advice and stop thinking about all the ways she could crash and die. She held on tighter to him and focused on the feel of the wind whipping by her, the rumble of the engine, and the feel of the road beneath them. And when she did that, she found that this was in fact fun. She felt free in a way she never had before.

She laughed as she opened her eyes, and rested her chin over Cole’s shoulder. Cole, in response, gunned the bike even faster. He sped her around a few neighborhoods before finally returning back to his house. Bri was still laughing as she pulled off her helmet.

“Okay, you were right. That was seriously fun!”

“See, I told you you’d like it!” He pulled off his helmet and helped her off the bike. “Well, now that you’ve realized that a motorcycle does not equal instant death, we’ll have to do this more often.”

“I just might take you up on that,” she smiled. “Well, I’d better get going, I’m probably already late.” She pulled Cole in for a hug. “Thanks, Cole. For everything.”