Page 34 of Last Mile

“You’ve never been this way on a bike?”

“No. I haven’t really gotten to take a good ride before. We’re always cooped up in town.”

“You mean, you’ve never really been out on the open road before.”

“Nope. I’m an open- road virgin,” she replied, then winked.

I chuckled. “That’s a pity.” As she continued to stare longingly at my bike, an idea popped into my head, and I acted on it before I really thought it through. “What do you say about riding along with me the rest of the way?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Sure. Why not?” Once again I remembered that she had a boyfriend. The last thing I wanted to do was piss Marley off, so I quickly added, “As long as it’s okay with Marley.”

“I don’t think he would mind, but let me ask.” She waved Marley over and then asked him.

He glanced from her to me before grinning. “Of course it’s all right with me. Then I won’t have to hear her bitching about how much longer it is till we get there. I swear, she turns into such a whiny kid when we go on a road trip.” He slapped me on the back. “She can be your problem, buddy.”

“Asshole,” Samantha muttered before leaning up to kiss Marley’s cheek.

“Yo, Marley, let’s go!” Joe called from over by the van.

“Well, I’m being paged. See ya next stop.”

“See ya, man,” I said.

As we started loading up, I handed Samantha my helmet. After she slipped it on, she smiled. “Thanks again for letting me ride with you.”

“You’re welcome. Of course, you might be cursing me when we start around the winding, mountain roads going ninety.”

Her face paled. “Seriously?”

Cocking my head at her, I asked, “Having second thoughts?”

She swallowed hard. “No. I’ll be fine.”

I laughed as I got on my bike. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take

good care of you.”

“You better. If I end up roadkill, I’ll find a way to haunt you as punishment,” she said as she slid on behind me.

“That’s a real threat.” Glancing behind me, I gave her a reassuring smile. “Believe me when I say that nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

“Good. Hold on tight.”

As I gunned the engine, Samantha’s arms came around my waist. When I squealed out of my space and onto the road, her arms squeezed me with a deathlike grip. We rode like that for several minutes before she finally got used to the speed and eased up a bit.

I knew she had finally gotten comfortable when she leaned in closer and propped her chin on my shoulder. It was the first time I’d ever had a girl on my bike who was as tall as me.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” I called.

“Yeah. It is,” she shouted back.

After another two hours, we stopped to gas up. I guessed

Samantha was still unsure around us, because she stuck like glue to me at the station. The only time she left my side was when I went to the bathroom. When I came out, she was waiting on me. “You up for the rest of the trip?”