Whenever she had her
riding gear on, Matt knew that A had to let off some steam.
So when he glanced up
from the newspaper and saw her in full leather, he cocked a brow and allowed
himself to smile at the sight of her. “Going for a run?”
Her green eyes flecked
towards him and she nodded, briefly looking down to readjust her boots. “Yeah.
Work was a bitch. It’s taking me a lot to not physically consume every single
bottle of liquor right now.” She was laughing, yet the tense note in her voice
made him realize that she was dying for a long ride. Matt nodded himself and
set the paper down, rising from the couch and pocketing his phone. “You going
out with Matsumoto, baby?”
“No.” a wolfish grin
appeared, “Take me with you. On the ride.”
“What? No,” she shook
her head and pocketed the keys, “I can’t. That makes two people to worry about now.
You should stay.”
“But darling,” A could
practically hear the whine, “I want to
go with you.”
“J was honestly terrified
when I stopped in front of HQ just to pick her up.”
“But that’s J. Under
the tough exterior, she’s as soft as cookie dough. I’m harder than she is.”
“Yeah, right.” The Englishwoman
rolled her eyes and took the sleek, black helmet. “I’m not kidding you. When it’s
dark out – like now – I go out there and abuse the fucking traffic laws…well,
at least when the speed limit is pretty high. I ride twenty minutes away and
just let go.”
“I can take you.”
“You can’t.”
“No stopping me,” he
walked to her and picked up another helmet – her spare – and tucked it under
his arm. “I’m going to ride with you, whether you like it or not.”
His girlfriend gave a
hard stare. Despite her slim frame and five foot four inches, she could stare
anyone down and seem like a six footer. Finally, she heaved a sigh.
“Fine. But you’re going
to have to change into something darker and wear that leather jacket I gave
you.”
*****
Full black.
She had to admit, it
made him look even sexier. He had the helmet on and his phone was deeply tucked
into his tight jeans, shirt plain and in a simple v-neck style.
“You should wear that
more often.”
“In this crap? I’d
rather be a vibrant man,” he said after pulling at the sleeve of the jacket.
She shook her head and got on the motorcycle, turning to lift a brow at him
when he didn’t move.
“I’m driving. My baby,
my rules.”
“You love that thing
more than you love me,” Matt grumbled. Underneath the helmet, she couldn’t help
but let the smile come to her red-stained lips.
“You have your Xbox. I
have my motor.” She started up the engine and the black vehicle let out a roar,
“Hands around my waist, babe. I don’t want you to fly away like marijuana in a
crime scene.”
“I can take it,” he
reiterated, but she interrupted him.
“Hands on my waist, or
get off.”
Taking this as a
warning symbol, he did what she instructed.
She hunched slightly
and he swore he could feel-slash-see her muscles tense. She released a quick,
derisive laugh – and in that moment, he felt every fiber of his being regret
that he even wanted to join her in the first place. A whispered something –
something he wouldn’t have heard over the sound of asphalt screeching under the
tires – but as his body was tightly pressed against hers, he could hear the
smallest whisper, the faintest sound of her accent spiraling into the cold
Tokyo air.
“It’s just me against the limit.”
A shiver overcame him.
Who knew that under the gracious, sophisticated and ladylike demeanor of his
girlfriend (despite her wilder and fiery side that only he knew) lay a road devil
who ignored the rules of the ride? She wouldn’t dare go against the law, it
would burn her to do so.
This, however…this was
different.
Homes and cars and
trees faded away into nothing, and the sound of travel overcame his ears. Matt
shut his eyes and let himself feel, feel the thumping of his heart as the exhilaration
of the ride got to him. He didn’t realize it, but his grip on her got tighter
and he felt that if he let go, he would fly away – just like marijuana in a crime
scene, as she had worded it earlier.
A, on the other hand,
was amused. Away her worries went anger and frustration with the day. It flew
under the tires and went God-knows-where, and she knew that she was better,
calmer, one with her motorcycle and the road as she travelled with her lover
clinging to her from behind. One with the sky and mechanism, gone was the pent
up stress and negativity. It was like some kind of cleansing, except more
physical and dare she say it, wilder.
The city lights faded
and she merely drove on across a long road. Momentarily, she had forgotten that
Matt was desperately clinging for his life right behind her. The snap of pain
got to her and she allowed herself to slow down, wondering if he got the
message to extract his nails from her
before she bled.
Thankfully, he did.
The long stretch of
road was endless. She merely went on and his clinging changed to hugging, and
she left off a soft sigh. Somehow, she had a feeling that he’d be tense about
it. The motorcycle skidded to a slow stop, settling near a convenience store,
and she removed her helmet.
“You can let go now.” More
amusement than bite. He gingerly removed his arms and took of his helmet, and
the sight of his tussled, swept hair made her want to kiss him and tease that a
grown man couldn’t take such speeds. “Were you afraid?”
“For my life?” he
sounded a little breathless, “I think so.”
She smirked. “You were
afraid.”
“Was not!” her smirk
went on, “Alright. Maybe I was. But for a reason,” he let himself laugh, “Darling,
you are one crazy driver. I felt the wind everywhere.”
“It’s the rider’s high,”
A replied quietly. “Why I love it so much. Riding in the city is much different,
you’re tense about people and traffic, if you’ll crash into that truck or not.
But out here,” she threw her arms open and exhaled, “It’s amazing. You get to
ride as much as you want, as fast as it allows. And when you’re okay, you can
come home as if nothing happened.”
“So when you need to
let go…”
“I go on a quick trip.
Twenty minutes ,tops. Stop by the store here,” she gestured to the convenience
store, “Get some coffee, maybe a beer if I feel like it. Watch, drink, eat.
Talk with the locals if I want to, help out someone who needs a bit extra cash
or a meal for the night. It makes me feel human, for once – instead of
arresting people and making their lives miserable, at least I can make a kid or
an elder smile at the sight of ice cream or a hot meal.”
His blue eyes watched
her. She was seated on the firm leather of the motorcycle, her hair down and
helmet in her hands, watching the night sky with an avid look on her face. “This
is why I pursued the job. Help people out, get them in the right direction. I
just need to remind myself that I am going
in the right one as well. Cars are great,” she shot him a smile, “But this
motor is my baby. Bought her after receiving a generous salary and deciding
that I wouldn’t hitch with Touta or take a cab home.”
“You honestly scared me
with your driving skills.” She raised a brow. “I thought you’d seriously crash.
You were great, though – amazing – and I’m sorry I nearly tore you apart,” he
apologized, and she couldn’t help but kiss his cheek.
“Calm down. It’s okay –
really.”
“I’ll make it up to you
when we get home.”
Her green eyes gave a
gleam. “Sounds like a deal. But for now,” she got up and extended her hand to
him, “I want coffee.”
Matt took it with a
small chuckle.
They got home half an
hour later, and indeed, she was right.
It was like the
troubles had never existed in the first place.
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