Cameron
All I could think about was how I was actually going to do it. I had never ridden on a motorcycle before. I didn’t date men that would drive that sort of thing. I wasn’t dating Joel of course, but I knew that I was going to have to get on the bike if I didn’t want to just back out of all of it all together. While I wanted to do just that, I wanted to spend more time with him as well.
We talked only briefly in the hallways, Joel always seeming to be out there when I came and went. I had started to like him in more than a physical way and when he asked me out, I was ready to jump at the chance. I really did like him and once I got past the tattoos and the swagger that seemed to come with the territory, I rather enjoyed him.
When I got on the back of the bike behind him, there was a moment where I almost got back off. It wasn’t the fact that the bike had moved a little underneath me or the way I felt like it was going to topple over at any minute, it was the way our bodies seemed to touch every inch of each other’s that made it hard to breathe.
He didn’t seem to notice, asking me if I was on. I shook my head, not thinking that he wouldn’t be able to see me from behind. I finally told him that I was quietly in his ear. It was the part of me that was able to speak. The rest of me was lost in the heat that was coming off of him. He felt so hot and all I wanted to do was hold on tighter. When Joel told me to do just that, I pulled my body against him even harder and tried to fight the sound that was dying to come out of me.
“Are you on?”
“Yes, I am.”
He made a growling sound that I didn’t quite understand and then he started the bike up. I could hear and feel the engine underneath me and for some reason, I liked the way it felt. I liked the way he felt against me and I was far more worried about that, than I was about dying in a fiery crash. There was something about the man that made me feel safe and this was the first time that I saw Joel in that way, instead of as the bad boy gangster that I had seen him as before.
Holding on tight, I closed my eyes and leaned against his shoulder blades. I didn’t want to see everything going by so quickly and I was thankful that I had already told him where the place was. When the bike stopped and we were already there, I was glad that I hadn’t suggested the one across town. That would have been a mess and it would have taken longer than I thought it would.
Getting off, my legs felt a little wobbly and it took me a minute to get them straight. He held me up a little without making a big deal of it and waited for me to get right. “Did you like it?”
His brown eyes were twinkling with a look of delight and I wasn’t sure what it was that he was talking about. My mind went to him next to me, rubbing up against me in the way that he had, but I was pretty sure that he was talking about the ride itself. “Yeah, I actually did.” I didn’t tell him that it was the first time I had ridden on before and I certainly wasn’t going to tell him that I was scared to death.
“You felt like a natural, leaning in when you were supposed to. You just keep on surprising me Cameron.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I was glad that he seemed pleased. There wasn’t a reason for me to want his approval as much as I did, but when I got it, I realized how much I enjoyed it. I liked that he was happy with me and even though the thought bothered me, I wanted him to like me.
“Thank you for the ride. I was a little hesitant at first, but I am glad I got on.”
“Me too. So where is this place that you were telling me about?”
I looked away and then up to the street where the restaurant was. I had told him where it was, but Monty’s was a place that if you didn’t know it was there, you would never find it.
“It’s right there.” Pointing he looked the way my finger was going, but I could see that he was a bit confused. I liked the way his face scrunched up like I was joking about it.
“Where?”
“Right there. Come on.”
Taking the helmet off, I fumbled with my hair a bit and asked him if it looked okay. Before I could really say anything, he was nodding his head and moving a hair out from in front of my face. “You look beautiful Cameron. I don’t think there is a way that you couldn’t.”
I blushed at the compliment and took the hand that was offered to me. This was supposed to be a couple of friends going out and getting a bite to eat and it had turned into something more. The way he was looking at me told me that he was thinking about more than just being friends. I knew that he wanted more, but I didn’t know how much it was that I wanted it as well. What was going on with me lately?
“Shall we?”
Nodding my head and feeling clumsy next to him, I tried to pull myself together. This was not the man for me and even though there was an undeniable attraction, it didn’t mean anything but that. I was just showing him around the city since he was still new. That was it.
When we got inside, it was just how I remembered it. With work the way it was, I spent most of my Sundays relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead. It occurred to me that if it wasn’t for Joel, I would not even be there.
“What do you think of the place?”
He looked around and I could tell that he was underwhelmed with it. I was at first when I was brought here new to the city, but I knew that his attitude was going to change when he tried the food. It was the city’s best kept secret and I was sure that he was going to feel like he was in on it when he finally tried some of the food.
“Well, it is definitely different. Back home they try to class the joint up a little more.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at him. He really wasn’t interested in being there and it chinked away at his bad boy exterior.
“We can go somewhere else, but I will tell you now that you will regret it one day if you ever try their food.”
He still wasn’t sure. I could see it in his eyes that darted around. I wasn’t going to argue with him, wanting to see more than anything the look on his face when he realized that I was right. I didn’t care who he was or where he was from, everyone liked the food here. If he didn’t, it just meant that we weren’t supposed to be anyways.
“Is it really that good?”
His nose crinkled up a bit as we sat down. There was no fancy tablecloth on the table and instead of wood it was an old card table that had seen better days. Nothing about the place was right, except the food. The rest of it made me feel like I was back at the kid’s table at my Grandmother’s house. I didn’t know if that was what they were going for, but it worked either way. I had loved the place since I was introduced.
“It is. You will be converted.”
Joel’s head cocked to the side and he asked me what I meant. “You will see Joel, not everything is how it seems.”
“I am starting to realize that.”
I looked away from the heat in his eyes. I wanted to think that it was me he was talking about. I would have never thought that we would be here, sitting down for a meal together after how we met, but it seemed far more natural than it should have been.