Chapter Fourteen
Riley
A week had passed since that night with Silas, and things were finally starting to feel normal between us again. He’d been a great sport about it all and hadn’t tried anything with me since that night. I wasn’t sure if that made me happy or not, though, even if it was what I had asked of him. I couldn’t exactly be upset about something that I had asked for. I would be lying if I said I didn’t fantasize about him often, and at night, when it was just myself and my thoughts, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and picture him next to me. It didn’t help that he was living in the same house as me and that all it would take is for me to go up to him and kiss him again. But he was a great housemate, and I was glad that the two of us were getting along fine.
For the most part, though, we didn’t really see each other. We held different working hours. I’d taken on a lot of extra shifts at work, mostly to get out the house, while he had taken on more construction. He worked during the day, and I worked in the evening. Some days we didn’t see each other at all.
But that morning, I woke up thinking that there was no way I would be able to avoid him. I had absolutely nothing to do all day, and no work planned for that night. And, from what I could remember, I was sure that he had the day off too. I lay in bed for a long time, just reading my book and trying to distract myself. But I got out eventually, mostly because my desire for coffee was too strong. And really, I was only going to have to face my fears eventually. It wasn’t like me to avoid my problems.
Silas was sitting in the living room, a newspaper in front of him, as I walked past. For a moment, I just stood there, watching him. It was strange to think how normal it was to be living with him when just a few weeks ago I had never even met the guy. It wasn’t often that I felt so at ease with someone so quickly. It normally took me ages to feel like I could be myself in front of a stranger. I watched him now as his eyes moved over the paper, and I wondered what he was thinking. I also wondered how he could do nothing and yet look so handsome at the same time. His charm was effortless, natural. When he became famous, the girls were going to love him. He had something about him that just made me know he was going to be a star.
“Anything exciting happening in the world?” I said and chuckled as he jumped at the sound of my voice. “Sorry for the fright.”
He laughed. “I didn’t hear you coming. Nothing interesting at all. I’m not sure why I even bother to read the paper. It’s always just bad news, to be honest. Sometimes I just skip straight to the comics.”
“I do the same. Well, I guess it could make you feel grateful for your own life. Whenever I read the newspaper, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to live such a boring life.”
“Boring is good.”
“Boring is great. Coffee?”
He held up his cup. “I’d love another one. You read my mind. Thank you.”
I walked to the kitchen and made us both a cup, and took it back to the living room. I handed him a cup and took a seat.
“I’m not sure what I’d do without coffee,” he said after he took a sip.
“Tell me about it. I once tried to give up, but I only lasted a few days until I realized what a stupid idea that was.”
He laughed. “You tried to quit caffeine? No! That’s a terrible move.”
“Tell me about it. Thankfully, I learned my lesson pretty quickly.”
“So, what are you doing today? Other than drinking coffee, of course.”
I smiled. “Actually, I have nothing to do with my day. And nothing to do tonight. What a great feeling. I hate working at the pub on a Friday. It’s my worst day to work.”
“But the best day for tips, I’m sure?” he asked.
“Absolutely. Sometimes it doesn’t feel worth it though. I think I’d rather walk away with less money and have a less stressful night. I don’t know. Paisley loves the busy nights, but she’s far more into the job then I am. I’m purely doing it just to get by.”
“I’m sure. Also, you’ve been working a lot this week. You’ve had a shift almost every day, haven’t you? You must be exhausted.”
“Yeah. One of the girls was sick, so I took over,” I said. It wasn’t entirely true. She’d only been sick for one of her shifts, but I’d asked to work the whole week. But Silas didn’t have to know that. I didn’t want him to know I was avoiding him. It would only open up a whole new line of conversation that I wasn’t ready to go into yet. “How about you? Do you have today off?”
“I do. Oh, I actually have something I want to show you. When we’re finished our coffee.”
“You do? Ooh, now I’m curious. What is it?”
He laughed. “My bike. It’s in the garage. I went to get it yesterday. I spent most of my evening cleaning it up. Couldn’t believe how dusty that thing was. Poor thing hadn’t been ridden in ages.”
“Really? That’s great! So, does that mean you’re taking me for a spin today?”
“Do you want to?”
“I’d love to!” I said. It was funny, really, to go from avoiding him all week to suddenly asking him to take me for a ride on his motorcycle. But, I couldn’t help myself. I hadn’t been on a bike in such a long time, and it wasn’t often that I got the opportunity.
“Then I’d love to take you. Should we go cruising after breakfast?”
“Yes!”
I made a quick breakfast, took a shower, and then walked to the garage to take a look at the bike. Silas was already there, and I could see the excitement in his eyes as I walked in. He was obviously very proud of the machine. And I didn’t blame him. It was incredible. It had a very vintage feel to it even though I was sure it wasn’t old at all. I could see why he loved it so much.
“Wow, I love it,” I said as I ran my hand over it. “It’s so cool. And so shiny.”
“You should’ve seen it last night; it wasn’t shiny at all then. I’m glad you’re only seeing it now. It’s hard to show something off that’s covered in a thick layer of dust. But yeah, I’ve always taken good care of it. Once the dust was removed, it was back to normal. Now we just need to ride it. You ready?”
“I am. Ah, but what about a helmet? I don’t have one.”
“I have one for you. I have a few actually. Don’t ask me why. I guess I just went through kind of an obsessive stage. I have all these accessories. Here, take your pick.”
I looked at the four helmets on display and pointed to the smallest of the bunch. A bright red helmet that matched the bike.
“Good choice,” he said.
I put my helmet on and waited for him to move his bike out the garage so I could close the door behind us. Then I hopped on, wrapped my arms around him, and off we went. There was nothing quite like the feeling of riding on a bike. I wondered what it must be like for the driver and reminded myself to get some lessons from him. I’d always been a bit of a tomboy and had felt exhilarated when I had first learned how to drive a car. I was sure that riding a motorcycle must be a million times better than driving a car, and I couldn’t wait to try it.
It was also nice holding onto Silas. I could smell his aftershave, a fresh musky aroma that I breathed in as we rode. I liked that he couldn’t see my face and how much I was smiling as I held onto him. It was good to be so close to him again, even if was just temporary. I was going to have to go on more rides with him if I wanted to be close to him again. We rode for about half an hour when suddenly a funny sound began to emanate from the bike. Silas stopped, and we climbed off to examine what was wrong.
“What’s going on?” I said. I knew nothing about motorcycles. Nothing looked wrong, but it had made a strange sound.
He shrugged. “I have no idea. That was a weird noise, wasn’t it? Maybe it’s because I haven’t taken it for a ride in such a long time. The poor thing has just been sitting there unloved for so long.”
I chuckled. “I love how you refer to it like it’s a human being.”
“Feels like it sometimes. My brother even named his. I forgot what the name was. He thinks nobody knows, but I heard him talk to the bike once,” he said and chuckled. “Oh well, at least we broke down here. Look how beautiful that field looks.”
I looked out and smiled at the vast expanse in front of us. The field looked like it went on forever, and because of a recent and sudden downpour, little flowers had begun to bloom all over. It was hard not to feel relaxed in a place like that.
“I can’t believe we broke down though,” he said. “Your first ride with me and this happens.”
“It’s not your fault. But what are we going to do? I mean, we can’t exactly walk home. It’s pretty far. And we can’t just leave your bike here.”
“Yeah, we definitely can’t leave the bike here. Well, I’m going to have to fix it.”
“Think you can?”
“I’m certainly going to try.”
I smiled. I liked that he took control when it came to things like this. I liked that he was confident enough to attempt to fix it. I would’ve just called someone without even bothering to look at it myself.
“Can you push it a little more toward the field?” I asked. “I want to sit on the grass.”
“You’re not going to help?” he said.
“Oh. Of course. I’m so sorry!” I said, and I could feel the heat rising to my face. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t even offered to help. I just thought he wouldn’t want me to, considering how little I knew about bikes.
He laughed. “I’m just kidding. I don’t want you to help. Let’s push it toward the grass. I’m glad to at least have some company while I fix it up. And don’t worry, I will fix it. I’ve done this so many times before.”
I took a seat on the soft grass and watched him work. It was clear that he felt comfortable with the bike. I had no idea what he was doing, but he seemed to know just what to do to fix the problem. I couldn’t help but think how good he looked there. It annoyed me just how good looking he was at that moment. How sexy he was as he fixed the bike. I lay back and watched him, allowing myself a little bit of pleasure for a change. It was like I was privy to my own private show. I half expected him to take his shirt off and for me to start hooting and hollering for him. I swallowed hard, and I tried to clear my head from all thoughts of him without his shirt on.
“So, you belonged to a motorcycle club?” I said instead to try and steer the conversation somewhere else.
“I sure did. I sort of still do; I’m just not very involved. But I was at one point. I even had a nickname. They called me ‘Country.'”
I grinned. “Country. I like that, and I obviously don’t need to ask you why. That’s cool. Can I call you that?”
“Sure, you can call me whatever you want to call me.”
“You’re doing a good job there, Country,” I said and chuckled. “So, why aren’t you involved in the club anymore?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess life just got in the way. I still love riding the bike, but I guess I’m not nearly as obsessed as some of the other guys. For some of them, it’s the only thing they want to talk about. It’s not really like that for me. I had other interests. I wanted to focus all my spare time on music. Music has been my life for a very long time. I love riding the bike, but music is my number one. Always has been.”
“I like that about you. I like that you’re so passionate about it. It’s not often that you see that in someone.”
He turned to look at me then, and I squinted up at him to see him properly. The sun was shining in my eyes, but I could still see how serious he suddenly looked.
“Can I ask you a question?” he said.
I propped myself up on my elbows and nodded. “Of course. Anything.” My heart was pounding in my chest. I hoped he wasn’t going to ask me something about the two of us because I really didn’t want to go down that route. I was enjoying things as they were and I didn’t want to ruin anything. The thought of living with someone else filled me with dread.
“Please be honest. Don’t lie just to protect my feelings. Because, honestly, I really just want someone to tell me the truth. Do you think I have a future in singing? Do you think I should continue to pursue it? I know I’m passionate about it, and I know I’m dedicated, but am I good? Honestly?”
It was hard for me to believe that someone as talented as him could be so insecure. I was also extremely relieved that the question had nothing to do with the two of us and what had happened.
“Silas, I swear on my life, you are more than good. You’re incredible. And yes, I do think you have a future in singing. I know it’s not easy, and I know it’s been a struggle, but I really don’t think you should give up. I’m not a very good liar. You would know if I wasn’t telling the truth. Trust me; it would be written all over my face. You’re talented, and I truly believe you’re going to go somewhere with this.”
He seemed relieved, and I was glad that I could at least give him a boost of confidence. “Thanks, Riley. That’s good to hear. And, you’ll be pleased to know, I fixed the bike.”
“You did? Already?” I asked.
“It just needed a bit of TLC.”
I chuckled. “You love that thing.”
“I sure do.”
“Actually, so do I. Okay, let’s go for another ride. I feel like I could ride all day with you on there.”
“It’s good to be of service.”
I jumped up, climbed back on top, and wrapped my arms around him again. I breathed in the familiar musky smell that I was beginning to know so well, and I closed my eyes. Just for the moment, I would enjoy the feeling of being so close to him again. When I got off the bike, I would stop thinking about him in that way, but for now, just while I was on the bike, I would enjoy it. I hoped that the bike ride would last a very long time.