Falling into Summer

Chapter 6

Carter picks me up a little after eight the next morning. Not sure what I'm in for, I decide to wear running shorts, an old t-shirt, a hat with my hair in a ponytail out the back, and sneakers. I'm expecting to get sweaty being outside in the heat, and maybe even a little dirty or wet if we're riding through rain or mud at any point. Seeing the four-wheeler on a trailer hitched to the back of his little black car, I notice a little anxiety at the thought that there's a potential for me to make a complete fool of myself if he tries to make me drive this thing. We spend the hour drive to Ocala talking, teasing each other, and listening to music we both like. We both admit that we're a little tired, but know we won't be out all day. When we get to the wilderness park, he picks a spot just short of a clearing in the trail to park the car and unload the four-wheeler.

"Are you ready?" he asks of me after he's locked up the car and we've both put on helmets. I nod slightly, pretty sure I'm not hiding my nervousness very well. He climbs on the front of the four-wheeler and jump starts the thing like a dirt bike, and the motor comes to life loudly. He then motions for me to come over, "Get on!" he yells over the idling motor. I put my left foot where he points on the empty peg, and stretch my other leg over to the other peg, and sit on the seat right behind him. He turns his head to talk back at me over his left shoulder, "Hold on to me, and let me know if I'm going too fast, or you want to go faster!" he instructs. When I go to wrap my arms around his torso, I'm reminded of the view I got of him on moving day, and suddenly my palms get sweaty. He grabs at my wrists, pulling my arms tighter around him, letting me know I can't hurt him with my death grip. "Hold on tight, ok?!" he demands over his shoulder, and I can only manage to nod my head, but the movement is exaggerated by the weight of the helmet, making it look like I'm all too eager to cling to him. He then gases the motor, slowly at first, so we can make our way to the trail, and then revs it as we pass over branches and bumps faster.

It takes me a minute to get used to the bumping and bouncing of the monster wheels going over the trail in the woods. After a few abrasive bumps, I nearly lose my grip on him, and that's when I realize why he instructed me to hold on tightly. After nearly falling off, I take handfuls of his t-shirt in each of my hands to secure my grip on him further. For the first hour he takes me through all kinds of trails, grabbing at low hanging branches that threaten us as we pass by. He speeds up a couple of times, going faster than I'm comfortable with and when he feels my grip tighten around him, he slows down and checks on me. He does a couple of fast donuts, making my stomach sink, causing me to giggle at the feeling, and after a while he offers to let me drive. When I insist I don't know how, he offers to show me. So, we swap places, as he climbs on behind me. With the engine still idling, he places his hands over mine on each of the handles, and leans down to direct me in my ear that the right is the gas, and the left is the break. After a couple of test runs with his hands guiding mine, he tells me to go for it, and I gas it going back on the trail we just came, and his hands grip at my waist. After getting back to the car, I stop, and he cuts off the engine for me.

"Was that fun?" he asks, eager for my take on driving.

"Yeah, but I just can't go as fast as you."

"I wasn't even going that fast. In fact, I think that was the slowest I've ever gone with someone on the back," he adds.

"Sorry," I apologize, feeling bad for being a wimp.

"No don't be sorry, I was just making an observation," he assures. "You thirsty?" he asks, and I nod instantly. He fetches two bottled waters from the cooler strapped to the trailer the four-wheeler was on, and hands me one. He finishes his quickly, as we've been sweating this whole time. "Do you mind if I take a couple of passes on those jumps?" He asks, as I'm still drinking my water.