This Is Stella's Reality

July 5, 2014

"Hey, doll," Bucky was gently tapping on the other side of my door, "ready to go?"

I opened it to greet him, and butterflies exploded in my chest. Bucky was wearing all black, and god, he was hot. His hair swooped gently onto his brow bone, and his muscles stretched his short sleeve shirt tight. He had a black watch on one of his wrists. His metal hand rested in his pants pocket while the other combed through his curls. "Ready for our date?"

I sucked my teeth and looked away from him, "This is not a date." The nerve of this man.

He laughed and put an arm around my shoulder to lead me out of my room, "I know, angel. I'm only teasing."

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he couldn't see, "Are we going back to the same bar? I think they may hate us after last time."

He laughed, "No, we're not going there again. Tony told me about some rooftop bar further into the city. I thought we could try that."

"Sounds good. Do you want to take my car again?"

"About that, I have something for you."

"Uh-oh. I don't like the sound of that."

Bucky stepped in front of me and blocked the way to the garage, "You've got to close your eyes."

"Now I really don't like the sound of that." I did, but he didn't need to know that.

He gave me a charming smile, "You'll like it, doll. Swear." He winked at me as he stuck his hands out for me to grab.

I closed my eyes and vowed not to peak. Bucky took my hands and led me into the garage of the compound. The smell of gasoline was strong, and my heels clicked loudly through the concrete structure. After a few feet, we stopped and Bucky instructed me to keep my eyes closed. He let go of my hands, and something heavy was dropped into them.

My eyes peeked open, and a glossy black helmet had been placed in my hands. I looked up at Bucky confused, "A helmet?"

Bucky sighed and grabbed my shoulders. He turned me around, and there was a pretty black motorcycle parked behind me. It wasn't extravagant, but it was beautiful. It had a matte black finish with some of the details being a glossy black, the same as my helmet. I looked up at him, "You got a bike?"

He winked at me, "Bikes are more fun than cars." He moved past me and grabbed his own helmet that was hanging from the handle. I inspected the one in my hands, turning it around and watching my reflection in the glossy paint.

"You got me my own helmet?"

He leaned against the seat of the bike, "Of course. My girl's got to have her own if she's going to ride with me."

My girl.

Bucky swung his leg over the bike and stuck his hand out to me. I took it and he steadied me so I could sit comfortably behind him. He looked at me over his shoulder, "Have you ever been on a bike before?"

I shook my head at him. A grin spread across his face as he slid his helmet on, "This will be fun then." The bike roared to life beneath us, and I quickly shoved my helmet on over my head. I gasped and grabbed onto Bucky as the bike moved forward. There was a headset in the helmet, so Bucky the startled noise I had made, "Don't be scared, angel. I've got you."

"I know."

We sped out of the garage and down the driveway. Cars zipped past us as Bucky merged onto the highway. He was a confident driver, and it showed in the way he moved between cars, speeding up, slowing down, tilting the bike so it weaved between them just so. My arms tightened helplessly around his waist, and he chuckled over the speaker in my helmet, "I've never seen you so scared, Stel."