Jennie
The Han River gives us a gorgeous view of the city and marina - it's one of my favourite places in Seoul. Tall, beautiful buildings on one side with the gorgeous river on the other. Trendy restaurants and shops dot our walk. We stop for some ice cream and continue our easy conversation from before.
As we make our way down the street, I see it - a scooter rental. I'd ridden a scooter before, years ago, during a trip to Seoul with Mino and his father. Mino had done most of the driving, but when I drove it wasn't terribly hard. It was actually a lot of fun.
I wonder if Lisa is too suave to ride a scooter. How badly does she want to win this bet, really? I plan to find out.
I put on my best excited-little-girl-face. "Ooh, scooters! I love scooters!"
Lisa looks to where I'm gesturing, impassive. "Yeah, they're fun," she agrees.
"Can we rent one?"
"Right now?"
"Yes! Why not... are you ready to leave?"
"No," she says. She looks uncertain. "I mean... yeah, we can rent one. If you want."
"Yay! Let's go! Are we going to share one? I want to drive first!"
I practically drag her along. It only takes us a few minutes to get our scooter, helmets, and a brief course in the mechanics of the scooter: how to stop, go, turn, etcetera. Lisa doesn't look nearly as excited as I do about this little adventure. Inside, I'm cackling gleefully.
She moves to get on the scooter, but I swat her away. "No! I said I want to drive first."
"Have you ever driven one?" she asks, reluctantly stepping away.
"Yes. Have you?"
"A few years ago."
I don't tell her that it's been a few years for me, too. Nor that I'd only driven one once... and that I had a huge teenager on the back commanding my every move. "All right, then. So I get to drive."
She sighs. "Fine, get on the scooter, Jennie."
I get on and quickly realise that Lisa is going to be crammed, rather tightly, against my back. Holy crap! Maybe I should have thought this through a bit more. I'll be able to feel every inch of her.
She gets on and yes, I can feel every warm inch. Her body fits deliciously against mine. She wraps her arms around my waist and leans in close.
"Hmm, I rather like this," she says alluringly.
I blink and clear my throat, extremely glad she can't see my face right now. "I told you so. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'm going to be."
I take that as my cue and slowly press the gas. The scooter takes off like lightning, nearly throwing us both backwards. Holy Jesus Christ! I quickly slam on the brakes and the whole thing topples sideways. The scooter operator is watching us, laughing hysterically, and poor Lisa is all in a tizzy.
"Christ, Jennie!" she shouts. "I thought you knew how to drive!"
"I do! That was a warm-up." We both right the scooter, and I hop back on.
"Maybe you should let me drive," Lisa suggests. From her tone I can infer that she's not going to be willing to let me have my way anymore, but I don't give in that easily.
"Just one more time. Just let me practice."
"You're going to kill yourself - and me, for that matter."
"Don't be such a baby. You're wearing a helmet."
"Jennie..." she warns. She does not look happy.
"One more time? Please? I promise I'll do better." I give my best pouty face... and wow, it works! She sighs and climbs back on behind me.
"One more time," she says, stressing the "one." "And please try to be careful."
"Yes my lord," I say sarcastically. She's pressed into me again and geez is it distracting. I press the gas, even slower this time, and have much more success - the scooter takes off at a much more manageable pace.
Lisa seems satisfied. I can feel her relax against me, although she's still very tense. We get going smoothly down the road. I feel pretty sure of myself. This is just as fun as I remember!
"I told you I could drive," I call out to her.
"Yes, you're doing better."
"Say you're sorry."
"For what?"
"For yelling at me."
"I never yelled at you!"
"You did a little."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Jennie. You were stressing me out."
"Understandable. I forgive you."
She scoots closer to me. Holy crap, there isn't a fraction of an inch of space between us now. I can feel her... oh no... tell me it isn't her...
I semi-panic and move to turn right, onto another street. The scooter is harder to turn than I thought, and soon I'm terrified it's going to topple over again. I don't want to put my foot on the ground with my flimsy sandals on. In a panic I scream out, "Lisa!"
"Holy shit, Jennie!" I hear her curse. She sticks her foot out, saving us, but in the sudden chaos I hit the gas again like a spaz. The scooter goes flying, the whole front end shooting off the ground as I clutch the handle bars for dear life. Our seat is snatched out from beneath us and I can't tell up from down or left from right in the few terrifying moments that follow.
Then I suddenly hit the ground, the scooter is halfway on top of me, and a terrible pain is shooting through my right wrist.
Lisa is on her feet in a second flat, shoving the scooter off my legs. She's frantic. I'm just happy we're both still alive.
"Christ, Jennie. Are you okay?"
