No Status Quo

10. Rejection

Ren chuckles and my irritation is fading already. Ugh. He follows me towards the exit, "Aww." 

I resist the urge to stick out my tongue at him like a five year old. I wish I knew what they were saying; it wasn't meant for me that much I can tell.

A gust of wind blows past us and I shiver in my light green dress. Ren stops laughing and the next thing I know, he's shrugging out of his jacket. 

"What are you—" I start but then he pushes the latter in my hands. 

"Take this."

"No, I can't." I say but the look on his face says otherwise. "Fine,"

"Good." He smiles and I can't help but smile too. His smile is contagious, just like everything else. 

"I'm sorry we just got to see the penguins." I say, pushing my arms through the sleeves,

"No worries." He assures me, a frown appearing on his face, "By the way, how do you plan on getting home?" 

"My car—" I look around the parking lot. It isn't here. Realization hits me like a bolt of lightning. Amanda had offered to pick me up today and she said she'd drop me back too. The witch forgot that, so did I. 

"I'll walk." I say, shaking my head. 

Ren looks at me disapprovingly, "What? No." he says, rejecting the idea. His eyes get a spark in them as he says, "Hey, you said you always wanted to ride on a bike but never got to, right?"

"Yeah, so?" 

Ren takes out keys of his pocket and twirls them round his long finger, "I can drop you home." He says, leading me to his motorcycle. 

"Is this yours?" I gulp, admiring the red and black bike. "It looks—uh—fast." 

He smirks, "It can be. You scared?" 

"A little..." I say, 

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." He says, 

I look at him dubiously, "What if you do?" 

"Then you have the permission to haunt me as a ghost." He says simply.

"You're a jerk."  I gasp and he grins. 

"Just kidding, you won't die." He says, watching my unsure expression. "Trust me." 

Those two words; everyone says them at least once in their lives but never mean them. But something in Ren's tone, it makes my worries go away. I find myself trusting him...

"Alright." I give in. Ren hands me a helmet before straddling the bike. I get on behind him and taking a deep breath, wrap my arms around him. 

"Here we go." He says and revs the engine. The next thing, we're rushing down the road. The cold wind whips through my hair, hitting me across the face might I add and I'm glad I took his jacket. I can feel the engine purring beneath me. I lean with Ren as he effortlessly guides the motorcycle down the road. It's really thrilling and I can feel the adrenaline in my veins. 

"You okay?" Ren asks brightly. He seems to be in high spirits. 

I nod, grinning. "Yeah."

It's fun, watching all the trees and buildings zoom past us in a blur and my hair billowing in the wind. I wonder why I never rode a motorcycle before. The answer is obvious though, we never had them. 

"How do you—" I start in awe when Ren kills the engine, right in front of Claymas Hill. I still admire the mansion that's on top of it. It was mom who came up with the idea; she had a passion for architecture. The two story mansion has large panoramic windows, beautiful extensive balconies, a flat concrete roof—all complete with the combination of charcoal and cream paint. I'm looking at the green lawn, the pool and all the flowers when Ren answers,