The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|29| Damn, looks like I'm not the only criminal here.

It seemed like Colby had quickly got more comfortable with sitting on a bike. He was almost relaxed, but still reacted quickly when she motioned for him to hold on tighter. After driving around the block twice, she concluded that it was enough training, and they were ready to go on the highway, so she stopped the bike.

"Ready to go a step further?" she asked Colby after putting up the visor of her helmet.

"Not really," he said, chuckling nervously. "But I trust you, so... I guess I am, even though I don't even know where we're going."

"I'm bringing you somewhere I enjoy going to when I want to be alone," she explained.

"Oh?" he asked. "In that case, I feel honoured to be brought there." He said it as a joke, but there was a hint of sincerity in his tone that made Ashley think that this really was something special.

"It's not like it's sacred or anything," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

She could feel Colby's stiffness because he pulled her even closer as she left the empty street of the neighbourhood, pulling into the bigger streets. She took one hand off the handlebar to lay it on his hand and gently apply pressure. I've got everything under control, the gesture said, and Colby seemed to understand, seeing as he relaxed his grip a little bit. For a moment, Ashley was tempted to pat his thigh twice, just to see his reaction to her using the sign for speeding up, but she didn't want to turn this into a "the boy who cried wolf"-situation. That could only end badly.

On the highway, they drove by several other bikers, one of which tapped their helmet twice as she drove past them. Ashley waved at them and nodded, signing that she had understood. Not even a minute later, they passed a cop car, hidden in the back of some restaurant's parking lot, looking out for speeders.

She, just the responsible biker she was, of course rode underneath the speed limit. Well, at least now that she had Colby as backpack. Riding alone was a different matter. As another biker drove in their direction, she quickly lifted her hand and tapped her helmet twice to warn them.

As they reached a gas station to pick up dinner, she slowly stopped the bike to get gas. Colby immediately got up as they stood still, taking a few wobbly steps.

"How are you holding up?" she snickered, seeing him stretch his arms and back.

"You get used to it," was his reply, "and I actually really enjoy it by now. You could've warned me that we were going to ride your bike today, though, I would've come better prepared."

"And how would you have done that?" she asked, getting her card out of her pocket to pay for the gas.

"Googled stuff," he answered, shrugging. "So that I could impress you with motorbike facts."

"Why would you need to impress me? Especially with something I know all about?"

"I'm sure I could've found something you don't know yet," he insisted, ignoring the first question.

"Whatever you say," she chuckled. "Now hop on, we still have twenty more minutes to go." She patted the back of the bike where Colby should sit.

He groaned, taking a reluctant step toward her. "Twenty more minutes?? How long is this trip taking," he complained.

"Fifty minutes. If you go under speed limit," she replied with a wink.

"And how long if not?" he asked, reciprocating the smirk even though she could only see his eyes.

"I usually get there in thirty."

"Damn, looks like I'm not the only criminal here," Colby chuckled.

"You're just the only one with an actual criminal record," she corrected him with a smirk. "Anyways, I thought you were enjoying this."