That Blue Gibson

CH 63

Dave nodded at Liz and steadied the bike so she could climb on. She hesitated only a moment then used his shoulder as a grip while she swung her leg over the dual seat.

"There's no backrest," she whined, though he could hear her smile in her voice.

"Oh, now you want luxury?" he teased, firing up the bike.

She sat perfectly straight on the seat behind him, trying to remember how to navigate being a passenger. Josh's bike was the first one she had been on the back of since she was fifteen and his Triumph had a backrest, enabling her to sit back while he drove. Dave's only had a pillion, so she'd have to hold on to him if she wanted to stay on the shiny side of the bike. He shifted in the saddle and reached back, gripping her thigh to see if she was ready when a voice in the back of her head rose above the rumble of the engine. It was a familiar and comforting memory, but it was telling her that tough girls, brave girls, girls that didn't need anyone but themselves; those girls didn't ride bitch on the back of a man's bike. Liz blinked a couple times, trying to reconcile her past with whatever it was that lay in front of her. Shut it, Pops, she thought and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Dave.

She quickly learned that she wasn't able to watch the road without instinctively trying to steer. She would pull a little on Dave's side as they entered a turn, earning a smile from him every time. When they finally reached the open stretch of highway, gloriously free of mid-day traffic, she leaned her head between his shoulder blades, careful not to put too much weight on his back, and relaxed. She had just started feeling like she could handle being a passenger when he shifted into a lower gear. The engine rumbled in agreement sending a vibration through the fender just below Liz seat. She gasped and jolted upright, feeling Dave's hand on hers to see if she was okay. She squeezed his side in assurance while readjusting on the seat, but every way she shifted made the vibrations worse. Mercifully, their exit was fast approaching and Dave kicked the bike back into a higher gear while Liz let out a relieved breath and relaxed against his back again.

*

"Well, that's going to take some practice," she muttered when he killed the bike in a far corner of the grocery store's parking lot. She slid off the seat and unsnapped her helmet, unable to meet his eyes.

He was about to tease her for trying to steer with his shirt when he looked up at her face. "You okay?" he asked, concerned at how flushed her skin was.

"Yeah, it's just...," she looked down at the black leather seat where it curved up and over the back fender. "It's much more... tactile than I imagined it would be." Spinning on her heel so he wouldn't see her blush, she set off for the front of the store.

He frowned for a moment as her words processed in his mind, then grinned wickedly at her retreating back. "Josh's bike didn't do that?" he asked when he had caught up with her, tossing his arm around her in case she made another break for it.

"Um, no..." she felt her face growing hot as the glass doors slid open for them. "No, Josh's was much less... invigorating."

He let her go to grab a basket and once again hurried to catch up with her as she darted down a random aisle. He found her alone midway down an aisle, examining the shelves.

"Elizabeth..." he called, dropping the basket at his feet when he approached her.

"This isn't the candy aisle," she muttered to herself and turned just as Dave closed in on her. Her shoulders hit the shelves behind her, the bottles rattling in protest as she pulled his face to hers, not caring who saw them or what security camera might be recording. His hands on her rib cage beneath her leather jacket sent chills up and down her spine and she could taste the spearmint of his gum. Grinning at the thought that she'd have her own nicotine addiction if she kept kissing him while he chewed that stuff, he pulled back just slightly to smile down at her.