"You don't drive a motorcycle, do you?" I ask Michael nervously as we take the stairs down to the small lobby of the apartment building.
"No," he laughs. "Why would you ask me that?"
"You just look like the kind of guy that would have a motorcycle," I shrug.
"Why?" He laughs. "Because of this?" His fingers play with the small studs pierced through his right eyebrow.
"Well... that, and the hair. And the tattoos."
Michael takes a step closer to me and I take a step back. A knowing smirk plays on his lips as he looks down at me. "Are you afraid of me, Katherine?" He asks.
"No," I answer too quickly.
"Yes you are!" He laughs, relaxing. I follow Michael over to a sleek black car, nothing fancy, but obviously expensive.
"If I was afraid of you, I guarantee that I wouldn't be about to get in a car with you and let you take me to an undisclosed location. And I probably would have called the cops the first time you broke into my apartment," I fold my arms over my chest and stare him down.
"Ah, there's that phrase again," he says. "Broke in. That is open to interpretation." I roll my eyes. "So then, Kate. Why are you about to get in a car with me and let me take you to an undisclosed location?"
I offer him a sarcastic smile. "We're friends, remember?" I open the passenger's side door and climb in the car before I change my mind.
I hear Michael laughing outside, and only a moment later does he join me in the car. "You are something else, Katherine Williams."
"Will you tell me where we're going, Michael Clifford?" I smile at him sweetly.
He throws the car into reverse and looks over his shoulder, placing his hand on my seat the proper way they teach you in driver's ed. "Not a chance, Katherine."
I let Michael drive in silence for a while before the quiet becomes unbearable. "What made you leave? Yesterday, I mean. You seemed upset."
"I was upset," his answer is short, but he offers no other explanation.
"You were upset because..." I encourage.
"That is not something that I will be telling you," he says evenly.
"You annoy me," I huff.
"Why?" He says with a wry smile.
"Because you kidnap me from my apartment before the sun is up, and you never answer any of my questions."
"Kidnap?" He laughs. "You came voluntarily. Kidnap, break in. Do you always use such heavy words?"
"I only came because you guilted me into it," I grumble.
"All's fair in love and war," he laughs.
That pulls me up short.
Which one of those is this meant to be?
Before I have time to think too far into his words, he pulls the car to the side of the road. The sun has not risen over the horizon yet, but the air is lightening, tinting the hills in the distance a dark blue. I look around at my surroundings, realizing that Michael has brought me out into the middle of nowhere. It is nearly October, the barren, hilly fields seem to stretch around us for miles and miles, the two lane highway cutting through the middle.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"We are in the middle of Springfield County," he says nonchalantly, stepping out of the car. I watch him intently as he crosses in front of the car and opens my door, gesturing for me to get out. I remain seated and he sighs. "Come on, Kate."
