capsize me and douse me in your bay

chapter sixteen

Toni was slowly starting to learn that waking up her arms full of Cheryl was nothing to be afraid of. If anything, she was starting to crave it more often. She never used to fall asleep eager to wake back up again. But she'd woken up with the weight of the redhead on her chest three times today and she was already looking forward to countless more times. And for once, that thought didn't scare her.

After checking her phone for the time, she stretched her arms and legs out as best she could, causing Cheryl to stir awake in the process. She felt bad about waking her up, but it was probably for the better so she didn't have trouble sleeping tonight.

"Hey," she mumbled with a smile, watching her pick her head up off her chest.

Cheryl just smiled and leaned up to kiss her gently, sending shivers through Toni's whole body. "Hey, Toni," she whispered, reaching up to rub her sleepy eyes.

"Sorry if I woke you up, but we kinda have to get up anyways. It's almost three in the afternoon," the pinkette breathed a bit of a laugh as Cheryl made no effort to get up. Instead, she just reached up to twirl the ends of her pink hair between her fingers yet again, sighing in content as she laid her head back down with a smile on her face. "I was gonna take my dad's motorcycle out for a spin around town. You wanna come with me?" Toni asked, as her palm ran up and down the back of the cherry-patterned shirt that Cheryl insisted she put on as soon as they got back to the house.

"Motorcycle?" she picked her head up again as her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Yeah, it's kind of like a car, but also kind of like a bicycle," she tried to explain, "Come on, I'll show you."

She took Cheryl's hand and lead her downstairs, helping her slip her new red tennis shoes onto her feet before they stepped out into the garage. The bike was under a tarp in the corner, practically calling her name. And the sense of comfort that came over her when she pulled the tarp off was overwhelming to say the least. It was just the same, still in great condition. F.P. certainly had been taking care of it. Nothing was faded, nothing was dull. It looked like the cool, shiny Harley she always remembered it as.

"This is your dad's motorcycle?" Cheryl asked and stepped a bit closer, watching as Toni ran her fingertips over the leather seat.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, kicking her leg up and sliding comfortably onto the seat, just getting reacquainted with the feeling of being on the bike again. Even if it wasn't running, just being on it made her feel at home. Like her dad was right there with her. Taking the key that she had plucked from the garage wall, she turned the key in the ignition, laughing blissfully when the motorcycle roared to life beneath her.

Cheryl bit her lip and took a few steps back, not too fond of the loud noise. But Toni was happy, and that made her happy too.

"You wanna get on?" the pink haired girl asked loud enough to hear over the rumble.

She hesitated, a bit unsure. But she trusted Toni. Toni looked happy, so there wasn't anything to be afraid of. And Toni would never hurt her. She reached for her outstretched hand and stumbled a bit trying to kick her leg over the bike. She was still unstable enough on two legs, let alone just one. But she was sitting behind Toni comfortably before she knew it, feeling the rumbling vibration throughout her whole body as she started to giggle as well.

"Wanna go for a ride around town?" Toni turned back to face her, making herself heard over the engine. And with Cheryl's excited nod of approval, she quickly got off the bike, grabbing her old helmet and the one they kept here for Betty. "This is a helmet," she explained, bringing it back over to Cheryl, "It might be a little uncomfortable, but it's gonna help keep you safe."