Call her ZADDY

Ch 18- Joy ride

"Boo!," Gabrielle said as she popped out from behind the gallery front desk.

Taking a few playful steps back, Mick rolled his eyes. "Ha, Ha, wow you really got me there," he said dully. Anyway," he sighed, "I came by to see if you wanted to ride around on my scooter later as a thank you for the other night."

Gabrielle hesitated. "Really? Right now? You and me?"

Mick felt a flicker of irritation then snorted, "Dude it's not a marriage proposal. Yes, you and me. Come on let's go for a ride."

"Go, on ahead," Gabrielle's boss nudged; a thin stylish women with a blunt bobbed hairstyle. From there her boss pushed her towards the gallery exit where Gabrielle shyly followed behind him outside.

——

The evening air gently cooled Mick's sunburnt skin as he walked down the gallery porch. He had so much on his mind that he wanted to tell Gabrielle, but once alone in the parking lot, he didn't quite know how to begin.

Part of the problem was, in that moment he had never seen Gabrielle looked more beautiful. Sometimes it was hard for him to remember she wasn't just his dorky new friend. She was also a full grown adult woman. She was twenty seven years old. Older than his mom when she's had his two younger siblings.  A person with a private life and independent thoughts completely outside of his own. There was so much about her that was still a mystery  and still so much to learn...

He gazed longingly into her eyes as a gentle trade wind breeze blew a long strand of hair from her cheek. Under the amber sunset her olive skin had never looked more clear and her eyes had never looked more green. Either she turned into some sort of vampire during the last week since he'd  last seen her or this was some fucking seriously good lighting, he thought to himself.

The wind rustled in the mango trees while he tried to gather his emotions. Why the hell was he so into her? It was irritating and unsettling. Mick shivered, reminding himself he'd been with way prettier girls.

"Gabrielle, he blurted, "Can I just give you a hug?"

At that Gabrielle laughed, where he used his thick muscular arms to draw her in close; digging his nose deep into her hair like a hermit crab exploring a roomier shell. Hugging her was everything. And yet... Her embrace felt strangely stiff. He couldn't describe it but there was simply something off.

Who hurt her?, he bristled. His guess was some random guy must have treated her terribly in the past. He'd kick his ass whoever it was.

"All right. Let's go for a ride" he laughed as a way to end the too long hug.

As he walked ahead of her, Mick stopped to look back at her one last time, before adding, "Come on... I'll let you drive."

——

Starting up the engine Gabrielle paused for second while shakily maneuvering the bike out of the parking lot. She seemed really nervous and her rigid posture made him feel a bit apprehensive. As the bike lurched onto the small highway Mick held on tight wondering if he had maybe made mistake letting her drive.

Soon they reached a flat clearing of empty road lined by palm trees where, just as Mick was just about to relax, Gabrielle accelerated the bike recklessly down the road, causing her hair to whip stingingly in his face.

"Ha good one," Mick said sarcastically as Gabrielle braked suddenly, and he almost accidentally fell over. He had imagined this going down so much better in his head. In his fantasy he would have almost fallen over from fits of merry laughter instead of her terrible driving.

——

As the minutes passed Gabrielle's driving became more smooth, causing Mick's mood to begin to soften. He took in her long, peach skirt blowing in the warm breeze as they cruised the small rural highway, wizzing past old fruit stands along the side of the road, and long stretches of lime green fields. In that moment Mick couldn't believe how right it felt when he was with her. It was a stark contrast to the girls he normally got off on, who were generally dirty and wrong.

———

"Let's go to the library ," Gabrielle yelled over the sound of the motor.

Mick tried to speak up, but before he knew what hit him, she jerked the bike handles, taking a hard left  towards the library, where in an instant she lost control of the wheels, causing the the bike skid out from under them and scatter them onto the library front lawn.

————

Mick went bezerk. "God damn it!," he yelled. "You just fucking wrecked my bike!"

He shot her a look of pure hatred while wiping off the grass from his knees before running to turn the bike off and stand it upright.

"What the hell were you thinking?!, he yelled angrier still.

——

Out On the grass , Gabrielle sat picking out small chards of gravel wedged Into her scrapped knee, when only then did Mick notice a group of tourists gawking from across the road. Their dirty looks appeared to be more out of concern over his behavior than over the accident. Mick suddenly felt like the worlds biggest asshole for behaving so badly. In an effort to redeem himself, he waved apologetically from across the street laughing, "Nothing to see here."

——

"Well, At least it will make for a good story,' he consoled her while walking over to help clean off her knee.

"I guess ," she said quietly.

As Mick examined her wound , he picked Pick out a tiny pebble from her knee, when a sudden gust of  tropical wind swept through the dusty parking lot creating a miniature whirlwind of dry grass and dirt. At that moment , he couldn't shake the feeling that the crash had been some sort of signal to slow down; to put the brakes on these intense feelings. ...That something bad was bound to come of this relationship. Bad omen or not, he thought , her knee looked god awful and the wound is bound be leaving a terrible fucking scar.