One Step Closer(52)
Wren’s hand brushed the shiny red surface of a vintage Corvette. “It’s more like a collection. Can we even drive them?”
“Sure, we can, but I’m not really feeling it.”
The words welled up inside her before she could stop them. “Too bad you still don’t have your old Harley. That would be like old times.”
Caleb had an old beater that he and Dex had found beat up in a junkyard. It had been trashed in a wreck and needed a ton of work, including a new manifold. They worked on it for months and finally got it running. Caleb had saved up the money to replace all of the chrome and buy a new seat, and together with his best friend, it had been restored to almost perfect condition at Dex’s father’s shop.
“We can,” Caleb said with a smile. Happiness rushed through him at the thought of stepping back in time with Wren. He began walking to the far corner of the large garage, still holding her hand and pulling her with him toward it. His objective was parked along the wall covered in a painter’s tarp that he had bought to protect it. “I’m surprised Dad didn’t sell it or give it away.” He used his free left hand to pull the tarp off and let it drift to the ground. “It’s been a while, so it might not start.” Two helmets sat on the seat, as if waiting for Caleb’s return and he opened a long cabinet that was one of the built-ins that he used to keep his jackets and gloves in.
Wren gasped softly, surprised the cycle was even still in Denver, and even more surprised was that the cabinet still held one of Caleb’s old leather jackets.Knowing how much it meant to him, she’d assumed he’d taken the motorcycle with him to San Francisco. The vintage black cycle was just as she remembered it, the many times he’d taken her riding rushed through her mind.
Was it wrong to be this happy when someone you cared about just died? A small twinge of guilt nagged at Wren’s heart because she was just happy to have this time with Caleb. She pushed Macy’s words from the night before to the back of her mind as she reached out and took the helmet he handed her, watching as he removed the beat up jacket from the hook inside the cabinet. He looked at it for a split second then held it out for Wren. It was one he’d outgrown even before he left for MIT and one he’d let her use on several of their rides in the past.
“I don’t think anyone’s worn this, since you.” He laughed softly, joy all over his features as he pulled his old helmet onto his head and swung his leg to straddle it in one motion. He finished securing the strap under his chin and then turned the key. It was a good sign when the lights in the odometer panel lit up, and Caleb pulled the bike off of it’s kickstand and then kicked it back before flipping on the fuel pump. “Here goes nothin’,” he said as his left hand squeezed in the clutch and his right hand flipped the start switch.
The motorcycle came to life with a deafening roar in the enclosed garage. The bright white of his smile was almost dazzling and Wren was overjoyed to see happiness on his handsome face.
Wren secured the helmet on her head and quickly slid her arms into the sleeves of the jacket before she climbed on behind Caleb, sliding her hands around his waist. Her insides were a mass of excitement as the smell of his cologne assaulted her nostrils at the same time as the exhaust rose up in a stinky blue cloud from the bike’s tail pipe as he revved the engine three times.
“Hold on!” he instructed loudly.
The garage was massive and one of the doors opened as they approached. Wren knew from experience that once free of the massive garage, Caleb would gun the engine and they’d fly down the lane and out of the gated property. She couldn’t help but let out a small squeal as they started to speed away from the house, the wind rushing over her face, and causing the hair hanging from the bottom of her helmet to beat around her face madly. Her arms sneaked further around Caleb’s lean waist and she wrapped one hand around the other wrist. His body was solid and she longed to rest her cheek on his strong back. This was paradise. She laughed out loud, and held on tighter when he turned south and into the city.
Caleb hadn’t planned on the bike, but he was enjoying every second of having Wren wrapped around his body. He’d always loved the protectiveness that came over him whenever she was around, and he loved the physical contact between them. For years, he’d wanted her and couldn’t touch her, and the times they were on the bike were the only taste of if he’d had.
It was a beautiful morning and the air was a bit brisk. He wished he also had a jacket on, but to go back into the house would have meant taking a chance of Macy being awake. The warmth began to seep into him from where Wren was plastered up against his back, and he leaned into her a bit more.
The city was left behind as Caleb headed west and up into the front range of the Rocky Mountains on US-6. He didn’t care if Macy would be mad that he’d disappeared with Wren, he didn’t care that the wake was later in the day, he just felt free and as if the load of his pending responsibilities had been lifted for a brief time. On the back of his bike, riding up into the mountains and surrounded by the amazing scenery with Wren, it was like old times. The sky was a bright blue and the sun a vibrant yellow as it rose behind them, her slender body up against his, and her arms tight around his middle… nothing could be better.
Wren didn’t need to ask him where they were headed because she didn’t care, and she trusted him completely. One or two minor, okay major, betrayals couldn’t change the facts, though she did have some questions, but she refused to ruin the momentary perfection of the morning.