Page 103 of Jackass

He sat there, holding out his hand to me, asking me to trust him. I had no other choice, so I put my hand in his and slid my leg over the bike.

I scooted close, wrapped my arms around Jack, and rested my chin on his shoulder.

“You ready?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Not at all.”

He chuckled at my reply and fired up the bike. I felt the rumble of the engine between my legs immediately, and my arms tightened around Jack. His hand covered mine where they held together tight.

“I’ve got you, Sammy.”

I closed my eyes when the bike lurched forward. I wasn’t sure what was worse. Keeping my eyes closed so I wouldn’t know when we crashed or having my eyes open to brace myself for the worst.

It wasn’t long into the ride that I started to relax. I carefully opened my eyes to see where we were going. Over Jack’s shoulder, I watched as the world flew by in a blur.

As we flew down the road, the wind brushed over my face. The warm sun beat down on my arms, and I looked out over the fields on either side of us.

I sat up a little straighter. Jack reached his hand down and wrapped it around my calf. An overwhelming feeling of peacesurrounded me.

When I met Jack five years ago, I knew very little about him. From what I observed of him at the bar on different occasions and when I saw him around town, I knew he was friendly. I saw the jokester, the brother, the guy girls swooned over.

Over the last two years, I met a deeper Jack. I met the helpful man. The man who would do anything, not just for his brothers, but for anyone he knows.

I once saw him climb a tree to rescue Mrs. Henderson’s demon cat. Jack had been scratched to hell while doing it, only for the cat to run right back up the tree as soon as he set Mr. Clusters on the ground.

Jack, being the man he was, climbed right back up and brought him down again, not releasing him until he was safely back in the house.

I met the compassionate man. I was in the Ice Cream Shoppe one day after a bad shift at work. I had stopped for a little pick-me-up before heading home. There was a frazzled mom sitting at a table with her two little boys. The twin boys sat there eating their ice cream, and somehow, they both dropped them at the same time.

The mom looked like she wanted to cry, as she tried to explain to the upset boys she couldn’t afford to buy them another ice cream.

Without saying a word, Jack walked to the counter and had the server make two more, putting them in cups upside down so they could still have their cones without the risk of dropping them again.

He silently placed the cups in front of the boys and cleaned up the ice cream on the floor. He smiled at the mom, ruffled the boys’ hair, and walked out the door.

More importantly, I met the gentlemen. Jack pursued me relentlessly over the last two years. He never pushed. He never pressured. And he never got angry, despite the number of times I told him no.

The last few weeks I met the Jack I loved the most. The father.He doted on Charlie. He spoiled her in the best way possible—with his love.

“How are you doing?” Jack called over his shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I think I love it,” I yelled back.

Pressed up against Jack, I felt the rumble of his laughter. He pulled off the road and followed a trail up a steep hill. When we reached the top and the trail flattened, he stopped the bike and turned off the engine.

Holding out his hand, like he did when I climbed on, I grabbed it and slid off the bike.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.

“Blade and Beck call this Lookout Mountain. They used to come up here when they were kids. No one really knows about it but them, I think. He told me it’s a great place to talk and scream at the world.”

He took my hand and tugged me toward the edge. The view was magnificent. You could see the whole town from up here.

“I don’t think this classifies as a mountain, but it is pretty amazing all the same.”

“They were kids when they found and named it. I guess it seemed bigger then.” He chuckled.

Then, he sobered and turned to look at me. “We need to talk, Sammy.”

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