Page 68 of The Fates We Tame
“Ready. You want to get on, Sparrow?”
She walks towards it. “I’m not sure how I’m going to get my leg over the seat.”
I bend to pick her up, thinking that’s the easiest way to get her on the bike. But then something strikes me. An echo from medical training maybe.
“Hey. I was just about to pick you up and put you on the bike. But it dawned on me. That may feel infantilizing to you. And maybe what you need is to figure out how to get on alone.”
She touches my face. “That’s really thoughtful of you. Can you help me figure out a safe way to get on by myself, and if it doesn’t work, you can lift me on?”
“Of course. Let’s try the other side because it’ll probably be easier for you to get your right leg over the bike.”
So, we figure out a way. I show her where the footrests are and where she can place her hands to take her weight. I’m inspired by her perseverance to do it on her own.
When she finally sits, Avery cheers, and I hand Sophia the helmet from the back of the bike.
I hop on in front of her. “Ready?”
“Yes,” she says, excitement sparkling in her eyes, and I suddenly have the urge to fuck her on the bike.
I mean, I have the urge to fuck her, period. Took a lot to stop things last night after we got each other off in the shower. But as soon as we hit the bedroom, I could feel a headache coming on.
Yet now… I feel like I could move heaven and earth if I needed to.
“Down the shore, slow and steady?” Niro shouts and I nod.
I massage Sophia’s calf, and she squeezes my shoulder. Shit, we need connected helmets so we can talk to each other.
We pull out of the lot in a mini convoy. Bates falls in behind us on his bike. I had no idea he was going to join us. When he pulls alongside Niro, Avery stretches out her arm to try and reach him, and I’m kinda envious of the family Bates has found.
Reminds me a little of how Mom and Dad were.
Family first.
Maybe I’m on that path because nothing about this is feeling fake.
Today, I get to ride with my wife.
And it doesn’t get more fucking glorious than that.
18
SOPHIA
“Iloved it,” I say to Theo when we get back to the clubhouse two hours later.
He pulls me to him. “You did?”
“It felt so liberating. Plus, the water, the gulls. Those salty fries. It felt like a full vacation instead of two hours.”
I was nervous about the ride. Maybe it was because I’m now living with the after-effects of one wreck already. A motorbike seemed even more dangerous. But I’d been relieved when Theo had arrived on a three-wheeler. It felt stable. I wasn’t required to lean or cling to him for dear life.
Although holding on to Theo was never a bad thing.
Theo kisses me and I melt into it. I like the man I married. More, I could see myself catching feelings for this man.
Like real ones, where you love the other person.
He bites my lip, and I can feel myself getting wet.
