Page 50 of Follow Me Down

“What do you mean you’re going to pick me up?” I holler after him. Either he doesn’t hear me or he chooses not to answer.

I watch him until he disappears over the hill, the bike out of my line of sight. Moments later, I hear the roar of the engine and Titus reappears at the top of the wooden ramp that leads down to the beach.

I watch, stunned, as he guides the bike to the sand. No helmet. No shoes. Looking utterly breathtaking as he makes his way toward me.

The moment the tires hit the sand, the bike slides, but Titus is able to keep it upright as he slows next to me.

“What are you doing?” I question, pretty sure he’s lost his mind.

“Come here.” He pats the seat in front of him. Not sure what he’s up to, but also not able to resist, I go to him and allow him to pull me onto the bike in front of him, my back coming to rest against his front.

“Guide us to the water.” His voice vibrates against my ear as he leans in close.

“What?” I jerk my chin to the side.

“Take us to the water.”

“I can’t drive a motorcycle, Titus.”

“Sure you can. I’ll help you.” He leans forward, giving me no option but to lean forward as well. I brace myself on the handlebars, his hands closing over top of mine seconds later.

Before I know it, we’re moving again, and while technically my hands are the ones on the handlebars, it’s Titus who steers the bike to the edge of the water where the tide rushes up over the sand.

Killing the engine, Titus balances the weight of the bike with his feet, his arms going around my middle before his chin rests on top of my shoulder.

“What are you up to?” I ask, a trace of a smile on my lips.

“You weren’t ready to leave and I realized maybe I wasn’t either.”

“Yeah, but do you really think it’s a good idea to have the bike in the sand? What if it gets stuck?”

“Then we’ll roll it out.” I feel him shrug behind me. “Look at that.” He points out to the horizon, where it’s hard to differentiate where the water ends and the sky begins.

“It’s breathtaking,” I admit, more to myself than to him.

“It’s not the only thing that’s breathtaking.” His lips brush the side of my neck.

My skin prickles and the little hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up.

“Come here.” His hands settle on my hips seconds before my backside leaves the seat. I don’t know how he does it, but somehow he manages to turn me completely around, all while holding the bike steady.

I come to a rest on his lap, my legs draping over his as he tugs me into his arms. I close my eyes and breathe in his scent which is mixed with the smell of the sand and sea.

The moment is so perfect that I don’t think it’s something I could’ve imagined in my wildest of dreams. Days like this don’t exist. Moments like this. It’s like I plucked a page from a fairy tale and decided to live it out.

Well, maybe not your childhood fairy tale but you get the idea.

“You’re surprising,” I tell him after a couple minutes of silence have passed.

“Surprising how?” he asks as I pull back to meet his gaze.

“I don’t know. You just... surprise me. You’re not at all who I thought you would be.”

“No?” He smirks, tucking a piece of hair that’s fallen from my bun behind my ear.

“Not even a little bit.”

“And what exactly did you think I would be?”

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