Page 87 of The Lessons

I tilted my head to the side. “How do I look?”

He didn’t say anything and instead tucked a piece of my hair back in the helmet. “Here, get on behind me. He climbed onto the bike and patted the seat behind him.

As I got on, I felt a frisson of excitement rip through me. I pulled myself into him, and he carefully arranged my arms into place so that I was wrapped around him.

He turned his head around. “Cow Hollow, right? What’s your address?”

I gave him the street address, and he kicked the bike on. It was loud, and I gripped his body tighter as we pulled out of the parking lot.

We flew down the multi-lane road that bordered the ocean before cutting in through the city. The night was unusually warm, and there was no fog to blur the lights of the city. As we rode, my nervousness evaporated, and I leaned into him, resting my face on his back and inhaling deeply. This, this was so comfortable, so perfect. All I could think was—how can I get more of this? More of this perfect moment. I had become so entranced by the rhythm of his breathing that I didn’t even notice when we’d come to a stop outside my place.

“Hey, still awake back there?” he asked, gently turning around.

I loosened my grip and sat back. “Sorry, yes, just…thinking.” I threw one leg off the bike and straightened.

He cocked his head at me. “About?”

Oh, you know, just running off with you and having lots of biker babies.

“Nothing.”

“Didn’t seem like nothing.”

“What did it seem like?”

“You seemed…relaxed.”

This made me chuckle. “And why is that such a revelation?” I unbuckled my helmet and handed it back to him.

He shrugged. “No reason. Just that I don’t get to see you like that very often.”

“I can think of an instance or two,” I said, remembering the orgasms he’d given me.

It was his turn to chuckle. “Right.” He smiled. “Hey, thanks again for coming out tonight. This was fun.”

“Yeah, it was.”

I stood there, him still on his bike. The tension was palpable.

“So…I guess I’ll see you on Monday?” he said with a small curl of his lips.

Monday?

“Monday?”

“Our next appointment.”

Ourappointment. Of course.

“Right. Monday. Yes,” I stammered, my body a hot mess of hormones and want.

“I’ll wait for you to get inside,” he offered.

I nodded and then tore myself away from him, every nerve in my body screaming bloody murder.

As I stood at the top of my steps and opened the door, he called out.

“Natalie.”

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