Page 11 of Shake the Spirit

As we eat, I stare at Ike and soak in the way he talks and moves. Everything about him is carefree and primal. He cusses effortlessly. He doesn’t hide his feelings. He’s real in a way no one in my life has ever been.

“Do I need an identification card to get married?” I ask when the silence goes on for too long.

“I don’t know. Probably.”

“I don’t have any identification cards. Or a birth certificate or a social security number. None of the stuff people are supposed to have. Can we still get married?”

Ike frowns hard, not answering. “I don’t know. Maybe not legally right away.”

Pushing away my burger, I fight the urge to cry. All this fun stuff was just a tease like the night in the woods. I can never truly break free. I’m trapped forever because my parents wouldn’t do any government paperwork.

“Common law marriage is a thing,” Ike says and gently pushes my plate toward me. “We’ll just say we’re married.”

“Is that a real thing?”

“I don’t know. I mean, yeah, it’s a thing. The paperwork is like a formality for the government. Like how babies get birth certificates. You’re still alive, even if you don’t have any paper saying so. We’ll get you what you need down the road. Right now, I’m planning to keep you with me, so your family can’t grab you back. We’ll figure out the complicated stuff later.”

Ike seems so certain when he says he’ll keep me with him. As if the topic isn’t up for discussion. Unlike when I speak out, people listen to Ike. He’s big and intimidating. He rides with a biker gang. No one’s going to hush him and overrule his will.

“Thank you,” I whisper, once again dreaming big.

“Don’t say it like that,” Ike replies in a weird tone, making me frown. “I’m not doing you a favor, Oana. I’ve wanted you since that night. Now, I get to be with you. I’m not doing stuff out of a selfless act of charity. You’re my dream girl.”

“And you’re my dream guy,” I say, caressing my lips and remembering how his felt in the woods.

Ike tasted like the kind of sin I’d willingly go to hell to savor. He never once shushed me or told me to be someone else. I danced freely, flirted wildly, and dreamed big.

I never thought I’d feel that way again. For so many painfully long months, I doubted every memory from that night.

Right now, as I eat a burger I can’t possibly finish and listen to “Cherry Bomb” on his phone, I’m ready to go anywhere and do anything as long as Ike Mooney’s at my side.

IKE, AKA STRUGGLING TO BE THE LEADER

Oana can’t stop grinning. She’s got the most beautiful smile, too. Which is why I keep grinning. I’ve never felt so carefree with a woman. I’m breathing too fast, staring at her too much, and acting all around weird.

My dream girl doesn’t seem to mind. Oana acts like I’m the best person she’s ever met.

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