In The Next Room

Chapter 3

“I’m always careful,” he answered, having to raise his voice over the sound of the engine. “Put on the helmet.”

“I thought you were going to be careful?” I asked, yet grabbing the helmet and putting it on anyway, just as Locke did with his black helmet. 

“I have a feeling you would have gotten off if you didn’t leave with one on your head,” he answered, placing his hands on the handlebars. “Now put your arms around my waist,” he commanded, and I immediately obeyed. 

I shamefully took the opportunity to feel his muscles between the fabric of his thin t-shirt. They were just as hard and defined as I had imagined them to be. His entire body radiated heat, warming my chilled body with his own. His hard, broad torso pressed against mine, and I relished in the feel of him against me. His chest rumbled as he spoke one last time. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” I called out to him, so he could hear me over the rumble of the engine and through his helmet. 

I could tell he heard me, because in less than five seconds, he started moving, and I let out a piercing scream in fright as we zipped through the streets.

“You’re fine,” he said as we stopped at one of the stoplights. “I’m driving below the speed limit, just for your sake. But there’s a huge problem here,” he raised his voice so I could hear him. “I don’t know how to get to your dorm.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK BEFORE WE GOT ON THE MOTORCYCLE???” I screamed as we shot off again when the light turned green.

“I WASN’T THINKING!” he shouted as we continued making our way through the streets of Malibu. “I’M JUST HEADING TOWARD THE UNIVERSITY!”

“TAKE A LEFT!”

“LEFT?”

“LEFT!!” I screamed, clutching him so tightly so that I wouldn’t fall off. I knew that Locke wouldn’t endanger me, and I knew he probably was going below the speed limit, but that didn’t make me feel any better when we were moving that fast and there wasn’t a big metal cage surrounding us to protect us.

I continued to scream at him, yelling the directions at him, and miraculously, we made it to my dorm room in less than fifteen minutes.

“Were you scared?” he asked, helping me take off my helmet. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that we were moving as fast as other cars, but we had much less protection than they did,” I answered, referring to the safety a car provides compared to the open space of a motorcycle. 

“I’m sorry you were so frightened,” Locke said solemnly. “I won’t ask you to ride with me again.”

And just like that, his sad, lonely face made me feel guilty, even though I would have wanted to ride with him again anyway. “Actually, somehow, along the way…” I started, wondering if it would really be smart to admit it, “I kind of enjoyed it.”

Locke’s face lit up, and his lips stretched out into a wide grin. “Really? I knew you would.”

“Yeah, right,” I said, “Egotistical much?”

“Fine, I didn’t know that you would, but I had a feeling you would like it.”

“Much better,” I answered as we walked through the dormitory and arrived at my own dorm. I twisted the door open with the key, and let ourselves in. “Liz?” I asked, checking the time. Usually at this time, she would be catching up on papers that would be due in the oncoming weeks. “Liz are you here?”