Switched Up

Chapter 40

"Alright. Just glad it's over."

"What happened?"

"I talked to the boys today. I was honest with them about how I felt about everything. It was just so hard and I don't like being mad."

"Well," he ruffles my hair affectionately, "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. What did you tell them?"

"That I wasn't happy about what happened yesterday. I told them how I deserved to know about me not existing to the Government. And I told them I didn't like how they treated you guys, especially what North said. When they asked how they could make it up to me, I told them they should apologize and prove that I can trust them."

He nods, "That sounds fair." He pulls out of his parking spot to head home. "I was thinking I could give you those motorcycle lessons today."

"Really?," I ask, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah. We'll need to drop by Sergeant Jasper because you'll need to change for sure."

I nod, "Yeah, that sounds good." I'm extremely nervous, but I'm also excited to try.

When we get to Sergeant Jasper, I ask, "What do I need to wear?"

"Something with long sleeves, jeans, and closed toe shoes," he says.

I nod and go to get changed. When I come back out, he hands me a leather jacket. "It's obviously too big, but it offers more protection."

I put it on and follow him back downstairs. When we get to his motorcycle, he looks down at me. "I know this is your first time on one, so rule number one is to lean with me and don't lean too far."

"Got it," I tell him. Seems simple enough. "What's rule number two?"

"Either put your hands on my hips or wrap your arms around my waist. If you're choosing the second option, don't squeeze too tight."

"Okay, lean with you and put my hands around your waist. Anything else?"

"That's it for now. Are you ready?"

"Yep, ready."

He gets on and turns to me, "Alright to get on, just use me balance yourself and swing your leg over."

I nod again and use a hand to grab his shoulder. I swing my leg over and when it's over, I then push off of the ground with my other foot to get myself up.

"You good?," he asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell him.

"Okay," he hands me a helmet, "Put this on. Again, it's going to be too big, but it'll do until I get one for you."

I put the helmet on as he instructs and he's right. It's far too big, but I guess it's better than having nothing. As he turns the motorcycle on, I take a few deep breaths. I trust Brandon, I'll be fine. I put my hands around his waist.

The first thing I notice during the ride is how surprisingly intimate this feels. I'm pretty much molded to his back right now. And when we start gaining some speed, I realize why he enjoys it so much. It's truly exhilarating.

I'm surprised when we end up at a huge track. After we got off, I look around. "This looks like a professional racing track. Why are we here?"

        He nods, "It is. And I happen to know the guy who runs this track."