8 - Come Ride with Me

Fear clutched at Lilah’s throat, and her whole body went stiff with I’m-still-alive-even-if-I-think-I’m-going-to-die rigor mortis.  A motorcycle.

Technically, he didn’t ask you to ride one; he just asked if you had been.

“I…  can’t say that I have.”

“Would you like to?”

Now.  Now he asked!  Don’t be a dipstick….

“You don’t even want me backstage, but you’re willing to let me on the back of your bike?”

You’re being a DIPSTICK!

She was being a dipstick, but she wasn’t comfortable not knowing where she stood.  If she was going to scare the hell out of herself on the back of a Harley, she wanted to know what his motive was.  A body dump might not be out of the question.  He was from Jersey, after all.

He lifted his left eyebrow in the perfect arch, as if to chastise her for questioning him.  “Last time I walked away from you, you found a way to get into my ‘office’.  If I walk away this time, you might find a way to get into my hotel bed.  I’m thinkin’ it’s safer for me to keep an eye on you.”

She laughed quietly, lifting an embarrassed hand to her flushing face.  Look at him for God’s sake. 

Lilah forced her hand down and defiantly lifted her chin, but was unable to wipe the smile away.  It was funny.  He was funny.  “I would never do that.  I might ask for the room next door, but that would be it.”

Tony’s eyes rolled to the ceiling, and he shook his head with a soft snicker.  “I’m going for a ride.  If ya wanna come with me, ya can.”  He slid his sunglasses back down over his eyes and walked toward the elevator, tossing over his shoulder, “I’m going upstairs to grab my camera.  If you decide to go, ditch your laptop and meet me back here in five minutes.”

He vanished behind the closed elevator doors, leaving Lilah to stand there, staring blankly at the spot where he disappeared.  Speechless.

This…  This was more than her wildest dreams.  She’d come to Europe  hoping for a shot at seeing him work – to find out if what she thought was true.  To have a more personal encounter with him before that happened was…  incredible.

Shaking her head, she retraced her steps, placing herself in front of the bellman’s desk.  Lilah got her money, passport and sunglasses from the outer zipper compartment, and then passed over her laptop bag, thanking the man again for his assistance.

Hooking the sunglasses into the neck of her sweatshirt, she stuffed her passport in her back pocket and money in the front.  There was nothing to be done about her hair on such short notice.  The messy ponytail was probably the way to go anyway.  Motorcycles weren’t exactly hairstyle friendly.

Motorcycle.  Her stomach rolled again, punched by the oversized fist of insecurity that she fought to overcome on a daily basis.  Looking stupid was one of her greatest fears and, with zero manual coordination, it could happen very easily in this kind of setting.

She didn’t know how to be a passenger on a motorcycle.  What if she fell off, like a bumbling idiot?  Or leaned too far one way or the other and caused the motorcycle to tip over?  Probably the scariest thing of all was that she wouldn’t have any control over the heavy piece of machinery, and would be strictly reliant on Tony to keep her butt on the bike.

Ohhhh Goddd…

There had to be a golf ball lodged in behind her breast bone.  It was the only accountable reason for the knot she felt right there, threatening to strangle her.

“So you going?”

Lilah sucked in a breath of surprise.  So involved was she in her personal neurotic three-ring-circus that she hadn’t heard the elevator return to the lobby.   Now Tony was standing expectantly at her right elbow, camera slung over his shoulder.

You’re doing this.  There’s nothing to be afraid of.  You know he’s an experienced rider.

He, however, didn’t know that she was inexperienced.

Tipping her face up to his, Lilah’s eyes darted back and forth between his shielded ones.  The sunglasses were going to prevent her from gauging his true reaction to her confession, but she had to let him know.

“If it’s okay that I don’t know anything about motorcycles.”

He shrugged with indifference.  “Not much to know unless you’re driving.  Just climb on the back and hang onto me.”

She swallowed, trying to forcibly shove the golf ball back into her stomach.  Lilah couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this scared.

Yes you can.  It was last year, when you thought you were going to die.

That was different.  It wasn’t dying she’d been afraid of; it was the uncertainty of the situation.  Not knowing what the rucks was about, or why she was in pain or where all the blood was coming from.

She pushed her annoying subconscious to the side, refusing to go there.  Now wasn’t a year ago, and these were drastically different circumstances. 

This was Ireland.  This was Tony Bongiovi, and damned if she would miss out on the chance of a lifetime.  Afraid or not, she was climbing on the back of that bike.

And praying she didn’t fall off.

“Sounds like something I should be able to manage.”

Tony had his doubts.  Lilah was putting up a good front, but she was white as a sheet.  He didn’t really regret his decision to invite her along, but if she didn’t keep a grip, his very pleasant ride could end up being a huge pain in the ass.

“Relax.  I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, me, or the very expensive Harley rental.”

The set of her shoulders went a little less stiff, and she wrinkled her nose.  For the first time, he noticed the faint smattering of freckles across her cheeks.  Then again, his sunglasses might just be dirty. 

“That obvious, huh?”

“Yep.  C’mon.”  Putting a light hand between her shoulder blades, he steered her toward the exit.  “We need to stop by the bike shop to get another helmet and we’ll hit the road.”

“Okay.”

It was… different that she didn’t try to talk to him.  He thought she would have a million questions drop out of her mouth the minute they were alone together, but she just walked quietly beside him and followed his every instruction to the letter.  In no time, her knees and hands were snugged against his waist.  Tony didn’t often have a passenger ride along, but her presence behind him wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

Helmet acquired, they set off on the road less traveled out of Dublin in search of something he’d seen years earlier.  He regretted that it was one of the rare occasions he hadn’t had a camera with him, and vowed to come back again someday.  With his extra time in Ireland due to Jon’s surgery, today was someday. 

He hoped he remembered how to get there.  Better yet, he hoped it was still there. 

Something along the side of the road caught his attention and he eased the bike over to the side.  It was as good an excuse as any to stop.  Taking into account the tip to the bike shop, they’d been riding for about half an hour and Lilah was probably ready for a stretch since she wasn't used to it. 

The Harley was barely to a complete stop before Lilah had her visor up, asking, “Is something wrong?”

“No.  I just thought you might want to stretch your legs a bit and check out the locals.”  He nodded toward the handful of horses in the nearby pasture.  He took off his helmet, swung free of the motorcycle and turned to help her dismount.

“These locals look a lot like my locals.  Horses are kind of a thing in Kentucky,” she told him with a tiny, impish grin as her foot hit the graveled strip at the side of the road.  “Oooh!”  Lila’s legs didn’t support her the way they should and she clutched at his arm.  “My legs went to sleep.”

“Give it a minute.”

He acted as her crutch until she had stomped her feet a few times to get the circulation back into them, then asked, “Do you have horses?”

“Me?” she snorted, now stable and reaching to smooth and retie her ponytail.  “Uh, no.  Guinea pigs are about the closest thing to livestock that I’ve ever had.”

“Aren’t those like rats?”

“Ew, God, no!  Rats have those long, nasty tails.  Guinea pigs are much cuter, and they have a whole lot more personality.”

Tony let his lips curl into a dry smile, shaking his head slowly and reaching for his cigarettes.  The woman was definitely unpredictable.  Guinea pigs of all fucking things. 

“So if you’re not a horse farmer, what do you do back in Kentucky?”  A small puff of smoke drifted into the air as Lilah crossed her arms.  Name, address and email weren’t enough to form an opinion about Ms. Lilah Bennett.  He might as well take this opportunity to start filling in the blanks.

She leaned her backside against the fence that lined the road and peered up at him from behind black-tinted lenses.  “The short answer is that I’m a teacher.”

There was no such thing as a simple question with her. 

“And the long answer?”

“Adult and technical education.  I train non-traditional students how to be proficient with today’s technology.”

“Like computer classes?”

“Mm.  Computers, GPS, smart phones, digital photography.”  She shrugged with both her shoulder and the right side of her mouth.  “I like gadgets.”

“That explains your fascination with my job.”

She silently watched him flick ashes to the ground.  “I guess.”

The tiny furrow between her eyebrows told a different story.  Lilah was going with the flow because it was easier than the truth.

I won’t push it today, but, sooner or later, you’re going to have to ‘fess up, Bluegrass.

“Ready to mount back up?” 

“Sure.  Where is it we’re going, anyway?  Anyplace specific?” she asked, immediately standing upright and moving toward the Harley.

The remains of the cigarette butt was crushed under his heavy riding boot, and Tony blew out the final puff of smoke.  He lifted the helmet and slung slinging a leg over the seat, smirking to himself.

“An enchanted forest.”

Next post: Sunday, October 21