ten
“This is dangerous! We’re going to get shot!”- Callisto
Thursday Evening…
We leave the house, and I don't see a guard nearby.
I breathe deeply, fresh air finally filling my lungs.
I had thought it would be a long time until I felt it in my lungs again.
We walk up to Leo’s motorcycle. The shiny black shell reflects the daylight.
The chrome is equally as shiny and polished as the shell.
I can tell Leo takes good care of it, and I glance down at my hand at the grease pencil.
I imagine Leo in his garage, working on his motor cycle. He probably takes pride in it.
Leo hands me a blindfold. I take it and stare at him, having forgotten what he said moments ago. “You can’t expect me to ride a motorcycle while blindfolded.”
“I can, and I do.”
“Won’t someone see?” I ask, desperately trying to not lose my vision the first time I ride a motorcycle.
“You’ll be wearing this.” He hands me the dark green helmet that was sitting on the back of the bike. It has a dark visor, so no one would even be able to tell.
“I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to ride without my sight?” I ask, looking at the motorcycle trying to ignore the thrill going down my spine, landing in the region of my groin.
“Then you better hang on tight to this magic carpet, Princess Jasmine.” Leo swings his leg over to straddle the motorcycle. He smirks at me wickedly, and I have to suppress a groan because it's too attractive to be legal.
I don’t want Leo to change his mind, so I begrudgingly accept the helmet.
“Good girl,” he whispers as our fingers graze each other.
I shiver. I put the blindfold on, then the helmet over it.
I reach out blindly, not having thought this through.
When a large hand gently grips mine, guiding me to the bike, I hiss in a breath.
Leo places my hand on his shoulder, and I swing my leg over, lowering myself carefully.
The leather is soft under my butt, but the cold metal bites my thighs.
His hand pulls at my knees, guiding them so that my feet rest on the two bars coming out from the sides of the motorcycle.
He kicks down; the motor roars, vibrating right through the seat and up my spine.
My cock immediately stands up, the feeling of the vibration on my balls almost too much for me to handle.
I take a deep breath, then another, trying to slow my racing heart.
There is no back rest, so when the motorcycle jolts forward without warning, I squeal, plaster my chest to Leo’s back, and wrap my arms around his waist, clutching his coat for dear life. His dark chuckle rattles my chest.
The ride is cold and my nerves are on fire the entire time.
I am painfully aware of everything. The way my body molds into Leo’s.
The way my balls vibrate every single second of the ride and how my cock is digging into the top of his backside.
The way his chest rises and falls with his breath.
The way he smells with the wind wrapping around him.
The way the tracker digs into my wrist when I clutch Leo’s waist around particularly deep curves.
We stop a few times, but I don’t move because Leo doesn’t tell me I can. This time, when we stop, he turns the bike off. “Okay, you can take off the blindfold,” comes Leo's voice, and I finally allow my tense body to unwind.
I reach up, taking off the helmet and the blindfold comes with it.
I squint when the bright sunlight hits my sensitive eyes.
I blink the spots away, my surroundings slowly coming into focus.
We are in the city again, people walking all around us.
I have the sudden urge to start yelling for help, but Leo would put a stop to that quickly.
I would probably never see the light of day again.
If I am going to get help, I will need to be more discreet.
“Where are we?” I don't recognize the part of town we are in.
Nothing looks familiar, even though I have lived in the city my entire life.
The sun is low in the sky, peeking through the tall buildings eventually finding its way to us.
I didn’t realize how late it was. It will be dark soon, and I will be roaming around in some unknown part of town with a criminal.
How did I get myself into this situation?
“Not shocked you wouldn’t recognize it. We’re on the east end.” Oh.
“Leo, why would you bring me here? This is dangerous! We’re going to get shot!”
I whisper furiously as I grip his coat again.
I look around in panic, seeing all of the people surrounding us as potential threats.
It explains why I don't recognize the area.
I have never set foot in this part of town.
It’s where all of the gang activity is, and where most of the crime in the city takes place.
“They’re just regular people going about their daily lives. You’ll be fine. You’re with me,” Leo responds, as if that is supposed to somehow magically make me feel better. My breathing is irregular, leaving my body in quick sharp huffs.
Leo looks back at me, studying me for a second before he says, “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. Uncle Peadar would murder me if I did, but I wouldn’t even if he didn’t play a part in this. I try not to let bad things happen to good people. Even though I find you annoying,
I don’t think you’re bad, just naive. Either way, we will be fine. People out here know me. They won’t fuck with me, so trust me, yeah?”
Leo is looking at me with those big, gunmetal gray eyes, his chest not rising or falling with breath, as if he is holding it in. I think a part of me melted into the leather seat of the motorcycle with his speech, and I almost hate myself for it.
Leo doesn’t think I’m a bad person, and for some reason, that statement is stuck in my mind.
I am completely alone in life, and I have always wondered if maybe it’s because I am a bad person.
Maybe that’s why everyone leaves me. I nod once, and he smiles so brightly, it dims the sun shining down the bike.
“Okay. Just stick with me. Remember, don’t speak unless I speak to you, and your name is Cali.”
With that, Leo gets off the bike. I take a deep breath and do the same, stepping onto the curb.
My feet feel unsteady under me. I had gotten so used to the vibration of the motorcycle, I forgot what it feels like to stand.
Leo’s steadying hand is on my waist, and my breath hitches at the touch.
Despite the sun shining, it’s cold out. I pull the faded black beanie down further to keep the wind off my ears. He straps our helmets to the seat then secures them with a lock. Once he’s finished, he stands at my side again, rummaging around in his coat’s inner pocket.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I look at Leo who has lit a cigarette, the smoke drifting into my nostrils.
I make a face but don't comment. His firm lips are wrapped around the filter for a split second, the end alight then his hand comes up, placing the filter between his callused fingers as he exhales the smoke from his lungs.
I want to take a picture and hang it in a gallery.
“Nope.” Leo pops the ‘p’, breaking me out of his trance.
It takes me a moment to remember what I even asked, but once I do, I am so taken aback by the casual truth, I burst out laughing.
I clap a hand over my mouth, looking around at the attention I have drawn with my outburst.
One woman is staring at us, but she shakes her head and keeps walking, others aren’t fazed.
Leo smiles, his eyes twinkling in the light.
“I feel like a poser,” I murmur, turning to face forward as I tug on my black vest. I’m extremely uncomfortable in this outfit, not at all like myself. I look down, finding comfort in the chipped paint on my nails. I’m surprised Leo didn’t make me scrape it off.
“That’s because you are. Now c'mon. It’s getting dark, and we’ve got shit to do.”
Leo slaps me on the arm to get me moving.
As we walk, Leo keeps a very close eye on me.
I resist the urge to play with the tracker that is securely wrapped around my wrist, hidden under my sleeve.
In this part of town, even if I did scream out for help, I doubt anyone would even bother paying attention.
It would be useless. Even the police avoid it, only coming when they have to.
As we’re walking, Leo bumps into a man wearing a very expensive suit. My steps falter when Leo’s body is jolted back. “I’m so sorry! I was talking to my friend here and wasn’t even watching where I was going! My apologies!” Leo smiles brightly at the disgruntled man.
“Watch it next time,” the man growls, swerving around Leo to keep walking. He walks away, briefcase tight in his hand. He reminds me of the lawyers my father surrounds himself with. Stodgy and stuffy.
I have never wanted to be the kind of person that always wore expensive suits like they do.
Yes, my clothes are expensive, but I wear them as a creative outlet.
They are fun and carefree. There is nothing freeing about that suit.
I have the urge to pull at my own collar, needing relief from the suffocating look of the man’s suit.
I turn back toward Leo, a comment about the suit on the tip of my tongue but it dies quickly.
Leo holds a very expensive wallet, rummaging through its contents. “Where did that come from?” I look around in panic, bile rising in my throat. Leo takes a long draw from his cigarette, breathing the smoke out from the corner of his mouth, away from me.
“The clouds opened up and Jesus gave it to me from his holy hand while you were checking out Mr. Slick Stick-Up-The-Ass.” Sarcasm drips from every syllable of Leo’s answer.
“What? I wasn’t checking him out.” My brows draw together in annoyance.
That man was so not my type. I don't even know what my type is since I haven't dated anyone in far too long, but I usually went for artists or photographers.
Never a lawyer in a suit. I don't know why it bothers me so much that Leo thought the man was my type.
“Wait. Forget that. Why does it matter if I was? Where did that come from?”
Leo rolls his eyes, the expression on his face somewhere between a smirk and a scowl.
He tries to start walking again, but I hold him with a firm hand on his shoulder.
We stand in the middle of the sidewalk, people veering around us, but I am undeterred.