I gulped at his reaction, now nervous. If he’s asking that.. that means I really did something. I mumbled a curse. “Can you tell me what happened?”
He shook his head. “No. Try to remember it.” As he said that, he was looking at my motorbike that was parked in front of the shop beside his black SUV car.
“It seems like it’s that old now..” He commented.
I was a bit offended but I just replied, “It’s from my dad. He taught me how to ride it,” remembering about the past. Gosh, I really miss dad…
He nodded and looked at me. “Where’re the keys?”
“Here,” I said, showing him the keys. Grabbing it from my hand, he hopped on my motorbike and faced me, “Hop on.” He said, motioning for me as if he was the owner.
I just did as he said. He turned to put on my helmet me and my heart skipped a beat at what he just did.
A beat? What in the hell is wrong with me…
He also put on the helmet he brought earlier and revved the engine. “Make sure to hang on tight. You might fall.” I heard him saying.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed his white shirt, “I’ll be fine, worry about yourself.”
“No, worry about both of us. I only learned it once.” I heard him saying.
Just then, I remembered that he wanted me to teach him. Why is he the one driving now? “Wait, Eion, you asked me to teach you, move over I’ll-”
But it was too late. The motor moved forward suddenly and I was yanked from my seat. I glared at Eion’s back. “Eion, I swear, if my life ended right now, I’m gonna kill you!” I threatened.
“You won’t!” And we were off the road. I gripped the hem of Eion’s shirt tightly as he drove not steadily. But the good thing is that my headaches were finally a bit better and I could manage it now. The road was a bit bumpy and Eion did not even avoid it, continuing to drive.
“Let me drive Eion!” I yelled through the wind as my hair kept on tangling up.
“No,” I heard him reply to me.
Sighing, I just questioned him, “Where are we going anyway?”
“Secret.” That was all he replied. Right, he’s Eion. Of course, he wouldn’t answer me right. I didn’t talk after that, distracted by his back. Riding from behind him, all I could think now was his shoulders. I didn’t know that his shoulders were broad… and his shirt compliments his muscles…
“You look good in a white shirt.” I complimented, thinking that he wouldn’t hear me but he replied.
“Yeah I know, You said it last night. That’s why I bought a few pairs.”
I was quiet at that. Did I tell him that? So that one of my mysteries last night…. I want to facepalm myself. Just kill me now! Saying that we hit a hump again and I was shoved into Eion’s back.
“Grab tightly!” He ordered. “Or you’ll fall!”
“Alright!” I yelled, doing as I was told. Gosh, what kind of adventure is this? I really should be just serving customers right now, and not sacrificing my life like this!
We stopped by a drive-thru to eat snacks. I ordered a burger, fries, and coke and Eion also did the same. After eating that, we were on a high bridge where we could see everything from the city. He parked the motorbike as we sat by a bench.
“What are we going to do here?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He answered. Why is he being so secretive today? I’m getting tired of all these mysterious answers… geez.
He handed me a chocolate drink. “Here, drink this.”
I grabbed it and drank from it, somehow thirsty from all this wandering around.
“It’s your favorite drink right?” He asked.
I turned to him, “How did you know? Did I tell you that too last night?”
He ruffled my hair and said, “Stupid, you told that to me back at the cafe when you were still not drunk.” He sounds a bit annoyed, but I couldn’t miss the corners of his lips rising. It was a half-smile… but it felt nice, and it suits him, he looked younger than his usual emotionless face.
“You look good smiling,” I commented without even thinking of it.
He paused. “Really?” He then tried to smile again, but this time it seemed forced and looked like he’s constipated. “Like this?
I winced, “No, not that kind of smile, You’ll only scare people away.”
“Oh. I don’t know how to smile.” He looked down. “I guess it comes off naturally when I’m happy..”
I looked at his face carefully, trying to see his expression. “Are you happy now?”
Shrugging, he said, “A little.”
He then pointed at the sky, like a child pointing to his favorite toy. “Look, there’s the sunset!” he exclaimed. He sounded a bit excited and he cleared his throat, fixing his composure. “I mean, the sunset… yeah.”
“Don’t try to fake that you’re not excited. That’s what we came for right?” I asked. He nodded. “Then enjoy the view. You could smile, you could get excited, you could express yourself more, Eion. No one’s gonna judge you.” I advised. He nodded and turned back to look at the sunset. He took pictures with his phone and continued staring at the sunset. For a minute, we stayed like that, admiring the view.
“It’s beautiful,” I commented.
“Yeah… beautiful” Glancing at him, I was shocked to see that he was now looking at me. I met his gaze, but I couldn’t handle his gaze. There was an emotion I couldn’t comprehend, and it’s like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“Do you want to tell me something?” I asked. “I can listen, just like that time at the shop.”
He shook his head, “It’s better to be left unsaid.”
“What are you saying? Why are you being so unusual these days? It kind of scares me, but in a good way.” I chuckled, making the air lighter.
“You’ll know it soon.” And with that, he turned back looking at the sunset. I couldn’t ask more, letting the silence comfort me.
Seeing that the sky is getting dark, he then shook his head, as if clearing his head, and hopped on my motorbike, “Let’s go now. I’ll drive you home.”
I stopped him, “What do you mean to drive me home? I thought I was going to teach you?”
He shrugged, “I changed my mind, and it will be dark soon. I have to get you home, your mom is going to kill me.”
“Then what about my bag? I left it at the shop. Plus, when you drop me home, how could you get to your house without your car?”
“Oh.” was all he said and thought for a moment. “I’ll just ask someone to drive me home then.” He said. “Let’s go now.”
I just hopped on my motorbike, believing him this time. He was about to drive away but he just hit the wall. I gasped in shock. “Eion!” I yelled.
I mumbled a curse. I shouldn’t have let him drive in the first place!