.jpg)
The motorcycle blustered as we left the faculty's parking lot. I waved at Mr. Carter as he was entering the car with a bag of cookies. His look of bewilderment was great. I laughed knowing that he was stunned to see me in a motorcycle with the new guy in school. The ride was scary and thrilling all at once. I felt a rush of excitement running through my veins as my hair ruffled freely in the furious wind. As we rode together on the streets of my hometown I felt free. Nothing could do that so intensely, as a bike could.
"I want to buy you something," he said suddenly.
"What?"
"I want to buy you something," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"I don't know. I just want to buy you something. Do you think you could let me buy you something?" He asked me under his dark helmet. I frowned wondering why he would want to do something like.
"What do you want to buy me?" I asked him.
"It's a surprise. Just say yes and I'll go buy it for you," he said.
"Don't spend your money, mom's going to buy me a basketball hoop already," I said. Brad laughed as he stopped on a red light.
"It's going to turn green soon Natalie."
"Oh, alright," I said. Instead of turning left, he turned right and took me to an antique shop. He got off the motorcycle and took off his helmet, then he helped me off the bike.
"Are you okay?" He asked me.
"Yeah," I replied.
"See, I told you I'd go slow. Besides, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Never," he said and then he grabbed my hand. I didn't know what to do. Should I just allow him to grab my hand or should I drop it? Were we just friends or was this going somewhere further? I hardly knew him and I didn't know if it was right. I dropped his hand and he opened the door for me.
"After you," he said in a gentlemanly manner.
"Thank you," I replied. I had to reply with graciousness since he was after all treating me with grace. I entered the antique store and saw old, porcelain dolls, cabinets, bookshelves and antique telephones. For a second I felt that I was travelling through time, going into the past and seeing what used to be the extraordinary inventions of the begginings of the twentieth century.
"Wow, my mom said she used to use Cassettes," I said as I saw a bunch of them in a box.
"Few people still use them," Brad said.
"Who on Earth uses Cassettes?" I asked.
"Sorry, they didn't give me their names," he replied. I laughed. Brad showed his perfectly white teeth and smiled. I couldn't deny that he was so damn sexy. I wondered why would a guy like him be so interested in a girl like me. It was just mindboggling.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" an old lady with a bright red dress asked us. She had curly grey hair and was thin, although she had lovely full cheeks. I could tell that she was probably gorgeous when she was younger. Now, all that was left was old age and decay.
"Umm... well I'm not going to buy anything," I replied.
"I'm doing the buying," Brad said coming towards us.
"Oh, good day young man. Do you need me to help you with something?"
"Yes. I'm buying something that's locked. Would you mind opening it for me?" he asked her.
"Why, of course," she said passing right through and leading the way.
"I'm guessing you'll be buying jewelry. Am I correct?" She asked him.
"Yes," he replied. Jewelry? What? The old woman stopped by a glass display with a glass top and she unlocked it with one of her small keys.
"I would like that one," he said pointing towards a set of small earrings. They were shaped in crescent moons. The old woman fetched them for him and placed them in his hand.
"Perfect," he said with a smile.
"Would you be purchasing these earrings today?"
"Yes," Brad nodded. What? No.
"Brad-"
"Wait for me," he said and walked with the old lady to the front of the store, as she went to her cashier.
"That'll be a total of $52.99. Would you like them gift wrapped?" She asked him.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," he said and took his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and opened it. Then, he paid the earrings in full cash. Brad walked towards me and grabbed my hand. How could I drop it now? I didn't and we reached his motorcycle and rode home.
I felt a rush now, but it wasn't caused by the wind or the thrill of being in a motorcycle, it was caused by Brad's audacious behavior. He didn't even flinch when the old woman told him the price of the earrings and I thought that he would have reconsidered his choice after knowing the price, but he just bought them right there and then. Where did he get the money for those earrings? We reached my house and he parked the motorcycle on the driveway where my mother had parked her grey BMW. Brad turned off the gas and opened his trunk for me.
"I can do it," I said and snatched my bag from the bike.
"Natalie? Who's this?" My mom said coming out of the house. Brad walked to my mom and extended his hand towards her. My mom eyed him from head to toe, doing that scanning thing she did to profile people. I hated that so much. She crossed her arms and Brad placed his hands to his side.
"Okay... my name is Brad Wolfram mam and I'm sorry if my bike was too loud, but as you can see I've turned the engine off," he said.
"No, that's not what I'm worried about Brad. What I'm worried about is if you're using protection with my daughter." Holy, mother of Christ. She did not do that to me. Brad smiled.
"Unfortunately, I haven't had the pleasure to make love to your daughter," he replied. Oh my God. I wanted to be dead. My mom was discussing sex with a guy I barely knew.
"But you would like to," she pressed. I couldn't take this anymore.
"Would you shut up, both of you!" I said and grabbed my box of cupcakes.
"Natalie, you forgot your earrings," Brad said.
"No, I'm wearing them, thanks," I replied ditching Brad's present as I entered the house. I was so furious at both of them, discussing intimate stuff about me like if I didn't even exist. What the hell? My mom rushed into the house and I walked up the set of stairs as fast as I could, then I slammed the door, tossed everything on the floor including the box of cupcakes. The cupcakes flew out of the box and the frosting spread on the floor and I couldn't care less. My mom banged on the door, but I didn't move. It was going to remain locked until I wanted to.
"Natalie! Natalie, open this damn door right now or I'll break it down. Open this door right now," she yelled. I couldn't reply, I was too busy crying and wrapping my legs up to my knees. I felt so destroyed.
"Natalie."
"Leave me alone!" I shouted.
"Natalie, open this door right now."
"Go away mom. You've just embarrassed me in front of the greatest kid I've ever known. Now just disappear," I shouted back at her.
"Would you let me explain?" I heard Brad's motorcycle on. I was sure that he was leaving and never coming back. I rushed to my window to see him. He was putting his helmet on.
"Brad!" I yelled, but he couldn't hear me. He rushed out of the neighborhood so fast that I knew that he was hurt. He was probably never going to take me home again.
"Natalie!" my mom insisted. I opened the door.
"What do you want mom?" I asked. She saw tears in my eyes and she wiped them away with her fingers.
"Natalie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overreact the way I did."
"Why did you do that to me? Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? All I did was come home from school because you never pick me up. Never!" I said rushing out of the room. I couldn't stand to see her there.
"But I thought you were coming with your friend Tamara. Are you telling me she's not bringing you here anymore?"
"What's the big deal mom? He's just dropping me and bringing me to school."
"I don't like him Natalie," she said chasing me through the entire house.
"Why? You don't even know him."
"He's got trouble written all over his face. I'm not saying he's a bad kid, but I have a feeling about him ever since I saw him in his motorcycle," she said. I opened the refrigerator and closed again. I wasn't really hungry. I just didn't want to see her face.
"Mom, you're just overreacting because he's a boy. You don't even know him and you're already judging him and worse you're projecting your own problems onto him, because when dad was young he used to ride a motorcycle to school and then you ended up divorcing him," I replied.
"This has nothing to do with your dad and I. I'm talking about your life. I don't want you to blow it all away," she said.
"Oh, like you did? Is that what you were going to tell me. Mom, I'm not you!" I matched upstairs and into my room. This time I knew that she would leave me alone. That hurt her, but I was too annoyed to care. An hour later, my mom was gone.
The phone rang several times. I almost didn't want to pick it up, but decided to do so. It was Tamara.
"So, how did it go?" She asked me.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You have to give me all of the details," Tamara said. If only she knew.
"Mom made a full show for the entire neighborhood to find out about it, okay?"
"Find out about what? You're not in a relationship with Brad, right?" she asked me. I swallowed hard. I didn't know what to tell her. Was I in a relationship? Not yet, but it seemed that I would be soon and everything about it was already complicating my life.
"No Tamara. I haven't even dated him," I said.
"But he brought you to school and took you to your house so..."
"So? Why are you making it a big deal Tamara? Just because he's giving me rides doesn't mean that we're in a relationship. I have to go."
"And do what?" Tamara asked.
"I have to practice," I said.
"Oh, you mean for the basketball tryouts, huh? I wish I could help you, but I really suck at basketball," she said.
"I'm going to go buy a basketball at the sportstore. There's a basketball court a few blocks from home. So, I'll just go there and shoot a few hoops. I'll see you later," I told her.
"Okay. If you need anything just call me," she said.
"Okay, bye."