Shifting Gears (Crossroads Series Book 2) (15 page)

Rod walked over to him with the helmet under his arm, “Where are we doing this?” His voice sounded off, a little deeper than his usual tone. His nerves showed in his eyes, in the tense set of his body.

Landon turned off the bike but continued to sit on it. “I was scared the first time I rode. Scared because I wanted it so fucking much.” He rubbed his hand over the handlebars. The first time he rode would always be a defining moment in his life. It was the only time he’d fallen in love. “It’s a rush, I can tell you that, but it’s also like exposing yourself to everything around you. You’re vulnerable, just you and your bike. At the same time, it’s the most liberating thing I’ve ever done. You’re going to fucking love it. Just try to let everything else go.”

“You’re good with pep talks.”

“You’re deflecting. I got your number now,
Hot Rod.
It’s okay to be nervous. It’s smart to be nervous.”

Landon’s response seemed to surprise him. The top of his nose wrinkled, and his eyes went slightly narrow as if he was expecting some kind of joke, or a
but
in there.

“You’re sexy when you’re sweet.”

“And you’re deflecting again.” He hadn’t realized it in the beginning, but Rod didn’t take compliments very well, didn’t seem to believe they were genuine.

“No I’m not.” Rod shook his head and then said, “Take me for a ride first. Then we can have my lesson afterward.”

“That sounds like a fair deal to me.” Landon would take any excuse he could to ride. He liked that Rod enjoyed it as well. If he got his own bike, they could go out together. If not, Landon didn’t mind having him on the back of his bike with him.

It took Rod a minute to get his helmet on. Landon backed the bike out of the driveway. Once Rod got on behind him, he turned the throttle and sped away.

He took back roads as he headed for Wards Creek Road. It was the long way through the county but it would be a beautiful ride. If there was one thing he loved about Virginia it was how green it was here. He’d always loved all that lush, deep green and that’s about all there was for most of the ride down Wards.

Rod’s arms were around him, his hands on Landon’s thighs as they leaned left and right together, rounding curves and making their way away from city and homes lining block after block.

He loved this, just fucking going without having any real destination in mind. He’d done a lot of that in his life, just taken off, him and his bike.

It surprised him that Rod liked to ride so much. He liked it, having that to share with a friend.

He didn’t know exactly how much time passed before he saw what looked like an abandoned industrial building to the left. The parking lot was about the size of a football field, so Landon slowed down and pulled in. He parked the bike, put the kickstand down, pulled off his helmet and said, “It’s not what I had in mind, but it’ll do.”

“Where did you have in mind?” Rod asked.

“A high school parking lot down the street from your house.”

Rod got off the bike and frowned at him. “I’m sorry. You should have said something.”

“Nah, it’s no problem. You wanted to ride, so we rode. I’m always up for taking a trip on the bike, but now it’s time to get down to business.” He didn’t quite know why he was so excited to teach Rod to ride, but he was.

Landon set his helmet down and then stood next to Rod. “Okay, I know it seems obvious but I’m going to go through where everything is first.”

“That’s obvious?” Rod asked with a grin.

“It’s not?” It had been so long since he’d learned to ride, and it had been second nature to him, what he’d been born to do.

“No, and now I’m stressing the hell out even more. What if I fuck up your bike? This is a Harley and I don’t know what I’m doing. I’d never forgive myself if I downed your bike and messed it up.”

“Downed my bike? Have you been looking up motorcycle terms?”

“Yes. I also know if we ride together, you’ll be my backdoor because you’re more experienced. I want to be the backdoor.” The edge was still in Rod’s voice even though Landon thought he was trying to hide it.

He felt the tension, thick waves like humidity hitting him. The truth was, he should be worried about the same things Rod was. He loved his bikes. He didn’t typically let anyone drive them. Rod would be the first person to drive his Harley since he got the bike.

But he wasn’t worried. He wanted to give this experience to Rod, show him this thing that he loved and that’s all there was to it.

Rod had been looking forward to this, but he wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. “I didn’t get my license until I was twenty and I could afford to buy my own car to drive. I failed the test twice. I drove on the curb when I parallel parked.”

Damned if Landon didn’t smirk at him. “Parking won’t be a problem on a bike. Or in an empty parking lot. Funny how that works.”

Apparently everyone was a fucking comedian nowadays. “I’m serious. Let’s find a bike of my own that I can buy to learn on. I do want to ride but not on yours. I don’t want to fuck it up.”

Landon’s eyes darkened, his sooty lashes nearly blocking them from Rod as his eyes went narrow.

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy.” Maybe he was suddenly acting crazy, but he just didn’t think this was a good idea anymore.

“Do you want to learn to drive a bike?” Landon asked. “Do you really want it?”

There was an unfamiliar ache inside him. It burrowed deeper, digging a bottomless pit of want inside him. He really did want this. He wanted something new, something different, something else that could be his. “Yeah. I’m not changing my mind on you. I just think it’s a better idea if I get my own.”

“Get on the goddamned bike, Rod.”

“I’m not—”

“Get on the bike. You’re not going to hurt the damn thing going fifteen miles an hour in the parking lot, and if you do, oh well. It can always be fixed. I want you to learn to ride. Who knows how long it will take you to find a bike. You learn now, you’ll be ready to get your license when you get your bike, and then I’ll drag your ass out to ride with me.”

The ache inside him got bigger, swallowed him fucking whole. It was more than the desire to learn to ride though. It was the man standing in front of him, which was a fucking disaster waiting to happen. What the hell was wrong with him? He wanted to open his mouth and say
thank you
over something as simple as Landon wanting to ride with him.

“I’m not going to say it again. Get on the bike.”

Rod tried to ignore the barrage of thoughts and questions trying to drive him even crazier than he already was. “Yes, sir. I like it when you’re bossy.”

“Stop backhandedly trying to veer the conversation into something about sex. You do that every time we talk about something serious. Get on the bike and put the kickstand up. I want you to get a feel for how much weight she has behind her.”

A hundred different replies popped into Rod’s head, but he bit them back, and did as Landon said.

“If you want a Harley, a good beginner bike is a Harley 883. We might want to look for something else for you though. The Harley is better for you to learn on over my sports bike because it’s closer to the ground. The center of gravity is lower so it’s easier to balance.”

Landon spoke with even more confidence than he usually did. It was a nice sound on him.

“Okay.” Rod tested the weight of the bike like Landon told him to.

“Put the kickstand down again. The front break lever and throttle are on the right side of the handlebar. Most of your breaking is going to come from the front break.”

Rod nodded and Landon continued.

“Left lever handlebar is the clutch.” He walked around the bike to the left side, and pointed toward the left foot peg. “This is your shifter. First is below neutral so you’ll go down for first. Then you’ll shift upward, past neutral for second, third and so on.”

“Jesus, you should have told me to bring a notepad. Maybe you should quiz me on this later.”

Landon shook his head at him and smiled. “You’ll be fine. I want you to get a good feel for the clutch so once we get started, let off the clutch slowly, test the clutch before giving it some gas. You ready?”

Rod turned toward him and made sure his facial expression asked,
are you fucking crazy?

“Okay, you’re right. I’m rushing it. I’ll go over it again.”

Landon explained all of the things he’d already told Rod, adding a few more details. He talked about balance, and speed, and how to move with the bike. He worked up to turning, and how he’d need to lean in the direction of the turn, but to never brake during that time. He asked Landon a few questions, making sure he had everything down right. He was probably being a little over-cautious but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

“Okay, let’s give it a try. You’re not going to take off yet. You just need to feel what the bike can do. Test the clutch like I said.”

His heart beat so hard, it damn near burst through his chest. His pulse vibrated through him, his stomach twisting in a mixture of nerves and excitement. He’d never done something like this before. Never.

Landon’s hand came down on his shoulder and he squeezed. “You’re just testing the clutch. I promise, you’ll be okay. I’m a good teacher.”

“You’re a cocky bastard. I can do this. I’m just finding my center.”

Landon laughed. “Center, my ass. You’re nervous. Do it.”

Rod didn’t reply to him. Instead he started the bike, and did exactly what Landon had told him. He felt the initial power of it, the bike moving as he slowly let off the clutch, and then he pulled the throttle. The bike lurched forward, his body jerking with it. He panicked, clenching the handlebars tight. He thought he would go down but then instinct took over, and he put his fucking feet on the ground, since he was damn near stopped now and kept himself up.

Okay, so that hadn’t gone as he thought it would. He turned to apologize to Landon. The second he looked at him, Landon burst out laughing. It was a contagious laugh, loud and boisterous. Rod was stuck between joining him and kicking his ass.

“It wasn’t that funny,” he said, but Landon was laughing too hard at him to reply. It made that want even stronger inside him. He wanted this. He could do this and he fucking would.

Rod repeated the process, this time not turning the throttle quite as much as he did the first time. The ride was smoother, steady as he went about ten feet or so before easing on the break.

“There you go!” Landon jogged over to him, the laugh replaced by what Rod could have sworn looked like pride. “See? Just like that. I knew you could do it. Let’s practice that a few more times and then you can really give it a go.”

That easily it was as though Rod’s nerves and hesitance melted away. He was going to do this. He couldn’t fucking wait.

***

“Yes! Just like that!” Landon yelled across the parking lot.

After practicing stopping and going, Rod had driven the parking lot at least twenty times. He hadn’t gone past first gear, but he hadn’t needed to. He wasn’t on the open road yet. Landon wanted him to take it slowly. They’d worked up to turns now, which Rod fucking owned. He caught on quickly, and Landon felt a large plume of pride in his chest watching him.

He waited as Rod drove back toward him. He probably hadn’t heard Landon’s excitement over his last ride, but he hadn’t been able to hold it in.

As soon as Rod pulled up in front of him, and took his helmet off, Landon could see something unfamiliar in his expression. He almost looked dazed, his eyes wide as he held out his hand. “I’m fucking shaking. My whole body is. Jesus, it’s like I’m cracking apart from the inside, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s almost as though I can’t hold myself together.”

Landon was all too familiar with that experience. Rod’s excitement bled into him, his heartbeat kicking up. “It’s the adrenaline. There’s nothing like riding, even if it is the first time and you’re cruising a fucking parking lot. It’s almost like you’re flying.” Maybe that sounded crazy to people who didn’t ride, but he knew Rod would get it now.

“Yeah…yeah it is.”

Reflexively Landon wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a half hug. “That was perfect. Jesus, I’m much more excited about this than I should be. I can’t wait for us to go riding together.”

Rod took a few deep breaths, as though he was trying to ground himself. Landon wanted to tell him not to, just to fucking let go and ride it out.

“Who knew you were so easy to excite? If I realized that, I would have ridden for you a long time ago.”

He wasn’t surprised when Rod changed the subject and deflected his compliment. Landon could understand that, though. He wasn’t real fond of that kind of attention on himself either. “You’re welcome. That’s probably enough for today. Are you hungry? We can take a ride somewhere and grab some dinner.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Rod crossed his arms. “I don’t know if I think that’s a good idea…”

Landon chuckled. “Shut the hell up and get out of my seat. I get to drive now.”

He was still smiling a few minutes later when they drove away.