I suck in a hesitant breath as the sweat builds under my clutch-squeezing hand. “I have to do both at once.”
“Only a little bit. You don’t want to completely let go of the clutch as you take off, and you only want to give it a little bit of gas.”
“Eep. I don’t think I can.”
“Hey, I’m right here. I won’t take my hands away.”
I swallow some of my fear. “Okay.”
I very slightly lift my fingers off the clutch, and very gradually turn the throttle. The motorcycle creeps forward inches.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Dax cheers.
I give it a little more gas and then completely take my hands off the clutch. The motorcycle lurches forward and then jerks back, stopping dead.
Dax pushes into my back, and my chest hits the center console. He laughs, keeping one hand on the handlebars as he uses his other to scoop me up.
As I lean back on him, he says, “You stalled it.”
“How did I do that?”
“You let go of the clutch. I said to ease it off.”
“I thought I did. It had started moving.”
He chuckles again. “Okay, my bad. It takes a while to fully ease off. You need some speed behind you. How about you try it again? This time don’t let go.”
I rub my sweaty palms on my thighs and place them back on the handlebars. Dax kicks the kickstand back down and turns the ignition key again. He tells me to hit the red button, and then he kicks the stand back up.
“I can go?” I ask.
An easy laugh plays out of him like music. “Yes, Sassy. Go for it.”
With some renewed confidence, I ease off the clutch, and give it a little gas. We edge forward, wobbling a little until Dax realigns the handlebars for me.
“Nice work. Now, do the opposite to bring us to a stop.”
“Here goes nothing.”
I try bringing the clutch back in, but when I hit the throttle, I turn it too hard, revving us forward again with a jerk.
“Whoa.”
Dax slides his hand over mine, regaining control of the motorcycle and helping me slow it down.
He snorts, kicking out the kickstand. “Almost.”
“What do you mean,almost. It stopped.”
He rubs my arm. “It stalled.”
“Ugh.”
“I love that you care about getting this right.”
My heart flutters. “I like doing things correctly.”
He leans around me, grinning with pride. “You’ll be a motorcycle rider in no time.”
