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“Piper?” he said.
“Hey, I, uh, can’t sleep,” was all she could think of to say. It was the truth, after all.
“Me neither,” he said.
“Look at that. Both of us, not sleeping.”
“Something else we have in common, I guess.”
Piper was quiet for a second before finally just diving in.
“Look, I could really use someone to talk to right now,” she said.
“Okay.”
“I mean in person.”
“That’s what I thought you meant,” Pony said. “Do you want me to come to your place?”
“No!” she said, a little too quickly, then, “No, no. Don’t… I don’t want you to go to any trouble. I’ll come to you.”
As soon as she hung up the phone, she said to herself, “This is a bad idea, Piper. A really, really bad idea. You should not be doing this.”
But the words didn’t seem to make a dent, since before she knew it, she was on her bike and on her way.
13
Every second of the drive over to Pony’s place, Piper continued to tell herself over and over again what a terrible idea this was. Nothing good could come of it. No rational set of algorithms could lead to the conclusion that she should be spending one on one time alone with Pony.
But her bike kept her going in his direction. It was like the force of gravity itself was pulling her to Pony, irresistibly. Fighting it felt as futile as fighting the current of a raging river.
Pony’s house was exactly as she imagined. Small, nothing gaudy, and the interior was neat and orderly and minimalist in every way. He answered the door wearing a pair of jeans and a tight T shirt that low-key showed off his hard physique.
The net effect was to send her mind ever further down the very road she knew it shouldn’t. He invited her in and closed the door behind her, standing close enough that she could catch just a hint of the leather and motorcycle grease scent that was more of an aphrodisiac than any cologne could hope to be.
“Can I get you something?” he said.
Why yes you can, she thought, staring at how the muscles of his chest strained the fabric of his T shirt in exactly the right way. What she said was, “Nothing, thanks.”
She stood there in the still quiet, with no other words coming out of her mouth. All she’d wanted was to get here, talkthings out with Pony, and now that she was actually here, she couldn’t think of a single goddamn word to say.
“What’s on your mind?” Pony said.
“Nothing. Nothing in particular, I mean. I guess I’m just restless.”
“I get that way sometimes, too,” he said.
He was looking in her eyes while he said it, and Piper found herself getting pulled toward those blue eyes like they were powerful magnets. She had to physically shake herself out of it or she would’ve flown straight into his arms right then and there.
“I guess that’s why I like riding fast and taking chances,” she said, trying her best to not make eye contact. “Chases away that restless feeling, like I’ve been standing still too long.”
Pony stepped toward her, close now, and she couldn’t help looking at him while he said, “Then the excitement dies down and the slow feeling of restlessness starts to creep back in…”
“…and you start looking for something to excite you once again…”
“…get your heart racing…”
“…make you feel more alive than alive…”
