anything?
We spoke very few words as we shut down the cabin and prepared to leave. We mounted his motorbike and headed down the mountain. Even if we had wanted to there was no way to maintain a conversation. The bike was noisy, and the headsets in the helmets didn’t seem to be working.
We traveled like that for 4 hours, until we reached the outskirts of Santa Clara. At a red light, Peter turned around and asked me for directions to my apartment. I told him and a grimace crossed his face.
“Where do you live?” I asked, wondering why my address had caused such a response. When he answered it was obvious. Peter lived in the upscale neighborhood, a couple of blocks from the country club. I lived across town in student housing. The drive would take no less than twenty minutes, one way.
I offered him to drop me off somewhere along the main road and I’d take a cab, but he insisted on driving me home. “Rachel, with all the complications you’ve attracted the last week I can’t risk dropping you off somewhere. Who knows what else will happen?” he teased me while heading in the direction of the college “It’s not a problem. Remember that I can’t just drop you off and make you walk home. You already tried that. Marilee would kill me if something happened to you.”
Oh my god, I had completely forgotten about Marilee and my stuff. She must be frantic by now!
Peter noticed the worry on my face and mentioned assuring, “Don’t worry. I called her from the cabin and explained the situation. You can pick up your stuff tomorrow.”
Relieved, I decided to enjoy the last minutes with him. During our ride I pressed myself against his warm back and pondered whether his bringing me all the way home was a sign that he had fallen for me. Or it was just because of Marilee and her wrath if he got me into a dangerous situation?
Still, I was getting more nervous the closer we got to my part of town. Should I invite him in? Should I offer him my phone number? Would he ask for my number?
All of these thoughts were crowding my brain, making normal conversation scarce.
“You still with me back there?” he asked.
“Yes. I was just thinking.”
“Ah, that was the sound of wheels grinding away. What are you thinking about so hard?”
I shrugged and then answered, “Nothing much. Just a bunch of stuff I need to get done. Now that I’m home, that is.”
Peter nodded, “Yeah. I have a ton of stuff to get done as well.”
I lapsed into silence once again as he pulled onto the freeway. The traffic noise, combined with the bike noise, made holding a conversation impossible. That didn’t bother me, as I wasn’t in the mood for mindless chatter anyway. The last few days had been full of new experiences, most of which I would always treasure. Who would have thought that my much-needed break that started out so bad, would turn into one of the most exhilarating occurrences.
Coming to terms with the fact that most of them were one time things and would never be repeated was not something I was willing to consider. At least not yet.
Chapter 7
I was so caught in trying to remember the last few days, that when Peter stopped the bike in front of my apartment complex, he had to call my name twice to get my attention.
I was extremely shy, wondering if I should invite him upstairs, or if that would seem too forward. Would he take it the wrong way if I did invite him up? These thoughts ran through my brain as I stood there on the sidewalk looking at him.
Peter seemed to be enjoying my discomfiture and a knowing grin spread across his face. I finally got up the courage to ask him upstairs, “So, would you like to come up for a few minutes?”
The smile left his face as he shook his head, “I don’t think that would be the best idea.”
“Oh,” I said, not knowing how else to respond.
“I enjoyed being with you, and last night was amazing. But I leave for Spain in two weeks. It wouldn’t be fair to either one
Learning to Kill: Stories