Sarah and I leave the hotel in Duck in the morning. I admire her honey-blonde hair in the bright coastal sunlight as I'm pulling on my helmet. She starts the big cruiser, then pulls on her own helmet. When she has backed the big bike out of its parking spot, I climb on behind her, wrap my arms around, snuggling close.
We head south on 158, past the sand hills where we spent the day, yesterday; where I taught her to hang glide. It's a weekday morning, and there isn't much traffic. A few miles further south, I point at a surf shop. "That's where I bought my first surfboard, when I was nineteen," I say, my voice carrying clearly over the helmet coms.
She glances over, nods. "Cool," she says, as we slow for a traffic light.
As we wait for the light, I fumble in the pocket of my mesh riding jacket. "Music?" I suggest, and Sarah agrees. The light turns, and I find the playlist I want. Anna Tsuchiya's cover of "Just Can't Get Enough" fills our helmets as we roar south. I sing along, hear her singing along: "When I'm with you, baby, I go out of my head! I just can't get enough! I just can't get enough!"
I lean forward, putting my head on her shoulder as we ride. The day is warm, and even though our jackets are mostly mesh, I feel warm, and guess she does, as well. I run my right hand up the center of her jacket, and find the zipper pull. Slowly, teasingly, I tug on it, bringing it down an inch, and then another inch, and then another. I can hear Sarah laugh as the com system automatically brings the music down for the coms.
When I have her jacket open, I slip my hands under her shirt, running my fingertips over her stomach. "If I play with you," I murmur, "is that going to disrupt your concentration?"
"Yes," she answers, promptly. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't."
I laugh, and slide my hands back out.