Her First Motorcycle Ride
Knock, knock, knock, "Penn!"
Knock, knock, knock, "Penn!"
Knock, knock, knock, "Penn!"
Penn wanted to scream. But he couldn't because he didn't want to traumatize Shelly. And who else would announce her present like that? He yanked the door open and asked in a barely controlled voice, "Do you know how late it is?"
"Good morning, Penn." Shelly checked her phone to answer his question.
"Nothing is good about this morning! It is not even morning yet." He really wasn't a morning person.
Shelly ignored his outbreak, "It's almost eight o'clock."
Penn held his own phone right under Shelly's nose. "It is not even half past seven."
"It's a matter of perspective. If you consider..."
"If you lecture me, I'll slam the door in your face," Penn warned the physicist. Naturally, he would make sure, that it would not hit her but that was not the point.
Shelly's mouth snapped shut.
After having vented his frustration, Penn whined, "What do you even want?"
"I need a ride."
"A ride?"
"I need to get to university."
Penn was confused and his voice gave this fact away. He made a mental note to train expressing this mood once he was alone and in front of his mirror. "Leonard will take you to the university – like every other day."
"He's unavailable."
"How?" Penn regretted asking the moment the short word had left his mouth. He hurriedly added, "Short version!"
Shelly's nostrils flared in annoyance but she complied, "For the foreseeable future he'll be working at night."
Penn grumbled under his breath, "Bastard."
Naturally, Shelly's uncanny hearing picked the word up without a hitch. "Leonard wasn't born out of wedlock. He has an older sister who was also born in wedlock. Just like his younger brother. His parents live in a monogamous relationship which they officialized on..."
When it came apparent that Shelly wasn't going to stop in the near future, Penn pulled the verbal emergency brake, "Stop! New rule. No lectures on Leonard's family history before brunch time."
"Brunch time is not an unambiguously defined..."
"Eleven o'clock! No lectures on Leonard's family history before eleven o'clock."
"Noted." Shelly gave him a curt nod. "So you'll drive me?"
Penn just gave in. He couldn't handle debating with Shelly this early in the morning. He unceremonially pulled the pants lying on his couch over his boxers and slipped into some shoes.
"Are you not going to brush your teeth?" Shelly asked alarmed when he pulled the door close.
"No." And before Shelly could ask about all the other things he wasn't going to do he asked a question of his own, "I didn't even know there was a night shift at the university?"
While following him downstairs, Shelly explained, "There is no such thing as a night shift at the university. The mere thought is ridiculous."
"Why is Leonard working at night than?"
"He is using the laser lab."
"And why is he doing so at night?"
"Other projects got priority over his. And he can only use the new high energy laser at night times."
"Sounds to me like he got the night shift."
Penn stepped from the sidewalk and next to his motorcycle. It was a jet-black air-cooled cruiser with lots of shiny chrome. It was no Harley but it was the next best thing.
"Where is your car?" Shelly asked flabbergasted.
"This is my bike," Penn gestured at it.
"You got a motorcycle?" The wide-eyed look on Shelly's face was almost worth being woken early.
"Yes." Penn held the two helmets up. "What did you think these were for?"
"Additional protection," Shelly answered in a tone as if he was the one who had gotten something wrong.
Penn was confused. "Who wears a helmet in a car?"
"Racing drivers," Shelly answered without missing a beat. "I would always wear a helmet in a car too if Leonard had not vetoed it."
"Well, I got a bike and no car." Penn gestured at his baby. "It's either this or you call a cab... or take the bus... or whatever... You're the genius. Figure something out." That should have been his answer back up in his apartment! Penn cursed in the privacy of his head.
"I can't rely on public transportation. There is not enough time left. I'd be late for work." Shelly shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
"Everyone is late once in a while. You won't get fired over this – will you?" Penn really had no idea.
"No, I wouldn't. My work is groundbreaking and I'm the only person who can do it. I can't be fired. Firing me is unthinkable." Penn tried to ingrain her tone into his brain. If he could pull that off...
Out loud he said, "Well problem solved. Just take the bus."
"No, being late is unacceptable," Shelly stated matter of factly.
Penn tried to silently count to ten. At five he snapped, "You want that ride or not? I'll either go back to sleep or drive you to work. Decide!"
Shelly gulped and after taking a very long look finally answered, "I'll take the ride."
"Glad you made up your mind." He held one helmet out to her.
Shelly eyed it suspiciously. "Who wore this last?"
"Nobody, it's new," Penn said once more struggling to keep calm. It was just too early! "I bought it to replace the one my ex threw away."
Shelly turned it in her hands and sniffed at it. When she found the new-smell, she gave a sharp nod and declared, "Excellent, I'll take it then. From now on, this will be my helmet."
"It is mine," Penn gasped in annoyance, "I paid for it after all!"
"I'll compensate you."
He really had enough of this. "Just put it on, so we can go." He finished their discussion by putting his own helmet on. It was way too early to argue with Shelly.
Surprises over surprises... Shelly needed help to get onto the motorcycle. She fidgeted around so awkwardly that Penn felt the need to tell her to hold onto him and not let go under any circumstances.
He drove extra cautiously. Shelly clung onto him like her life depended on it. If she had had more strength in her upper arms it might have become a problem. But as it was, she was nowhere strong enough to hamper his breathing. Naturally, like all first riders on a bike, she leaned into the wrong direction when they drove around a curve.
Overall it wasn't too bad. When Shelly asked, "Will you pick me up at five?" he gave her a nod.