Care to Drive?
He showed up on a motorcycle. Of course. He also asked if I wanted to try driving it. I simply stared at him, agape.
"What?" Andreas asked, puzzled by my confounded expression.
"Do I want to drive?"
"Do you?"
"Of course I do! It's been ages since I got to drive a motorcycle."
"You've driven one before?"
"Yep. Used to have one. Had to sell it when I moved over here. Would've cost too much to get it shipped here. I was definitely sorry to see it go."
My hand moved lovingly over the handle of his bike.
"That's settled then." Andreas passed me a helmet and slipped on his own. "For some strange reason, I thought you'd be terrified to drive it."
"Why would I be afraid to drive?"
"Your size."
"Hmm…Yes." I raked my eyes over his stately form. "Compared to you, I'm something of a midget."
His blue eyes crinkled when he smiled. I climbed easily onto the bike, Andreas slipped on behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Oh look, he smells amazing too. Rolling my eyes at my own thoughts, I asked him where we were headed.
"Die Bäckerei auf Goethestraße."
"Sounds good."
The engine revved and we took off down Balkenweg.
We ate dinner at Bäckerei Leifert, then Andreas took the helm. The motorcycle carried us outside town and through a forest. Andreas turned down a dark country road and followed it deeper into the trees. The bike slowed and pulled onto the grass next to the road. I climbed off and removed my helmet, not sure what we were doing there. Andreas stowed our helmets, took my hand, and led me to a forest path. Now I knew why he had told me to wear sensible shoes. I just went with the flow as I followed Andreas deeper into the forest. Finally, we reached a clearing in the trees, which was apparently our destination.
"There's a meteor shower tonight, I don't know if you heard."
"Really? No, I hadn't heard that."
"I like coming here to watch showers and eclipses. It's far enough from the city that you get a great view of the stars on clear nights. And the sky always seems to be clear."
Andreas grabbed a bag that was resting in the lower branches of an old maple tree. He pulled a blanket out of it and spread it over the ground, then he dropped down onto it and smiled for me to join him. Laying down beside him, I rested my head on my arms and watched the sky. We weren't there long before the shower began. The small flashes of silvery light that streaked across the sky were just enough to light up the clearing. Andreas' eyes didn't leave the sky until the show was over.
Andreas accompanied me inside when we got back to my place. He didn't stay long and we didn't kiss, but for me, the date felt much more successful than the date with Mathias.
How about that? Valeria was right.