Motorcycle Babe

Confessing Everything

Gabriella

Oh my f*****g God. What the actual f**k just happened?

I’m not gay. I swear I’m not. So why did her lips taste so damn good? Why were they so soft?

This isn't right—I’m not supposed to want her. I don't want her. And yet my body keeps replaying the last ten minutes like a movie it’s obsessed with, like it missed something vital in the first act. Like it’s waiting for a continuation it never got.

I was still sitting there against the cold concrete when she left. Just... frozen.

Then the bell rang.

Shit. Another class. And my body was absolutely not over what had just happened.

What was I supposed to do now? Hide in the bathroom until the buzzing under my skin went away? Pretend I didn't almost lose my mind under the bleachers with Raven Rider? It was tempting, but I couldn't miss class. I have a 4.0 to protect. That GPA is my only ticket out of this town, my only way into a university far away from everyone who knows my last name and expects me to be perfect.

Damn you, Raven. Why did she have to be the human embodiment of temptation?

I tried to shake it off as I walked to class, but her lips still tasted... familiar. Not new. Not shocking. Just known. Like my mouth remembered something my brain had deleted.

I didn't see her again for the rest of the day. I didn't hear the roar of her bike or catch that infuriating smirk in the hallway. Still, my chest felt tight all afternoon. Annoyingly aware. Like something unfinished was sitting right beneath my ribs, ticking like a bomb.

The final bell finally rang. Practice time.

In the locker room, I spotted Tyler laughing with the cheer co-captain. He was leaning in close, his ego clearly recovered even if his face wasn't. I rolled my eyes. He moved on fast.

Good. I didn't care.

“Hey, girl.”

I turned and smiled, wrapping my arms around Kyle—my best friend since forever. People used to swear we’d end up together, which was hilarious considering Kyle came out in middle school and immediately started critiquing my taste in men like it was his full-time job.

Kyle grinned, leaning against a locker. “So. Care to explain why the hallway rumor is that Raven Rider nearly got expelled for you?”

I blinked. “That was fast.”

“Please,” he said, waving a hand. “This school runs on gossip and trauma. Also—one minute you’re Tyler’s girlfriend, the next you’re the damsel in distress for the resident lesbian menace.”

I smacked his arm. “Shut up.”

“Oh, I will not,” he said, his eyes dancing. “Did you finally drop the d**k for the p***y?”

“Absolutely not.”

He squinted at me. “That wasn't convincing, Gabby. At all.”

“I can’t talk about it here,” I muttered, glancing around at the other girls.

Kyle’s eyes lit up. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me into a rarely used dressing room, slamming the door shut like he’d been waiting for this moment his entire life. “Alright. Spill.”

I sighed and told him everything. Every second. The smoke, the wall, the way she touched me.

By the time I finished, Kyle looked like he’d just watched the world’s messiest rom-com trailer.

“Oh my God,” he breathed. “You almost slept with Raven Rider.”

“No!” I hissed. “We almost did—but she stopped it. She just... let go.”

Kyle froze. “She stopped it?”

“Yes.”

“That,” he said slowly, “was not on my bingo card. Raven doesn't usually play the 'noble' card.”

“I know.”

He studied my face for a long moment. “So... who’s the better kisser?”

Obviously her. “I don't know,” I said, leaning my back against the door.

Kyle laughed. “Girl. You didn't even hesitate before lying. You’re a terrible actress.”

I groaned, sliding down the door until I hit the floor. “Fine. It was her. But that’s not the point, Kyle. She didn't feel new. It didn't feel like crossing a line. It felt like... remembering something I don't remember.”

Kyle didn't joke this time. He sat down beside me.

“You don't get it,” I whispered. “If my family found out I was even this close to Raven—my life would be over. Disownment. Conversion therapy. The whole nightmare. My parents have a very specific version of my life planned out, and Raven Rider isn't in it.”

Kyle bumped his shoulder against mine. “Okay. First—breathe. Second—you don’t owe anyone an explanation right now. Not your parents, and definitely not the school.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. “Ignoring her feels impossible.”

He sighed. “Yeah. That’s because attraction doesn't ask for permission, Gabby.”

“I don't like her,” I said quickly, trying to convince myself.

Kyle snorted. “You don't have to. Your body already does.”

Before I could argue, someone yelled from the hallway: “Practice starts in five minutes!”

We scrambled up. As I grabbed my gear, I felt a playful smack on my ass. I turned to see Kyle smiling at his phone like he hadn't just risked his life.

“Asshole,” I muttered.

He laughed. “Run, heterosexual.”

I flipped him off as I jogged onto the field, a small smile finally tugging at my lips. Then I saw Tyler watching me—sad, distant, and small. He wasn't going to apologize. He wasn't going to fix anything.

And for the first time, I realized I didn't want him to.

All I want is to get out of this town. And maybe—just maybe—figure out why Raven Rider feels like a question my body already knows the answer to.