Motorcycle Babe

Beneath the Surface

Finally, practice was over.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with a small towel and made my way into the locker room to grab my shower stuff. I hated the feeling of sweat sticking to my skin, especially after a long practice. Driving home like that wasn’t an option for me. I preferred feeling clean — like maybe I could wash off more than just the grime.

Inside, I could already hear my teammates gossiping about whatever drama they were stirring up now. I didn’t care. I never really tried to bond with the girls on the team, and honestly, they never tried with me either. Most of them were jealous when I dated Tyler — the star quarterback and golden boy. At the time, I brushed it off. Now, I just felt sad knowing that jealousy was the only reason they ever really noticed me.

Typical high school girls.

I rolled my eyes and made my way to the showers, letting their voices fade into background noise. I was sure the latest gossip was about the hallway incident earlier. And I was just as sure they were excited to know Tyler was back on the market. Good for them.

Did I want him back? Hell no. Would my parents push for it? Hell yes.

Sometimes I still wondered how we ended up together. Then I remembered — our families were close after my sophomore year accident. I still don’t know what happened. My parents never told me, and I’m pretty sure they paid the doctors to stay quiet too. All I know is that I suffered memory loss — they said it was amnesia that wiped out at least two years.

I missed almost an entire year of school. This year — senior year — is technically my first time back around people I supposedly knew before. Familiar faces that felt like strangers. And through all that confusion, only one person made it easier.

Kyle.

He never pressured me, never looked at me with pity. Just honesty and really bad jokes.

And then there was Raven.

God, even thinking her name made my skin warm. I hated how much I wanted her. Craved her. Everything about her drew me in — her lips, her voice, her hands, her presence. All of it. All of her. And I hated myself for it because I knew, deep down, she was dangerous for me.

But I never liked anything good for me anyway.

My father, the ever-devoted Christian, would probably disown me if he knew. To him, being gay was a sin punishable by eternal damnation. I didn’t care about religion, never really did. All I wanted was to live without fear — to be free to love, to exist without shame. Was that really too much to ask?

…Wait. Did that make me gay?

I paused mid-scrub in the shower, staring at the wall. That question had been crawling through my head for months now. And I still didn’t have the answer. Maybe I didn’t need one right now. Maybe I just needed a moment to breathe.

When I finished my shower and got dressed, I stepped outside the gym, taking a deep breath of evening air. The sun had started to dip, streaking the sky with soft oranges and pinks.

“Finally,” I muttered to myself.

“That’s what I said ten minutes ago,” Kyle said, suddenly appearing at my side like a ghost with bad timing. “Thought you drowned in there.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. “You wish.”

We both chuckled before starting to walk down the path away from the field, but then the familiar low rumble of an engine made us stop.

The sound was unmistakable—deep, smooth, and slightly reckless. We both turned just in time to see Raven pulling into the lot on her motorcycle, black helmet tucked low, leather jacket clinging to her like a second skin.

Kyle tilted his head. “Well, well. If it isn’t your unresolved feelings wrapped in black leather and poor decisions.”

I nudged him, trying not to let my eyes linger…

But something about her made my heart ache in a way I couldn’t explain — like a memory I couldn’t quite reach.