Courage to follow your heart

by Christina Aas

  Kris turned the handle and pushed the throttle, hearing the bike roar into life and her body waking up with it. She was born to do this. Every time she heard the purring of the engine she felt completely fulfilled and ready to take on the world. It didn’t hurt that she had a beautiful girl wrapped around her at the same time. Kris turned the handle further and released the clutch, letting the bike roll forward. It quickly picked up speed as she directed them out of the parking lot and down the road toward the security gate. They drove past the rest of the group, who were walking toward the train station, envy clearly visible on their faces when the powerful bike roared past them.

  The security guards looked curious at the two cute girls approaching on the big bike, encapsulating every fantasy they had ever had throughout the years. The two girls in the tight jeans with the blond hair smiled at them through their helmets, while they sat incredibly close together. The security guard closest tried his best to avert his eyes and nod politely at them while he checked their passports. The security guard a little further behind him was very thankful he was wearing sunglasses at this point, and let his eyes slowly graze up and down their bodies, fully enjoying the sight in front of him. Especially the cute blond in the back, he wouldn’t mind straddling her from behind, he admitted. The girls rolled past and sped up when they exited the gate. The guys looked longingly after them, before turning to each other. “Damn, not every day that comes by here!” one of the guys grinned to the cheering of the rest of them.

  Liz tightened her grip around Kris’ waist while they sped up on the highway toward San Francisco. She could smell the hint of shampoo when she sat leaned in against Kris’ back, hiding from the wind throws coming at them at full speed while they cruised up the road. Kris confidently steered the bike zigzagging between the other cars on the highway. The feeling was incredible, Liz thought, as she enjoyed the view of bushes and threes getting smeared out while they swooshed past them high speed, and her tongue dried up from the wind rushing past it. Her thoughts drifted to her hands, imagining them gently stroking up and down the side of Kris’ body, creeping further down to her lower back and further down her thighs, slipping over her tight muscles and on to the inner part of her thighs, slowly back upwards again, her fingertips making dancing circles over the muscles as they wandered their way up the inside of Kris’ leg, feeling her slight shiver as Liz’ fingertips slowly approached the warmth between her legs. As her fingertips stroked over her she would hear a slight moan slip from Kris’ mouth, and Liz would let her fingertip move very lightly over her clit from the outside of her pants. She would feel the biceps of Kris’ arms tighten while she continued to stroke her finger across her. Liz would lower her other arm and approach the button of Kris’ jeans with the same slowness as she would approach a tiger, not knowing what she would unleash. She would quickly unbutton and slip her other arm inside. Her fingers would find their way under the elastic of Kris’ boxer shorts and she would feel her way down past her flat tight belly until her finger found the wetness just below. Liz would let her finger gently brush across her in circular motions while she let her other finger slip inside her wetness. She would feel the entire body of Kris tighten at her touch, and she would feel her contract around her finger as she drove it slowly in and out while she quickly flicked across her clit, back and forth, to further arouse her to the point of no return. She would feel the shivers increase in frequency and power, slowly getting uncontrollable and she would know the edge was getting near. Liz would continue to drive her finger up into her and let it be joined by another finger. Kris would let out a loud moan as her two fingers pushed all the way up into her, faster and faster while she continued to tease her clit with small flicks and circular motions, tiny in movement but powerful in effect. She would feel the exact spot of highest ecstasy and would continue to rub across it to increase Kris’ pleasure and consequently her shivering. Suddenly she would feel Kris tilt her head back and let out a loud moan which quickly would turn into a scream of pleasure while Liz continued to drive her fingers into her. Kris’ legs would shiver uncontrollably and her whole body would tighten when she rode the wave of pleasure to its brim.

  Liz blinked her eyes, trying to wet her tongue which felt incredibly dry at this point. Stop fantasizing! She scolded herself before forcing her gaze away from the gorgeous woman just in front of her and out to the beautiful California scenery instead. Focus on tonight, your first 4th of July celebration. Liz shook her head. Tonight should be a lot of fun. Seems most of the class will be joining. Kris tilted her head back and Liz was sure she had noticed her lower back getting slightly moist from Liz’ daydreaming. But Kris just signed to Liz that they would stop for a moment. Liz nodded in agreement before Kris steered the powerful bike toward the off-ramp and the gas station along the side of the road. They swung into an open parking space and Kris turned the key to switch off the engine. The engine’s roar quieted down to a purring until it finally came to a full halt. Kris patted Liz’ right thigh and Liz felt like her body would explode of lust at that simple touch. But Kris only meant to signal that Liz needed to get off the bike first. Liz rolled her eyes at her own hopelessness before she quickly swung her leg over the bike and jumped down to the asphalt below.

  “I need some water, and I thought I would fill her up while I was here.” Kris nodded her head toward the bike. “Do you want anything from the shop while I’m in there?” she asked and smiled at Liz. Liz thought she would faint right there on the spot – Kris was so incredibly gorgeous with her sun glasses and tanned skin, her muscled body glinting in the sun. “Su.. Sure, some water would be good” she replied with a dry throat working hard to force her voice calm. Liz walked over to a nearby bench looking out over the highway while Kris entered the gas station to purchase their water bottles.

  Damn, she looks incredibly cute today in that t-shirt, the way it hugs her breasts, and the way my hands want to...I’m so happy I’m sitting with my back to her and have the excuse of having to keep my focus on the road, Kris thought to herself while she took the ice-cold water bottle up to her neck and cooled herself off. Get a grip, you’re just driving up there and then you can let her go to the rest of the group and go back to avoiding her again. Keep your safe distance.

  “Here you go” Kris said while she handed the cold water over to Liz. Liz was sitting with her legs crossed on the bench and leaned forward to accept the water bottle, which simultaneously exposed more of her alluring cleavage. Kris felt her tongue wet her lips and was thankful for her shades hiding where her eyes had wandered, following the curvature of a pair of very enticing breasts. Damn! Kris thought before she sat down next to Liz on the bench and took a large sip of her ice-cold water. “I have a proposition for you.” She twisted the cap closed on her bottle. “I found out the other day that a place down in Monterey, which is only about an hour south of here, is offering skydiving experiences. I really wanna try to get a big group together to go down there one weekend.” Kris’ eagerness was contagious. “I spoke to the lady running the place, and if we can manage to assemble a group of 30 persons or more, we’ll get a very nice discount. But I’ll need some help in arranging all of this. Have you ever thought of doing skydiving? Maybe you wanna join me in arranging this?” Kris asked carefully before peering over at Liz to try and read her immediate reaction.

  “Wow that sounds amazing.” Liz grinned back at her. “I never really thought about doing skydiving, but since I’ve previously managed to survive bungee jumping I guess this should be okay too” she smirked and took another large sip of her water while tilting her head toward Kris.

  “You’ve done bungee jumping? When and where?” Kris asked with curious eyes. “I was on a physics tour during my bachelor’s degree in South Africa, and there they had the world’s highest commercial bungee jump. I never intended to actually jump; I just joined the group who were planning to jump, to watch. But when I saw how cool it was, and how many people jumped and came back up again and not only survived but seem
ed super happy about it, I made up my mind to also try. I was always very happy about that decision, and I know I would have regretted not trying. Just like I know now that I’ll regret it if I don’t join this skydiving opportunity as well.”

  Kris looked at her with a hint of awe in her eyes and Liz felt proud that she had apparently managed to positively surprise Kris. “You’ve travelled much, have you?” Kris stretched her leg in front of her while curiously awaiting Liz’ reply. “I’ve just been lucky to get a lot of opportunities through my studies. I’ve been to Japan, Argentina, South Africa and Russia, all through my studies. But yeah, I also love travelling, so I’ve been backpacking in Peru and Colombia, and I was on a holiday once to Thailand. Yet, there’s an even longer list of places I would love to go to but haven’t managed to find the time nor the money for yet.” Liz dropped her hands in her lap. “How about you, you’ve travelled much?” She hurriedly asked Kris a return question, afraid to lose the intimate mood and enjoying to get better acquainted with her. She could see Kris’ eyes dart away. She’s really not one for sharing anything personal Liz noted, while still being hopeful of learning something more about her. “I have to admit I’ve mostly been busy with my PhD research for the past eight years, spending every summer working internships at different labs and institutes. But I want to travel though, I’ve read books from every part of the world and I imagined what it would be like to get to see the actual places. My parents didn’t have a lot of money, so my brother and I grew up with mostly car holidays to the neighboring counties. That’s partly why I wanted to take a higher education, so that I could get a job where money wouldn’t be an issue and I could experience all the things my parents never managed to show us.”

  Liz had to hide her surprise at the level of openness Kris displayed, amazed that she had shared as much as she had. “Where’s your brother now then?”

  “He’s a lawyer in Toronto, where we grew up. He’s happy to be close to our mother, and found a good life there. But it just isn’t what I pictured for myself.” Liz noted a hint of sadness in Kris’ tone of voice. “It’s getting late. Shall we get back on the road so we can meet up with the rest at the pier?” Kris stood abruptly and started walking back toward the bike. Liz understood that their moment had passed, but she smiled at herself for the little added knowledge she had gained. Kris was an interesting girl, that was for sure. And all she wanted was to peel through the layers and read all the pages she were offered.

  They rode further up toward the big city, the sun turning into its afternoon colors as it crept down the sky toward the horizon. The orange scenery rushed past them while they continued to speed toward the evening’s celebrations. The traffic signs got more frequent as the number of lanes in the road increased. Traffic was thickening and Liz felt a surge of excitement when she noted their sure approach toward San Francisco. The bike continued to wiggle its way between the big cars and trucks slowly entering the city inner circle. Liz observed that several of the other drivers cast them glances while they drove past, and attributed their attention to the gorgeous Kris steering them forward. She’s really a knockout on this bike, fitting perfectly and tightly across it, her black leather jacket and black helmet furthering the impression of her biker chick attitude. Liz felt proud to be the lucky one sitting on the back of her bike, and still could not believe she had been asked to join Kris on this ride.

  As they approached the pier Liz happily surveyed the surrounding streets, filled with party people in anticipation of the great night. Streamers had been put down from the buildings, stands were set up at each corner with 4th of July items sold at steep prices, and people were walking down the sidewalks wearing big red, white and blue hats while waving the US flag and laughing to each other. Liz saw the sign toward Pier 39, which was the meeting point Nathan had told everyone would be the best place to get a good view of the fireworks. They were lucky Nathan was part of the class and could give them such advice for tonight, always good to have a local in the mix. Liz patted Kris’ arm to indicate she saw a free spot for parking the bike, and Kris turned in the direction of Liz’ pointed finger. They both stepped off the bike and took off their helmets. “Ouch, I probably have serious helmet hair right now” Liz sighed before she ran her hands desperately through her hair. “No, you look cute.” Liz observed a quick regret flash across Kris’ expression. “I mean your hair looks good” Kris bit her tongue and abruptly turned away to lock the bike. Liz looked confused after her. What was that about? She’s holding back somehow, but why? Liz pondered and stared ahead, before she slowly let her gaze return toward Kris and noticed she was still bent down to lock the bike into the metal bar at the parking spot. Liz let her eyes linger to admire her from behind. Her gaze was still fixated on Kris when Kris turned back around and caught her, raising her right eyebrow slightly in curiosity. Liz quickly averted her gaze before she coughed, “Shall we try to find the others?”

  Chapter 8

  Kris walked with Liz toward the group standing at the dockside café, eating what looked like crab cakes with beers. She was happy to avoid being alone with Liz any further, it’s not wise. “Is that the Finnish girl I see standing with the Israeli guy over there, Jeff was it?” Kris asked Liz as they walked toward them. “I think that’s the Finnish girl named Tinka yes. I think I saw him eye her out a couple of times, so it looks like he finally succeeded by the grin on his face. She doesn’t look too unhappy about it either” Liz laughed.

  “Hey guys, how was the ride up here?” Erik asked them while he took a sip of his beer. “This isn’t quite like our German beers back home, but not too shabby though” he joked while he towered over them, a head taller than the rest of the group. “The ride was fantastic!” Liz exclaimed enthusiastically, “I had forgotten how amazing it is to sit on the back of a motorcycle on the highway. I’ve only tried it a couple of times with my best friend back in the Netherlands. But the speed and the feeling of air whooshing past you is just like a great high, I imagine” she winked at them. “How are things here, the food any good?” she asked while she looked over at the café booth where you could buy take out clam chowder. “Yeah, I recommend the crab cakes with the home-brewed beer to go with it” Bryan stated whilst lifting his beer to cheer them. “Grab your food and join us over here at the pier, we’re just chillin’ for a few, waiting for the boat show Nathan told us about. It’s supposed to be a precursor to the later fireworks show, we shouldn’t miss it he says”. Brian drank a long sip of his beer.

  “Yup, you should definitively come over here afterward, the boats are pretty cool” Nathan shouted out while waving them over.

  Kris walked over to the booth and ordered herself a pale ale. Just as she took her first sip while she waited for her crab cake to be made, she noticed someone familiar in her peripheral. Shit, isn’t that the girl from the other night? Please don’t let her see me. Kris tried to angle her body away from clear sight. Damn, too late, she’s coming over here. Kris fidgeted with her beer and avoided eye contact, but Julia had already spotted her and was walking quickly over to her. “Hey sexy! Fancy seeing you here, how have you been?” she bounced over to her and grabbed one hand behind her neck to snuggle close up to Kris and steal a thorough kiss.

  Kris finally managed to release herself from Julia’s grip and had her eyes quickly scan the surroundings, ultimately locking in on Liz.

  Liz looked completely heartbroken, and Kris felt a painful tug at her own heart when she saw the hurt look in Liz’ eyes. Julia was insistent and snuggled tightly into Kris’ body while she grinned at her side. She used her free hand to fix a loose strand of Kris’ hair behind her ear, an intimate move reserved for someone special. Kris felt annoyed, but didn’t know how to politely get rid of her. She looked over at Liz again, feeling remorseful that she was not able to explain anything to her. She tried to cast a look that said there was more to the story than the obvious, but Liz didn’t catch her glancing at her. Instead, Liz had turned away and Hunter was approaching her. Da
mn, can’t that girl just stay away from her? Kris was angry with herself for caring, but couldn’t help it.

  “Hey… I heard you guys were riding in to the city. How was it?” Hunter asked with a low voice while she carefully approached Liz, a nervous look in her eyes. “It was okay”. Liz seemed annoyed and not really interested in talking. But Hunter wasn’t ready to give up quite yet. “We took the train up here after class. Since arriving we’ve just been sightseeing around town before ending up here.” Hunter touched Liz’ arm as she spoke, a gentle gesture searching for friendship and answers, answers Liz was not ready to give her yet. Liz withdrew her arm and said “We should join the others, I just gotta order my food first. I’m starved, it’s tiring to be passenger on a motorcycle” she spoke abruptly. “But it’s good to see you again Hunter” she looked back into Hunter’s eyes with an apologetic look, as if trying to explain everything in a single glance. Liz could see the confusion on Hunter’s face and understood that Hunter did not have the whole story yet, but neither did Liz. Liz just knew that her feelings were elsewhere, and Hunter had to respect that.