Body, Ink, and Soul (27 page)

I hesitated for a second, but knelt down and opened the cardboard box. Inside, there was a helmet the same shade of red as his bike, along with a fitted black leather jacket. I stared up at him, the jacket and helmet clutched in my hands. When did he plan all of this? He had already thought of everything.

"You are..." I was nearly speechless. "You are amazing. I'm so keeping you forever."

Levi casually shrugged into his own jacket. "You missed something. The most important thing actually."
What? Where?

"It fits perfectly."

"That's not what I’m talking about, Rock Star. Are you sure the box is empty?"

"Well, it was. I thought it was." I peered back inside the carton and there it was, a small square, red velvet box, nestled in the corner. I clutched the box in my fingers, staring up at him wordlessly.

"Don't freak out, I'm not asking you to marry me," he announced casually. The expression on his face suggested marriage wasn't going to be an option and I swallowed down a pang of disappointment.

I opened the box and found a white gold chain with a star pendant, nestled against the velvet. I took it out carefully and turned it over. ‘
Love you, Rock Star’
, was engraved on the back of the star.

"You did all this for me? Even after everything I’ve done? Running away, ignoring your calls..."

"I did this, because you running away made me understand I can't live without you. I have a piece of you, always with me and now you have this, so you can keep a piece of me with you."

"And your ink, too." I kissed him. "You’re perfect, Levi."

He shook his head. "I’m far from perfect, Nix, but when I'm with you I want to be the best of me."

I was in awe of Levi, his strength, his love, his kindness. I knew he wasn't perfect to everyone, but to me, he was the perfect man. I pressed a kiss against his lips and he wrapped his arms around me, deepening the kiss as he aligned me against his body.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from him. "Angel, it's time to go. I have to pick up my things from Valerie’s and then we can start our trip, okay?"

"Alright, let’s go," he smiled warmly.

I zipped up the jacket and Levi carefully adjusted my new helmet, making sure it was secure. The size of Levi’s Harley was making me a little nervous, I’d never been on a motorbike before and this bike was huge. Levi started it up and with a throaty rumble, we were out of the parking garage and through the city in no time. A glance across his shoulder confirmed he wasn't speeding, but the air rushing past my face made me think we were flying. My arms were wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly. Without the security of holding him, I feared I would fall off the powerful bike. There was something scary about motorcycles and Mom’s warnings echoed in my head, despite my best intentions to ignore them. I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the fact that there was nothing protecting us from certain death, apart from a helmet. Suddenly, this road trip didn't seem nearly as fun and relaxing anymore.

Levi noticed how tense I was when he helped pack my things at Val’s, but I remained silent, not willing to tell him I wasn’t enjoying his beloved motorcycle. I was sad to leave Val and I figured he would think that was what was wrong with me. Val was all teary eyed when it came time to say goodbye, and so was I. We hugged for ages, before taking off, and we promised to visit each other as often as possible. I was going to miss her dreadfully, we’d had such a good time, even though the circumstances of my visit were difficult.

The engine of the bike growled throatily as we left Val and John’s apartment. It wasn't even 10am yet and I knew we had a long ride ahead of us. I had my backpack strapped on my shoulders and my arms wrapped around my man’s slim waist. Tears were flowing quickly and drying just as fast, because of the wind buffeting us on the open road. Levi was humming some kind of song, while driving us out of the city. I shut my eyes in the hopes I could stop crying. When I opened them again, we were already on the highway and driving well above the speed limits, of that fact, I had no doubt. I shut my eyes again and clung to Levi for dear life.

It had been over four hours since we left Boston and we had yet to make a stop which involved buying something to drink or using a bathroom. We had stopped a couple of times for gas, but they were always short stops and being on a motorcycle didn’t allow the opportunity to eat any snacks. I was already tired and I didn’t have a hope of sleeping on the bike. We passed signposts for Utica, Liverpool and Syracuse, before Levi finally stopped for something to eat.

The first thing Lev did when I got off the bike, was to help me remove the helmet, then he held me in a tight hug for a long time, pressing kisses all over my face.

"I love you, Rock Star." His lips met mine and we kissed again. "Let’s get something to eat real quick, and then get back on the road. I want to be in Chicago by midnight."

What? Was he crazy?
I asked myself. I couldn't even feel my behind anymore and I still felt the vibrations of the bike, even if I wasn't sitting on it. I wanted to cry.

He held my hand and led the way through the restaurant to a quiet area. It was a cute diner with red tablecloths and white candles on each table. I could barely keep my eyes open, but my stomach had been growling with hunger for hours. I ordered lasagna with a Caesar salad and Levi selected a cheeseburger with extra bacon.

"You look tired, Rock Star," he pointed out.

"That's because I am tired, Levi. I'm exhausted and hungry."

He played with his fingers, obviously thinking about what to say. "I want to get to Chicago before we stop for the night. Will you be able to hang on that long?"

"What's the rush?" I asked him, irritated. We’d been riding for hours and I couldn't say I was enjoying myself in the slightest. If I’d used my plane ticket, I would have been home already and probably sitting comfortably in my pyjamas in front of the TV, chilling out.

"Chicago is a really cool place to be." He sipped his water. "I want to spend a few hours there with you."

I didn't have the energy to argue, but if there was a God, he surely knew how frustrated I was at the idea of sitting on that infernal machine again today. I didn't hate the Harley, but an hour-long ride would be more than sufficient.

The food arrived and there wasn't a single word exchanged while we ate. I peeked over at Levi and couldn’t believe he could possibly be so excited about this whole ordeal. He could barely sit in place while he ate. Was I PMS’ing, or what? Why didn't I enjoy it as much as he did? I rolled my eyes at myself. It was obviously a guy thing, he loved motorbikes. I most definitely didn’t.

I ordered a brownie with ice cream and hot chocolate sauce, in hopes of improving my mood. Levi stole a few bites, but I ate the majority of it. He ordered a black coffee, preparing himself for the remainder of our ride.

"How much longer are we going to ride today?" I tried to keep my voice neutral, and not sound like I was attacking him.

"It's about ten hours. Maybe a little less."

Tears filled my eyes, and I swear, my breathing stopped for a couple of seconds. I didn't want to sound like a spoiled brat or act like a princess but Jesus Christ, ten more hours? Was he completely insane? "Okay," was all I managed to say. There was only one place I wanted to be right now and it was Seattle.

"We’ll be driving close to Lake Erie and Cleveland, too. We can stop there, if you’d like to take a look?"

"Yeah, maybe." I kept my gaze lowered to my empty plate, finishing the glass of diet coke and wiping my mouth with napkins. "I just want to get to bed, tonight, as soon as possible."

"We have a long way to go, before we get to Chicago," Levi said cheerfully.

He paid the bill and we left the diner. Outside, Levi helped me with the helmet, the kissed me languorously until my knees went weak and we got back on Beauty. The engine rumbled and we were soon on the highway again.

One thing was sure, Harley Davidson’s got a lot of attention on the highway. Everyone stared at us as we passed. Some idiots even tried to race us, but Levi never accepted their challenges. Maybe he would have, if I wasn't sitting behind him. He drove safely, at least.

For a long period of time, I rested my head against his back with my eyes closed. I had to get some kind of rest and it seemed to make me feel a little better. We stopped for gas again and I stretched my legs and walked around for a bit while Levi filled the tank.

Much later, we arrived in Cleveland and Levi stopped by the lake so I could take pictures. It seemed to be a nice city, but five minutes didn't really give me enough time to visit and appreciate the city. I sent pictures of the lake and Lev to Bekka, telling her I was getting closer.

She replied seconds later.
Can't wait to see you xxx

Nix: I know... I can't wait to be home. This is taking forever!

Bekka: Where are you?

Nix: Cleveland, TTYL. xxx

A few text messages with my friend later and I was a much happier girl. I missed her and couldn't wait to share my past few days with her. I missed working, too.

Levi placed his hand over mine while he rode and he started humming an Elvis song, ‘Burning love’. It was a great song. I kissed him once in a while on his shoulder blade and he always made sure to respond with a little knee squeeze or he would tell me he loved me. It was as much interaction as we could get.

Hour after hour, the sun was slowly releasing it's place to the moon and it grew darker and colder. My arms encircling his waist clung to him with more strength. The darkness was making me even more nervous, and I battled flashes of images in my head suggesting any number of accidents which could occur. I didn't know why I was reacting like this. It wasn't like me to be so anxious and I trusted Levi, I had no reason to be freaking out.

I closed my tired eyes again and listened to his humming, trying to find a way to relax and rest. We eventually had to stop for fuel again and he noticed my mood had darkened.

"What's wrong, Nix?"

"I’m tired and nervous. I like riding with you, really I do. I mean, I love the Harley, but it's making me nervous and with the night setting in, it's gotten even worse. I keep imagining us getting hit by a truck or something." I clasped my fingers together, trying to stop them trembling.

"Hey hey hey..." he murmured. He lifted my chin up so we were eye to eye. "You have no reason to be nervous, Nix. I'm being really careful and I would never let anything happen to you. We’re getting closer to Chicago, are you still up for the rest of the trip? Or do you want to see if I can find some place to stay here?"

I glanced around and realized we were in the middle of nowhere. He really wanted to make our first official stop in Chicago, so I decided I wouldn't ruin it for him. "No, it's fine. We’ll get a hotel in Chicago." His smile was my reward.

"I love you, my beautiful Rock Star."

And my heart immediately melted with the sweetness of his words. I would never get tired of hearing him saying he loved me.

Once again, we were back on the bike. I rested my cheek against his back and slid my hands under his shirt. His cologne was imprinted into his shirt, and it made me daydream about our night together in Boston, and the first morning I discovered him in the apartment kitchen. It wasn't that long ago, but so much had happened in between, it felt like ages ago.

I couldn't believe it was possible to sleep on the Harley, but I did doze before we finally arrived in Chicago at 1:15 am. Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe how tired I was. I could hardly stand, barely walk. Levi parked the Harley in front of a bar, and I noticed there were a lot of people inside for a week night. I was searching around for the hotel, but I couldn't see it.

"Where’s our hotel, Levi?"

"It's just around the corner. It's called the MileNorth. Don’t worry, Nix, I booked ahead - they have our room key and it's already paid for."

"Why did you park here, then?"

"I just want to grab a beer, chill a bit before we crash for the night."

I couldn’t believe it. "Are you fucking kidding me? We’ve been riding for fourteen hours. Aren't you tired?"

"I am tired, Star... but I would very much like to relax a bit before bed."

He knew I wanted to collapse, why the hell was he doing this? "Can’t you meet me at the hotel when you’re done? I’m so tired!"

"No, stay with me, I want to be with you," he insisted. He pressed a kiss against my lips, but I refused to kiss him back, because I was so angry. I saw a shadow pass over his features and I think I hurt his feelings, but at that minute, I didn’t particularly care.

I
had never refused him a kiss before, and the pained look in his eyes nearly tore me in half. I’d hurt him and now I was hurting. He walked into the bar and headed towards a free seat by the bar.

"Double JD and a Heineken." I heard him order without looking at me, not checking if I’d followed him or not. It seemed like he suddenly didn’t care and I struggled to hold back tears.

I was literally pushed to one side by a tall brunette, wearing a yellow tube top with a way-too-short skirt. She also had a full sleeve tattoo emblazoned across her right arm. She smiled wolfishly at Levi and offered him a husky "Hey". I immediately wanted to push her through the nearest window.

"Nice tattoos, who did ‘em?" she asked.

"Some are my own work, some are done by a friend," he answered dryly. I thought he was annoyed, he didn’t look at her when she spoke.

"Are you a tattoo artist?" she asked, biting her lip and blatantly batting her eyelashes. She ran one carefully-manicured finger up and down Levi’s arm.

"Please don't do that," he said curtly. "Only my girl gets to touch them."

I wanted to hurt her so badly. I was boiling mad because she kept looking at him, pretending she hadn't heard him. "You’re disgusting," I shouted at her before I stomped out of the shitty bar.

I stalked out into the street and a bunch of idiotic drunks blocked my path trying to get my number. I shoved one out of the way and walked as fast as I could towards the hotel. The MileNorth, Levi had mentioned. My body was literally shaking with rage, an emotion I’d never dealt with before.