《The Ride to Love》The Family Trip

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"Good morning, sleepyhead," I say to Ryder, who refuses to wake up. Here lately he's been the first one awake, but it's already nine in the morning and he still refuses to leave his position in bed. He rolls over, ignoring my prodding and nagging.

"Please, wake up."

"No."

"I've already showered and everything. It's your turn."

"Leave me alone."

He's being such an asshole right now. I guess waking up extremely early for the flight yesterday really got to him. Plus, his family is a lot to handle, so maybe he's just exhausted from them. I know I am already.

Knowing shaking him and talking won't wake him up, there's only one thing left to do. Thankfully his bed is a twin size, so he's already on the edge. Using my right leg, I slowly bend it up as much as I can and shove it into his back, making him fall onto the carpeted floor. He groans, and I look over the edge to see him looking at me with daggers. He shoots up, and comes after me. I scramble to my feet and shriek in fear, then run to the kitchen and hide behind Kyle, who is preparing a bowl of cereal.

"What kind of kinky shit are you guys doing?" He asks, mind clearly in the gutter.

"He's trying to kill me!" I shriek again, hiding more.

"She literally kicked me off the bed!" Ryder replies, defending himself.

"You wouldn't wake up!" Now I'm defending myself as Kyle steps out of the way laughing.

"You two are perfect for each other," Kyle remarks as he sits down at the kitchen island with his cereal. I roll my eyes as Ryder grabs a bowl for me, then walks to through the hallway to shower. I pour some cereal and milk, then sit by Kyle.

"What's the plan for the day, sis?" Kyle asks me as he shoves a spoonful into his mouth.

"Don't really know, honestly. All I know is there's a Harley shop around here somewhere that I've never been to, and I need a t-shirt," I reply.

"You'll have to show me a good bike to start out on." I look to him, unsure if he's joking or not, but sure enough, he's got a serious look to his face. "I've always kind of been interested in them, but if you can't really tell, nobody in my family knows anything like that. I've needed my oil changed in my car for over a month now, but nobody knows how to even do that, and I've heard that's easy. If we can't change our own oil, imagine us owning a motorcycle."

"I'll teach you that, too." He looks at me in shock, then his face shifts to a grateful smile. "It's really not hard. I've been trying to show Ryder stuff like that, but he's clueless. It took him months to learn how to drive a standard."

"I can't even do that." He laughs to himself. "I can't believe you got my little brother to actually want to learn."

"Oh, he didn't want to," I laugh, remembering his first time in the driver's seat, "I sort of forced him."

"I guess you're just the push he needed, then," he replies, then rinses his bowl and places it in the dishwasher. He leaves to his bedroom, leaving me all alone, smiling at his last comment. I'm the push he needed.

By eleven, we're all piling into Rachel's Honda Odyssey. "We're going to look like dumbasses pulling up to a Harley shop in this damn thing," Ryder whispers to me, and I laugh. He's right, though. Rarely do you see a bunch of people pull up to a shop in a van, but this is our only option.

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"At least we're all going," I say back. It's such a beautiful day out, and I wish I could be riding. All of this talk about motorcycles makes me miss the open road more than ever.

"Mom, can't you just drop me off at the mall or something?" I hear Lorena ask with a groan. "Shelby and Katie are going to be there, so I won't be alone." I guess going to the mall with her friends sounds much better than going to a Harley shop with her family and brother's girlfriend. I guess I can't blame her, though. This doesn't really seem to be her scene.

"Absolutely not," Rachel sternly says while looking into the rearview mirror to meet her daughter's gaze. Lorena mutters a 'hmph' before sinking into her seat, typing angrily into her phone. I look over to see Jameson jumping in her seat, and Kyle up front talking to his mom.

Soon enough, we're pulling into Illinois Harley Davidson, which looks similar to other shops I've been to, with the wooden accents and beautiful bikes lined up in the parking lot. I can no longer hide my excitement as I rush out of the van behind of Jameson, squealing with joy.

I rush inside, leaving the group behind as I take in the store. The layout is similar to the shop in Daytona, but just a tad smaller. The clothing section has less options for women, but that's something I'm used to. Most shops don't accommodate for women as much since it is more of a male-dominated industry, which sucks a lot, but it's something I've come to terms with.

"This is it?" Lorena asks sassily as they all step inside. "They don't even have anything cute."

"Just wait, I'm sure you'll find something you like," Rachel adds in, happily. "Now go, have fun everyone." With that, we all scurry off to venture around. I immediately run off to the showroom, leaving Ryder with his brother.

My initial plan was to look for parts to start the restoration of the Nightster, but my attention quickly gets drawn to something else. I slowly walk up to it, my fingers grazing the price tag. This, right here, is what I want, what I need. This is the bike of my dreams, and Ryder can't tear me away from it this time.

"You like it?" I hear from behind me. I turn around to see a sales person walking up to me.

"Love it," I reply. "It's my dream bike."

"Road Glides sure are beautiful bikes," he says as he reaches me. "This one right here is a Special with-" I cut him off before he can finish.

"Milwaukee Eight engine, Billiard Blue paint, yada yada," I finish for him with a smile. "Trust me, I know all about it. I've had my eye on one for awhile now."

"What's kept you from it, then?" he asks, clearly trying to make a sale today.

"Well, I'm honestly not sure if I can even pick it up. I also just bought an Iron 1200 a couple of months ago, and didn't have the space in my garage to add a third bike."

"What else you got?" He asks with curiosity. That is one thing I love about the sales people at shops; they may try to get a sale, but they also love getting to know their customers.

"I had an '09 Nightster, but totaled it last month." I hadn't even realized while I was talking, but I said that with such ease, unlike other times I'd talked about the wreck. Maybe I am slowly starting to move on.

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"Sorry to hear that. Those are some nice Sportsters," he says with a sympathetic smile. "Why don't you hop on that Road Glide and see what you think?" I do as he asks, and the seat is so comfortable, hugging my hips. The mini ape-hanger handlebars feel perfect. "The previous owner put a new seat on, plus the bars, a new Vance and Hines exhaust, and some other chrome accessories. She's a beautiful bike, if I do say so myself."

"I'd have to agree," I say with a smile. "I'd be tempted to make a sale with you if I didn't live out of town."

"Well dang," he says with a jokingly defeated look. "If you want, since you're from out of town, we have another Road Glide available for rent. We can see what we can do you for before you leave the shop."

"I might take you up on that offer when we're done here," I say back with a smile. "But first, is it okay if I try to pick it up?"

"Be my guest," he says with a smile as he stands at the front of the bike to support it in case I need help. Planting my feet down on the ground, which I was surprised I could even do, I pick the bike off of its kickstand with ease. "Not as bad as you thought, huh?"

"Not bad at all," I reply with a smile and set the bike back down. "I'll come back to see you about that rental here after a bit." He nods, then sets off to another potential customer.

Wandering around the clothing section, I spot Lorena hastily looking through a rack. She sees me, then rolls her eyes. "I've only found one shirt I like so far, and mom won't buy it for me. She says it's over my price limit." She looks defeated, maybe even sad.

"Which one is it?" I ask coming up next to her. She holds up a tank top that says 'Shift Happens,' and I smile.

"Grab your size and hand it to me," I say with a smile. "I'll get it." Surprise lingers in her expression as she searches the rack, handing me a tank top in her size.

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbles, avoiding eye contact.

I just chuckle at her finally starting to not hate me as much. "Don't mention it." Leaving her to find a shirt for her mom to buy, I make my way around the store to find Ryder.

I find him with Kyle wandering the showroom, looking at some of the Sport model bikes. "You don't want those," I shout, and their eyes dart to me. "You want something a little manlier than those."

"You said you'd show me, so get to," Kyle laughs, motioning to the other bikes.

I make my way around, then my eyes land on a Breakout. Maybe a little too powerful for a beginner, I think to myself, so I venture to the Sportsters, and I see the one. Stopping in front of it, my eyes go wide with the same reaction I had with the Road Glide.

"I think she found one," I hear Kyle say behind me.

"That's not just any bike..." Ryder replies with recognition in his voice.

"It's a Nightster," I finish. "It's a 2009 Nightster 1200, just like my old one."

Kyle is now beside me, looking over the bike. "You're old one as in... the one you wrecked?" I simply nod, reaching my hand out to touch the familiar-looking headlight. He suddenly walks around me, going to the other side of the bike. He puts it hands on the bars, then slings his leg over the seat and sits down. "Comfy," he comments. "I think this is the bike for me."

"Good choice," the same salesman from earlier says. He nods to me, then turns his attention back to Kyle. "Would this be your first bike?"

"Yes sir," Kyle says, still on the bike.

"Well, we do offer a Motorcycle Safety Course, and one is starting up tomorrow morning. Would you be interested?" Kyle nods happily in reply.

"I would too, sir," Ryder adds in. "My girlfriend here has been trying to teach me, but I think she needs a break." The salesman and I laugh, then the three of them run off to a counter to sign up.

I walk back to the clothing, realizing I still hadn't found a shirt for myself. Browsing the racks, Jameson jumps out from one. I jump back in surprise, and she starts to giggle. "Gotcha!"

"You scared me," I giggle back after regaining my composure. "Find anything you like?"

"Yeah, mom and I found a few things," she says with a smile. "What about you?"

"Nothing, yet," I say with a sigh. "Want to help me find something?" Without a reply, she starts scouring through the clothes, throwing shirt after shirt at me. I follow her around the store, the pile in my arms growing higher and higher.

"What a shopping trip," Rachel says with a tired huff as we sit at a table at Olive Garden. We finally finished at the shop after two hours of everyone looking. Kyle almost signed the papers to buy the Nightster, but I talked him out of it until he at least learned how to ride and got his permit. He reluctantly agreed, and only walked out with a shirt and a new pair of boots.

"Agreed," I say back. "That was long, even for me." We all laugh, and Lorena even agreed with me.

Allen joins us for his lunch break, and we all eat together, breaking off into our own conversations. "Jameson has a soccer game tonight, then the family is going out to dinner after," Ryder says to me.

"We're going, right?" I ask. I may have been nervous before meeting everyone, but I've come to love them just like my own family, even Lorena.

"We're going to the game, if you want," he replies, and I nod with a smile. "After that, it's just going to be you and me in the house all alone." He winks, and I blush, knowing what he's hinting at.

----------

Two updates in one day! I'm getting back on the ball, and boy am I proud of myself. Writing has never come this naturally to me, but I guess it's because I've never wrote something I loved so much.

Hope you all are enjoying! Vote if you liked it, and comment telling me what you think!

Have a good day!

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