Zac watched Katie wistfully as she talked to Morgan and a few other girls that were along with them. He thought she looked really pretty that day, and he could tell he was going to have a hard time keeping his promise to himself not to push her.
She walked over to where Zac was standing with Taylor and a few other guys.
"Hey." She said.
"Hey. Here's a helmet." Zac said, handing her one.
"Thanks." She said. "Oh, and thank your for the bracelet. I didn't expect you to get me anything, or I would have gotten you something." Katie said.
Zac looked at her. Didn't Tay tell her? He had bought it before their breakup. She would have gotten him something?
"Oh, you're welcome. It's just a little something I saw..." He heard himself say.
Katie rolled up her sleeve to reveal the bracelet. "Well it's really pretty. It must have cost you a fortune." She said.
Zac just shrugged and gave her a small shrug. Why deny it?
"I really like it, although I wasn't really expecting anything since we..." She stopped before she said broke up; It had a bitter taste in her mouth. She smiled a little. "Well, I just didn't know you were getting me anything. This is really unexpected, and I really wan to say thanks."
Zac smiled. "No problem. You shouldn't have gotten me anything. That's okay." He said.
Katie smiled at him, but they were interrupted by Taylor walking over.
"You ready?" He asked as the group started to disburse and go to their bikes.
"Yeah." She said. "Ready as I'll ever be."
"Cool." Zac said. "You'll have a blast. I promise." He said.
"Okay." She said, smiling at him. She followed him over to where all the bikes were standing and people were starting to mount them.
Zac walked over to his bike and threw his leg over it and sat down on it. He carefully pulled back his hair and put on his sunglasses, then looked over at Katie.
"Let's go!" He said in a silly voice.
"Wow...I didn't know your bike was so....big." She said, walking over slowly.
"You scared?" Zac asked with a smile.
Katie laughed. "A little, yes."
"Nah, you'll be fine." He said.
"Okay." Katie said, sitting on the bike. She and Zac put their helmets on. He started his bike along with all of the others.
"You're gonna want to hold on." He said.
"Oh, yeah." Katie said, gripping the sides of his jacket.
"You guys ready?" Taylor shouted over the sound of all the engines.
"Yeah." Zac yelled.
"Cool. We'll go for about an hour, then we'll stop." he said.
"Alright." Zac shouted back.
Katie smiled at Morgan, who was clutching Taylor's waist. "Hold on!" She hollered at Katie over the sounds of the engines.
"I will!" Katie yelled back.
The group started to move, and Zac started revving up the engine. Suddenly Katie felt them go from a standstill to about thirty miles an hour.
"Aaaaaah!" She screamed, and quickly wrapped her arms around Zac's waist and held on tight, just as Morgan had. Zac grinned to himself as Katie clutched him. Maybe today's outing would be more progressive that he thought...
They traveled in a group over the frozen corn field, then into some woods, where there were small hills and ditches to cover.
"Oh my god, Zac, no." Katie yelled over the engine as they approached a hill.
"Alright, alright." He said, going around it. The group left the woods and found themselves on a dirt road that ran between a few cornfields.
"This is so cool." Katie said.
"Told you it was fun!" Zac yelled.
"Yup." Katie yelled back, tightening her grasp.
After a few hours, the sun started to set in the hazy sky, and the temparature dropped nearly fifteen degress. They group made it's way back to the site they had started out from, and a few people built a fire.
"Isn't this fun?" Nicole asked, running over to Katie.
Katie grinned. "Yeah." She said. "I was so scared a first." She said, glancing over to where Zac was parking his bike.
"I know! And I have mud all over my jeans, but Adam says it looks cute." Nicole said with a giggle.
Katie rolled her eyes. "Well if Adam says it's cute, then it must be okay." She joked.
Nicole heaved an exasperated sigh. "Katie, he's hot. And if he says it's cute, then i'm going for it." SHe said.
"I see." Katie said, as Zac walked over with two glasses of hot coco. He handed one to each of the girls.
"Thanks." Katie said. Zac just nodded and hoped they would continue with their conversation. To his delight, they did.
"So do you think I should go for him?" She asked Katie and Zac.
"Um, yeah." Katie said, glancing over at Adam, who was standing over to the side, chatting with a few other guys. He caught Nicole's eye and waved with a grin.
"Zac?" Nicole asked, smiling back.
"He's gaga. Go for it." He said.
Nicole let out a squeal. "Oh, I hope he kisses me."
Katie laughed. "Kisses you? Why would he do that?"
Nicole laughed. "Well I dunno...it's just what people do when they like each other...you know." She said, looking at her.
"Oh..well, you've known him what, two days?"
"What's your point?" Nicole asked with a laugh.
"Nothing, but you're moving awful fast."
Zac just tried to be as invisible as possible. This conversation was getting very very interesting.
"No, that's just because you're a wuss. I think I can get him to do it."
"You move fast."
"I do?"
Katie shrugged, stirring her coco. "You're not even going out."
"So?" Nicole shrugged.
"Well, I didn't kiss Zac until we were going out." Katie said. She then remembered that Zac was standing right beside her. She looked down into the brown drink, wanting to remain unnoticed.
"Yeah, but that was weird anyhow." Nicole said. Zac laughed.
"Well, I hope he does." Katie said. The girls both looked at Zac, as if to question why he was still there.
"Do you guys want to go over and sit near the fire?" He asked, feeling very out of place.
The girls shrugged. "Sure." Nicole said. They walked over and sat down in a few folding chairs, and as Zac sat, he thought about what they had been talking about. Was he just slow, or was Nicole a horny mess. He watched Katie from across the fire, and he watched as she laughed at something Nicole said. Her whole face lit up and she laughed her infectuous laugh.
Katie looked over at him and grinned. He smiled back, just over the fire. Katie looked back at Nicole. If she looks back at me within four seconds, she likes me..., Zac thought to himself. As if on cue, Katie looked at him, still smiling and laughing. Zac smiled to himself, then looked down at the fire.
"So you had a good time?" Zac asked as they pulled into the Hanson driveway that night around ten.
"I had an awesome time." Katie assured him. Her hair was wild from the wind, her cheeks were red, and she had mud and dirt splattered all up her legs, but she was glowing.
They jumped out of the jeep, and everyone got out and started to unpack their things. Katie jumped out and looked around for her sister.
"Just a sec, I gotta talk to Tay a minute." Morgan said.
"Okay." Katie said, leaning back against the Jeep. Zac stood in a few feet in front of her awkwardly.
"Well, I had a really good time."
"Cool." Zac said, gratefull that she had said something before he started to look like an idiot.
"Gosh, I feel like a mess. First thing I do when I get home is hit the showers." Katie said with a laugh.
"Yeah, and you weren't even in the front." Zac said with a laugh, gesturing to his mudd splattered jacket.
Katie laughed. "Yeah, you've got a spot of mud...." She trailed off, reaching over to brush a glob of mud off his cheek.
"Oh...thanks." He said, wiping it away. He looked down at her, and she caught him gazing at her as she finished wiping his cheek. They looked at each other for a moment, then Katie pulled away quickly.
"Well, I...um...I have to go." She said quickly, looking at the ground. "Morgan's probobaly waiting."
"Oh...okay." Zac said. "I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah." Katie said, nodding. "Thanks for taking me." She gave him an awkward wave, then walked over to where a group of people was to find Morgan.
"No problem." Zac said, nodding to her. As soon as she was out of earshot, he shook his head and grinned. "No problem at all."