Page 68 of Ashes of Us
“Fair. Put this one on and we'll see about the fit.” She pulled it on over her head, and he tightened the chin strap for her, then put his hands on the sides and shook it gently.
Danica automatically reached up and gripped his wrists as the helmet moved around easily, not sure what he was doing and not really liking it.
“Relax.” He murmured. “I'm trying to find out if it's too loose.” He let the helmet go and undid the chin strap, leaving her to take it off and picked up another one.
“Here, this one is smaller.” He passed it to her, and she pulled it on, letting him do his shake test. It barely moved, and he flipped up the visor, peering down at her. “How does that feel?”
“A little snug.” She told him, her voice slightly muffled by the bottom of the helmet. “But it's okay.”
“Good. They're supposed to be a little snug.” He nodded and let her take it off, showed her how to attach the headset to it, and then he looked her over and shook his head with a deep sigh. “You need to put on clothes and shoes with more coverage to ride with me.”
Danica glanced down at herself in confusion. She was wearing a pair of khaki capris, a short-sleeved graphic t-shirt that had a picture of Muppets with the saying 'I Don't Always Muhamanah, But When I Do Doo Doot Doo Do Doo.' on it, and her sandals. “What's wrong with what I'm wearing?”
“The shirt is funny, but you'll end up cold after about forty-five minutes,” He gestured at himself, pointing out that he was in heavy jeans and a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt.
“But more importantly, you need some protection in case we go down because road rash isn't fun.
I'd rather you wear leather, but since it's too late to go shopping, jeans and a thicker jacket will do.”
“You're not wearing leather.” She pointed out. She had a pair of jeans in her bag but only had one of Jasper's old hoodies she'd poached when they were first married, and a heavy cardigan to wear as jackets.
“Because I didn't need to overheat while we packed up the car,” He took the helmet and brought it over to his motorcycle.
Danica didn't know a lot about motorcycles.
She could only tell it was a BMW GTL because that's what was on the gas tank, but had to admit it was very nice looking, all black with sleek lines, but not one of those race bikes she swore at around the city for driving like they were the only people on the road.
“My jacket and chaps are here.” He pointed at them, thrown casually over the seat as he placed her helmet on the passenger seat.
“Yeah, sorry. You can't ride like that.” Xavier joined them, shaking his head as he looked her over. “Too dangerous.”
“I have jeans, but we'll have to go back to the condo for a jacket, because I only packed a hoodie and sweater.” She shrugged, feeling like she saw people ride their motorcycles in much less clothing than she currently had on all the time. “But I can just ride with Emilia, it's no big deal.”
“And what? Just stay at the campsite by yourself while the rest of us go on our ride on Sunday?” Xavier rolled his eyes and turned to Emilia, who joined them, looking confused about their issue with Danica's clothes. “Babe, can you go grab one of your leather jackets for Danica?”
“Oh!” Her face brightened as she understood.
“Yeah, no problem. Grab your bag, and you can change into some jeans while I look for one that fits you.” Danica sighed, walked back to the Buick, pulling her bag out of the trunk before following Emilia into the house and back to her and Xavier's bedroom.
She found a pair of jeans and changed out of her capris as Emilia dug through her closet for her.
They were about the same height, with Emilia being slightly taller than Danica, 5'7 to her 5'6, but Emilia was naturally curvier than she was, something Danica lied and told herself she wasn't jealous of in her more shallow and insecure moments; so they weren't in the habit of sharing clothes.
Danica also still hadn't regained the weight she'd lost since Jasper's accident, so she figured nothing was going to be a perfect fit and she'd have to make do.
“This is ridiculous.” She muttered as she did up her belt. “Leather is going to be too hot.”
“No, it won't, trust me.” Emilia pulled a black leather jacket out of the closet and looked at the tag.
“Besides, it's my rule for Xavier to keep riding that he wears proper safety gear when he rides.” She turned and held up the jacket.
“I would have told you, but since Alex follows the safety gear rule on his own, I figured he would have said something to you.
Here, this one should fit you. I haven't worn it since I got pregnant with Benny.”
“He probably thought you said something to me.” Danica took the jacket and pulled it on, finding it a little loose, but a pretty good fit.
“Why do you still have this?” If she wore it before getting pregnant with Benny, that meant it had been sitting in her closet for almost ten years.
While Danica had clothes that were several years old, she typically wore things until they reached a certain point of faded/worn out, then, depending on what it was, it either joined her roster of clothes she used for pyjamas or to clean in until it was too far gone, and then it was tossed out.
“I was going to fit back into it for a long time, then it just got pushed to the back of the closet and forgotten about.” She smiled as Danica checked out her reflection, turning slightly to see the different angles and deciding she was going to have to invest in a leather jacket, not just because she was hoping for more motorcycle rides with Alex, but also because she liked the way it made her look.
“You know, I don't think I've ever seen you look at yourself in the mirror like that.
It's nice to see.” She turned and led the way out of the room.
“Feel free to keep that one, I've made my peace with never having my pre-baby body back, especially after having Delilah, god, that child nearly ripped me in two.”
Danica chuckled as she followed Emilia down the hall. Delilah had been nearly ten pounds when she was born and currently held the record for the largest baby to be born in the Preston family in recent memory. “She was such a little chunk. God, I miss those cheeks.”
“Right?” Emilia laughed as she stood back and let Danica leave the house first before shutting and locking the door behind them. “Dance slimmed her right out, which I'm happy about, because I remember how mean the kids were when I was her age, but those chubby cheeks were adorable.”