yeah.”
“Climb aboard then.” He handed me my own pair of gold-rimmed goggles and a leather aviator’s cap that I immediately adored.
“If you crash this thing, my head will crack like an egg, you know.” I jerked the soft cap on, regardless.
Irving laughed and positioned himself on the bike. “I won’t crash. I am an excellent driver.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I snapped the goggles into place. “Where’s your cap?” All he had on protection-wise were his own goggles.
“That is my cap. But I think it looks much better on you, though not as good as those pants you’re wearing.” He winked.
I tried not to grin like an idiot as I climbed onto the raptor and settled in behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and slid my hands beneath his leather suspenders. My fingers spread and glided over his hot, smooth skin. I didn’t even try to pretend like I wasn’t feeling him up. I was and I loved it.
I heard Irving chuckle over the soft roar of the engine as he pulled out his timepiece. “Great. Six minutes. Plenty of time.”
“Plenty of time for what?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned. “Hold on tight.”
We took off so fast, I almost flew off the bike. “Fuck, Irving! Slow down!” But he didn’t, and over the next sixty seconds, we only picked up speed. Soon, Boston was nothing but a blur as we sped through it, stopping for nothing. Not stop lights, stop signs or even other vehicles. Traffic was super light this early in the morning, but the little bit we did encounter did not stop Irving. Popping a wheelie, Irving directed his raptor up and over the cars stopped at a red light. We didn’t damage a single one. The raptor hit the ground after we’d cleared the last automobile and the wheels spun as Irving gunned it. I was sure if he had actually remembered to bring me breakfast, I would have barfed it up all over him by now.
“What the hell is this thing?” I shouted in his ear as we leaned into a turn that took us down a dead end street.
“The kind of thing that can do anything!” was his reply. The next thing I knew, we were being sucked through some kind of time warp that shot us through to the other side with a pop. The action caused my stomach to lurch and eyes clench shut. I held on to Irving for dear life and buried my face in the collar of his duster.
It was a smoother transition than I expected though, and we made it to the other side safely. I lifted my head to see where we had ended up and was surprised to find Irving weaving his raptor down a solid gold path through a forest that was so thick, plush and beautiful it took my breath away.
I wanted to ask where we were, but I couldn’t speak. Steel birds flew overhead and from tree-to-tree like any real birds would. They chirped and tweeted at us as we passed, like a greeting, and I couldn’t help but smile. Other steel critters scurried back beneath the brush at our approach, their glowing eyes peeking out at us as their excited chatter filled my ears. I couldn’t believe we were surrounded by a forest filled with mechanical creatures. And they were magnificent, every one of them, and my first thought was that Irving must have invented them.
The forest eventually ended and opened into a roundabout. Perched upon the island of perfectly manicured grass in the center of the roundabout was a massive golden statue of an airship, complete with a golden crew and actual cloth sails that billowed in the gentle breeze. It was fantastic, but it wasn’t the most spectacular structure in the vicinity. That belonged to the gold, planet-sized sphere glittering in the background.
We circled the grass island and pulled up to the marble staircase that led up to the entrance of the sphere, which I could now see had multiple shimmering structures, spheres and turrets extending up into the mountain it sat on. The sphere didn’t appear to have any windows, but it did have a dazzling fixture atop it that sparkled in the sunlight.
“Climb aboard then.” He handed me my own pair of gold-rimmed goggles and a leather aviator’s cap that I immediately adored.
“If you crash this thing, my head will crack like an egg, you know.” I jerked the soft cap on, regardless.
Irving laughed and positioned himself on the bike. “I won’t crash. I am an excellent driver.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I snapped the goggles into place. “Where’s your cap?” All he had on protection-wise were his own goggles.
“That is my cap. But I think it looks much better on you, though not as good as those pants you’re wearing.” He winked.
I tried not to grin like an idiot as I climbed onto the raptor and settled in behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and slid my hands beneath his leather suspenders. My fingers spread and glided over his hot, smooth skin. I didn’t even try to pretend like I wasn’t feeling him up. I was and I loved it.
I heard Irving chuckle over the soft roar of the engine as he pulled out his timepiece. “Great. Six minutes. Plenty of time.”
“Plenty of time for what?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned. “Hold on tight.”
We took off so fast, I almost flew off the bike. “Fuck, Irving! Slow down!” But he didn’t, and over the next sixty seconds, we only picked up speed. Soon, Boston was nothing but a blur as we sped through it, stopping for nothing. Not stop lights, stop signs or even other vehicles. Traffic was super light this early in the morning, but the little bit we did encounter did not stop Irving. Popping a wheelie, Irving directed his raptor up and over the cars stopped at a red light. We didn’t damage a single one. The raptor hit the ground after we’d cleared the last automobile and the wheels spun as Irving gunned it. I was sure if he had actually remembered to bring me breakfast, I would have barfed it up all over him by now.
“What the hell is this thing?” I shouted in his ear as we leaned into a turn that took us down a dead end street.
“The kind of thing that can do anything!” was his reply. The next thing I knew, we were being sucked through some kind of time warp that shot us through to the other side with a pop. The action caused my stomach to lurch and eyes clench shut. I held on to Irving for dear life and buried my face in the collar of his duster.
It was a smoother transition than I expected though, and we made it to the other side safely. I lifted my head to see where we had ended up and was surprised to find Irving weaving his raptor down a solid gold path through a forest that was so thick, plush and beautiful it took my breath away.
I wanted to ask where we were, but I couldn’t speak. Steel birds flew overhead and from tree-to-tree like any real birds would. They chirped and tweeted at us as we passed, like a greeting, and I couldn’t help but smile. Other steel critters scurried back beneath the brush at our approach, their glowing eyes peeking out at us as their excited chatter filled my ears. I couldn’t believe we were surrounded by a forest filled with mechanical creatures. And they were magnificent, every one of them, and my first thought was that Irving must have invented them.
The forest eventually ended and opened into a roundabout. Perched upon the island of perfectly manicured grass in the center of the roundabout was a massive golden statue of an airship, complete with a golden crew and actual cloth sails that billowed in the gentle breeze. It was fantastic, but it wasn’t the most spectacular structure in the vicinity. That belonged to the gold, planet-sized sphere glittering in the background.
We circled the grass island and pulled up to the marble staircase that led up to the entrance of the sphere, which I could now see had multiple shimmering structures, spheres and turrets extending up into the mountain it sat on. The sphere didn’t appear to have any windows, but it did have a dazzling fixture atop it that sparkled in the sunlight.
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