Free Everything Changes by Shey Stahl Page B

fabricated jumps, and logs.   Everything you could imagine jumping, either
on or off, was strategically placed around the five acre plot.
    Justin and Parker messed around for a few minutes
checking out the course they had laid out behind the condo when Parker blipped
the throttle into a wheelie and then grabbed the front brakes into a front
wheel endo . He held onto the bars, his waist pushed
up against the gas tank.
    After a few minutes of them messing around,
Parker blasted down the first straightaway followed closely by Justin. Guiding
the bike in and out of the tight hairpin turns, he shot for a sixty-foot triple
with just a flick of his wrist. He was sent some thirty feet into the air, and
the high pitch scream of the 250 two-stroke engine echoed through the canyons.
    Parker looked relaxed up there. He was apparently
so relaxed, he took his right foot off the foot peg and swung it over the bike
behind him as though he was going to dismount the bike midair. Justin followed
the same move, only he went a step further by letting go with one hand before
pulling the bike back to him.
    Negotiating a two hundred pound motorcycle with a
hair-trigger temper through the air like that required upper body strength, a
gymnast’s balance, and the precision of a brain surgeon. And these boys did it
at full speed through trees and boulders that could kill you. One mistake and
you would actually need a surgeon to put your body back together.
    That was exactly why I stayed on the ground. The
first time I did a wheelie it was by accident when my hand slipped on the
throttle, and I nearly pissed myself. Then I grinned like a son of a bitch
because I stayed on the bike through it all.
    Justin was the first to come over to us. Revving
the bike a few times, he pushed the kickstand out with his left foot before
shutting it off.
    Addy grinned. “That was so cool looking, babe.”
    “Thanks, baby.” He kissed her forehead, yanking
her into a hug.
    Babe? Baby? They have pet names now?
    “You guys up for a ride today?” Justin wagged his
eyebrows. Addy giggled this high pitched squeal that
made me question her sanity and wonder if she had been raised by baby pigs.
    “Sure,” she chirped, bouncing on her toes. “I’m
so excited!”
    I paid little attention to them when I saw Parker
soaring through the air again. This time he’d flipped the bike and hung onto
the rear fender, arching his back before pulling the bike back towards his body
midair and landing perfectly.
    Justin glanced over his shoulder, grunting before
regarding me with a curious grin. “He’s such a showoff,” he mumbled and then
nudged my shoulder with his helmet. “Are you behind this handy work?”
    Handy work?
    If only he knew.
    “What?” was my squeaky pig reply. Addy and I were apparently raised by the same pig family.
    Justin climbed off his bike, hooking his helmet
on his handlebars. “My brother hasn’t done tricks on his bike in two years.”
His smile grew as he pushed his dark mess of hair from his face. “Now, here he
is doing stunts that most people take years to learn, and he picks it back up
like he’s been doing them all along.”
    “I…don’t know…” I sputtered like a baby in bath
water. Amused, Justin nudged my shoulder again. “Hey, I get it…you’re good for
him.” He turned to Addy who was still smiling. “Go
get ready. We’re going to take you guys out on Chicken Corners trail.”
    Great .
    I wasn’t enthused and dragged my feet back inside
the condo to change. By the time I reached the garage, I still didn’t have much
motivation. I was nervous to ride with them.
    While putting on my boots, I eyed my Honda CR125
cautiously. It was my first ride with Parker, and I was freaking out. What if I
crashed? What if I stalled it just trying to start?
    Please don’t freak out and forget how to ride.
    The pep talk with myself was interrupted by
Parker smiling at me as he shuffled inside the garage, his goggles around his
neck and a