Free Jackal by Jeff Stone

window.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.
    “No joke,” I said, taking off my helmet and sunglasses.“You’re my ride. You want me to put my bike on the rack? Or should you do it?”
    The driver frowned. “Just a minute. I was told that I was driving a kid to go mountain biking, but I figured there would be, you know, a parent or adult along for the ride.”
    “Nope, just me.”
    “I’m not sure this is cool. I need to check into it.” He picked up a cell phone.
    “My dad booked the limo for me,” I said hurriedly. “He’s a lawyer. You want to check with him?”
    “A lawyer?” the driver said, putting the phone back down. “Well, if he doesn’t have a problem with it, we’re good. I’ll get your bike, kid. You get in the back.” He opened his door and got out.
    I did my best to contain my relief, glad that he didn’t call my bluff. I got off of my bike and handed it over, then climbed into the rear of the limo, removing my hydration backpack. I closed the door and glanced around. This was easily the coolest vehicle I’d ever been in. You could only enter the gigantic rear passenger section from one side of the limo because the other side was a massive leather seat that wrapped almost all the way around the perimeter. You could probably fit ten adults back here. There was a small bar stocked with bottled water and soda. There were also two televisions and at least a dozen surround-sound speakers. LED rope lights ringed the ceiling, the lights pulsing to the beat of dance music.
    I took off my riding gloves and found the stereo controls. I had begun to flip through the satellite radio stationswhen the large glass window separating the passenger area from the driver slid down.
    “Ready to roll,” the driver said. “Your name’s Jake, right? At least, that’s what they told me.”
    “Yes,” I replied.
    “Nice to meet you, Jake. I’m Michael. You okay back there?”
    “I’m great. This is pretty sweet.”
    “It is. The water and soda are yours for the taking. If you need anything else, just bang on the glass.”
    “Okay.”
    Michael glanced at a GPS unit set into the dashboard. “I’ve got us going to Brown County State Park for a couple hours.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “There’s a mountain bike trail called Pine Loop.”
    “Sounds good. Anyplace else?”
    “No. Just back home—” I paused. “Er … I mean, here.”
    Michael smirked. “Your folks don’t really know that you’re doing this, do they? Otherwise, I’d have picked you up in front of your house.”
    “Um—”
    Michael raised a hand. “No need to answer that. I’d rather not know. Just remember this little conversation when it comes time to tip me at the end of the day.”
    I didn’t reply. I’d forgotten about a tip. It looked like I was going to have to give him a big one.
    Michael turned away, but then he looked back over his shoulder. “It’s a girl, isn’t it?”
    “Huh?”
    “You’re going to meet a girl, aren’t you? I mean, there aren’t any races or anything on a Monday afternoon, right? And you wouldn’t just drop three hundred bucks to ride a stupid trail for a couple hours.”
    I felt my cheeks begin to redden. I
was
taking this trip because of a girl.
    Michael smirked. “I knew it! Your secret is safe with me. She isn’t getting into the back of this limo, though.”
    “No worries,” I said. “I … I mean,
we
are only going to ride the trails.”
    Michael nodded. “Just watch yourself. Girls are nothing but trouble, believe me.” He looked away again, and the window rose back up.
    I shook my head. How many lies was I going to tell today?
    The limo began to move, and I turned off the radio. I saw a switch for the lights and turned them off, too. I grabbed the television remote and sank into the long plush leather seat. I flipped through a few satellite TV channels, but just like at home, there wasn’t anything interesting on.
    I yawned and turned off the TV. I was suddenly