Monkey Business -9- by Melanie Brown

Monkey Business Part 9

By

Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2023

I grunted as the front forks bottomed out. The saddle bounced up to hit my ass as I blasted over the rough track. Standing on the foot pegs and using my legs as shock absorbers kept my teeth from rattling. My sole focus was on the bike directly in front of me. I was sure I was currently in second place and the pink and white bike in front of me was the leader. Damn, that girl is good.

I rocketed around the turn in the final lap, showering those foolish enough to stand on the berm with soft wet dirt. This was my first race day with my new bike. The bike was performing better than my expectations. Last week, I had it over in Nick’s garage as we stripped all the street stuff from it and added the new exhaust system, which helped boost the bike’s power output.

Once again I was placed in the Powder Puff class, but if I can’t catch the girl in first place, maybe it’s where I belong. I’m not the only rider at the track who thinks she should move up to the 350 Open class. She’d still smoke the competition.

My front wheel was just even with her rear wheel as we crossed the finish line. I let go of the throttle to coast to a stop. Becky, the girl who just whooped my ass, raised her face shield and gave me a thumbs up. I heard her yell, “Great race, girl!” I waved back to her. Everyone thinks I’m a girl. Well, Nick doesn’t.

“Dude. Get back to the pit area. We need to get ready.” I was once again Nick’s monkey on his sidehack. I was both afraid and anxious about getting back into it. Nick had wrapped his ribs pretty tight as they hadn’t fully healed.

Pushing my bike and walking back with Nick, I said, “Man. You need to give those ribs another month, dude.”

Picking up his helmet, Nick said, “Naw. It’s fine. It’s mind over matter. If I don’t mind, then it don’t matter.”

Pulling my bike up onto its stand, I said, “You’re gonna kill yourself.” We’d removed the side stand to save weight.

Nick laughed. “I doubt it. Your boyfriend Colin was begging me to let him take your place in the side hack. He said you’re too much of a delicate feminine flower to risk.”

I shook my head. “He’s not my boyfriend. I think I’m a better monkey than he is, anyway. I should ditch the leathers and show up in a miniskirt and high heels.”

Nick grunted a laugh. “Adams would sideline you so quick, it’d make your head spin. There’s no way he’d risk you scratching up those sexy legs of yours.”

I smiled brightly at Nick. “Do you really think my legs are sexy?”

Nick started to push his bike. “Let’s just get to the track.”

*  *  *

I tried relaxing in one of the portable chairs Nick had brought with us. Nick was cursing his bike. I just took another big swig of my Gatorade as I heard footsteps crunching on gravel behind me. Becky walked up to me.

She chuckled as she pulled up another chair. “Great race, Randi. I was worried you were going to catch me right at the end.”

I grinned. “If the track had been just a bit longer, I would have.”

She glanced over at Nick. “And I thought for sure you guys were going win your side hack race until the sidehack wheel fell off.”

I grimaced. “Yeah, that sucked the way I was tossed into the air.”

There was an awkward few moments of silence, and then Becky said, “Well, what I wanted to ask you, I know it’s short notice, but my church is having a picnic tomorrow starting around eleven AM, and I wanted to know if you would like to come.  Several riders are going. Kat is coming.”

She smiled and continued. “You don’t have to bring any food. It’s a fun get-together for young people like us. Yeah, someone will ask you to join our youth group, but you’re not obligated. You can bring your boyfriend along, too.”

I looked down at my feet for a moment. “I’ll think about it. I’ll have to ask my mom.”

Becky smiled. “Of course. I hope to see you there.” With a grin, she turned and scampered away.

*  *  *

After Nick dropped me off at my house, all I wanted to do was hit the shower. We’re storing my bike at his garage, so I didn’t have to deal with it right away. Nick agreed to keep the bike, but he’s not going to clean it or maintain it without my involvement. That’s only fair, I guess.

The front door slammed behind me as I hurried across the living room. “Hey! I’m home. What’s for dinner?”

“What kind of greeting is that?” asked Mom as she stepped out of the kitchen. “Pwew! You need to take a shower before you come to dinner!”

“That’s what I’m going to do,” I retorted. When Mom frowned at me, in a softer tone I said. “That’s where I was headed.” I paused a moment and then said, “I need to ask you something.”

Mom glanced back towards the kitchen. “Okay. Make it quick. I think something’s boiling over.”

“One of the girl racers invited me to her church’s picnic tomorrow,” I said, inching towards the bathroom. “Should I go, or actually, can I go?”

Mom shrugged. “I don’t see why not. You need to get out more. You might meet new friends.”

I let out my breath. “She only invited me because she thinks I’m a girl.”

Mom looked at me sideways. “Is this something where you’ll have to strip down naked?”

I laughed. “I doubt it. It’s a church picnic.”

Mom said, “I need to get back into the kitchen. We can discuss this later, but really, honey. You can just dress androgynously. A t-shirt and shorts. Besides, at the track, only you and Nick think you’re a boy anyway. So go have some fun. I just heard something boil over.” And she dashed into the kitchen.

During dinner, as Dad scooped a lion’s share of mashed potatoes, he asked without looking at me, “What’s this about a picnic tomorrow?”

I took another bite of meatloaf and said, “Yeah. One of the girl racers invited me to come to her church’s picnic tomorrow. I don’t have to bring anything.”

Stirring butter into his potatoes, Dad said, “Is she trying to get a date with you?”

I grunted a laugh. “I doubt it. She thinks I’m a girl.”

Dad frowned at me. “Why would she think that?”

I frowned back at Dad. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I race in a girl’s class and look like a girl in my pink leathers. You know all this.”

With his mouth full, Dad said, “I thought you were done with this girl shit.”

I sighed. “Everyone at the track considers me to be a girl. Mr. Adams still wants me to model. I’d bet money if I showed up at the track as a boy, everyone would assume I’m going tomboy.”

Dad shook his head. “I don’t like it. It’s bad enough I have a twink for a son, but he has to wear panties, too.” Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “I supposed there’ll be a lot of boys at this event?”

I laughed. “Probably. It is a youth picnic. I’m not going to meet boys. Becky asked me to come, and she thinks I’m a girl. Look, forget it. I’ll let her know I can’t come.”

Dad nodded. “That’s for the best. You really need to knock it off with this girl nonsense. You don’t want me to take that bike away, do you?” That’s the main reason I store it at Nick’s.

“Don’t be so harsh,” said Mom. “Boy or girl, Randi needs to get out and meet new friends.”

Nostrils flaring, Dad said, “He’s not going, and that’s final.”

*  *  *

“Mom. This isn’t too much make-up for a picnic, is it?”

*  *  *

End of Part 9