Joy Ride

By R.J. Byrd

The second I settled into Dean’s ’22 Ford Mustang, I shed my jean jacket and yanked off my hair tie.

“Damn,” said Dean.

His eyes were on all my exposed skin. I had on my bikini top and a pair of shorts. I rolled my eyes. I had no real interest in Dean. He was cute with his floppy dark hair and brown eyes, but not my type. It was the middle of summer, and the warm nights made an outfit like this acceptable.

“Help yourself, beautiful,” he told me, nodding toward the cupholders. One held a can of beer, the other had loose pills at the bottom. I had no idea what they were, and I was sure Dean didn’t know either. He liked to “go where fate took him.”

“No, thanks,” I said. I was never interested in that stuff but Dean always offered.

“I’ve got you covered,” said a voice from the backseat. A bottle of Coke appeared in front of my face, and I gladly took it.

“Thanks, John,” I said. I took a few big gulps of the cold soda. The gentle air conditioning felt great as Dean made his way to the freeway. John is more tolerable than Dean. He doesn’t try to flirt as much and doesn’t try to get me to drink or take unknown pills. He was cute, too. John’s looks were the opposite of Dean’s, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“When will your dad give you your keys back?” asked John.

“In two weeks,” I said, taking another gulp of soda. I had lost my driving privileges for the last month because I got another speeding ticket. The second one in six months. You see, I have this need. A need for speed. I don’t know what comes over me, but when I see a stretch of highway, my foot gets heavy. The freedom and the exhilaration of it thrill me. I’m addicted. As Dean’s car sped up to get on the freeway, I got excited. I hated having to rely on others to get my fix, but this was what I had to do for now, until I got my keys back.

Because it was late the roads were almost deserted. Dean hit the freeway and let loose, speeding by the few cars on the road. A huge smile broke out on my face. I could feel the gentle rumble of the engine and the force of the speed flow over me.

“Ok, the coast is clear. Go for it babe,” said John.

Dean pushed a button to open the moonroof. This is what made riding with Dean and John worth it.

“Don’t call me babe,” I said, unable to make myself sound serious because I was smiling so much. I took off my seatbelt and stood up on my seat.

The wind whipped my hair and went up my nose, making it hard to breathe.

This, this is the feeling I needed.

I held my arms up over my head. I felt if I jumped out, I would fly. Euphoria filled me. Here I was untouchable. Here, nothing mattered. Everything melted away, and it was just me and this feeling. I let it overtake me.

I could hardly register the hooting and hollering from John and Dean in the car, the wind was so loud in my ears. Dean was working on breaking the sound barrier as he sped down the freeway. I felt like the rush of air moving over my body was trying to hold me together and rip me apart at the same time. I could see everything rushing by. My eyes closed as I enjoyed the feeling.

I wanted to climb out and stand on the hood. I wanted to feel the force all over. I let out a loud, long yell that echoed in the dark. This was amazing. I was free.

It was either the lack of oxygen or the pure euphoria that caused me to feel light-headed and crouch back inside the car. As I fastened my seatbelt, I was so blissed out I hardly noticed the red and blue flashing lights in the rear view mirror.

THE END

Copyright 2025 R.J. Byrd All Rights Reserved