SWNOVELS Chapter Coffee Tour
Coffee Tour
Block 7,923,904
“Hello?”
“Hey, Laura.”
“Hey, Fabian.”
“Are you ready for our coffee tour?”
“Of course.”
“You’ve packed for an overnight?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, I’ll be by in about three blocks.”
Fabian ends the call and grabs his tank bag and saddle bags. He knows the mountains can be chilly, especially this time of year, so he’s prepared. The synching activity out of China has been inactive for over 2000 blocks. Fabian and Laura decided to get this on the books before things ramp back up. Fabian’s never really dated anyone seriously, so the last couple of thousand blocks have been a new experience for him. He and Laura met a couple of times for coffee and dinner and had long conversations. He’s looking forward to sharing his passion with her.
Down in the garage, he gears up as he usually would. Since this will only be an overnight, he’s using one saddle bag for himself, and Laura will use the other. He spent last night making sure Thrux was ready. He removed the cowl on the back part of the seat. It might be a little uncomfortable for a long ride for Laura, but since she’s ridden before, he figures she will be used to it, allowing them to take their time and stop frequently. He ordered foot pegs for a passenger, which he installed last night. Everything seems to be in order.
He mounts the bike, “Thrux, route to Laura Cruz.”
Fabian heads out of the garage and onto the road. He’s not been on the bike since his ride to El Zonte and Panajachel. He’s been quite busy, and the most recent activity out of China has kept him close to HQ.
He pulls up to Laura’s home. AI alerted her of his arrival, so she was almost on the street when Fabian arrived.
He pulls the clutch in, slowly rolls off the throttle, stops, turns the engine off, and flips the kickstand down with his left foot. He flips his visor up and says, “Hello, Laura. You are certainly ready for this trip!”
Fabian notices she’s got her own helmet, motorcycle boots, motorcycle jacket, and gloves. He also sees she’s wearing tight-fitting jeans and a white silk scarf around her neck. Her red wavy hair hangs just below the jacket collar, which she has already zipped up. Today she has deep red lipstick on. She carries a small bag with her overnight clothes and has a small backpack for her purse.
“Laura, I must say, you look beautiful!”
“Well, thank you, Fabian. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Ok, let me grab your stuff and put it in the saddle bag. You got new riding gear?”
“Yeah, I went ahead and got some gear. I figured this won’t be the only time we ride together.” She winked at him.
“Ok, then.” He said with a smile.
“All right, let me get on and start him up.”
“Him?”
“Yeah, his name is Thrux.”
“I like it.”
He hops on and starts Thrux.
“Ok, Laura, step right there,” he points to the foot peg on the right side above the exhaust, “and hop on.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, cowboy.”
“Oh yeah, sorry.”
She hops on and slides up against his back. She shakes her hair while extending her head and putting her helmet on. She fastens the strap. “Ok, cowboy, I’m ready.” She grabs his waist with both hands and pulls in close to him.
Fabian flips his visor down and eases out the clutch while giving Thrux some gas.
“Thrux, connect.”
Fabian and Laura’s helmets connect for communication.
“Ok, Laura, where to?”
“Perquín, in Morazán.”
“Thrux route to Morazan.”
Thrux has plotted a route to take them north out of the City on highway 1 to Pasaquina, then onto highway 3 to Ocala, and finally onto highway 7.
As predicted, the bump seat for Laura is a little uncomfortable, so they make plenty of stops.
“Fabian, as we approach Perquin, I want to take you to Llano del Muerto waterfall. Did you pack some swim trunks, as I asked?”
“Of course!”
The day of riding takes them through plenty of twisties as they make their way up the mountain. Fabian enjoys having Laura on the back. He can feel her body press into him, and her thighs squeeze around his waist as he leans into the curves.
They finally arrive at Llano del Muerto waterfall. It was a little slow due to the gravel road for the last several kilometers. Finally, they pull over in a small parking lot to walk to the waterfall.
Fabian takes the saddlebags off, and they both change, taking their boots off and putting on flip-flops, and they make the short hike to the waterfall. They find a nice little rock outcrop near the water’s edge, and Fabian puts the bags down. Fabian takes the jackets and lays them out on the rock for a place to sit.
“Wow, this place is wonderful!” Fabian exclaims.
“Yeah, it’s a real special place. And this region is special in the history of El Salvador. This area was a major stronghold against the corrupt Salvadoran government during our brutal civil war in the twentieth century. Not far from here, the Salvadoran army massacred over nine hundred civilians.”
“Shit, that is messed up. I’m so thankful we no longer deal with centralized governments and armies. What a terrible time in history.”
“For sure, it’s hard to imagine what people can do to others. But that is far in the past. So let’s focus on the present. Shall we?” Laura turns her body and points to the water.
“Ok, it’s a little chilly, but let’s do it!” Fabian unzips his pants and kicks off his flip-flops. He’s got his swim trunks on underneath.
Laura rocks her hips as she unzips her jeans and pulls them down while kicking off her flip-flops. She then reaches for her shirt to lift it over her wavy red hair. Her skin is supple white, and she’s wearing an orange and black polka dot bikini bottom with a matching top.
They hold hands and jump into the water.
“Woweee!” Fabian yells, “this is crisp!”
“Yeah, crisp!” She says, laughing,
They spend about twenty minutes in the water together, splashing each other, going up to the waterfall, and swimming under it. They finally swim back to their area, and Fabian lifts himself out of the water, his triceps bulging as he pushes up off the rock and turns to sit on his bottom. Laura swims up, and he stretches out his hand to pull her up. She grabs his thick forearm, and he pulls her up effortlessly. She grabs his bulging bicep with her other hand to catch herself.
“Wow, Laura, this was a great idea. This is a cool place. I think I need to take you up to Guatemala to Lake Atitlan. It’s probably my favorite place in the whole world. But I think doing that on a bike might be too much.”
“Well, maybe two bikes? I’ve wanted to get back into riding. A street bike would be nice. I love what you’ve done with this mid-century Triumph, but I might go for something more modern and comfortable.”
“Oh, I hope you’ve not been too uncomfortable.”
“No, no... but I know what a long ride like that to Guatemala could mean on a bike like this.”
“I saw a quaint little hotel on the way in here. Did you see it?”
“Yes.”
“Would that be ok for tonight?”
“Sure.”
“I figured we could hang out here a little more and then head to the hotel and check in. Maybe tomorrow we could do the coffee plantation tour and take our time getting back to town late.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Tell me, how does a fair-skinned redhead get a name like Cortez?”
“Well, my mom is Irish, and my dad is Spanish. He must have had a red hair gene somewhere because I pretty much look like my mom. We moved to El Salvador when I was a kid.”
“Ok, well, that mystery is solved for me.”
Fabian and Laura spend a couple of hours by the waterfall and finally pack up to check in to the hotel.
They pull up into the parking lot of the hotel. The parking lot is gravel, so Fabian pulls up to the hotel’s front door, stabilizes the bike with both feet, and has Laura dismount. She gets off and takes her helmet, wagging her head while bending forward to let her hair fall on and de-tangle.
Fabian pulls into a parking slot and dismounts and grabs their gear.
They walk into the hotel together and approach the desk.
“¿Tienes habitaciones para esta noche?” Fabian asks the attendant. A young woman. He thinks probably the daughter of the owner.
“Sí, ¿cuántas habitaciones necesita?” She asks.
“Dos, por favor.”
Laura smiles. “Fabian is a true gentleman,” she thinks.
“Muy bien mi jovencita. Aquí están sus credenciales de registro para su habitación. ¿Qué te parece? ¿Nos aseamos y tomamos unas copas sobre las 5:30?” Fabian says.
“Sí, mi joven. Eso suena bien.” She says mi joven sarcastically.
Fabian walks Laura to her room and sets her bag down.
“Ok, you all set?” He asks.
“Not yet.” She grabs his hand and pulls him in for a kiss. “You are a true gentleman. Thank you.”
“A lady should be treated like a lady,” he declares. “I think I will see this lady at 5:30 for dinner?”
“Yes, yes, you will.”
“Hasta luego.”
“Hasta luego, muchacho,” She replies.
She bends down to pick up her bag, walks into the room, shuts the door, and turns around to walk into the room. She walks over to the sofa and sits down with a big smile on her face.