Strides & Bike Rides

RAINEY

As we stroll down the street towards Crossview Close, the evening sun casts long shadows on the ground. The wind is crisp, but the warm, orange glow of the setting sun softens the chill.

Ansel walks beside me, his hands tucked into his pockets. His hair dances in the wind, and his gaze is distant.

The silence between us feels heavy, so I decide to lighten the mood.

“So, I didn’t realize you had a job. I thought you were the ‘spoon-fed’ type.”

His face breaks into a smile, and he turns to look at me. “Don’t believe everything Alex says. He’s not exactly the most reliable source.”

I shrug. “I kind of bought into it, though.”

He raises an eyebrow, curiosity lighting up his face. “Why?”

“I don’t know. You just seem different from him.”

His gaze shifts back to the road. “What if I’m not?”

His question sends my thoughts spiraling back to the day I saw him at the police station, helping an injured boy into a car. There were three other boys there too, one of them looking just like him.

~Could he be part of a gang?~

A car horn blares, snapping me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t realized how close I was to the road. Ansel grabs my arm and pulls me towards him just as a car speeds past, barely missing the sidewalk.

“Watch out,” he murmurs.

I look up at him. He towers over me, his hands resting on my shoulders. Our faces are so close I can feel his breath on my skin.

His gaze follows the car until it disappears, then he looks down at me. Our eyes meet, and I feel my cheeks heat up. I quickly look away, unable to meet his gaze.

“You okay?” Ansel asks, his voice filled with concern.

I nod, but I can’t bring myself to look at him until my blush subsides.

Just then, a car pulls up in front of us. Ansel’s attention shifts to the driver’s side window as it rolls down.

“Hey, you two!” Alex grins at us from behind the wheel, his arm draped over the passenger seat.

“Alex? What are you doing here?” Ansel looks surprised to see his brother.

~He really did come out of nowhere.~

“I dropped your bike off at the café. You left it there this morning, and it’s a long walk from there to home.”

He turns to me, his smile widening. “Hey, Rain.”

“Hey.” I wave back.

“Thanks, but we don’t mind walking. We’re almost home. I’m heading to Rainey’s to work on a project.”

Alex raises an eyebrow, a mischievous grin on his face. “A ~project~, huh? I see.”

~Why does everyone have to make everything sound dirty?~

“Just take the bike. I’m heading to Drake’s, and I need the trunk space.”

Ansel narrows his eyes. “You’re going to Drake’s? Be careful, Alex.”

I watch as Ansel’s face hardens. Who is this Drake, and why does he seem so dangerous?

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be careful.” Alex rolls his eyes as Ansel opens the trunk.

“So, Rainey, where’s Riley?” Alex smirks.

“Probably at home or school.” I give him a small smile.

~He really does like her. But then again, who wouldn’t? Riley is a lot of fun.~

Ansel closes the trunk and pulls his bike out. He sets it on the sidewalk.

“You need to stop taking Alaric’s car without his permission,” Ansel warns.

~So the car isn’t Alex’s?~

“He’s not home. He’s on some ‘mission’ with Aiden. I don’t get to drive this Chevrolet Chevelle every day. Let me live a little, brother.”

Ansel just shakes his head as Alex adjusts the handbrake.

“I’ll see you guys later. Enjoy your ~project~.” He winks at us before speeding off.

“Well, we can get to your place faster now.”

Ansel smiles at me as he rolls up his sleeves and adjusts the bike’s pedals. I watch him, taking in this new side of him.

Today, I’ve learned that Ansel has a part-time job, makes great coffee, and can ride a bike. It’s not much, but it’s something.

I catch a glimpse of his tattoo as he rolls up his sleeve. I squint, trying to make out the design, but he stands up and dusts off his hands, his sleeve falling back down and covering the ink.

“Do you know how to ride a bike?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

While other kids were learning to ride bikes, I was being chauffeured around in a fancy car. But I’ve always wondered what it feels like to ride a bike.

“Really?” He looks surprised. “I thought you’d be the adventurous type.”

“Stereotyping much?” I smile.

“Says the girl who thought I was ‘spoon-fed.’” He smirks as he mounts the bike. He looks at me, his feet on the pedals.

“Come on. I’ll show you what it’s like to ride a bike.”

I look down at my plaid skirt, a doubtful expression on my face. This outfit isn’t exactly bike-friendly.

~Uniforms are the worst.~

Ansel follows my gaze, understanding lighting up his face. “Oh, right. You’re in a skirt.” He tugs at his earlobe, thinking.

“You could just hold it down. It’ll be fine,” he finally suggests.

I hesitate, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, which makes him chuckle.

“I promise I won’t look at your legs, Rainey.”

I shake my head, my cheeks heating up. “That’s not what I’m worried about…”

I’m not usually the shy type. I don’t understand why Ansel makes me feel this way.

I step closer to him, and he tries to hide a grin, his hands resting on his thighs as he waits for me to climb on.

The problem is, I have no clue where to sit. I’ve never shared a bike with someone before, so this is all new territory for me.

“Um, where should I sit?”

He points to the top tube. “You can sit here. That way you’ll be between my arms and less likely to fall off.” He grins.

I hold onto the hem of my skirt as I sit on the top tube, my feet dangling over the sides. He spreads his knees to make room for me.

“You good?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

He leans forward, his chest close to my face as he grips the handlebars. His scent fills my nostrils.

~He smells like he could be sold in a high-end cologne store.~

“Hold on tight.”

My mind is too preoccupied with how close we are and the warmth radiating from his body to pay attention to his warning.

So when the bike starts moving, I’m caught off guard, and my hands instinctively grab onto his shirt.

He chuckles softly, and my cheeks burn as I quickly pull my hands back.

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine. Put your hands back there,” he says, “if it makes you feel safer.”

I decide against it, adjusting myself so I can place my hands next to his on the handlebars instead.

~Maybe this way my face will stop turning red.~

The cool evening air hits my face as he pedals down the street. There’s something comforting about the setting sun and being close to Ansel. Secretly, I don’t want it to end.

The ride is so peaceful that I don’t even realize when we pull up to my house.

I’m impressed that he remembers my address after only being here once. He has a good memory.

I slide off the bike, smoothing down my skirt.

“Not so bad, huh?” he asks as he stands up behind me.

“It was actually fun. I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” I admit.

He smiles, and we stand there awkwardly for a few seconds.

I clear my throat and look away. “We should get started on our work.”

“Yeah…right.”

I open the gate to my house, and he follows me up the path to my front door, taking in the sight of my spacious yard and the surrounding area.

“Your neighborhood is quiet,” he observes.

I sigh. “And incredibly boring.”

“What about your friend? Riley. Does she live nearby?”

“No.” I shake my head as I push the door open. “She lives a few miles away.”

Ansel nods. “Oh.” His eyes follow me as we enter the house.

“Maybe we can use your living room,” he suggests. “There’s plenty of space.”

I shake my head. “Trust me, you don’t want to be down here when a certain someone comes home. We won’t have any privacy.”

“Oh.” Ansel nods in understanding.

“My room is fine,” I assure him. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay, as long as you’re sure.”

He follows me up the long wooden staircase. I use my key to unlock my bedroom door, and he walks in behind me.

The room is way too big for one person. It should have been another living room or something. I have no idea what my mom expects me to do with all this space.

“Here we are,” I announce, tossing my bag onto my bed and loosening the tight plaid tie.

“Oh, your room is very…~pink~.” He smiles slightly.

“I’m not a ‘pink’ kind of girl,” I clarify. “My mom is the one who decorated this room.”

Everything in my room is pink. Literally. Except for the Coldplay poster I have hanging above my bed.

My mom thinks turning me into the girl from the kids’ show ~Lazy Town~ will stop me from drinking and being reckless. Her attempts to save face can be exhausting sometimes.

Ansel’s gaze is fixed on something, and I follow his line of sight to see a pair of black lace panties lying on my bed.

I have severe OCD, and it takes me five minutes every morning to decide which color underwear to wear.

That’s why I always end up leaving the house with a rejected pair lying around somewhere.

I quickly snatch the underwear off the bed while Ansel awkwardly looks away.

“So, I don’t have the math textbook for this term. The bookstore in town was out,” I say, shoving the underwear into my drawer. “Did you bring yours?”

“Yeah.” He swings his bag around. “I did, actually.”

He pulls out the textbook, then looks around the room for a good place to sit.

“You can sit on my bed.”

“Thanks.” He sits down and starts flipping through his book. “I think most of the worksheet is algebraic expressions.”

I sit across from him. “Yeah, I looked at it earlier.”

“Do you want to work on them individually or together?”

“Uh, together would be good.”

“Okay.” He pulls his notebook out of his bag.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Yeah, water would be great. Thanks. Did you write down the instructions today?”

“Sure thing. My math notebook is in my bag.” I spring up from the bed and exit the room, leaving Ansel to rummage through my backpack.