I growl at Brett and choose not to comment on his statement. “I’m gonna need a ride home. I’ll fall asleep on my bike.”
“Sure thing. Let me see if I can borrow Scotty’s truck.”
I rest my head on the desk and close my eyes. I’m not sure how long he’s gone, but he shakes my shoulder to wake me when he returns. “Let’s go.”
I’m home and in my bed twenty minutes later and asleep right after that. I wake up several hours later in a cold sweat––with memories of a vivid dream about Prudence looking serene and gorgeous holding a baby.Mybaby. I know I’m going to need to salvage whatever relationship––fuck, I called it a relationship. That doesn’t fucking matter anymore. I know I’m going to have to do whatever it takes to make this this thing work with her.
The urge to call Laura or even Jackie is strong, but so far, their advice hasn’t worked out so well. No. This needs to be something I do on my own. Glancing at the clock, it’s almost ten at night. Rolling off the bed, I search for my keys and remember my bike is still at the shop. I could walk to her place. It’s probably a mile from here.
Or… I exit through the door off the kitchen into the garage. I spot Nathan’s old bicycle leaning against the wall. The tires are low, so I pump air into them and test it a little bit. Jesus, when the last time I rode a damn bicycle? It’s been years. Maybe a decade or more.
Opening the garage door, I walk the bike out onto my driveway. Hitting the door opener again, it shuts. I stare down at the silver bicycle I bought Nathan for his twelfth birthday. It’s pretty small, but that shouldn’t matter. How hard can riding a bike again be?
Swinging my leg over, I’m able to sit on the seat easily and still have both feet on the ground. Pushing off, I wobble a lot until I get myself going. “See? I can do this.”
By the time I’m within a block of Prudence’s place, my legs are burning. I hadn’t realized it was mostly uphill to this side of town. I guess the good news is it’ll be downhill on the way back. Maybe she won’t make me leave, though. Maybe we’ll end up in her bed.
A guy can dream, right?
When I get her house in sight, I pick up the pace. Just as I’m about to turn into her driveway, her front door opens, and she steps out. The distraction causes me to lose control of the bike. I’m wobbling around like a toddler taking their first steps. I can’t get control of the stupid thing probably because the front tire is flat.
When did that happen?
The bad part, like it all isn’t a bad part, is it happens right in front of her, right there, smack dab on the sidewalk leading up to her house. I wipe the fuck out. I feel my knees burn from the skin that is now part of her concrete walkway. My hands are skinned up, and I think I messed up one of my new T-shirts. “Fuck.” I grunt. Pushing myself up, I sit back on my ass and groan. “Shit.”
“Are you okay?” She sounds worried. Damn, maybe I should have done a face-plant in front of her a long time ago.
I answer truthfully, “No.”
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I look up and see a pretty smirk on her face.
“Like a motherfucker. And that’s just my pride.”
“Mm-hmm.” She bends at the waist and asks, “Why are you here, Nate?”
“To apologize.” Again. “To try and blame everything on the medicine.” I arch a brow, hoping she falls for that.
“Good try.” She stands up and crosses her arms over her chest. “Tell me, Nate.”
“I mean it. To apologize. To grovel.” I glance down at myself, at the heap of metal that used to be Nathan’s old bike. “Look what I did for you. I rode a fucking bicycle and ended up ass over tit in front of you.”
She giggles, and I hope to hell it’s a good sign.
I’ve got to keep going. “I was wrong. I lose my head when you’re around, woman. One minute I’ve got control of things, then you appear and everything I thought I knew about women, love, relationships, all of it––it’s all out the window. I’m a lost cause when it comes to you, Prudence.”
Without responding to any of my words––to any of my proclamation, she holds her hand out for me to take. “Come on. Let me get you inside. You’re bleeding, and I’ve got a first aid kit.” She nods at my knees.
“Thanks.” I have my arm over her shoulder as I limp up her front steps. Smiling down at her, I feel the need to confess something, “I forgot how hard it was to ride a bicycle.”
“It can be a challenge, that’s for sure.”
“I can see why you like it, though.”
Can I? That bicycle seemed more like a death-mobile than anything else. Still, if she likes it, I should probably show some interest. Hell, maybe I’ll invest in a bike. If I did, I could go on rides with her. I don’t mean that in a dirty way. Although… “I’m thinking about buying a bicycle.” I glance back at Nathan’s, the one I just destroyed. “One my size.”
“You should. It’s good exercise.”
“That’s the truth. My thighs are a little shaky from the ride from my place to yours.”
