Page 56 of A Shore Fling
“You’re doing it,” he says.
“No, you’re holding the bike.”
“Am I?”
I glance over my shoulder and realize he’s not. My heart jumps into my throat, and just like that, I lose my balance. The bike veers right, and I plant my foot down just in time to stop another crash landing. I stumble, breathless, heart racing. He jogs up beside me, hands out like he's ready to catch me, even though the damage is already done.
“I didn’t tell you to let go!” I yell, glaring at him.
“I didn’t think I needed to wait for your go-ahead. You were doing fine until you looked back.”
“I wasn’t doing fine. I was in survival mode.”
“You stayed upright longer than you realize.”
I groan as I lean on the handlebars. “Why did you have to bring me here?”
“Because this is a skill you should’ve learned years ago, and it’s not too late.”
“I guess my parents didn’t think it was important.”
“So what do you say? You want to go again?” he asks.
I consider saying no. Ishouldsay no. My pride’s taken enough hits today. But something is encouraging about the way he’s looking at me and that makes me want to prove I can do this.
“Yeah,” I say. “Let’s go again.”
He smiles like I passed some kind of secret test. “Good. Because I wasn’t going to let you quit anyway.”
I squint. “You’re bossy.”
He smirks. “You’re stubborn.”
I climb back on the bike, already feeling more confident, and I’m not clutching the hand grips like I’m facing off against death itself.
“Ready?” he asks, hands on the seat and handlebar again.
“Ready.”
And this time, when he lets go, I don’t look back.
CHAPTER 16
TRAVIS
I’ve been thinking about Nina off and on all day. Whenever I didn’t have something work related to focus on, she would pop into my mind, and I wasn’t in a rush to push her out. Somewhere around mid afternoon I decided I would swing by her cottage on the way home. So here I am, turning into her driveway, hoping she’s here. The bike leans against the porch where she left it yesterday.
I knock once, then again louder when there’s no answer. A second later, she appears in the doorway, barefoot with her hair pulled back and a book in her hand. She looks surprised, but not annoyed, to see me.That’s a win.
“Everything okay?” she asks, stepping out onto the porch.
“Yeah. I figured since you were headed into town yesterday and didn’t end up going, I could take you.”
Her lips quirk. “Are you offering me a ride or rescuing me again?”
“I’m offering you a ride, and I’m rescuing you from boredom.”
She holds up the book in her hand. “I’m never bored when I’m reading a great story.”
