Page 50 of Love in Tandem
Whee.
A wooden sign engraved with the words Tishomingo State Park welcomed Charlotte and Zach to a winding road lined with trees. Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. They did it. They’d made it through their second day.
No, they hadn’t biked as many miles as their first day, but they’d biked far enough. Especially since three and a half of those miles had been in the wrong direction, which meant they’d needed to bike those three and a half miles again to reach where they’d started.
For a man who traveled the world, Zach sure had a terrible sense of direction. Unfortunately, hers was even worse. Which is why a fight didn’t break out when they realized their mistake. Charlotte just wished they’d realized their mistake sooner. Three and half miles sooner to be exact.
Besides that, though, the day had been a success.
Well, besides that and the late start they got after lunch, which may have been Charlotte’s fault. But to be fair, it really did feel like she would never be able to move from that rest area picnic bench again and the best course of action would be for Zach to leave her behind and someday return for her body so he could spread her ashes over the finish line in her memory.
Okay, then there was also the flat tire that took Zach a while to repair—which again, may have been Charlotte’s fault since she stumbled away to collapse in the shade and forgot to mention that she’d moved all the bicycle repair tools to a different bag earlier in the morning.
Yes, besides all that, the day had been a success.
Pedaling past a vacant ranger station next to a sign listing the park hours and camping fees, Charlotte leaned forward on her handlebars. “Don’t we need to pay somebody to stay here?”
Zach shrugged and kept pedaling. “If they want to get paid, they can come find us. I just want to eat, rinse off, and set up our tent for the night.”
Our tent. Charlotte pressed her lips together before she said something silly. Something like how nice and appealing those two words sounded together. Obviously the word tent should never be considered nice or appealing. Even so, it was nice having someone other than her cat sleeping next to her all night.
She could get used to that. Some day. Down the road. With the right man. A man she could be a couple with for more than ten days. A man who didn’t find the word tent so nice and appealing.
They pedaled further down the winding path without seeing another camper.
Eventually the road led to a camping area next to a small building and lake. Zach slowed the bike to a stop. “How about somewhere around here? We won’t be far from the bathrooms. I know I could definitely use a shower.”
The building labeled Latrine sat on the edge of a parking lot. One side read Boys, the other Girls.
Zach climbed off the bike and stretched his back. “Why don’t we clean up first? Then after we’re cooled off, we can fix some food, relax, and set up the tent.”
Charlotte nodded. The lake sparkled. A speck of a man sat on the opposite side in a small boat, probably fishing. “Surprised there aren’t more people around.” She glanced at the empty parking lot.
Zach shrugged and dug into one of his bags. “The place probably picks up on weekends.”
“Good point.” Charlotte reached for her own bag. “It’s only been two days and I’ve already lost all track of time in the real world.”
“I know. Isn’t it great? And don’t lie.” He hitched his bag over his shoulder and winked. “Your butt’s feeling a lot better now, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think we’ve reached the point in our relationship where we should be discussing our butts yet. And even if we had, the answer is a hard no.”
“You said ‘yet,’ which leads me to believe you think we’ll eventually get to the point in our relationship where butt discussions are allowed.”
“Hit the showers, Zach. This discussion is over.” Charlotte grabbed her bag, trying not to smile, as she entered her side of the bathroom. Her hindquarters did feel a lot better. Not great. But better. And part of her was also relieved to hear Zach still cracking jokes even though the day hadn’t gone according to plan. She couldn’t help but think how differently Ben would have responded.
Inside the shower room, she swept a plastic curtain to the side. Water dripped from a leaky showerhead to a dirty tiled floor and trailed to a drain in the center. Not a bubble bath by any means, but better than a spit bath in the sink. Loads better than a Porta-Potty. Or a bush.
She could work with this.
The muted sound of spraying water carried through the thin walls as she started up her own shower. She tried not to think too much about Zach stripping down and getting ready for his shower nearby. Or how spending time with him these past two days hadn’t been completely awful.
Especially when they swapped stories. Stories she hadn’t thought of in years. Stories she probably never would have thought of if she hadn’t been stuck on a bike, wracking her brain for anything that would take her mind off her out-of-shape body.
She dug her fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp as miles of grime washed down the drain. Had anything ever felt so divine? The tepid water turned to ice. Okay, maybe not quite divine.
Working quickly, she finished her shower, then shut off the water. Wringing her hair with one hand, she reached past the curtain and grabbed the special fast-drying towel Zach had packed for her that was apparently perfect for this sort of trip. She would have preferred something bigger, but it did dry out quickly and covered the important parts at least.
Too bad the humidity from the showers refused to let her get dry no matter how fancy a towel she used. She might as well get dressed and finish air-drying outdoors.
