Page 42 of Love in Tandem
“Meriwether Lewis Park.” He lifted a shoulder. “But we’ll see how we’re feeling. If we’re doing okay, we might want to bike a little further than what Ty planned on the itinerary.” He shrugged again. “We’ll see what happens.”
Charlotte adjusted her position on her seat. Maybe she should have been less consumed with the fit of her shorts the past few days and more concerned with the itinerary. Even though Ty had planned out the entire trip, she had the feeling Zach was the type of person to wing things. Did he know where’d they stay, what they’d eat, if they biked “a little further than what Ty planned”?
Too bad she didn’t have enough air to ask. She certainly didn’t have enough air to yell at him if she didn’t like his answer. Probably better to not know and hope for the best. Like a hotel room. A hot shower. A continental breakfast. She knew their budget was tight, but a girl could always dream.
They pedaled past trees and old-looking fence posts that Charlotte would have normally found scenic and romantic as she daydreamed about what history might have taken place at these spots. But right now all she could think about was her rear end, her thighs, and her need to breathe.
Surely her body would adjust at some point, right? Preferably some point in the next sixty miles?
Zach adjusted the gears as they reached the top of the hill. “We can finally coast for a bit,” he said as they started going down.
“Hallelujah.” Charlotte breathed out the word, meaning it with every fiber of her being. She stretched her legs out one at a time as they glided down the gentle slope. Or at least what started off as a gentle slope. Their speed kicked up several notches as they continued gliding. Then began racing. Soon flying.
Charlotte squeezed the handlebars until her knuckles turned white, taking note for the first time that she had zero control of the brakes. How fast were they going?
Fast. Very fast. Scary fast.
Her eyes watered against the wind as she held on for dear life, praying their first day wouldn’t end with them both in the hospital after leaving half their skin on the pavement. Or worse.
They rounded a curve and the road flattened out in front of them, their speed blissfully slowing down to where they were no longer breaking the sound barrier.
“Hallelujah,” she whispered again. Maybe biking uphill wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “How fast were we going?”
Zach tapped the speedometer that the store clerk had thrown in for free since they’d bought the top-of-the-line tandem model. “We hit just over thirty miles per hour.”
“That’s it?”
Zach chuckled. “How fast did you think we went?”
“I don’t know. Sixty. Eighty. Fast enough for me to nearly wet my pants.”
She didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling. And maybe she was a little bit too. It had been a teensy bit fun. Now that they’d survived.
“Hey, Charlotte,” Zach said after a minute or so of silence. “You know, any time you wanted to start pedaling again, that would be great.”
“You can tell when I’m not pedaling?” Her feet had been circling on the pedals, but she hadn’t been applying any pressure.
“Uh, the fact I’m pedaling for my hundred-and-seventy-pound frame as well as your hundred-and—”
“If you know what’s good for you, you will not finish that sentence.”
“If you don’t want me guessing your weight, you better carry it. Now start pedaling.”
Charlotte began pushing the pedals again. A group of motorcyclists approached them from the opposite direction. The lead rider in the group had a woman riding behind him. They both lifted their palms in a subtle wave as they flew past.
Zach and Charlotte waved back in similar fashion. “Bet that guy doesn’t make her carry her own weight,” Charlotte muttered.
Zach twisted his head to the side. “Tell you what. If we reach a point in our canoodleship where we get matching tattoos and wear leather chaps, then I’ll do all the pedaling.”
“I’m holding you to that.” Charlotte couldn’t stop her smile from spreading. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad. They’d made it up the first few hills. They didn’t die coming down the last one.
Maybe it hadn’t been a mistake. Maybe the next four-hundred-plus miles would zip by faster than she thought. The first six hadn’t been so bad. What was a couple hundred more?
She adjusted her position on the seat again. Her brain could say whatever it wanted, but her rear end shouted a different opinion. And it ran along the lines of mistake, mistake, mistake.
She looked back down to the pavement beneath her rotating feet. “So when did you say our first break was going to be?”
Several hours and sixty-nine miles later, they were almost done biking for the day. Finally.
