Page 48 of Stay for Forever

Chapter 17

What happened to the geese that fell down the stairs? They got goose bumps.

At the knock on my door, I race toward it but before I reach it, I remember to not appear too eager. I don’t want Mav thinking he can get anything he wants from me with a snap of his fingers. I mean, he can. But there’s no need for me to advertise it.

As much as I pretend we’re just friends, my body wants to jump from the ‘just friends’ pasture straight into the ‘sexy times’ pasture. According to it, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and it’s way more fun, too.

I inhale a deep breath and calm myself before opening the door. Mav stands on my porch appearing absolutely delectable in a t-shirt and shorts. The summer outfit showcases his lean muscles. He isn’t one of those action heroes who look like they eat steroids for breakfast. He’s fit and lean in a natural way.

“Hey, June Bug,” he greets before leaning forward to kiss my cheek. “I thought we’d go for a bike ride and have a nice—”

“A p-i-c-n-i-c?” I cut him off before he can say the word.

“Yes, a picnic.”

I slap a hand over his mouth, but it’s too late – the p-word is already out.

Bark Twain and Indiana Bones come barreling into the living room and don’t stop until they reach me. Their tails wag and they stare up at me with their puppy dog eyes.

“No!” I command causing the barking to end and the howling to begin. I kneel down and pet my babies. “I’m sorry, my sweet things, but you aren’t coming with me today.”

Meowise huffs from the neck of the hallway before twirling around and prancing away. She doesn’t need to speak for me to understand how pissed she is at me. I hope I locked away my shoes. Otherwise, she won’t hesitate to show me her disdain for being left home alone with the dogs. There aren’t enough shoes in the world for me to handle her disdain each time she’s left home with them.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize pi—” He cuts himself off. “The p-word was a sensitive one.”

“It’s fine. They’re just being big babies.”

I back up until I’m on the porch before I shut the door. I nearly shut it in Bark Twain’s snout, but he pulls back at the last second the same way he does every time.

“Are you sure you’re up to a long bike ride? You’ve been riding a bike for a grand total of a week.”

He mumbles an answer.

“What did you say?”

He sighs. “I said I’ve been practicing every day.”

I ignore his embarrassment. Why is he embarrassed about practicing? Practicing makes perfect.

“Great. There’s a nice bike trail around town. It passes the falls. Have you been to the falls yet?”

In the past when Mav visited Winter Falls, he mostly kept to his house or the Wildlife Refuge as he didn’t want anyone knowing he was in town. He said he was ‘keeping a low profile’. Silly man. As if the entire town didn’t know he owned the refuge anyway. You can’t keep anything secret in this town. No matter how sneaky you think you’re being.

“Lead the way,” he says as he climbs on his bike.

I notice the bike isn’t one of the loaners anyone can borrow from around town. The loaners are all simple bikes with no gears and are painted bright yellow. This bike is a matte black. “Did you buy a bike?”

“It’s sexy, isn’t it?”

I should have known. Mav doesn’t do anything by half measures. Of course, he went from not knowing how to ride a bike to buying a sexy ass bike in a week. The man has exactly one speed – as fast as possible – except when we were in bed. Then, he has lots of different speeds.

“Let’s go,” I croak out and mount my bike before I decide testing Mav on all his speeds is the best idea ever.

I lead him toward the recreational bike path. The path is mostly flat and isn’t too long. Perfect for someone who learned to bike last week.

As we pedal along, I fill Mav in on some of the plant and animal life in the area. “Did you know trees are one of the oldest species on this planet? They’re estimated to be over 400 million years old. The experts believe trees first developed from fungi that could grow up to twenty-six feet wide.”

“I did not know.” Mav chuckles. “I also didn’t know what a geek you are.”

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