Page 18 of Hera

A small snap of her fingers and she was cool again, like a mini air conditioning unit.

“Shall we find the bike rental shop?” she asked.

Augustine nodded and turned right, leading the way along the sidewalk. “It is near the boardwalk beside the beach. I checked it out on my run earlier this week,” he finished, his face reddening.

“Good idea,” Hera said brightly. “You must have been nervous.” She grinned at his obvious shyness. “I was nervous, too,” she added.

Augustine relaxed slightly. “Nice to know we are on the same page. Here we go.”

The rental place was tucked in between a sandwich shop and a bathing suit store. They each picked out a bicycle, Augustine giving his dubious looks.

“Have you ridden a bike before?” Hera asked, sitting astride hers after stowing the picnic basket in front of her handlebars.

“Err, no,” Augustine said sheepishly, running a hand through his blond hair.

Hera’s fingers itched to follow the same path. “How’s your balance?”

“Well enough, I suppose,” Augustine said. He tried to copy her stance and his knee came up to his elbow. “Is this right?”

“Oh dear, I don’t think that bike is quite big enough for your long legs,” Hera said, trying not to giggle. He looked like he was sitting on a child’s bike. “Why don’t I see if they have something bigger.”

They did not.

“I could run alongside you while you bike,” Augustine suggested. “I am pretty fast.”

“Or we could both walk,” Hera pointed out. “There isn’t exactly a lack of beach here.”

“But you wanted to ride,” Augustine protested. “I do not mind.”

“I do.” Hera returned both bikes. “There’s a silver lining. This way we can talk without a problem.”

Augustine took the picnic basket from her and offered her his elbow. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Why haven’t you ridden a bicycle before?”

“I think we already saw the problem with that,” he replied dryly and indicated his long legs. “Honestly, I like walking. I did not see the point of learning how to ride a bike. I do know how to ride a horse, though.”

“Really?” Hera bounced a little in excitement as she walked. “I’ve always wanted to try that.”

“I could take you next weekend, if you like,” Augustine suggested. Then he coughed bashfully. “If today goes well.”

“I think today is going swimmingly,” Hera said, bumping her hip into his. “Oooh, I like that spot!” She pointed at a hollow near a copse of palms. “Just enough shade, but still plenty of sun.”

“A perfect choice,” Augustine agreed amiably.

“Oh drat, I forgot the blanket,” Hera said, stomping her foot a little. “And there’s too many people around for me to call it into existence.”

“What if I reach into the basket and pull one out?” he said. “Make something that would fit in there.”

Hera smiled. “Quick thinker.” She snapped her fingers and Augustine pulled out a thin blanket. “We’ll weigh the corners down with sand.”

“Did you want to eat lunch right away or relax?” Augustine asked.

“I’m not hungry yet. Why don’t we go for a walk at the edge of the water? Nobody will touch our things and we’ll work up an appetite.”

Plan decided on, they kicked off their shoes and left them on the blanket. Hera put up a shield around it and walked toward the water, the sand warm under her feet.

“I could get used to dating a Goddess,” Augustine joked. “Those spells you do have been very useful.”

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