Hard Tail(15)

God, I needed a coffee.

My mood didn't improve when I walked into the kitchen to a horribly familiar smell and a pretty pattern of cat-food paw prints all over the lino. Apparently, Wolverine had been out and in and out again. Either he'd scared off all the local wildlife or that Asda cat food really wasn't fit for consumption. I wondered if traipsing it all over the floor was his way of making a point.

I put the kettle on, then grabbed some kitchen roll and cleaned up the mess, cursing the entire feline species to Hades as I did so.

Wolverine still hadn't turned up for breakfast by the time I had to leave for work. I worried all the way to the shop.

***

It was a bit awkward, seeing Matt at the shop after the balls-up I'd made of things in the café yesterday. I obviously wasn't the only one who thought so, as Matt did a near-perfect action replay of the way he'd fallen into the shop the first time I'd seen him.

I made a point of rushing forward to help him up. "Are you okay?"

He smiled up at me a bit uncertainly. The bruising around his right eye had started to yellow, giving that side of his face a sickly greenish tint. "Yeah, I'm fine. Two left feet as usual."

I wondered if it was just nerves or if he'd ever been diagnosed dyspraxic, but it seemed a bit of a personal thing to ask. "I was thinking about what you said," I blurted out instead as he struggled to his feet.

"Yeah?" He sounded a bit cautious. I couldn't blame him.

"About getting a bike," I explained.

"Oh! Right-have you had a look at what we've got?" He sounded relieved we were back in his comfort zone. Two wheels good; two legs bad, I supposed. And since you ask, no, I never did get over reading George Orwell while I was at school.

"Honestly?" I grimaced. "I haven't got a bloody clue what I'm looking for. Or at, come to that."

"Well, you've come to the right place to find out!" Matt dusted off his palms on the seat of his baggy jeans, momentarily pulling the denim tight. "What are you planning to use it for?"

"Um, what?" I'd got distracted for a moment. "The bike? Well, cycling."

His brown eyes crinkled at the corners. The right eye was definitely less swollen today, I was pleased to see. "I meant, are you going to ride it on the road or off?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"Er, yeah, just a bit." I could tell he was trying not to laugh at me. "Look at this bike over here."

I followed the sweep of his tanned arm, which for once didn't actually knock anything over. Matt was wearing a lime green T-shirt today. It should have clashed horribly with the orange coral necklace he was wearing, but somehow didn't. Actually, the necklace looked a little familiar-had he been wearing it yesterday? Or maybe I'd seen someone else wearing one …  I realised Matt was waiting for an answer. "The black one?"




 

 

"The Genesis, yeah. See the tyres? They're wide, with plenty of tread-that's for riding off road, where you need more grip. Road bikes have thinner wheels and not much tread, because what you gain in trail-holding ability and shock absorption, you lose in speed, see?"

I nodded, captivated by the way he seemed to come alive, talking about what he knew so well. I felt a bit of an idiot, though. Well, more than a bit. It all sounded so obvious when he explained it like that. It reminded me of when I took the BMW to the garage, and the mechanics would chatter on about fuel injection and hydraulics, and I'd just have to nod sagely and pretend I understood.

I'd always suspected they'd laughed themselves silly after I'd gone home. I couldn't imagine Matt doing that, though.

"This one's a hard tail-it's only got suspension on the front." Matt pulled the bike out of the rack to bounce it up and down on its front wheel, and I watched as the front forks telescoped gently. He lifted it back into place and selected another. "Now this one's a full susser," he said, giving me another glimpse of that broken tooth. "It's got rear suspension as well. Why don't you give it a try?"

I swallowed. I hadn't been on a bike in ten years or more. At least the karate kept me supple enough that I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to get my leg over.

So to speak.

I sat on the saddle cautiously-but still wasn't prepared for how far it went down under my weight. "Whoa! Is it supposed to do this?" I had a moment's panic. "I haven't broken it, have I?"

"Nah-these bikes'll take someone twice your size and then some. It's just been set up for someone a lot lighter than you; that's why it's so squishy. But I know what you mean. I prefer a hard tail myself."

I flushed slightly as my treacherous brain filled in the double entendre. "Can I give that, er, Genesis a go?" I asked, getting off the bike as quickly as I could without totally losing my dignity.