She reached into her purse and handed him her keys, and he slipped the silver ring that said Jamie onto her key ring. He was right. She did feel special.
They walked around for a while longer, and then they unloaded the bikes and hid her purse in the trunk.
“Why don’t you ride around the parking lot first to make sure you’re comfortable?” He took care of everything, just as he had earlier that morning with tracking down the eBay seller.
“I feel so silly needing to practice,” she admitted.
“Well, you look smokin’ hot, so if that’s what silly looks like, I’m all for it.” He patted the bike seat. “Come on. I want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
She climbed on the bike, and after a minute of wobbling and finding her balance, the muscle memory returned, and she sailed across the parking lot feeling free and light and incredibly happy.
They followed the paved bike trail as it wound through woods and behind several businesses all the way to the Orleans Rotary, where they passed several bikers coming in the opposite direction. For the first time in as long as she could recall, Jessica felt normal. How she’d longed to experience life the way others did, without every hour spoken for, without always being properly attired, aware of giving appropriate answers. Here, she was meeting friends, laughing, and enjoying herself more than she ever had, and she never realized how wonderful a relationship could be until she met Jamie. No matter what they were doing, it felt natural to be with him. He looked out for her, and he treated her well, not to mention those heart-stopping kisses he doled out like candy.
The trail was cool beneath the umbrella of tall trees. They rode side by side where the path was wide enough, and when Jamie was forced to pull ahead, he looked back often to check on Jessica. They were surrounded by woods, with the smell of the sea in the air; it was like they’d entered their own private paradise. The path widened and the trees became sparse as they entered reality again and came into town. They followed the bike path behind a bike rental shop, and a few feet ahead, the path crossed Main Street. Jamie looked handsome with his windblown hair and glistening skin as he came to a stop beside her and grabbed hold of Jessica’s handlebars, then leaned in for a kiss.
“I want to show you something.” He nodded up Main Street toward the traffic light.
“The Chocolate Sparrow?” she asked hopefully. The Chocolate Sparrow was a chocolate specialty store across the street. She’d seen it in the tourist magazines, and now, as the scent of chocolate hung in the air, she could practically taste it.
“Sure, but I had something else in mind.”
She followed him to a stoplight, where they crossed the street and turned down the main road. They came to what looked like an abandoned office complex and parked their bikes by the empty parking lot.
“What is this place?” She took in the cedar-sided offices. The windows were filmy, the offices void of all signs of life.
“I’ll show you.” He took her hand and led her up a set of stairs between two buildings, to the entrance of an office. Above the door was a sign painted to look like a baseball and the words MY MOM THREW OUT MY BASEBALL CARDS written in black.
“Oh.” Her breath left her in a rush of hot air. “Jamie, how did you find this?” She ran her hand along the flat metal door.
“Bread crumbs.” He pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts and checked his text messages. “Leanna said the owner, Steve, isn’t at the flea market, but she got his phone number from the flea market admin staff.” He smiled at her and handed her his phone. “You can call him.”
“Jamie, you did this. I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”
They sat on the top step. “I like puzzles.”
The way his eyes darkened and his voice softened told her that wasn’t the only reason he’d done it.
“Thanks for helping me try to solve mine.” In so many more ways than one.
“Are you going to call?”
“Yeah, in a second.” She reached for his hand. “I don’t have a lot of friends outside of work, and I want you to know that I really appreciate what you’ve done. It means a lot to me. I’m a little nervous about calling, though. When I came to the Cape it was with the intention of figuring out how to be normal, and finding my dad’s ball was supposed to be something for me to focus on so I didn’t think about playing the cello day and night.”
“What are you worried about? That if you find the baseball you’ll suddenly begin practicing for hours on end?” He gathered her hair in his hands and laid it over her shoulder, then kissed her cheek. “What’s so bad about that?”