It was a small thing, but she’d been so touched he’d thought of her. Her musical tastes were kind of extreme and not everyone got it, but the fact that he’d taken the time to ask her meant a lot. More than it should, if she were honest with herself.
In fact the only thing she really had issues with were the bike pants. They hugged her body, showing just how narrow she was, how she had no womanly curves to speak of. The only reason she’d kept them on was because Joseph couldn’t seem to stop looking at her legs.
Up ahead, Joseph waited for her astride his bike. He wasn’t even breathing hard. But his bike shirt was dark with sweat and she could see the glisten of it in the hollow of his throat. Sunlight filtered down through the pines of the forest around them, dappling his body with light and shadow, accentuating the classical planes and angles of his face.
Waiting for her, all sweat-sheened and glistening, he looked like an advertisement for very expensive aftershave.
Too out of breath to say anything, she just about fell off her bike when she stopped, only just managing not to tip over when she put her leg down and pulled out her earbuds.
Joseph surveyed her. “You look like you’ve had enough.”
“Oh no…I could go…for another…couple of…hours,” she replied sarcastically, in between gasping breaths.
He laughed. “Don’t worry, there’s another ten minutes of this trail and then it’s downhill all the way from there.”
“That’s what you said half an hour ago.”
Grinning, Joseph pushed himself back on his bike. “But this time I mean it.”
She took a deep breath, glaring at him as he pedaled up the curving trail. He was beautiful to watch, all long, hard calves, powerful thighs, and tight buttocks.
To take her mind off the screaming pain in her legs, she imagined him in the form-fitting suits that Olympic bikers wore. And then she imagined slowly unzipping him from it. Distracted, she almost didn’t notice when she arrived at the top of the hill, just as he’d promised.
He glanced at her as she pulled up beside him. “You know for a couch potato gamer girl who hasn’t been on a bike since she was ten, you’re doing very well. What makes you think you’re useless at physical stuff?”
Christie wiped the sweat off her forehead. “My older brother can do every sport known to man. And do it pretty much instantly. Me, not so much. I kind of sucked at everything. I mean, it took me three weeks to learn how to ride. My father gave up in disgust after the first couple of days. He thought I’d never be able to do it.”
“So you taught yourself, in other words?”
“Yes. I suppose I did.” Though it had cost her cuts and bruises.
“That doesn’t sound like someone who sucks. That sounds like someone who’s determined.”
She shifted on her bike, uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. With what looked like respect. Weird, since she wasn’t that amazing.
Christie fiddled with her gloves so she didn’t have to look at him. “Well, I wanted to prove him wrong.”
“And you did.”
“I sprained my wrist in the process but yeah, I did.”
She could feel his gaze resting on her so she toyed some more, not wanting to meet it.
Eventually he looked away and said, “I’m going to go fast down here. It’s quite steep, though, so just go at your own pace. I’ll meet you at the bottom.”
She let out a breath and watched him start off down the hill, riding fast. There were several curves and dips in the trail, engineered for those with a bit of skill to do jumps on, and Joseph rode over them with ease, handling the bike like it was part of him, the bloody show-off. He made it look so easy.
Just like her brother.
That sounds like someone who’s determined.
Christie gripped her handlebars. No, she’d never been very good at this kind of thing. She’d failed at ballet, at gym, at soccer. And of course not forgetting the one Zumba class Marisa had dragged her along to. The one where she’d nearly broken the nose of the woman she’d been next to with her elbow…
But what she did have was a hell of a lot of determination.
She grinned. And before she could second-guess herself, she pushed off with her foot. Hard.
Then there was nothing but wind on her hot face, the ground moving fast beneath her wheels, and the track in front of her. Christie whooped as adrenaline burst through her. This was fantastic. She didn’t even have to do anything, only look out for tree roots and other riders. Amazing.
Toward the end, she even got up enough energy to pedal a bit so she could go faster, the trees whipping by on either side of her.