Chapter Six
Cole
That Sunday, my parents took Declan to the children’s museum in the next town over, so Ben came by so we could go for an off-road ride. He was wearing a T-shirt and baggy shorts that probably didn’t have a chamois, and his “riding” shoes that looked more like skateboarding shoes. He made a face when he saw that I had changed into my kit.
“We’re not doing Tour de France, here, fucker,” he said.
“Yeah, I know, but if I’m going to be riding, I’m more comfortable in this, whether we’re on the road or the trails. Not interested in getting chafed, thank you very much. Maybe you’re into that sort of thing, but I’m all set with that.”
He sat down at the kitchen table and watched me fill up my water bottle. “So how goes it?” he asked. “I assume no progress has been made in terms of you winning our bet; otherwise, I would have heard about it by now.”
“I might not have won the bet yet, but I’m working on it,” I said.
He gave me that Cheshire cat grin of his that he gets when he’s up to no good. “You sure about that?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Well, as you know, I rode my bike here, which took me right past Allie’s house. And she happened to be out front doing that gardening shit. Why are women so into that gardening shit, anyway? I mean, not being afraid to get your hands dirty is cool and shit, but it’s like a little much sometimes, don’t you think?”
“Focus,” I said.
“Right. So yeah, riding by on my bike, minding my own business, all I did was wave, say hello, just like a normal functioning member of a civilized society would do. I’m expecting her to wave back and shit, but no, she actually got up and waved at me in such a way that I knew she wanted me to stop.”
“This all just happened now?” I asked skeptically. The front windows were open—how had I not heard any of this?
“Yessirree, it did. And would you like to know what our little conversation was about?”
“Probably not.”
“Oh, but I think you do. She wanted to know if I would like to get together with her later.”
I tried to keep the surprise from showing on my face. Huh? What? Was he just bullshitting me?
“I know, right?” he continued. “Not what I was expecting at all. But it looks like she had a change of heart.”
“So do you guys have plans?”
“She gave me her phone number, and I told her I’d text her this weekend. Maybe we’ll do something Saturday night. Just haven’t figured out what yet. Now, if this all happens, this kind of puts our bet up in the air and all. I don’t know if we should still move forward with it.”
I felt that old competitive streak flare up, and it was almost like we were 10 years old again, on our BMX bikes, doing a track stand, waiting for the starting gate to drop. No fucking way was I going to let him win this easily.
“Hanging out does not mean you’re going to get laid,” I said.
“But sometimes it does. You really want my sloppy seconds?”
“Fuck no, but I don’t think that just because you hang out with her means that you’re going to get laid. Call me skeptical, but I just don’t.”
“Should we make another bet about it?”
I twisted the cap onto the water bottle. “I think I’m all set making bets with you. Maybe we should let this first one play out before we get on to any others.”
“Suit yourself,” he said. He slapped the table and then stood up. “You ready? I’ve had like five coffees so far today. I need to burn off some of this energy.”
“Picture of health,” I said. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Out on the trails, I let Ben go first because I knew he’d burn himself out halfway through. He set a pretty blazing pace, which I mostly kept up with, though I wasn’t doing all the jumps, drops, and hucks that he was, and therefore conserving more energy. I felt tired, but I knew if I kept pushing myself, I’d push through the tiredness, get that fabled second wind, and somehow end up feeling like I was on top of the world. All the while, Ben would be feeling like his legs had turned to jelly.
And that was exactly how it happened. I didn’t even go all out because I would’ve just left him in the fucking dust, so as we made our way back, I pedaled just fast enough to stay ahead of him, but not so much that I was out of sight.
“You’re killin’ it,” he panted when we got back. “Jesus Christ, you’re a fucking animal.”
“Must be the chamois,” I said, though I couldn’t deny that it felt good to still be able to smoke him like this, even though I was riding so much less than I used to.
I was about to wheel my bike into the garage when I saw Allie come out of her house.
“Hey,” I said, waving. As I did so, I caught a whiff of myself and hoped that she wouldn’t come over here, which, of course, she did.
“Hey guys,” she said. “How’s it going?”
“Just back from a ride,” Ben said. “My man here put the hurt on me, big time.” Ben grinned. “There are some things he can win at.”
Allie smiled. “Is everything a big competition between you two?”
“Something like that,” Ben said mildly.
“So what are you up to?” I asked.
“I’ve just got some errands to run. I was thinking I might go check out bikes, actually.”
“Ben works at a bike shop,” I said.
“Backwoods Bikes,” Ben said. “Obviously, I’m not in there today, but if you let them know you know me, they’ll give you a discount. Or if you want to wait until I’m working, I’ll be there tomorrow, 10 to 6.”
“Maybe I will wait,” Allie said. “I could swing by after work.”
“Sounds good,” Ben said.
Allie smiled. “Well, you guys have a good rest of your day.”
We both watched her go, that ass of hers looking more than delicious in those shorts she was wearing. When she turned to get in her car, though, I looked away quickly, waved once more, then pushed my bike into the garage.
Time for a nice cold shower.