4
Ashlynn
Frankie Machine – Solea
I have officially lost Neha in the mix of things. I have looked everywhere for her, even stopping back at the Sports World tent, to no avail. I’ve even texted her a couple of times with no response. At least there is plenty for me to do.
I take advantage of being on my own for a while, going from tent to tent looking at all the merchandise. Who would have thought so many companies can make the same parts for skateboarding and BMX? I learn something new with each tent and I finally get to the Overbear tent, which is Anthony’s company. I may have googled that to see he achieved this part of his career. As I browse, I'm met with a sea of bike parts at first. Then, they start unboxing shirts, hoodies, and hats–among other things. I spot a ladies' t-shirt and decide to buy one to support his dream, even if it's just secretly. I swiftly tuck it into my backpack and make it over to the skatepark, hoping I didn’t miss any of the runs. As I make my way to the park, I finally spot Neha, who’s talking to someone, and I head over in her direction. As soon as she hugs said person, I notice it is Nick. As soon as he spots me over her shoulder, to say he is shocked to see me would be an understatement. When they move away from each other, he heads my way.
Giving me probably one of the worst hugs ever, he says, “Ashlynn, what the hell are you doing here? He doesn’t need to see you.” He instantly puts up a wall for his friend, which I admire. He and Anthony have protected each other since I first met them.
I give Nick a knowing look and say, “Hi Nick, how are you doing? I’m doing good, too, thanks for asking!”
Busting out laughing, he finally gives me a better hug this time and looks at me, saying, “I see you are still a smart ass; nothing has changed.”
I tell him, “I don’t ever see that changing!” I look back to him and let him know that I am not there to mess with Anthony–that I just came to support Neha.
Nick looks confused. “So, you aren’t here interviewing anyone for the magazine?”
I look at him, telling him, “I am not a writer at the magazine. I do freelance writing!”
Nodding his head, he looks at us both and asks if we want to go get some food and catch up before the dirt event.
I give him a confused look at his remark. “Didn’t you just say that Anthony doesn’t need to see me? If I go with you guys to the dirt jumps, there is a chance that could happen.”
Nick thinks for a minute about this and says, "The dirt jumps attract some of the biggest audiences, so he probably won't see you. Besides, he'll be focused on his runs, so I think it'll be safe." I give in and agree to go watch the dirt runs.
We make our way to a pretzel tent and place our orders. Then, we sit down and catch up with each other. Well, more so with Nick, since Neha and I are always around one another. He fills us in on how he has been able to travel to Europe to film skateboarding parts for videos and ride at amazing places in some of the biggest European cities. I can’t help but notice that he throws in that Anthony also went with him a few times over there to ride some spots as well. He also, so kindly, throws in that Anthony has a girlfriend named Mika. This gets my undivided attention. Why did he have to bring that up? It really isn’t any of my business.
Though, I can’t stop myself from asking, “So his girlfriend Mika–does she go on tour with him for everything?”
Nick has a smug grin on his face, knowing he has hit a nerve; he did this on purpose, whether to get a rise out of me or to see if my feelings are still there. He wins because they never left. I just tried ignoring them. Nick completely ignores what I ask, since our pretzels are ready. We finish eating and notice that we have been talking for longer than expected and realize we missed the start of the dirt runs. We hurry to get over there, so we don’t miss anymore, specifically Anthony. Even if I don’t talk to him, I want to see him ride again. It has been too long.
We make it over and start heading up the steps to the seats and I am greeted by a song I am all too familiar with: Frankie Machine by Solea is playing over the surrounding speakers. Smiling to myself at just how excited I am to see him again hits me, and I instantly know that Anthony is getting ready to drop in. Running up the steps, I stay put at the railing and watch him drop in and do his thing. He is mesmerizing. As I am watching him, the music slowly starts to fade away and all I can hear is my heartbeat in my ears and the clicks of his freewheel as the tires spin jump after jump. Every jump and landing is perfect and executed smoothly. He is a natural–no wonder he made it pro. He was born for this sport. Once he is done and back up on the deck, he is given his scores, which are perfect as well. I would expect nothing less!
Still in a daze, I feel someone nudge my shoulders and lean in and say, “Should I get you a room or do you want to stay here and gawk at him?”
Jumping and eyes wide, I look over at both Nick and Neha who are both smiling ear to ear and laughing at me. I tell her to shut up!
Still laughing at me, she says, “You never took your eyes off of him during his whole run. Do you realize that?”
I do realize that, I say to myself, but I really don’t know what to tell her.
Neha steps into me and says, “I would say don’t look now, but you have been spotted, Ashlynn!”
As soon as she says this, I feel his eyes on me and I turn to look at the deck where he is leaning on his bike looking right at me. He still looks like the boy I fell in love with, but he is now a man. It seems like he is a bit taller, still has his dark hair, olive skin, and damn that muscular frame. My goodness, he has straight forearm porn going on! As I continue with my staring, because I am having trouble taking my eyes off him now, he gives me a small nod and that damn beautiful, crooked smile that always got me to melt. How is it he only got more handsome with age? I turn to Neha and Nick, not knowing what to say, so I say the first thing that comes to mind, “I need to go get another Jack and Coke, I will meet you guys somewhere or whatever!” I can’t even think straight at this point; I just need to get out of here!
I make it back over to the whiskey tent and the line is massive, which I am more than happy with since it will take me a while to make my way back. Oh god, why did I have to stand there and stare at him like some lunatic? Though, thinking of the look on his face, he didn’t seem so shocked to see me with Neha and Nick. That makes me wonder if he somehow saw me when we first got here this afternoon, and I just didn’t notice? I do have quite the tunnel vision with pretty much everything. If I have a destination to focus on, that’s what matters and at the time it was getting a Jack and Coke. Now that I think about it, though, as I was standing in line earlier, it did feel like someone was watching me, but when I looked around, I didn’t notice anything. I’m not a big drinker, but right now calls for another one. I need to chill the hell out. My nerves are going crazy; I am shaking. He still has such a pull on me, even after all this time–like we are somehow tethered together, and it is trying to pull us back to one another.
As I am waiting in line, Neha comes up to me and gets a lot of dirty looks from everyone for cutting. She starts talking. “That was interesting.”
I don’t even want to look at her at this moment. I can’t take my mind off him. He saw me and wasn’t surprised. He had to have seen me earlier, but when? I finally answer her. “Yeah, I was just so into watching him ride, that’s all it was. It has been a long time since I’ve watched him.”
Once again, I am being laughed at. “You realize how many times you just said watched in the same sentence? Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, Ashlynn, but you cannot fool me. You still have it bad for him, just like you did in high school. I don’t think either of you ever stopped.”
Smacking my forehead and sighing, I ask her, “Do you think he noticed how much I was staring at him? He didn’t even seem that surprised to see me.”
Neha looks away as if choosing her next words carefully, but she just blurts it out. “He saw you already, in this same line earlier. He told me when we saw each other at the skatepark. I think he could see my concern on my face, and he just told me he saw you, but you had your back to him and you didn’t know.”
Relief falls over me, thank goodness. She continues talking and tells me what else he said, “He also said that he could find you in any crowd.” For some unknown reason, this makes me blush far too much. Do I just not blend in very well or can he just really zero in on me that easily? It is that damn connection that has never gone away. It is still there and just as strong. Neha sighs and says, “I think he was hoping you would be here with me; he got such a sweet smile on his face when he told me he saw you already.” In good old Neha fashion, she makes me smile with this comment!