3
Anthony
Rite of Spring – Angels everything looked awesome!”
“Thanks, man! How did your park runs go?” Nick asks.
I smile and he knows how I feel about them: it is the same feeling he gets when he is on his board. “I took 2nd overall. There are some good riders out there–really good riders. I talked to a few about coming to Overbear.”
“Man, I knew you would kill it. Sorry I missed it. I will be at the dirt runs though; I won’t miss you riding dirt. You always fucking kill that shit.”
I always tell Nick I think I enjoy park more than dirt, but deep-down dirt riding is exhilarating. Flying through the air, holding onto your bike, and hoping you don’t crash and seriously injure yourself–what more of an adrenaline rush could you ask for? Nick is up for the second street run, and he gives me a nod to the other side of the crowd where all the press is at.
Nick quickly tells me, “Hey, Neha is over there. You should go say hey. As far as I can tell, Ashlynn is not with her; at least, I haven’t seen her.”
All I can think about is yeah, she is most definitely here. I’ve already seen her. I tell him good luck and I will see him at the dirt jumps. As soon as I leave him to do the second run, I run over to the press area and run up behind Neha and grab her in a giant bear hug, saying, “Neha, how the hell are you?”
She looks at me with a big smile on her face, laughing, and says, “Oh my gosh! Anthony, what the hell? It’s so good to see you again. I was just getting ready to head over to the dirt section for your event.”
I tell her it is good to see her too and ask her if she has talked to Nick yet, and she instantly blushes just from his name.
“No, he is avoiding me for some reason, even though he knows I want to interview him!”
I have to laugh at this because he is not avoiding her–he is just hung up on her and doesn’t know what to say to her after four years of not seeing her. “I don’t think he is avoiding you; I think he is more nervous to see you, that’s all.”
We are both quiet for a minute before I look over at her and tell her what is on my mind. “Neha, I saw her. Ashlynn was at a whiskey tent close to my company’s tent.”
Neha looks shocked that I saw Ashlynn at the event. She starts talking about getting her here. “Honestly, Anthony, I forced her to come. I didn’t give her much of a choice. I told her chances of you two running into each other were pretty much nonexistent. However, you just seriously made me a giant liar!”
I laugh at her for this, telling her, “She didn’t see me. She had her back to me, but I knew it was her the moment my eyes landed on her. I could find her in any crowd.” Neha looks relieved that we didn’t see one another. I wonder if she will come watch me ride. She used to come with me to the skate parks in Colorado Springs and would watch me ride for hours without any complaints.
I hope she comes to watch me.