15. Caitlin
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
caitlin
Keep pushing, everyone! Pedal like there’s a bear chasing you!” The young, college-aged cycling instructor yelled out her questionable words of encouragement as bass music pumped out of the speakers, vibrating the floor and walls.
“I’m not sure I want to imagine a bear chasing me,” the woman next to me—a brunette with her hair tied back in a French braid who appeared to be in her mid-twenties—muttered.
A soft laugh escaped me. “I’d be dead if there was a bear involved. Cycling is harder than I imagined.”
Sweat dripped down my brows, and I was sure my butt was going to be unbearably sore tomorrow, but I wasn’t a quitter. At least I hoped I wasn’t. There were still twenty minutes left in this class, though, and I was convinced I was dying.
“Ramp it up to 120 RPM! The bear is on your heels, and it’s snapping its jaws at you. Go, go, go!” Ashleigh—I was pretty sure that was her name—leaned forward toward the handlebars of her stationary bike as her legs started moving even faster than they were before.
What the actual fuck?
My eyes scanned the room, searching for anyone else who was also struggling, but it seemed like all the other people were fucking Olympic cyclists here. Well, other than my new best friend next to me, who was beginning to lose steam.
The song changed, and Ashleigh started fucking dancing.
Her arms moved up and down like a robot, and her damn legs kept cycling at the same pace.
I hoped she didn’t expect us to do the same thing, because if I tried that, I’d probably snap my knee cap or something.
I didn’t know if that was even possible, but I wasn’t ruling anything out at this point.
“Cocktail calories after a workout class don’t count, right?” I grumbled as I continued to pedal as fast as I could, which was still slower than the pace Ashleigh wanted us to be at.
“Definitely not. At this rate, I’ll be at negative calories, so if anything a cocktail would just balance everything out,” my bike neighbor replied.
“Perfect. Girl math.” After pausing for a moment to catch my breath, I added, “Would you want to come with me? I feel like women who struggle during cycling classes together should stay together, and I need more friends here.”
She nodded. “Count me in.”
“Good job, everybody! We’re gonna slow it down to 60 RPM to finish out,” Ashleigh called out, and a collective sigh of relief filled the room.
“Thank God. The sooner I can get away from the cycling class from hell, the better.”
I coughed out a laugh, my shoulders shaking and cheeks hurting from smiling.
“My name’s Rebecca, by the way.” My cycling neighbor extended a hand out to me once the class was over and we were gathering our belongings. “You can call me Bec, though.”
“Nice to meet you officially, Bec.” I took her hand. “I’m Caitlin, but everyone calls me Cait. Just not Caity.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Caitlin not Caity.” She grinned. “Should we go get those cocktails now?”
“Yes, please.”
“There’s a cute little brunch place just down the road from here. We could walk if that works?” she suggested, hauling her gym tote over her shoulder.
“Sounds good to me.”
We walked out of the cycling building together, and I let Bec take the lead once we got out to the sidewalk.
“So, have you done many cycling classes before?” I asked.
A bright laugh bubbled out of her. “Yes, but I dread it every time. Was that your first one?”
Heat raced into my cheeks. “Was it that obvious?”
Bec’s eyes widened, and she immediately shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that. I’ve just never seen you at a class before.”
“Oh, okay. To answer your question, though, yeah, that was my first. I’m not sure if I’ll go back, though,” I admitted.
“Ashleigh can be intense. I prefer a different instructor, but she’s out on vacation right now. You just happened to choose the wrong week to come to a class for the first time. But don’t let this one scare you away from it. As much as I grumble about them, I totally feel better afterwards.”
I brushed a stray hair out of my face. “Yeah, I don’t know. I really only came because I’m trying out different hobbies for this bucket list thing.” At the accidental admission of Jake’s fuck-it list, my cheeks flushed again.
“Ooh, a bucket list? That’s so fun! What kind of things are on it?” Bec asked, her enthusiasm a little bit overwhelming for the situation.
“It’s just this silly little thing my neighbor…
er, he’s one of my younger brother’s friends, put together for me.
It’s supposed to help me find myself or whatever.
” I put it in quotes. Since I was apparently in the mood for oversharing, I added, “I just got a divorce, and I have a four-year-old, so this is an attempt at me having a life, I guess?” Backtracking, I shook my head. “That came out worse than I intended.”
“No, I get it,” Bec reassured me. “I have a kid, too, so I understand what you mean. When you become a mom, it’s almost like you’re gaining an identity and losing one at the same time.”
Emotion gripped my chest, because very few people understood me in the way that Bec, a practical stranger, just did.
“I love my daughter, don’t get me wrong. She’s my entire world.” A sigh escaped my lips. “Sometimes, though, I feel like I exist solely for her.”
“Maybe this bucket list will be a good thing, then.” Bec offered me a smile, and I returned it. “Here’s the restaurant I was talking about.”
She stopped in front of a cozy looking café with big windows and a welcoming front patio. Conversation buzzed in the air, but the café itself wasn’t too busy, so we were seated immediately.
Our server brought us some water then left us alone to peruse the menu.
“Okay, so one of your bucket list items is to try new hobbies. What else?”
“Have a yes day for myself, take a solo trip, say no to something I don’t want to do,” I rattled off a few list items, and Bec nodded and hummed her approval with each one.
“Those are good. This neighbor”—she shot me a devilish grin, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth—“is he cute?”
“W-why would that be important?” I stumbled over my words.
She laughed in response, the sound bright and teasing, not malicious. “I mean, he’s putting in all this effort to make you a bucket list. That has to mean something. I doubt a guy would do that just for the fun of it. Most men are too lazy.”
A rapid thrum, thrum, thrum, pounded in my chest as I spun the rings on my fingers. “I-I guess so. I don’t know, I assumed he was just trying to be nice? He’s also my landlord?” It wasn’t a question, but the statement came out that way regardless.
Bec was in the midst of taking a drink, but she stopped her glass halfway between the table and her mouth. “Hold on, repeat that.”
“He’s just trying to be nice.”
“No, the other thing! He’s your landlord?”
I swallowed, my throat suddenly drier than the Sahara Desert. “D-did I say that?”
“Yup. Now explain.” When I didn’t say anything, she backtracked. “Okay, fair. We hardly know each other, so if you don’t want to elaborate, you definitely don’t have to. I got a little too excited there.”
“N-no, it’s okay. He’s letting me stay in his guest house until I can find a more permanent place to live.”
“That’s nice of him. What’s your rent like?”
Rolling my lips between my teeth, I averted my eyes.
“Don’t tell me he’s letting you live there rent free! Girl, this man is way more than just being nice to you. Okay, wait, tell me more about him.”
“I’m not sure what there is to say.” I laughed a bit awkwardly. Other than the fact he was my younger brother’s friend and he made me feel more like myself than anyone else in the world did. He saw me in a way I’d searched for maybe my whole life.
“You’re literally blushing!” At this point, Bec had placed both of her hands on the table and was leaning forward. As though she became hyperaware of herself, she relaxed. “I’m sorry. This is probably so weird, and I haven’t even told you anything about myself. Ask me anything.”
Still twisting my ring on my pointer finger, I asked, “What’s your kid’s name?”
“Noah. He’s five. His dad took him for the day, thank goodness. They’re a handful at this age. Just last week, he took a Sharpie to our walls. In his defense, he was drawing himself with Mommy and Daddy, so it was adorable, but I still haven’t been able to get it off. I’ve tried everything.”
I blew out a raspberry. “Luckily, that hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’m just mentally preparing myself for the day it does.
Whitley, my daughter, is in a phase where she gets into everything.
I swear, sometimes, if I leave her alone for five minutes she’ll be playing with something she’s not supposed to have. ”
She chuckled, nodding in understanding. “That’s the life of a four-year-old for you.”
“What does your husband do for work?”
“Oh, Noah’s dad? We’re not married. Or together, really.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed,” I apologized, but she waved me off to continue.
“It’s okay. We met when we were young and dumb.
One night led to another, and then Noah happened.
A happy accident, as they say. I don’t know if either of us were really ready for a kid, but he stayed around and took responsibility.
At least he does when he can, because he’s a power lineman.
Most of the time he’s working during the day or traveling, so I have Noah about eighty percent of the time.
I got lucky, though. He’s off for the next few days. ”
Sounds familiar.
“My ex-husband works in finance, so he’s always going on business trips. I grew up in Silver Creek, so I at least have family nearby who can help with Whit now.”
“You know how they say, ‘It takes a village?’ I never realized how true that statement was until I had a kid of my own. These days, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
I thought about Colter, Ellison, Jake, and the rest of the cowboys and their girlfriends. “Yeah, I’m really lucky to have people in my life who support me. Even if they aren’t family by blood. I think that was something I really missed when I was living in Washington.”
“Well, I’m happy you’re here and that we met.” Bec reached across the table for my hand, giving it a light squeeze.
“I am, too.”
“Okay, now tell me more about this landlord-slash-neighbor-slash-brother’s best friend you have.”