11. Greer
Greer
“You want me to ride a horse?” Tessa gasped, a look of horror passing over her features.
Greer realized even if she’d grown up privileged, apparently not all fancy ladies ride horses.
Note to self.
“No,” he said, laughing. He’d discovered a solution to their problem and thought it might be fun to get all dramatic about it.
He’d moved her to the sidewalk in front of the bed and breakfast and pointed down the car-lined street where a variety of businesses were.
On one side, as he now realized, was a makeshift corral with horses to ride. “Look across the street.”
He stood behind her, pointing over her shoulder and turning her to face the correct direction. To the sign pointing to e-bike rentals.
“Okay, you want us to ride bikes into town?” she asked, wanting to be sure they were on the same page.
“Yes, can you ride?” he asked.
She let out a deep breath. “It’s been a hot minute.”
“You know the old saying,” he said, breaking into a large smile. “It’s like riding a bike?”
“Right,” she said, sounding wholly unconvinced. “Is there any other way we can get into town?”
“I mean, maybe?” he offered, though they both knew they were running out of options.
The taxis were all booked, and as it was, traffic was starting to back up in the town they were in; everyone pointed in the direction of Harbor’s Head for the start of the beach party.
“We could hang around and see if a taxi opens up.”
“But it’ll still take them forever to get us there,” she finished for him, her eyes scanning the slow-moving traffic in front of them.
And then, she grew silent.
“These are e-bikes,” he said. “They’re going to get us farther in less time than an ordinary bike would. I’d venture to say that by the time we pass the town line, we’ll be moving faster than any car would. This might be the fastest option we have.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, straightening her spine. And suddenly, there was the woman he’d come to know over the past few weeks. Shoulders and back straight, head held high.
Ready to learn. To overcome.
“You know what? Why not.” She glanced up at him, a twinkle in her eye and a small smile appearing on her lips.
He threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a kiss on the side of her head. “That’s my girl.”
Reaching down to grab her hand, they paused to cross the street when there was a lull in traffic, and quickly darted in between cars to get over to the e-bike rental business.
Greer had to admit, the place was absolutely hopping on a day like today.
Bright sun, clear blue sky, and a festival awaited them at the end of their journey.
Clearly, they weren’t the only ones with this idea.
As Greer arranged their rental, Tessa went with one of the shop owners to learn about the basics of the bike.
Greer’d been on them a few times as rental places were popping up all over Boston.
He’d been out with a few guys in the gym, getting some alternative cardio to running on a treadmill or along the Freedom Trail.
As he finished their arrangements and was handed his helmet, he watched as she studiously listened to everything the owner had to say.
Her eyes darted to the panel, the handlebars, the pedals.
When he gestured for her to get on, she tested out the frame between her two hands, tilting it to and fro and getting a feel for the weight of the bike.
“You ready to get out of here?” Greer asked, approaching the two of them. By the looks of things, Tessa was about ready to hop on the bike, only the shop owner seemed like he wanted to help her on.
Time to step back, buddy.
And with one carefully placed glance, suddenly Greer and Tessa had all the room in the world.
“I think so?” she said hesitantly, leaning in to make sure only Greer heard her words. He reached out and cupped the back of her arm, sliding his palm down to her elbow in what he hoped was a soothing motion. “I hope what I’m wearing is okay.”
His brow furrowed as he stepped back to take her in. She was in a blue plaid sundress with straps over her shoulders and a hemline that stopped just below her knees. On her feet were a pair of white sneakers, which were perfect for the trek.
“You look adorable,” he said, taking her in all over again. Tessa never dressed down, not in all the weeks he’d known her, and some part of him wondered what she might look like in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. But still, he wouldn’t change her for the world.
“Well, be that as it may,” she said, still a little nervous. “Do you think the dress will be okay to ride in?”
“It’s perfect,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her in for a quick kiss. “And so are you.”
She smiled, resting her hands against his chest.
“Just follow my lead. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
“Alright,” she agreed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. She lifted her helmet and set it on her head. “Let’s ride.”
Once the two of them were strapped into their helmets and ready to go, the shop owner insisted they try out the bikes before venturing off onto the road to Harbor’s Head.
Greer happily swung his leg over, got the small beast started, and demonstrated his capabilities smoothly on the well-worn dirt patch.
Tessa? Well… she caught on quickly. But not without a few bobbles at first. As she got up on the seat and began to pedal, she wobbled so much that Greer was ready to make a sprint to catch her if she fell over.
But she recovered quickly, getting her balance and moving forward.
Then, she nearly took out two women on the edge of the path who were watching to see if they wanted to rent a bike themselves. Fortunately, being on vacation and all, they were in very chill moods and didn’t seem to care that they had nearly been wiped out.
“You ready to go?” he called to her after she’d made a few more passes, each time with a steadier stance and much more confidence.
“Let’s go!” she called out, delight painting her face. It was absolutely infectious, and Greer broke into a wide smile as he hopped on his bike, pedaled quickly to get out in front of her, and led the way down the road.
“Tess!” Greer called after the blonde whirlwind that passed him. Again. “Tess, get off the sidewalk!”
“Make me!” she called back, laughing out loud and pedaling for all she was worth.
Oh, he could make her alright. All he’d need to do was get up to speed, and he could easily overtake her. And he had to admit, there was something deep down and primal inside of him that wanted to do just that.
Thump his chest. Toss her over his shoulder. Bring her back to his cave.
And yet, watching Tessa Montgomery come to life on a bike, the breeze running through her hair, and her beautiful face upturned and smiling at the sun, he wanted to make that last as long as possible.
It hadn’t taken them even half an hour to make it into Harbor’s Head, and given the bumper-to-bumper traffic situation from so many folks trying to get into town, riding bikes was easily one of the best choices ever.
Not only were the paths clear, including the sidewalks (which Tessa hopped on and off just to mess with him, he was pretty sure), but thanks to everyone being in a laid-back mood, folks were happy and waving to them as they peddled along toward their final destination.
Tessa had spent much of her time waving back at folks who wanted to say hello in their vehicles, on the street itself, and even in their front yards as they rode on past.
“How much further?” Tessa hollered, turning her head back quickly to meet him as she continued to smile.
“Not long now,” he said, if the image of the map he had in his mind was any indicator. They’d actually crossed the town line a while ago, but to get to the Downtown area, near where the beach and subsequent party were going on, that would be further.
When they finally crested a hill, revealing the edge of a brick building on the other side of a small bridge running over a stream, Greer knew they were finally getting closer to where they needed to be.
However, when he saw a woman on the other side of the bridge waving to them with two hands in the air, he knew it wasn’t for a generalized hello like all the others.
She was clearly trying to flag them down.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Tessa decelerating, catching sight of this woman as well. Only as they pulled up, she smiled widely and started directing them off to the side.
“We’re nearly ready to go. You just made it!” she said, continuing to point off to her left.
“What?” Tessa asked, trying to understand.
“Just pull up to the back. There’s plenty of room,” she said, shooing them on with urgency. The woman’s attention turned to another person on a bike across the street from them, whom she started flagging down like she had done for the two of them.
No time for explanation, Greer and Tessa began a slow crawl forward down the side street next to the stream.
“Do you think they rerouted traffic?” Tessa wondered, looking back to the long line of cars at a practical standstill as they tried to get into Harbor’s Head proper.
“No,” Greer said, wondering how they were going to get past that woman who seemed to be determined to keep them off the main path. “There should have been signs if that were the case.”
“Maybe that’s why she was so insistent?” Tessa said, looking back at her once more. “They just decided to reroute bikes?”
“Wait,” Greer said, pulling to a full stop and straining his ears. Tessa pulled up alongside him. “Do you hear that?”
“Music?” she said, searching the area in front of them and coming up empty.
“Yes,” he said, hearing a distinctive beat. “It’s coming from just around the corner.”
Picking up speed again, he and Tessa coasted along the street until they found exactly what the woman had been referring to.
To their surprise, there was a massive crowd of bikes that absolutely filled the street.
Older adults on bicycles, younger adults on tricked-out bikes, even families with little ones on tricycles.
“What is this?” Tessa wondered as they obediently pulled up to the back, nodding in kind to those around them.
“Looks like it might be a bike parade?” Greer said quietly, not necessarily wanting to give away to everyone around them that they had absolutely no idea what was going on.
“Really?” Tessa asked, her face lighting up once more as she looked around at everyone. “Like, we’re going to ride into town together?”
“I think so?” Greer said, just as the music kicked up louder. People all around them began to cheer, and suddenly the group was alive with frenetic, excited energy.
“Are you guys new to the pack?” a mother with a small boy pedaling around on a tricycle asked, sharing a friendly smile and a genuine curiosity.
“We’re just in town for the beach party,” Tessa said. “We’ve kind of accidentally wandered in.”
The woman laughed. “Well, you’ve got the luck. This is one of the best places you could wander into. Simon, be careful!” she said to her little boy, whose head was down as he peeled off.
“Are we ready?” someone up front with a megaphone shouted over the crowd.
As the crowd exploded into cheers once more, Greer narrowed his eyes to focus on the person.
There had to have been a hundred people all crammed together with their bikes on this street, and the tiny person way at the front was almost impossible to see from back there.
“Let’s go!” he said as the music went full blast, a heavy thudding beat that signaled to the crowd to start moving. Suddenly, all the folks around them mounted their bikes and began peddling.
“If you can’t beat ‘em…” Greer said, grinning at Tessa and pressing his foot down on the bike’s pedal.
“Join ‘em!” she said, practically cheering along with everyone. Getting up to speed so they weren’t left behind, Greer was shocked to realize that the road had been entirely cleared for them.
Which, if they were down a road to take, it was probably the reason the cars coming into town were at a standstill.
Looking over at Tessa, who was deep in concentration, trying to remain in the pack.
In all the time he’d known her, he’d never seen her so light and carefree.
Just happy. It was almost as if she’d forgotten entirely about why they were there.
What the outcome of their search might be.
For the first time in forever, she was living in the moment.
“You having a good time?” he asked, wanting more than anything for her to realize it.
“The best!” she said, laughing as she continued to grin and look around. And in that moment, Greer realized two things.
One, he would never regret helping her. The day that he was asked to consider being a fake boyfriend, he’d made the right choice.
And two, he didn’t want just this time with Tessa.
He wanted it all with her.