Saturdays (Challenge)

by D. Blake

  “Nope, she was just edging for a date, but I told her I was already meeting someone here…” When Summer gave her a look she added, “For a workout.” She smiled and waved her hand for Summer to start them off.

  Summer stood taking in her brown basketball shorts, and tight yellow tank top that showed off her cut arms. Myla was the perfect girlfriend material, but something about that made Summer extremely insecure AND vulnerable.

  “Hey, you okay?” Myla asked, now standing in front of Summer with her hand on her arm.

  “Yes, I’m okay. Sorry, it’s a been long day,” Summer answered not looking into Myla’s concerned hazel eyes, terrified that she would be able to read her mind.

  “You up for this?”

  “Always,” Summer replied with a forced smile.

  “Because if you don’t want me to wipe the court with your butt tonight, we could just have dinner.” Myla knew a little taunting would lighten the mood. She didn’t know Summer very well, but suspected that she was normally a guarded woman.

  This made Summer laugh out loud and appreciate the fact that Myla knew how to make her smile. “No, I need to work up an appetite. You start since I won last time,” she finished before throwing Myla the ball with a playful grin.

  They played best two out of three with Summer needing to work out the kinks from her running thoughts. When Myla won the first and then second game, they called it and headed towards the locker room. Myla hesitated again, allowing Summer to go first while she used the excuse of logging onto the gym’s computer to check her team’s progress. Fifteen minutes later, expecting Summer to be finished, she walked into the locker room to be met with Summer sitting on the bench in her bra and underwear with still wet hair, staring at the floor.

  Her breath hitched at the sight before her, but quickly she regained her semblance when she realized Summer was zoning out. “Do you want to call it a night?”

  “What?” She asked looking up to see Myla’s expressive eyes.

  “You don’t seem like yourself tonight. Do you want to do dinner another time?”

  “Sorry, yes. I mean no. I’m hungry and want to have dinner. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but really, I’m okay.” Summer stood from her spot and pulled a pair of jeans from her bag. Myla was silent as she watched her step into her loose jeans and pull them up over her firm thighs.

  Summer turned back around and smiled. “Going to take a shower?” she asked raising her eyebrows, knowing that Myla had been appraising her. Maybe we could have a friends with benefits arrangement. Yet, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, it was shut out, as if it was the most absurd idea she had ever thought of. She liked Myla and already wanted more than a friendship – sex alone was not an option.

  Myla’s face and neck turned a brilliant shade of red. She wasn’t embarrassed that she was caught looking. She was however, embarrassed that she stood there gawking at her even after Summer spoke to her. “Shower,” she said turning back to the bench and pulling her towel and shampoo from her bag. “Five minutes.”

  Summer nodded and continued getting dressed. For now, she liked the idea of getting to know Myla better. Myla was honestly the most genuine person she had ever met, and they had so much in common it was almost scary to comprehend. She shook her head and packed her bag, leaving the locker room before she was met with a naked Myla, knowing without a doubt, that she wouldn’t be able to hide her own attraction.

  Fifteen minutes later, Myla breezed through the locker room door in search of Summer, who was standing at the front counter talking with one of the Waverly Fitness employees. As she approached the counter, she overheard the invitation for dancing from the very young blond. “Sorry my dinner date is here,” Summer responded, taking Myla’s hand as she approached the counter.

  The young woman nodded and waved. “You know where to find me.”

  Summer waved and pulled Myla along. “Friend?” Myla asked.

  “No.”

  “I bet you make a lot of friends in your day,” Myla teased.

  Summer stopped them dead in their tracks before they even made it out of the building. “I don’t sleep around, if that’s what you are insinuating. I may not have found the love of my life like you at a young age, but I am monogamous.” With that she let go of Myla’s hand and continued walking out the front doors of the gym.

  Myla had to run to catch up with her, grabbing her hand and causing her bag to fall to the ground. “Stop please.” When Myla had Summer’s attention she set down her own bag and took Summer’s hands in hers. “Hey, I was only teasing you. I don’t really think that you sleep around. Summer, please look at me.”

  Summer looked into her hazel eyes and shook her head. “I just don’t want you to think that I can’t be in a relationship.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you aren’t like that. You’re too oblivious.”

  “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Summer asked, not understanding the context.

  “You have both women and men watching you everywhere we go, but you don’t even notice.”

  Summer blushed and lowered her head. “From what I’ve seen they are looking at you. Come on, let’s go eat,” she said trying to get away from the uncomfortable situation.

  Myla laughed and picked up her bag. “Seriously, you don’t notice, do you?” Myla wasn’t going to let it go so easily.

  “I don’t try to encourage people, unless I’m interested,” she said raising her eyebrows.

  “Hmm.”

  “Hmm what?”

  “Just hmm. Let’s go, my stomach is about to revolt and you owe me a dinner.”

  “Fine,” Summer said abrasively, but smiled at Myla to let her know they were okay. “Lead the way.”

  After depositing their bags in the trunk of their cars, Myla lead the way to the nearest Italian restaurant in the neighborhood.

  ****

  The following morning Summer received a message from Myla for another challenge. Summer grinned thinking about the previous evening. Myla was winning her over with every challenge, and dinner of course. She was easy to talk to, easy to be around and beyond beautiful, inside and out.

  “Hey, want to go for a ride this weekend?” Taryn said, popping her head in Summer’s open door.

  “Which day? I think I might have plans for Saturday.”

  “Might have plans?”

  Summer smiled and nodded her head for Taryn to have a seat. “How are you doing?”

  “No, no, no. You can’t lead with, ‘I might have plans’ and then leave me hanging. Tell!”

  “Okay. I met up with an old friend a couple weeks ago and… well I guess we weren’t really old friends. We played for different teams in high school.”

  “When you say played for different teams, do you mean sports or being gay?”

  “Ha. Ha. Sports. I’m talking sports. We played against one another in Volleyball, Basketball, AND Track and Field, and she was always my toughest competitor. Of course I was an ass in high school… really competitive.”

  “No, you?” Taryn said smirking and bobbing her head.

  “ANYWAY, it didn’t matter who won the competition, she was always sweet and nice. It aggravated me to no end.” Taryn didn’t comment this time. She just watched her friend’s expression as she reminisced about someone that was obviously important in her life. Summer looked up and saw that Taryn didn’t have a comment. “Her company is in our Fitbit Challenge. She’s one of the leaders.”

  “Really?” Taryn asked excited to know who Summer was crushing on. “Which one?”

  “The Human Resource team, the ninth team. We bumped into each other and my natural competitiveness kicked in. I challenged her to our own little competition.” Taryn still didn’t say a word. She had been close friends with Summer for years, and had never heard her talk about anyone. She knew Summer dated and had even met a few of her girlfriends, but she never talked about them. And certainly didn’t smile about them as much as she was now.

  Summer
realized that Taryn wasn’t giving her a hard time. “I like her. We’ve met twice for one on one basketball and she just emailed about a bike ride this weekend.”

  “I’m glad Summer. You should definitely take her up on it. We can ride another time,” Taryn said not asking any questions.

  “Would you like to go with us? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

  “No. We can go another time. You have your… challenge.” Taryn said not wanting to come right out and say date, even though she was sure it was.

  “I like her.”

  “You said that.” Taryn stood and went to Summer, giving her a quick hug and turning to leave. “I’m happy for you and I hope I get to meet her soon.”

  “Sunday, okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  Summer smiled at Taryn, but as soon as her door closed she frowned to herself. Myla had already been in a committed relationship with “the love of her life.” She shook her head and decided she would take what she could get. Clicking on her email box again, she typed a short reply. “Road or mountain?”

  Within seconds a reply came through. “Mountain. Do you have a bike? I can borrow one from a friend.”

  “I have both.”

  “Great. Spring Hill entrance at 9 o’clock. And Summer…”

  “Yes?” Summer felt warm all over from thoughts of the previous evening. They discussed their high school and college experiences, and eventually got around to discussing coming out and first girlfriends. She learned that Myla had met her girlfriend after college at a basketball charity event. They were both immediately smitten with one another and started dating the following weekend. After just one month, they moved in with one another and were happy together for 8 years until Linda’s untimely death.

  Myla confessed that she struggled to stay above water until she made the decision to move home. Her grandmother was sick and her mother needed help taking care of her. Yet, she admitted that it was probably the best move she could have made. She was able to spend three more years with her grandmother before she passed away.

  Summer shook her head to herself and knew in her heart that she was going to get hurt, but it wouldn’t stop her from trying.

  “Be prepared to eat my dust,” Myla teased.

  Summer laughed out loud and clicked out of her email account. It was uncharacteristic of Myla to tease the way they did, but with Summer it was playful and probably even a bit flirtatious. It was the first time in her life that she honestly didn’t care if she won, she just wanted to spend time with Myla. Of course, Myla was also the first person she was attracted to that could match her step for step.

  The rest of the week, Summer occupied her mind and time with work and exercise. On Friday night she pulled her mountain bike from the wall in her garage and pumped up the tires that were completely flat from lack of use. She had been riding the roads for the past year, sometimes with Taryn, sometimes alone, clocking miles to relieve tension and clear her mind. The mountain bike hadn’t seen any dirt since she last rode with Eddie. He was the only one at the office brave enough to hit the dirt trails.

  After pumping up the tires, she took it for a spin around the neighborhood before settling down to a glass of wine and her computer. Opening her email account, she saw that there was a short message from Myla.

  “Pack water and snacks. Loser gets lunch.” Summer closed her computer and settled her mind. Sometimes she just needed something to help her turn off her thoughts, but now she had something or SOMEONE to think about besides work.

  ****

  Saturday morning Summer was early to the entrance of the park, only to find that Myla was already there. After pulling her bike from the roof rack, she greeted Myla in an awkward hug. Myla grinned as they released one another and laughed. “What’s the matter? You seem stiff today.”

  Summer quirked the left side of her mouth. “We’ll see,” was her only response. Momentarily Summer was taken aback by the response that her body gave her during their hug. Myla was strong and beautiful, yet the unexpected softness that Summer felt was what had her body in fits.

  “What? No jokes for me this morning. I’m thinking this might be an easy challenge for me,” teased Myla.

  “Don’t speak too soon. Just because I’m silent doesn’t mean I don’t have some maneuvers up my sleeve.”

  “Hmm.” Myla touched Summer’s arm again and shook her head. “I can’t wait to see them.”

  Summer blushed from the innuendo, then waved her hand for Myla to lead. “Challenge?”

  “The course is bumpy to start and then near the end the trail spreads out into a dirt road, enough for three to fit. Winner buys lunch of course.” Myla watched as Summer nodded her head. “Ready?”

  “After you.” Summer responded.

  “Make sure you keep your eyes on the trail.”

  “Where else would they be?” Summer said with a smirk as she watched Myla’s back side move sexily along the trail.

  “You’re watching me now, aren’t you?”

  Summer laughed out loud and peddled harder to try and pass Myla, but Myla was a veteran, pushing forward and blocking her path. They laughed with one another and Summer pulled back almost taking a branch to the head. “Shit.”

  Myla giggled and peddled faster. “If you’ve never ridden the trail, you should follow my tracks so you know the tricks.”

  “Then how am I supposed to win the challenge?” Summer asked jokingly.

  “Just peddle. You’ll see.” Myla insisted.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  For the next 15 minutes they both hunkered down and steered themselves along the trail until they came to a board crossing that took a bit of finesse. Myla skirted the board with ease and never stopped peddling, heading up the hill on the other side until she heard a splash.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Summer screeched from the cold water. She hit the board unexpectedly and not in the center. When her tire came dangerously close to the left side she readjusted only to tumble off the other, dropping two feet down into the cold stream. Pulling herself from under her bike, Summer was sitting in foot deep muddy water that was streaming down her face. Stiffly she stood up and tried to push her bike up the bank.

  Myla turned back and jumped off of her bike to help Summer who was standing their sopping wet. “Are you hurt?” Myla asked seriously.

  “No, just a bruised ego.”

  This made Myla burst into laughter. “I’m sorry, I can’t help myself,” she said grabbing her stomach in laughter.

  Summer shook her head. “Could you at least take my bike so I can climb out of this mess?”

  “Sorry,” she responded stifling her laughter. “Hey, you’re bleeding.”

  “Huh,” Summer grunted looking down at her side where blood was dripping from her right thigh and elbow. “Shit.”

  “You already said that,” Myla sputtered out as she pulled the bike up the small embankment. She set it down and then held out her hand for Summer to take.

  Summer looked up at her hand and gently took it, allowing Myla to pull her from the stream. “Thank you.”

  “Let me look at them.”

  Summer held up her elbow and swiped it off with her hand. “It’ll be okay. I’ll clean it up when we get back to the cars. I have a kit in the trunk.”

  Myla nodded her head and picked Summer’s bike up again. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you in advance.”

  “It’s okay. I saw it coming, and should have slowed down, but I was being a butt,” Summer said while smirking.

  Myla laughed and shook her head. “We better walk the bikes up the hill. I know I can’t make it without speed coming across.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Hey, you’ve never been on this trail.”

  “I know, but it was stupid and immature,” Summer admitted, shaking her head.

  “You’re too hard on yourself,” Myla said putting her hand on top of Summer’s that was now pressed against her bike seat.

  “I guess.” />
  “You’re good for me. You know that? I think we complement one another.” Myla gave her a quick hug over her bike.

  After pulling apart, Summer replied, “I feel the same way.” For seconds she stared at Myla’s freckles that had become even more apparent in the sun. Without thought, her thumb moved across Myla’s face along the line of tiny freckles that stretched from her nose across her pink cheek. When she realized what she was doing, she pulled her hand back and looked up the hill. “We better get going before we make someone else wreck by standing in their way.” She pushed off and began pushing her bike up the hill.

  Myla grabbed her bike from the ground and followed along. “There’s only one more stream crossing but we can use an actual bridge to cross it.”

  Summer grunted from above, making Myla chuckle. At least from behind she was able to get a better look at Summer’s muscular legs. She didn’t mind this view at all.

  ****

  Summer and Myla were both busy on Sunday with friend and family obligations, and neither suggested another challenge. Before going to bed Sunday night, Summer sent a reminder email to everyone letting them know that on Monday afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., they were going to the Waverly Gym for their second check in. Everyone needed to be present for them to continue the challenge.

  Summer ran Monday’s weekly meeting, giving updates on the current accounts, while each assigned team gave a run down on the requested projects. At noon she and Eddie took a working lunch. Before they knew it, it was 2:30 and everyone needed to leave for the team challenge. Instead of changing before the gym, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door expecting to have five minutes to change in the locker room.

  Just fifteen minutes later, Summer entered the gym with Eddie and Lena leading the way. She already knew their team was in good shape and that two additional teams had been eliminated. One was obviously due to lack of steps and the other she had no idea about.

  Just as they had done three weeks ago, Dara instructed everyone to line up with the leaders at the front. Summer glanced over to see Myla giving her a small wave and a huge smile. God I really adore this woman. They hadn’t talked since Saturday, though Summer was already brewing plans for another challenge.