“You will make a kickass Homecoming Queen,” Blake says.
“Ugh, stop.”
I laugh. “Still no on the posters?”
“Absolutamente, no.” She grabs my arm, her face serious. “And please don’t say anything about that out there. I don’t want them thinking I’m some girly chick who’s into that crap.”
I twist my fingers over my lips. “Your secret’s safe with us.”
The guys get the bikes off the rack and it’s just starting to sprinkle when another SUV pulls into the lot. Alex waves from the open driver’s side window. A guy with dark hair and seriously impressive arms sits in the passenger seat. She parks and leads him to us. “Hey, I’m Alex.” She shakes hands with Blake and Evan, then hooks a thumb at the guy. “This is my boyfriend Kurt.”
The guys all shake hands and Cally and I glance at each other. I assumed she was dating Mica. Not that it matters. Because it totally doesn’t.
Really.
Kurt takes my hand and smiles. “You ever do a rain run?”
My smile fades. “Uhh, no?” Something about the way his eyes twinkle tells me we’re in for a fun day.
“Some trails are pretty strict about not riding in the rain, but Crestpoint isn’t one of them,” he says.
“What difference does it make?” Cally asks.
Kurt glances at the forest. “Erosion. But this forest is so dense the trails are pretty sheltered.”
Evan slides his hand over my back. “You’ll love it. The rain settles the loam and everything seems like it’s in high def.”
Kurt nods at him. “Should help with some of the fires north of here, too.”
“Fires?” I ask.
“There’s always a few this time of year,” Kurt says. “The forests actually thrive after a burn—”
“But it sucks seeing it right afterwards,” Alex finishes.
I think back to the burned area I noticed when I was riding with Cally. Fires are a part of life when you live near forests, but since I’ve never spent much time in the woods before this summer, I’d never thought of them as something that could be a threat. “So we’re happy it’s raining.”
Kurt smiles. “Yep. But I’d rather be riding in it than standing around.” He looks at Alex. “Where are Mica and Topher?”
She holds up her phone and shows us a text. “They’re almost here. Those boys are never on time.” She hauls their bikes off the rack and I can’t help but notice that a) she doesn’t ask for help, and b) Kurt knows she can handle it. I’ll have to ask her how she does it.
We’re standing in the drizzle—bikes ready, helmets strapped on—when a black Jeep barrels over the curb, into the parking lot, and shudders to a stop next to Alex’s car.
Alex rolls her eyes. “Always a grand entrance.”
“That’s how we met them,” I say, remembering how Topher burst into my life.
Topher whoops as he hops out of the Jeep, his voice echoing off the trees surrounding the parking lot. He shields his eyes as he looks at the sky. “Y’all ready for this?”
Mica helps him with their bikes and then we’re all standing in a circle, looking at each other. His gaze falls on me and I clear my throat. “This is Cally and Blake. And you guys remember Evan.” They nod at each other and I wonder if I’m supposed to add that he’s my boyfriend. Alex introduced Kurt that way but I didn’t say anything about Blake, so they’ll have to figure it out.
Topher swings his bike around and pushes toward the trailhead. “Can I lead?”
Alex laughs. “I sure as hell don’t want you behind me.”
“Yeah, but now you gotta avoid him when he falls,” Mica says. “Because you know he’s going down.”
They peel off behind Topher and disappear into the trees.
Cally’s eyes go wide and Blake leans toward Evan. “You sure this is a green?”
“There’s blues and greens here.” Evan looks at me. “Alex knows you’re beginners, right?”
I hate that he separates himself from us. I’m less of a beginner than Cally and Blake, and the way my heart gallops at the idea of tackling a blue tells me perhaps I should clarify my not-so-beginner status.
Trail Rule #6: Make the best of any situation.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if she told the guys.”
“I’ll lead. Mike, you stick behind me. Blake, you follow her and Cally, you take rear.”
Blake pushes his arm. “Is this your way of babysitting me?”
Evan smiles. “Nah, I figure if you’re staring at your girl’s ass we might lose you two in the woods.”
I snort and Cally blushes—but doesn’t deny it.
The drizzle is turning to rain, making everything slick. I clap my hands together. “Let’s go before we totally lose them.”
Evan leads us down the trail and I stand on the pedals to accelerate when he skids to a stop. The rest of them are waiting around the first turn, where the trail splits to green or blue. The rain is lighter in the trees but it’s still wet.
“We didn’t want to head out without asking you which trail,” Mica says, his eyes jumping from Evan to Blake. “I have a good idea of Mike and Cally’s level but wasn’t sure about you two.”
Evan pushes his chest out ever so slightly and I have to hold back a laugh. Guys and their egos. “I’ve run the blue but we should stick to green today. Especially with the rain.”
Mica catches my eye for a second, then nods and slaps Topher on the back. “Off you go!”
Cally and Blake lean toward each other and kiss. “Good luck,” she says. “And pedal hard so I get a nice view.”
Evan winks at me, but instead of the usual butterflies, all I feel are the nerves that take up residence every time I’m about to start a run. “Let’s go.”
The trail shoots uphill first but the excitement over finally being out here carries me to the top. They’ve already crested the hill and are navigating the downhill when I pause next to Evan to catch my breath. When I first started riding, I told Evan that I was afraid to pass on the trails, and ever since then he makes a point to stop so often that passing isn’t necessary. But just once I’d like to be given the chance.
Blake stops next to me and his normally relaxed smile is tight. Cally joins us and uses her shirt to wipe rain from her eyes.
“The rain certainly makes it more intense.” She swats Blake’s butt. “You ready?”
He shrugs, his eyes locked on the trail, but he doesn’t look scared. He looks like he’s choosing the best route. “I’ll be okay. Just don’t hit the trees, right?”
I snort. “That’s my mantra.”
Blake leans toward Cally and they click helmets, a habit they picked up on the slopes last winter. “After you,” he says.
“No way. After Evan. I need to see how to tackle this beast.”
Evan touches a finger to his brakes, his light eyes dancing. “Follow me!” He leans over his bike to kiss me and the front of my helmet jabs him in the cheek and our lips never meet. He rubs his face.
“A for effort?” I touch his arm. “Now quit worrying about me and show me where to go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He points his bike downhill and pedals once to start rolling.
It’s narrower here than the trail we normally run. I let gravity pull me downhill, my right hand ready at the brake lever, my left wrapped firmly around the handlebars. Evan warned me that the left brake is the front and if you use it too fast your bike will lock and you’ll go headfirst over the wheel. I’m sure there’s a reason it’s there, but I choose to pretend it doesn’t exist.
Branches and underbrush tickle my arms as I navigate the bumpy trail. A root the size of my leg juts into the path and I swerve into dense ferns to avoid it, mentally checking off another obstacle successfully avoided. Evan’s fifty feet ahead of me—close enough that I can see him but too far to see how he handles the trail, and I don’t see Alex and the guys. I can hear Cally and Blake behind me but don’t dare look over my shoulder to see how they’re
doing.
But I don’t need to. I can do this.
The trail evens out and I stand to pedal, gaining speed, then slam on the brakes as the trail drops sharply and makes a hard right turn. Fear pushes me off the pedals and I lose my footing on loose rocks. The crossbar jams into my inner thigh, but I stay upright. Barely. I hop back on the seat.
Keep going.
Cally squeals behind me at the same turn and I stop so I can watch her get through it. She does the same thing I did and I feel a little better that for as ballsy as she is, it scared her, too. Blake grunts when he reaches the turn, but makes it through without stopping.
“Show off,” Cally says, and he laughs.
“It was either that or take a header into the woods.”
A whoop from somewhere up ahead makes us turn. Topher.
I smile. “At least we know they’re still out here.”
“Did Evan ditch us already?” Blake asks.
I look up the trail. “He’s probably waiting around the next turn.”
And he is. I can tell he’s worried from a hundred feet away by how straight he’s standing and the way he’s gripping his handlebars. He visibly relaxes when the three of us approach.
“Keep going,” I shout.
He doesn’t go as fast, and the four of us pick our way past rocks and slick leaves and the occasional pocket of loose dirt that must have been churned up by Alex and the guys. I hop my front tire over a dead branch when Cally’s yelp echoes off the trees. I turn, but it’s not her who fell. It’s Blake.
She dismounts but he waves her off and is back on his bike before she can reach him. A streak of blood runs down his leg. “All good,” he shouts.
At the next turn, we stop again. A boulder the size of Evan’s dog rests in the middle of the trail. “Must have come loose during a storm,” Evan says. “Guess we’re walking.” He hooks his arm through his bike so the crossbar sits on his shoulder. “You need help?”
I pick up my bike and shake my head. “I’m good.”
We have to squeeze through the trees at the edge of the trail. Branches grab at my handlebars and slap me in the face. My back tire gets caught and I yank hard. Nothing.
“Got it,” Cally says. She lifts the back end of my bike and frees it from the tree.
“Thanks.”
When we step back into the trail, a creek appears up ahead. The others wait at the edge.
“You made it!” Alex pumps her arms over her head and I can’t help but smile. I coast to her side and a sense of calm settles over me. With Alex and her friends, there’s no wondering what they’re thinking or worrying that they secretly hate you—they live for the moment and don’t have time for pettiness. “Glad the rain didn’t scare you,” she says.
“You weren’t kidding about it being more intense,” I say.
Kurt wipes his forearm across his forehead, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “I just hope it’s enough to help with the fires.”
“Are they a threat here?” I ask.
He stares into the trees. “Maybe not now, but it’s the forest. Things burn.”
Out here, miles from civilization, it’s impossible to imagine the forest as anything but all encompassing.
“Blake, what’d ya think?” Kurt asks.
Blake glances at the blood that’s now soaked into his sock. “Consider me a convert.”
“Man, did you go down?” Topher asks. “Virgin blood on the virgin run. Way to go!” He high-fives Blake while Cally and I exchange wide-eyed looks. Heat warms my cheeks but no one seems to notice.
“I’m more worried about my virgin ass.” Blake pats the seat on his bike. “Those bumps are killer.”
Mica swings his leg over his bike and turns it sideways to show the frame. “If you’re gonna keep riding, you need full suspension. The hard tail looks cool,” he points at Blake’s bike, “but it’s murder on the junk.”
Topher laughs. “My stump jumper never crushes the boys.”
“That’s ‘cause you’re always falling off,” Alex says, before looking at me. “Don’t mind them. I’m shocked it’s taken this long to talk about their balls.”
Evan leans his bike against a tree and approaches Mica. “So full suspension, eh?”
Cally bursts out laughing. “I’ve never been so glad to be a girl.”
Alex looks away. “Can we keep moving before show and tell?”
“Oh, please no!” I cover my eyes, but can’t help but watch Mica and Evan through my fingers. Evan’s checking out Mica’s bike, poking something above the wheels that must have something to do with the suspension, but Mica’s not watching him.
He’s looking at me.
I quickly turn to Cally. “Are you having fun? Sorry it’s raining but it makes it interesting, right?”
“He’s still watching you,” she whispers.
“No he’s not.”
“Yep.”
“Shit.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Just when we all got here.”
“Hmm.”
“No hmms. This is bad.”
“Is it?”
I catch her eye as Evan moves to my side and slips an arm around my waist.
“We can talk about this later.”
“Talk about what?” Evan asks.
“Homecoming,” we both say at the same time, then burst out laughing. “Thanks,” I mouth to her, silently thanking the stars above for bringing her into my life.
“Let’s go!” Alex shouts. “Quit fussing with your boys, boys.”
Kurt shakes his head and adjusts his junk, but the look he gives her is full of love.
“I’m leading this time,” she says. “Mike and Cally, you come with me.”
We jump into action without another word and follow her up the trail.
“There’s a couple switchbacks coming up,” she says over shoulder, standing to pedal. “But there’s a killer view from there.”
I try to copy her movements—standing on the steepest parts to keep my momentum, sitting to rest my legs for a second on the turns. The rain gets heavier as we climb, bringing the forest to life around us. The only sounds are rain drops splatting against leaves and our breathing. I inhale deeply, absorbing it into me. By the time we reach the overlook, my legs are trembling and my arms and wrists are locked in a death grip on my handlebars, but I somehow feel renewed.
“Nice work,” Alex says with a smile. “Now for the fun part.” Instead of stopping to rest, she points her wheel down a single track that’s so narrow there’s nowhere to go but straight. I don’t have time to worry about Cally or if the guys are right behind us. All my focus is on the trail.
An ache creeps from my wrists, up my arms, and over my shoulders, but I refuse to stop. Challenging myself physically pushes all the other crap out of my head and it’s like I’m one with nature. Alex is less than ten feet ahead of me but she blends in with the rest of the forest. My breathing slows. All I see are rocks and roots and bumps in the trail. My front tire navigates around obstacles like someone else is guiding it. My fingers pull the brake at each turn.
“Watch out for the dip!”
Alex’s warning comes as I’m maneuvering around the dip and my tire hits it at an angle instead of straight on. The sense of calm that was running through me makes everything move in slow motion. My back tire leaves the ground. My stomach drops. I grip the handlebars tighter as I twist through the air, but brakes can’t save me now.
Cally shouts my name but it sounds like when you play a record at the wrong speed. Then everything speeds up and my shoulder slams into the ground. Then my head. Then everything else. My bike is still between my legs, and pain slices through my thigh.
The same one I broke last winter.
“Mike! Oh my god!” My bike groans as Cally’s front tire runs over it. “Oh crap!”
My vision blurs and it sounds like a freight train is roaring through my head. The pressure on my leg lessens as Cally backs up.
“I couldn’t stop in time!” My bike is untangled from my limbs and her face appears in front of mine.
“Why are you always saving me?” I try to smile, but the horrified look on her face is the same as the day of the avalanche and there’s too many references to that day all at once. I close my eyes.
She shakes my shoulder. “Mike!”
“I’m okay.” She looks so freaked I can’t bear to look at her. But that’s not my biggest problem because male voices are shouting all around us.
“Cavalry’s here,” Cally whispers.
A strong hand grips my shoulder, then runs the length of my arm. But when I open my eyes, it’s not Evan who’s crouched in front of me. It’s Mica.
“I think you earned a new badge with that spill,” he says, his voice low and scratchy. Up close, his eyes are a mix of green and brown—hazel, I think it’s called—and his freckles are even more pronounced. His front tooth is a tiny bit crooked and his tongue touches it while he waits for me to say something, but that’s not what I’m focused on. His hand is still on my arm and a thousand lightning bolts are shooting through me at his touch.
I push up on my elbow and he drops his hand. My arm flames as if he’s still touching me and heat warms my insides.
This is not good.
“Mike!” Evan scrambles to my side and rests his hand where Mica’s had been seconds before. No electric current zips through me and my stomach doesn’t flip flop.
Very not good.
“I’m okay. I caught a dip in the trail and hit my leg when I fell.”
“She hit her head, too,” Cally says from next to Mica.
Mica and Evan both bite their lower lips and I close my eyes again. I cannot deal with this right now.
“Keep your eyes open,” Evan says. I do, and his hand grazes my thigh. “You’re not bleeding, but it’s gonna be a nasty bruise.”
Mica sits back on his heels, giving us space. “Can you ride?”
An image of me sitting in his lap with those freckled cheeks pressed between my hands flashes through my mind and I shake my head.
“No?” Evan asks.
I look around and realize everyone is circled around me. “Let me get up and see how it feels.” The initial pain from the impact has lessened, but I still remember how bad it hurt when I broke it last spring. How will I get out of here if I jacked it up again? Evan hooks his arm under mine and eases me to my feet. The muscles in my leg protest, but I don’t feel the searing heat like when I broke it. “I think it’s okay.”
The Trail Rules (The Rules Series Book 2) Page 10