The Girl, On The Bike

A quick note of thanks to Randi, for her editing skill, and her generous assistance with the story.

As always, I add a little disclosure. There will be mistakes. Even with Randi's wonderful editing, I can't help going back and noodling, and changing things.

Any, and all mistakes contained within, are mine, and mine alone.

It was one of those days: hot and humid, the air heavy, no breeze, just the awful cloying moisture laden air. It had been like this for days; all I wanted was respite, a break in the weather...

Days like this shouldn't be allowed to happen. It had been one problem after another. No sooner was one remedied, than something else cropped up.

I was pleased to be on my bike. The traffic was thick, as every Friday evening, and I was happy not to be trapped in a car. Yeah, it was hot and sticky, but zipping between the cars was liberating. No gridlock for me.

Fuck Auckland and its shitty traffic congestion.

I could hear the drivers cursing as I rode silently by, the horns blaring, sirens somewhere in the distance.

The only thing in my way was traffic lights. I slid to a stop at the red light, the driver in the car beside me glared. We waited, and that's when I felt the presence, glancing to my right, sitting astride a Trek EX, top of the range mountain bike.

There she was, the most spectacularly gorgeous woman I had ever seen in my life. She gave me an acknowledging nod as her eyes took in my old Cannondale scalpel. She might have been old, but she was still impressive. I liked that my gorgeous companion recognised it.

The lights changed, and we were off, peddling like crazy. I heard her giggle as she stood in the saddle, her legs pumping like her life depended on it. Considering the insane Auckland drivers, it probably did.

Across Queen street, heading for Fanshawe. The bloody traffic was awful, but pedalling frantically beside me was the hottie on the Trek. Another stop on the Nelson Street intersection, the traffic, crawling, and gridlock only moments away. Drivers had tried to push on after the lights turned red on them. Now they were stuck in the middle of the intersection with nowhere to go.

Our lights turned green, but the cars were stuck, the intersection still full of cross traffic. We set off, side by side, flicking between the stationary cars. Our lanes were clear now. Standing on the pedals, the bike swaying, I pedalled as fast as I could, the Shimano gears flicking neatly as I changed it up.

Surprisingly, she was still with me. I'll give her credit, she was fast. It came to another grinding halt at Hobson Street. She pulled up beside me, I glanced quickly, and annoyingly, she was hardly even panting. I was feeling it, the damn humidity.

The light changed, and we were off again. Damn it, I couldn't shake her; she was right beside me as we pushed between the lines of cars. I thought the traffic might scare her, but no. She was actually moving in front of me.

Approaching Halsey Street, I saw the lights changing, already orange. The traffic slowed to stop. I made a reckless decision, changed down a gear and put my back into it. I flew around the corner, going flat out. I chuckled to myself as I cleared the intersection. Surely I had lost her. I took a peek to my right, and there she was, going harder than ever. "Fuck," I grumbled under my breath.

The traffic was stopped at Victoria Street. It meant riding around cars to get to the front of the queue. Horns blared, arms waving from angry drivers.

Again, the intersection was flooded with cars going nowhere, and when our lights turned green, I zoomed out into the crawling line of cars. Ducking in and out around them. Then it was the hard slog up College Hill.

Heading up Jarvois Rd, I decided I wasn't going to shake my companion, so I slowed, taking the chance to suck in a few deep breaths. As I pulled up beside the Elbow Room. I pulled over and slowed. Coming to a stop outside the cafe, my friend pulled up beside me. "Thanks for the ride," she said in a sultry, yet melodic voice, "Are you stopping for a drink?"

I nodded, thinking if she was. I definitely was. "Yeah, I was going to. I was going to pick up some groceries up the road at the market."

"Could I join you?"

Talk about stupid questions. "Absolutely. I would be delighted."

We locked the bikes, put our helmets on the lamppost outside and wandered in. Finding a quiet table by the window, we sat down. She reached her hand across to shake mine. "Hi, I'm Sarah Sanders."

Her hand felt perfect. "Hi, I'm Ross Turner."

"I hope you didn't mind me riding with you. I love a bit of competition."

"No worries," I replied, as my eyes tried to stay focused on hers. I mean, it shouldn't have been a problem. She had the most beautiful eyes, a deep bluish grey that seemed to suck you in. It was hard, though, because in her tight fitting Lycra riding gear, every bloody inch of her slinky body was right there.

"Do you work in the city, Ross?"

"Yeah, afraid so. Have to pay the bills somehow. What about you?"

"No, well, not properly. I do some promotional work."

"Promotional, you say. Like advertising?"

"No, I was doing a radio interview for the world champs."

Radio... it was then the penny dropped. Bloody hell, she was the Sarah Sanders. She represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth games. She was getting ready to go to the world championships in the Netherlands.

"Oh shit. Sorry, I should have recognised you. Wow, I must seem like a dick."

She giggled. "Not at all. Its nice not to be noticed."

"No, I meant me trying to race you."

"I loved that. I am super competitive and love a challenge. You were going pretty hard."

"Yeah, I like to unwind after a shitty day. Cycling is my relief valve, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, heck yes. I certainly get that. The old Cannondale, it still looks nice."

"Yeah, she goes all right. I've had her for so long now I take her for granted."

We sipped our drinks, enjoying the air conditioning. "Where do you live?" I asked.

"Point Chev, what about you?"

"Waterview."

We chatted a little; she was just stunning. Absolutely stunning, and I jabbered on like some idiot, just to keep her there. Nothing I said made sense, but I kept blabbing on and on. She was kind enough to go along for the ride.

It was over too quickly. I wanted to hold her in my arms, feel those succulent juicy lips on mine. I had known her for less than an hour, and I was already in love. If you had asked me if I believed in love at first sight the day before, I would have laughed in your face. A ridiculous concept. How could you fall in love like that...

It was bloody easy, actually. My heart was racing as we walked towards the door. I wanted to ask her out, to say something incredibly deep and meaningful. My mind, however, was stuck in the mud, my tongue flapping saying dumb shit.

As we were putting our helmets on, it was she who said, "Me and a couple of mates are going trail bashing up in the Waitaks tomorrow, if you have nothing planned?"

"Wow, that'd be choice. Yeah, I'd love it. What time?"

"We are meeting up in Henderson, about nine." She gave me a pouty thoughtful smile. "Tell you what, give me your address and I'll pick you up. My Ute's got a bike rack that takes four bikes."

We quickly exchanged phone numbers, and I sent her a text with my address. She gave me the thumbs up she had received it. Then, we were back on the bikes, ploughing our way through traffic. The cars were backed up, and we zoomed in and out. She took the turn for Point Chevalier, and I kept going.

You couldn't have wiped the smile off my face with an angle grinder. I was floating. She asked me... Oh my fucking god... She asked me...

Holy snapping duck shit, she asked me. Talk about an ego boost. That night, after I made dinner, I hooked onto the net, and researched everything I could about Miss Sanders. There were millions of photos, video clips from her winning the silver medal at the Comm games. NZ Championships. Australasian Champs. She certainly was hard to miss.

It was with real trepidation I prepared for the ride in the morning. I got up early and serviced the bike. Got my gear out and got dressed. There were numerous trails up through the Waitaks; I hoped for an easy one.

Sarah turned up in her SUV, with New Zealand Cycling emblazoned all over it in huge letters. She looked bright and cheerful as she helped me put the bike on the carrier frame.

There were two other bikes on the back. As I climbed in the back. I met, Elise, and Noelle. I recognised the names. My spirits took a nose dive. Yes, they were nice, and we all chatted about bikes and the trails we would be riding. The kick in the balls for me was, these girls were all champions. I was going to get my arse kicked.

Oh well, forewarned. We unloaded the bikes and stripped to our riding gear. Damn, they were all so fit and toned.

The trail we were riding wasn't one I had ever ridden before. When I mentioned it to Sarah, she said happily, "This is private land, and it's pretty much restricted to just us."

We set off and I followed Sarah who led off, with Elise, and, Noelle, behind me. It was a fast pace, even on the reasonably flat ground. I'll say this, if I had to follow Sarah, there was the benefit of perving on her gorgeous arse as it bobbled right in front of me.

As we hit the bush, the incline got steeper and twisted around trees, the going got harder. I struggled to match her pace; she was edging away. I tried, but I couldn't match her fitness, my lungs burned, my muscles ached. We rode out onto a grassed area that flattened off, and I thought thankfully. "Thank god, I might catch up."

That thought was blown out of the water big time. Both Elise and Noelle sprinted past me. They were off after Sarah, and I was left in their wake. Standing up, I gripped the handle bars tightly and dug deep. The bike wobbled crazily beneath me as I pedalled for all I was worth. My tank was emptying quickly. I held out for a downhill section, maybe I could make up for my lack of power with some crazy bravado on the steep slopes.

All the girls were gone from sight. I could hear them up in front. They all laughed and screamed at each other. Jesus, how fit were they?

I finally rode up over the crest, and there was no sight of the girls, but with my lungs burning, the lactic acid burning through my body, I pushed on, and flew down the steepest parts. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen that drove my insanity. I took some hellish risks, I was flying, going faster than I thought possible.

Still, I couldn't catch them. My spirits sank further. Jesus, what a disaster. I was getting a schooling.

When I got to the bottom, the girls were grouped together in a huddle, drinking from their flasks. It was Noelle who giggled. "What kept you?"

Sarah, admonished her. "Stop it, don't be a bitch." She looked up at me as I gulped down as much fluid as I could. "Are you all right, Ross?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry for holding you up. Don't wait for me, I don't want to spoil your ride." I couldn't stop the blush; these girls were good, and there was no shame in getting beaten by them. I kept telling myself that. Jesus, if only I could believe it.

"Don't be silly, that was marvellous. We'll just ride at our pace."

"Yeah, you just stay with us where you can," Elise added smugly.

They were off again, laughing and yelling taunts at each other as Elise set a blinding pace. I finished my drink, and set off in chase. I was already miles behind them when we hit the next steep climb. God, it was excruciating. Every fibre of my body ached. I noted that the yelling had stopped, they were obviously feeling it as much as me.

That was how the day went for me. I chased their dust, without ever getting another chance to watch that glorious arse again.

By the time I got back to the car, they already had the bikes loaded, and were standing around chatting. When I ground to a halt beside them, Sarah walked over. "Are you okay, Ross?"

I was panting that hard I could barely breathe, let alone speak. It took me several minutes to splutter out. "Yeah, I'm okay."

She helped me off the bike, and the other girls loaded it on the frame with theirs. As we drove back to town, the girls all laughed and joked about who was fastest on different sections, and then started talking about the Comm games. None of them had officially been selected, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion they would all be included in the team.

We stopped at a pub in Henderson. It was getting late, and Sarah asked, "What do you reckon guys, shall we get some food? I'm bloody starving."

It was mutually agreed we would stay for dinner. The conversation was bright and really fun, even if they did give me shit about getting my arse kicked by a bunch of girls. At least it was good natured, and I enjoyed the envious stares of the blokes in the bar. Having three gorgeous girls on my arms was ego boosting.

Sarah dropped off the other girls first, and as I was unloading my bike, she said, "Thanks for coming along today. I hope you enjoyed it."

"It was bloody hard, actually. Getting schooled by you lot was hard to take."

She giggled and leaned in close, her lips smacking me on the cheek. "Poor doodums. Next time we could go by ourselves."

"I would like that. It wouldn't make losing any easier, but it would be nice to spend some time with you, alone."

She placed a sweet little kiss on my lips. "I would like that, as well."

I collapsed inside, almost asleep when my head crashed on the pillow. It was a nice tiredness, though. Sarah was a special person.

Cycling to work on Wednesday morning, I got a shock when she pulled up beside me. "Hey, Ross."

Glancing quickly at her, I returned the greeting. "Hey, Sarah. What are you doing here?"

"I have business in town. Thought I'd try to catch you. Please, no racing though. If I got injured by some idiot in a car, it would be all over for me."

I laughed. "Scared, aye?"

She nodded. "A little, yeah. There are some maniacs out on the roads at the moment."

We rode along at a sedate pace, enjoying the conversation. It was bright and breezy as we weaved our way through the traffic.

As we neared the office, I asked, "What time will you finish up?"

"Oh about four, maybe four thirty. What about you?"

"Five, if I can get away early."

"Choice, I'll wait for you, and we could stop somewhere for dinner. If you're up for it, that is?"

"Are you asking me on a date?"

She giggled seductively, a teasing soft edge to her voice. "Might be."

"Wow, I'm not used to being picked up by chicks, but it sounds great to me."

"Cool, meet you here at five. Don't be late."

The day really dragged by, but at least I got out on time. She was waiting, as promised. The dinner was nice, casual and light. Unlike some dates I had been on, this one flowed, maybe because we already knew each other. There were no awkward silences, we just chatted easily.

As we approached my turn off, I asked, "Do you want to come in for a drink?"

"You got some etchings you want to show me?" she threw back.

"No, sorry, I can't etch, but I do have a nice bottle of wine."

We walked inside and she took her time, appraising the house. She looked at pictures, admired the decor. "Who did your decorating?" she asked.

"I did. Why, don't you like it?"

"Actually, I love it. You have an eye for colours and matching details. It feels cosy. Not at all like a bachelor pad."

"I come from a long line of interior designers. It probably didn't hurt that my mum and sisters helped."

"Ahh, you cheated."

"No, just couldn't stop them."

I poured us a glass of wine, and we adjourned to the living room. With the blinds pulled back, the Auckland evening sky filled the windows. The house's best feature was that vista. At night, with the tide in, it looked spectacular.

As we sat together, she leaned closer, her body warm against me. When she turned to look at me, I couldn't help it. I leaned down and kissed her.

There was no shock or fighting it off. She was expecting it, her head tilting and her free hand sliding up behind my head, her fingers toying with my hair.

The kiss deepened, her mouth opened and our tongues touched. It made my heart race, the feel of her liquid tongue slithering around my mouth. She took the role of predator, and I her prey.

As we broke apart, she sighed softly. "Wow, now that's a kiss."

"Hell yeah." I mumbled in reply.

She sipped the last of her glass of wine. "Would you like another?" I asked.

"Ross, if I have another. I'll have to call a taxi."

"You could always stay the night," I mumbled, not believing I had the balls to actually say it.

"Do you have a spare room?" she asked playfully, a wicked grin covering her face.

"No," I said, forcefully.

"So this is a one bedroom house?" she asked, in a mock show of disbelief.

"There are other bedrooms, just not in use."

"Oh, I see, so you expect me to sleep on the sofa?" she whispered in a sexy sultry voice.

"No, I was hoping you would sleep in my arms, actually. After we had made love."

"You naughty man. Do you think I'm the sort of girl who sleeps with a guy on the first date?"

"Well, technically, its our third, and you know the third date rule."

"There's a rule?" she gushed teasingly.

It was a wonderful night, we made love with a hungry energy. Sarah was a passionate being.

In the morning, we dressed quickly. At least she had her riding gear to mask her ride of shame.

"What will your parents say?" I asked.

She sniggered mischievously. "They'll never know. I'll just say I got up early and went for a ride."

"Lying to your parents, that's terrible."

We parted with a kiss, and she was gone.

She rang me, Friday lunchtime. "Would you like to have dinner tonight?"

"Yes, definitely. But if you wanted a night in. I could cook. I have some chicken thawing."

"You cook?" she sniggered.

"Come around tonight, and you can find out."

She arrived, looking sexy as hell. It was the first time I had seen her dressed up. She looked equally as sexy, maybe more so.

"How come you don't have a partner?" I asked over the table.

She frowned. "I could ask the same question. Good job, nice house, you can cook. How come you're still single?"

"I never met the right girl, I suppose."

She chomped through her mouthful before replying. "For me, its about being busy. My career sort of takes over everything. Next week, I'm off to Brisbane for a race. Then when I get back, I'm off down to Invercargill for the Southland Classic."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty full on, all right."

As we ate, I dug a little deeper. "You obviously date, has there been anybody special?"

She grimaced. "Yeah, okay. There was one guy, but he turned out to be an arsehole. He couldn't handle my fame. He had issues about trust and me being away so much. In the end, I had to get a restraining order against him."

"I get that, I guess. It must be hard to have a relationship with somebody who's never here."

"Ross, I'm here most of the time. I just travel a lot."

I changed the subject, not wanting to spoil the vibe. Again, the night was filled with love making, and passion. The morning dawned, and she asked, "Do you feel like a ride?"

"Yeah, of course. Where?"

"Anywhere, I just need to get some kilometres under my belt today and tomorrow. My coach has got me on a pretty strict regime at the moment."

"Yeah, no worries. We could head out west, what about Piha, and back?"

We dressed quickly and got her bike off the back of her car. I thought this would be easier, that I would stick with her. Jesus, how wrong could I be. Once she got in her groove, she was all smooth motion, head down and arse up.

Once again, I struggled hard to stay with her. It was painful, I kept waiting for her to slow down, but if anything, as she got into the ride, she actually got faster. I was fucked, and had to let her pull away.