by Ford, Mia
I watched intently until I could see Ted pulling out to the middle of the group. He accelerated quickly trying to speed past all of the riders, but every time he came to a curve I could see him slow down as the other racers started to pass him. For whatever reason he was having some trouble navigating the curve. I didn’t know enough about the sport to see if he was using a bad technique, or if there was something else going on. But it kept happening.
At least his jumps were high and breathtaking. The moment he hit the top of the hill and flew through the air it was like he was gliding on the air, flying higher and higher, and then falling smoothly to the ground as he accelerated once again and pulled ahead of his competitors.
I wondered how long he’d been really working on this sort of thing. He said he’d been seven when he started riding, but at what age do you start letting your kid practice this sort of thing? You had to be partially nuts as a parent to even approve of it and you definitely had to be nuts to attempt it. No one was going to be able to do it right the first several tries, so you were looking at multiple times where you were destined to fall to the ground and hurt yourself. Yet, you had to keep marching on and moving forward.
I admired that dedication.
Ted was getting a bit farther ahead now as some of the other riders missed their jumps and got farther behind. So far he had hit all of his jumps; his straight ahead game and those damn curves kept throwing him off base. I wondered if I should ask him at some point, but I thought better of it. It didn’t look like he was going to win this and I didn’t really want to bring up a sore subject. I wasn’t sure yet what type of a loser he might have been.
The race came to a close with Ted finishing eighth, if I counted correctly. He did not win, but it was a valiant effort and I was impressed with his ability. To do the things I’d just seen him do—that took a lot of skill and time to develop.
I decided to hang around outside the venue for a bit hoping to see him walk by so that I could talk to him. There was no way he had seen me in the audience or knew that I was there.
After waiting about a half hour I finally saw him exiting the building where I had determined the locker room was. At first he didn’t acknowledge my presence as he headed towards a beat up old Chevy Blazer. I didn’t know that he owned an actual car. It was old and rusted and I doubted it would run you more than a few miles before it needed maintenance, but it was his. I hated the thought, but it did remind me of a teenager’s first car.
“Hey!” I called to him.
He paused a moment and then his eyes focused in the dimly lit parking lot and his face relaxed as he saw it was me.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” He asked.
“What do you mean? You invited me and left the ticket.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would actually come. I thought you would have forgotten all about it.”
His modesty was cute.
“Well, I would have, but I just happened to have nothing else in the world going on tonight,” I replied laying it on a bit thick.
He chuckled and walked closer.
“I’m glad you made it. What did you think? It’s way more exciting live, right?”
My eyes went wide. “Oh, wow… it is a whole other animal live. My heart is still pounding. I’m so glad you asked me to come.”
“I’m glad you came,” Ted said. “How soon are we going to get you up on that motorcycle?”
I shook my head. “Oh, no. I don’t think I would ever have the kind of courage it takes to do what I just saw. My hat is off to you and I am forever in awe of you.”
“Thanks. So, what are you doing now?”
“Um, I don’t know,” I said. “I was just going to go home and maybe call it an early night. I know it’s only eleven, but some people would call that late, even if it is Saturday.”
He laughed at my teasing in an almost adorable “awe shucks” kind of way. Wow, he was cute as hell. And standing there in the dark parking lot with him and hardly anyone else around close to us I couldn’t help but feel the intimacy between the two of us building. There was warmth there, almost like some kind of a soft blanket that I could almost reach out and touch between us.
I was a little bit scared of this. To feel this close to someone I did not know well at all… it was overwhelming. Yeah, that is the best way to put it. So many emotions were coming at me from all sides, but I let them roll off me and just allowed myself to be in the moment enjoying myself with him.
“Well, I agree it is past my bedtime,” Ted replied. “How would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow night?”
“I’d love to,” I said.
“Great. How about I pick you up at seven?”
“Sounds great,” I said.
We swapped phones for a moment and input each other’s numbers.
“Alright, I’ll text you the details tomorrow then?” I asked.
Ted smiled and started to walk towards his car. “Sounds great. You have a great night, Leia.”
“You too.”
I went home feeling so good about myself. But I had some things I needed to think long and hard about before I opened myself up to even the possibility of a relationship.
* * *
“Pasta is your favorite food?”
Ted shrugged and looked at me with a blank expression. “So? What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, there are a zillion types of pasta and sauce and toppings; what is your favorite?”
He thought for a moment, leaned back, and rubbed his chin. This was of the utmost importance and he obviously did not want to give me any wrong answers here.
“I would have to say, that I favor Chicken Alfredo. I like to keep things simple. But I do love Spaghetti and meatballs, plus linguini in clam sauce is a close third. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever met a pasta dish I didn’t like. But I have met several that didn’t like me.”
I almost choked on the bite of pasta I was eating. Ted had the ability to say something so completely random in just the right way that it would crack me up senseless. I’d never met anyone who could do that, except my father. He and Ted would have gotten along famously.
Ted had picked me up at an apartment belonging to my girlfriend Penny who let me borrow it for the evening (I was just not ready to tell him who I really was or that I was wealthy) and he’d taken me to an Italian place called Gambitti’s. It was a quaint little place a bit off the beaten path but not far from the heart of the city. I was impressed that he knew such a well-kept secret. The food was amazing.
We started the dinner off with unlimited garlic bread that melted in my mouth. I could have eaten nothing but that and it would have been the best meal I’d had in a long time. After that we ordered our entrees and I decided I would try a dish with rigatoni and a lime sauce, mostly since I’d eaten so much bread already. It was good to balance it out, and this was also perfect.
This combined with a bottle of red wine had made it the best dinner date I’d ever been on.
And the conversation was so much fun. You know it’s going well when you almost forget to eat because you are talking so much back and forth.
“So, how is the knee?” I asked as we waited for our desserts. Ted had talked me into ordering some Tiramisu. I was going to feel like a slug the next day, but I figured I might as well. He could be very persuasive.
“Oh,” Ted said. “It’s actually doing better. It was a bit sore and it kept slowing me down during the race as I tried to turn the corners, but I think it will be fine in a few weeks. I tell you, the doctor was not kidding when he told me the pain would kick in. I almost wish I hadn’t thrown away that prescription for the pain meds.”
“You threw it away? Why?”
“I hate pills,” Ted replied. “I just think that they are harmful to the body and unless it is a medical emergency that you have to take medication to keep functioning properly, I would just rather not put those sorts of things in my body.”
“Wow, you are a b
it of a health nut?”
Ted grinned. “No, just when it comes to pills. I don’t even take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Any of that man-made stuff is dangerous. I’ve read several books and other research that points to that.”
“Interesting,” I said. “You know I’ve heard a lot about that stuff, but I’ve always kind of let it pass me by. I may have to start reading up on it now. Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Ted raised his glass to do a quick toast with me. “Cheers.”
“So, alcohol is ok, though?” I asked teasing.
Ted smiled. “Alcohol is a byproduct of a natural thing. It is fermentation. It happens. People have used it for thousands of years for a variety of ailments. During ninety-nine percent of human history we did not have pills. And we got along just fine.”
Ted had some interesting philosophies, that was for sure. But I liked the way he thought about things and looked at the world. It was refreshing.
After dinner we went to a movie and saw a courtroom drama that was based on a John Grisham novel. I loved those movies and I’d been a fan of Grisham since his first book, so I was anxious to see it and Ted was happy enough to go with me. I think he enjoyed it, although during the movie we barely said a word to each other.
It was nice, though. Just sitting in silence with each other, munching on some popcorn (I was pretty full from dinner, but who can go to the movies without popcorn?) and just getting caught up in the drama of the story unfolding before you. I don’t usually go to the movies. Typically, I can pay to have studios ship the same first run prints of all the new films directly to my house and I just set it up in my own home theater. Sometimes I’ll have friends over and occasionally it will just be me when I feel that I need some alone time. I hoped that one-day Ted and I could enjoy a quiet romantic movie in my theater. I desperately wanted to tell him about who I was and what I really did for a living. I’d been so vague, but as of yet he had been a perfect gentleman and had not pressed me for more details. He was so patient and understanding. What we had was working and I was terrified to mess that up.
So for now, I was going to continue the ruse.
After the movie he drove me home to the apartment and walked me to the door inside the building. I was tempted to invite him inside, (after all Penny was staying the night in my place) but it just felt a bit early for that, so I decided to wait it out and just see how things progressed.
“Well, I had a fantastic time,” I said. “Thank you so much for dinner, and the movie.”
I felt kind of bad that he had paid for everything. I’d offered, but he insisted. I could see that he was an old fashioned gentleman and I enjoyed that. I’d always loved being courted and taken care of a little bit by a charming man. It just felt nice.
“I had a wonderful time as well,” Ted said. “We should definitely do this again sometime soon.”
“I would love that,” I said.
Ted leaned in right then and kissed me. I hadn’t expected it but when he came in towards me, he did it slowly, yet confidently, so I let him. And when our lips touched the spark I’d been feeling for him came to a head right there between us and it was the very essence of the connection that existed between us. It was sweet, romantic, and it felt delicious. The lustful urge rose up in me and I couldn’t help kissing him back a little harder then I’d meant to. He accepted it but did not push back any harder on his part to take it to the next level.
If he had I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have done the same.
“Goodnight,” Ted said as our lips parted.
“Goodnight.”
I waited until the elevator doors closed before I let myself into the apartment and sat down on the couch. I quickly called Penny and told her everything that had happened on the date.
“That is awesome! Wow, he sounds like an amazing guy,” she said when I was finished giving her every little detail.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think he really is.”
And I really meant it.
Chapter Four
Ted
I knew I was going to land hard on my back the second that my foot missed its mark on the bike as I slipped away from it. And I knew it was going to hurt.
The jump started out well enough. I had decent height and it was going smoothly, but somehow as I started to come back down I felt myself pulling away from the bike just a little bit, like the bike was moving farther away from me, and as I tried to correct it and stop its momentum with my hands, the bike seemed to rebel.
I missed my footing and then it was only a fraction of a second later that I knew I was falling behind the bike even though my hands were still gripping the handlebars tightly. I had to let go. There was no other way to minimize the injury.
I let go of the handles immediately with both hands and I narrowly missed colliding face first with the rear tire that was still spinning quickly. I narrowly missed having my nose torn off by it.
The ground came at me quickly and I fully expected to land face first. Throwing my hands up in front of my face I became only slightly aware that my body was now twisting around. It wasn’t until I landed hard on my back that I realized I had somehow turned around entirely.
I was down for a few seconds, but I quickly regained my feet and got back on the bike. I had a race to finish. And this was hardly the first time I’d fallen; it came with the territory. That was the rush of the adrenaline for you. It would have taken something insane to slow me down for even a second in the middle of an actual race.
I had to keep going; I wanted to win so badly I could wrap my lips around it. It was the only thing that had kept me moving at the age of twenty-eight to continue trying to thrive in this business that was being dominated by eighteen and twenty-year-old’s. I was old and most thought way past my prime, but I loved doing it and nothing was going to stop me.
Still, I knew that it would soon be time for me to hang up my helmet. Very soon, but not yet. And I had a great plan for how to do it.
She was watching me in the audience.
Leia had leapt at the chance to see me in action again. It was fun and flattering to have such a beautiful, wonderful woman in the audience rooting me on.
But it would have been even better if she’d ever get the chance to see me win.
Not this time, though. Not by a long shot. A few more disappointing races and it might be back to the amateur ranks for me. I could see it coming.
It was somewhat depressing, but I was dealing with it. The fact that I was soon going to be filthy rich had a way of lightening up the dark clouds that I found myself walking through.
“You did amazing!” Leia said when I came out of the showers heading towards my car.
“Were you watching the same race I was in?” I teased.
She smiled at me. “You took a nasty fall, could have happened to anyone. Speaking of which, are you ok? That looked painful.”
I shrugged. “Well, it didn’t feel good. But I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
We’d been going out fairly steady for the past three weeks and so far things could not have been going more smoothly between us. We were really getting into each other’s grooves and learning what made us tick and what made us work together so well. Our personalities were pretty well in sync. We laughed at the same stuff; we looked at things the same way. It was great and I was worried constantly that I was going to do something that would ruin things (I have a tendency to do that) and everything was going to get blown to hell. Then I’d be on damage control. This relationship had to work out, for a variety of reasons.
The race was on a Sunday afternoon. Afterwards we went to see a Dodgers baseball game, as we had planned. They were playing the Reds, one of my favorite teams, and I was stoked to go. Soon we were seated in the third row on the first base side, both of us stuffing our faces with delectable (and slowly toxic) junk food. It was great.
“What’s wrong?” Leia asked.
It was the fifth inning and she had noticed
I was squirming in my seat and I kept putting my hand on my lower back.
“It’s nothing,” I said.
“Don’t give me that,” she replied. “I know it’s not. What’s wrong?”
“I guess I messed up my back a bit with that fall. I mean it’s been hurting a bit since the accident, and I felt ok right after the fall today, but now it’s throbbing. I might need to go get a chiropractic adjustment. It’s ok. I got a guy.”
Actually, I had a woman—a very sexy chiropractor that I’d been going to for a while. She really did have amazing hands, and for the right price you could find out just how amazing they really were.
But I did not want to tempt fate by going to her. The temptation to do something stupid would have been too great. If I did decide to get adjusted, I’d find someone else. Of course that stuff cost money, which I was running painfully low on.
“Are you sure?” Leia asked. “You don’t want to let that go untreated. It might be something serious.”
I appreciated the concern, but her constant asking if I was ok, was actually starting to wear a bit thin.
“I’m fine,” I said flatly. “Let’s watch the game.”
I scolded myself for losing my temper a little bit. I wasn’t sure she could tell, but I’d reacted a little bit like an ass. What did she expect? When I tell someone for the one hundredth time that I’m fine, that should sink in.
After the game I drove her back to her apartment. She invited me in, but I declined.
“Honey, my back is really starting to get sore. I’m going to go home and ice it and call a chiropractor, maybe they have an answering service who can schedule me tomorrow.”
I kissed her softly on the lips and gave her a brief hug.
“You be good,” I teased. “Don’t be too sexy for your own good.”
Leia laughed. “You are too silly.”
