“Me too,” Bronzed God said. “I have to close up shop so Carlos can get to his night job.” He glanced at Diana. “I’ll stop at the Grandview Trail intersection and wait for everyone.”
Diana put her helmet and sunglasses on and secured her hydration pack. She let the others go ahead, and clipped into her pedals to bring up the rear. She hoped she could keep up, but if they out-rode her like they looked like they could, she would turn around and head back alone. Waiting for less-skilled riders was fine if that was what you signed up to do, but these four hadn’t.
The trail started with dirt, and Diana had no problem keeping up and avoiding the few hikers that were out that day. She’d been riding since spring and was in pretty good shape. When the trail got rocky and eventually turned to pure slickrock, they had the advantage and began leaving her behind. She was okay with that; she’d learned the hard way to not burn herself out or risk crashing by going harder than what felt right.
But she rode pretty well, and on only one occasion did she have to walk her bike over a craggy area that was beyond her ability. The reddish rocks rose on either side of her, sprinkled with spiny desert shrubs. The sky was bright blue and cloudless, allowing the desert sun to beat down on her. She’d lost the others, but fortunately for her, the canyon trail returned to dirt again and got pretty steep. She’d always been a good climber, and soon she spotted J.T. up ahead.
Diana inhaled a deep breath of fresh air as she climbed. She felt so much better, sweating out the week’s worries and forgetting her troubles with Matthew the night before. When she was on her bike, surrounded by forest or scrubland or rock cliffs or whatever, she couldn’t feel anything but happiness. Yes, it was hot. Really hot. But even with sweat building in every crevice of her body and the hills seeming even steeper in the 90-plus heat, she just sipped her water tube and kept going. It would all be worth it when they got to head downhill.
Sure, there were other ways to enjoy the outdoors and sweat a little, ways that were simpler and less risky than tumbling along narrow, rocky trails on a bike. But she loved the challenge of finding the perfect gear to get up a steep hill or figuring out how to navigate a bunch of chunky rocks without losing all momentum or spilling over. She loved not knowing what was around the corner, what challenge it would bring, or what beauty she would behold.
When she approached the intersection to the Grandview Trail, the others glanced back to see if she’d kept up. They’d stopped for a minute to catch their breaths and sip a little water before Annie, Diego, and J.T. continued on. But Bronzed God—Asher, was it?—waited for her with that gleaming smile.
“Look at you,” he said.
“Don’t look so surprised,” she admonished, stopping next to him just off the trail. She’d seen that look before. No one ever expected her to know what she was doing up there. It was her curves, and the fact that she didn’t have the athletic build one usually saw around those parts. Like Annie, or her friend Teagan.
“Not surprised,” he said. “Impressed. You’ve got skillz. With a z.”
“Are skillzzz better?”
“Fuck yeah. That means you’re a badass.” He paused. “Sorry… does the F-word offend your sensibilities? This is Utah, after all…”
Diana giggled at that. “I’m a Coloradan, so no issues there. I use the F-bomb when it suits me. But… I admit I have a thing about not saying God’s name in vain.”
He raised his eyebrows. “No shit. Grew up in a religious family, did you?”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah.”
“You don’t have that pale Mormon look, so I’m going with Catholic.”
“Nope. Although that’s a good guess, since I’m Italian and, you know, I look pretty Italian. Just raised in a conservative Christian family. I shed the religion, but not all of the teachings…”
He looked at her in that same way he had when they shook hands. Like he wanted to see her without her riding shorts and jersey. “So, no sex before marriage, huh? Must be tough.”
Ah, cutting right to the chase. Challenging her. Testing her to see whether she’d blush, laugh nervously, or boldly flirt back.
She rolled her eyes. “Yes to sex before marriage. But NO to casual sex. And no, it’s actually not tough at all.”
He laughed at her cheekiness. “You’re a strong rider. Maybe we can go for a ride together sometime.”
Diana hesitated at that. His boldness surprised her. And to her chagrin, she was strangely flattered. “That’s very sweet, but I just came here to see Mel. When we finish the ride, I’m going back to take care of her.”
That would do it. In one fell swoop she shut down the Bronzed God bad boy’s smoldering heat, or at least reduced it to a simmer. She’d met men like him before. She knew what they wanted, and they knew she knew… and it wasn’t marriage or kids. Sure, Asher laughed good-naturedly at her ability to give it right back to him, but soon he would make his polite exit, quit paying her attention, and go find some other girl who would eat up his charm like salted caramel ice cream covered in chocolate sauce.
When he nodded and said nothing else, Diana was almost disappointed. Almost. It had been a long time since a cute boy had flirted with her, even if his intentions were naughty.
“Ready to keep going?” he said.
“I am.”
They caught up with the others and sweated their way up the trail. Later, just as Diana thought she would get heatstroke, they began heading back down. Downhill was easier on the lungs, but it had its own hazards. Like hitting a rock the wrong way or misusing the brakes, just to wind up crashing to the hard ground or, even better, going over the handlebars and praying you didn’t land on anything painful. Like cactus or sharp rocks. Yeah, she’d been there once or twice. Okay, many times.
She rode behind Asher, trying not to admire his muscular calves or his tight butt when she had a moment to take her eyes off where she was going. Part of her felt guilty for staring at him, although not too guilty. She was observant, and she knew that, quietly and discreetly, Matthew stared at pretty girls from time to time. Looking was looking, and she was only human. And, player or not, Asher was worth looking at. Not to mention that he took to the trail and the tricky spots like they were nothing at all.
By the end of the ride, Diana was coated in salty sweat and her legs were like rubber, but she felt amazing.
“Thank you for letting me crash your party,” she said to the others as they stripped off their helmets. “I love that trail!”
“No problem,” Annie said. “It’s good to meet you.”
“You too,” Diana said.
“I have to get to the shop,” Asher said. “See you guys.” He glanced at Diana, eyeing her for just a moment too long. “Hope to see you again, Diana.”
Diana’s face grew hot again. Before she could respond, Asher waved to everyone and took off. Diana pedaled over to her Jeep, and as she secured her bike to its rack, she felt someone approach. It was Annie.
“Hey, Diego and I and maybe J.T. are riding Coyote Canyon tomorrow. Do you want to come with us? If Mel’s that sick, she won’t be up for riding tomorrow either…”
Diana grinned. “I’d love to! What time?”
“Is seven okay? It’s a pretty exposed trail and it’s better to go early, when it’s cooler.”
“I’ll be there. Thank you, Annie.”
“Tell Mel I hope she feels better…”
“I will.”
Perfect, Diana thought as she drove back into town. She had tonight to cook for Mel and take care of her, but could still ride in the morning without having to go alone. Even better yet, it would just be her, Annie, Diego, and maybe J.T. Asher wouldn’t be there. As much as she enjoyed their repartee, not to mention that gorgeous smile, the last thing she needed was to be stuck on a trail for hours with a hottie like Asher. Especially when she was this sexually frustrated.
Not that she would ever cheat. She could never do that. But remaining patient with Matthew’s struggles was challenging enough
without a guy with more sexual magnetism than a rock star flirting with her. She just wanted to forget about Matthew and sex and any of that for a while, and ride as much as she could until she had to go home.
Diana pulled into the grocery store parking lot and called Mel. When Mel answered, she sounded awful, her voice gravelly.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“Crappy.”
“I’m at the store. I’m going to pick you up some soup and some cold medicine. What else can I get you?”
“D, you don’t have to do that—”
“No arguments. Soda? Juice? Chocolate donuts?”
Mel gave a raspy giggle. “Root beer.”
“Root beer it is. I’ll be home soon.”
Diana got everything she needed and headed back to Mel’s apartment. Mel was cocooned on her couch, old reruns of Friends on television. Diana opened a bottle of root beer and brought it to Mel.
Mel took a drink and smiled a little. “Yum. Thank you, D…”
Diana left Mel to her root beer and jumped in the shower to cool off and clean the caked salt and sweat off her. She put on a knit sundress and began making Mel’s soup. She refused to buy the canned stuff, so she made a noodle soup from chicken broth and egg noodles, with a little celery and carrot. Mel, her blanket still wrapped around her, came and sat at the table when the soup was done.
“This is so good, D,” Mel said after taking a few bites. “Thank you!”
“And I got you NyQuil too, if you need it to sleep tonight.”
“Oh, that’s perfect.”
Diana dug in to the Thai food she’d picked up for herself as Mel slurped her soup.
“How was the ride?” Mel said. “Were they nice to you?”
“They were. They looked a little surprised when I just showed up like that, but I explained. Annie said she hopes you feel better soon…”
“Who else was there?”
“Three guys. Diego, a guy named J.T.… and a flirty one called Asher.”
Mel smiled. “That’s Ash. He’s hot, though, right?”
“Yeah, and he knows it, too,” Diana said with a laugh. “Annie invited me to ride with them in the morning. Coyote Canyon. Will you be okay on your own?”
She waved a hand at Diana. “I got my root beer and my NyQuil. I’m set.”
The next morning, Diana woke up early and got ready for her ride, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid waking Mel. Before she left, she checked on Mel, who was fast asleep and breathing heavily through a stuffed-up nose. As she drove out of town, Diana turned up her satellite radio and sang along with Carrie Underwood, excited for another day of riding with people she could mostly keep up with. She’d never ridden Coyote Canyon before either, but heard it wasn’t as tricky as yesterday’s ride.
When she arrived, she spotted Annie and Diego behind his truck, slathering on sunscreen. Next to them was a brown truck, where another biker fiddled with his bike. Even before he turned and flashed that smile, Diana recognized those tattooed arms and that wild hair.
Asher.
Chapter Three
Shit.
What was Asher doing here? Annie must have invited him at the last minute.
Okay, she thought. They were just mountain biking. It was going to be all about sweating and doing her best to keep up and not splatter herself on the rocks. Besides, J.T. wasn’t there, which meant that without Asher, Diana would feel like a third wheel with just Annie and Diego. Who, from what she could tell, seemed like they might be dating. She sighed and began getting her bike and gear ready.
“Well, if it isn’t Venus herself, coming to show off her skillz again.”
Diana turned to find Asher standing there, sunglasses on top of his head and his smile lighting up his face. “Venus? Really?”
He shrugged, unfazed. “I’d call you Aphrodite, but she’s Greek. You’re Italian, so we’ve got to go with the Roman goddesses.”
“Yes, because keeping our mythologies straight is the issue here, and not you calling a woman you barely know the goddess of love and sex.”
“What can I say? I call it like I see it.”
She offered her most charming smile. “I was told you weren’t coming today.”
Asher laughed at that. “I wasn’t. But it worked out that I could make it. You ever done Coyote before?”
“I haven’t.”
“It can get a little tricky in spots, but you’ll do fine. Come on over when you’re ready.”
Diana gathered her things for the ride, rechecking everything to make sure she had all she needed. She put sunscreen on her own olive skin, not eager to sunburn or to face the signs of aging any faster than necessary. She was thirty-five, after all.
A brief pain shot through her lower abdomen. She’d felt a few rumblings earlier that morning, too. Hopefully it wouldn’t get any worse. A good ride would do the trick, making the pain either disappear or keeping her too busy and happy to notice it much.
She pedaled over to the others. “Thanks for letting me tag along again.”
“Any time,” Annie said. “How’s Mel feeling?”
“She was asleep when I left, but she seemed better last night. It’s just a bad cold.”
“Did you bring any snacks?” Asher asked. “We’ll be out there a while.”
“Of course! I’m all about the food.”
Asher chuckled, looking at her like he had more to say but would save it for later.
They took off into the canyon, getting a head start on the day’s heat. The sky was vivid blue and the trail the color of golden wheat, until they got deeper into the canyon. There, the Navajo Sandstone walls grew tall on either side of them and the soil redder, and they enjoyed the shade until it led them to a more exposed area. The sun shone upon them as they rode, but Diana paid it no mind as she took in the landscape, with its crazy red rock formations and its spiny shrubs and trees. That is, until she heard a whoosh sound, a sound no cyclist wants to hear.
“I got a flat!” she called up to the others.
She stopped, unclipped, and got off her bike, searching for a shady spot to repair her tire. She found a tiny one near a tall rock. A few pains roiled through her abdomen again, worse than before. Damn it. Why today?
Just as she dug out her flat repair kit, she heard brakes. Asher had come back for her. He waved off Annie and Diego, set his bike aside, and helped her with the hardest parts of flat repair—peeling off the tire and, once she replaced the tube, getting it back on again. She pulled out her CO2 cartridge and inflated the tube.
“Thank you,” she said, glancing over at her new riding buddy, impressed. Not only had Asher helped her, he didn’t make a single flirtatious comment the whole time. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
He gave a dismissive wave. “Don’t worry about it. This canyon is notorious for flats. It’s the trees. They’re thorny.” He stood up and held out his hand.
Diana put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet like she weighed nothing. Suddenly, she was standing close to him. He was like a bronzed statue, but one who was very alive and smelled like a delicious blend of sweat and sunscreen and masculinity. She backed away, almost tripping on her bike.
The abdominal pain hit her again, harder this time. She winced. It was time to call in the ibuprofen. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need more than that.
Asher’s brow wrinkled. “Are you okay? You look like you’re in pain.”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just give me a minute. Go on ahead… I’m right behind you.”
Asher hesitated for a moment, then got on his bike and pedaled away. Diana took four ibuprofen before she clipped back in and set off. She wasn’t going to tell Asher about her endometriosis. Guys, even the few who knew what it was, never wanted to hear about “female problems.” Her father and brother certainly hadn’t. Matthew tried to be understanding, but he too was uncomfortable with any details. And her ex-husband…. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to ruin a perfectly good d
ay thinking about him.
Diana caught up to Asher, who resumed his normal pace once he saw her coming. After riding in discomfort for a while, the ibuprofen kicked in and Diana breathed a sigh of relief. At least she’d get through the ride. She followed Asher, who rode like someone who’d been born on a bike. She kept up with him fine, but she didn’t look or feel as natural as he did, and she knew he’d backed off his usual pace.
“How you doing back there, Venus?” he called from up ahead on a particularly steep hill.
“Couldn’t be better,” she said through her heavy breaths.
The truth was, she was touched by his staying back with her and checking on her. And surprised. She didn’t need him to do either, but she appreciated it just the same.
Later, they caught up to Annie and Diego, who’d stopped at a lookout point to have a snack and wait for her and Asher. They’d laid their bikes aside and spread out on a rock that overlooked Red Rim Valley, its tall red cliffs a vivid contrast against the cloudless blue sky, the small town dotted with green trees as the Colorado River snaked through it. It had gotten hotter out, but at 10:30 in the morning it was still comfortable compared to yesterday’s sweat-fest.
Diana put her bike aside and sat down. She didn’t sit too close to Annie and Diego, who seemed to be in their own little cocoon that only confirmed Diana’s suspicions about them. She pulled off her hydration pack, the sweat that had built under it cooling her back as the breeze hit it. She dug through it for her snacks, pulling out a nut bar to munch on. Asher took a seat next to her and stretched out his tanned, muscular legs in front of him.
Shaved, of course. A lot of male cyclists shaved their legs. Biking meant crashing and getting scraped up from time to time no matter how skilled you were, and hair only made it worse. Shaved legs made wounds easier to clean, faster to heal, and less likely to get infected. It was also tradition among male cyclists, although Diana secretly believed the men liked getting rid of all that fuzzy hair and enjoying smooth legs. She’d even come to prefer men who shaved.
Matthew didn’t shave, of course. He thought it was “pansy” for a man to shave anything but his face. She told him it would only take one episode of having his skin ripped to shreds after a bad crash before he’d rethink his definition of pansy. Not that he would ever find out. She’d tried to get him on a bike, even just to tool around town, but he showed no interest in it.
Wild Inside Page 2
