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“We’re going there?”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “Bikes are in the back.”
“Bicycles?”
“Yep. Got you a twenty-six inch. Took a guess on the size you’d ride.”
“But the campground closed down.”
“It did. But we have use of it for the day.”
“How?”
“I looked up Green Mount Campground. The property is actually for sale. I called and told the realtor I wanted to check it out. She offered to show it to me, but I said I’d prefer to do it on my own. She was hesitant. Then I told her who I was and gave her two tickets to next week’s game. We should have the place all to ourselves for the afternoon.”
I stared over at him.
Christian felt my eyes and looked over. “What?”
“I can’t believe you’re taking me bicycle riding at the campground. This is not how I thought a date with you would be.”
“How did you think it would be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You would take me to some overpriced restaurant and then try to get me to go back to your place so you could feel me up.”
Christian smirked. “Now you just ruined part two of the date.”
I laughed. “Seriously, Christian. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. The fact that you listened to me the other day when I told you the story about the campground says so much about you.”
“Don’t build me up too much in your head. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed when I spend half the day behind you, watching your ass go up and down.”
I would never have taken Christian Knox for modest, but there was a layer of it just beneath the cocky surface he wore on the outside.
We made a left, and the entrance to the campground came into view. The big wooden welcome sign I remembered had been replaced by a thick chain that blocked passage and a Private – No Trespassing sign. Christian pulled up and put the SUV in park.
“The real estate agent gave me the combo to the lockbox. I’ll be right back.”
I watched from the SUV as Christian jumped out and fiddled with the lock at the center of the chain. He laid the chain on the ground, then came back and pulled in before going back to replace the chain so no one else could enter.
“Do you remember where the bike path started?”
I pointed up ahead to the right. “I do. It’s probably about a half mile in, up that way.”
We parked at a grassy area at the start of the path. Unfortunately, it had seen better days. Tree roots had broken up the pavement, and tall weeds decorated what had once been a neat, clean place to ride. Christian surveyed the area. “I think we’re better off riding on the street rather than that thing. At least there shouldn’t be any cars.”
“Yeah, that’s perfect.”
Christian opened the back of his SUV to reveal two bikes packed inside. He unloaded the bigger one on top, then set the white one next to me.
“Looks like it’ll fit,” he said.
“It does. Whose bike is it, though?”
Christian shrugged. “It’s yours. I bought it last night.”
“You bought this bike?”
“You said you wanted to find an activity to get more exercise. Figured maybe you’d get some use out of it.”
I looked down at the bike and shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
Christian pulled a duffle bag from the SUV and took out two helmets and water bottles. He handed one of each to me. “You wanna give me a tour of the place?”
I smiled. “I’d love that.”
For the next hour and a half, Christian and I rode around the campground. It was overgrown and beat up, but it didn’t matter at all. The sun was shining, the wind blew in my face, and I had that warm feeling in my chest that coming here with my mom had always given me. It felt like I didn’t have a care in the world. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to say that. When we got to an area with picnic benches, Christian pointed.
“You want to take a break for a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
We parked the bikes and sat with our asses on the table and feet on the seat. I let out a content sigh. “This is the best day I can remember in a long time.”
Christian smiled. “Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I don’t think I realized how tense I’ve been. Living in a constant state of stress made me forget what being relaxed feels like.”
“Exercise is good for more than just the body. It’s good for mental health, too.”
He was right, of course. But it wasn’t only the exercise that had me feeling this way. It was the man sitting next to me. And I wanted to show him what he did to me. So I stood on the bench seat and lifted one leg to climb into Christian’s lap. Facing forward, I straddled him and wrapped my hands around the back of his neck. “It’s more than exercise that’s making me feel this way, Christian.”
