Episode 16

EPISODE SIXTEEN

The route of the race is around the city, so the starting line is at the park. Brooke and I agreed to meet at the park before 3 and it’s already 2:30, so I quickly grabbed my water bottle and helmet, I decided not to bring my phone, it’ll just get lost there. I was about to leave when I saw Arden walking towards me

“Hey!” I greeted

“Hi!” Arden smiled then looked at me “what’s with the cycling suit?”

“Oh I'm joining a cycling race”

“The one that’s gonna start at the park?”

“Yeah, that’s the one”

“Wait a sec, isn’t that a tandem cycling race?"

“It is” I said “Brooke is my cycling partner..”

“Oh...” Arden’s voice sounded disappointed “good luck then”

“Thanks” I smiled “by the way, what are you doing here?”

“Um, I wanted to go to the mall today and I’m kinda hoping you’d like to go with me but I guess I should have called first...” she gave me a half smile

I stared wistfully at her, you have no idea how much I want to go with you but I can’t…I won’t, at least not right now

“I should go”

“Wait, I’ll give you a ride to the mall” I said and motioned her to ride my bike

“It’s ok, I’ll just walk, you don’t want to make Brooke wait, now do you?”

Arden was about to walk away but I quickly grabbed her hand

“You’re not going to let me go, are you?” she said

“Nope, not until you let me give you a ride”

She smiled and finally rode on my bike, I gave her my helmet and she wrapped her arms around my waist and off we went

At the middle of the bike ride Arden spoke “I miss this”

I turned back to her and saw her smiling, I smiled back and said “me too”

I felt her head on my back and her arms tighten on my waist and i just eased in our position

We then reached the mall, Arden got off and handed me back my helmet

“Thanks” she smiled

“You’re welcome” then I waved and left

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I arrived 10 minutes before the race, I looked around and saw Brooke sitting at the park bench, I quickly approached her when she saw me, a smile instantly appeared on her face

“Sorry for making you wait” I said and sat next to her

“It’s alright, you’re here and that’s all that matters” she answered

I smiled, It’s our first date and I made her wait but she still smiling when I got here…she’s really something…

Then they announced that the race is about to start

“C’mon, we have a race to win” I said then stood and took Brooke’s hand “and a date to start”

She smiled at me and squeezed my hand, we then rode our bicycles to the starting line and readied ourselves

The gun was fired and the race started, the 30 pairs of bikers, including us, started cycling as fast as we could. Brooke and I were behind at first but after a while, we got to ride passed the other pairs,

We passed the last turn and were on our way to the finish line, it was us and 3 other pairs that were leading,

Brooke looked at me “If I cross the finish line first, you have to give me a prize!!” she shouted “and vice versa!!”

I laughed “challenge accepted!” and cycled as fast as I could, Brooke did the same

At the final street, Brooke and I were no longer concerned about the two of us winning, the only thing we care about now is which one of us is gonna cross the finish line first!

And after cycling like there’s no tomorrow, I cross the finished line first with just a few inches between Brooke and I.

I turned to Brooke and smirked “guess who crossed the finish line first?” I said and pointed my thumbs to myself “this girl!!”

Brooke laughed out loud “okay you win but wait a sec, which pair won the race?”

It took us a minute to realize that we actually won the race! When we found out, Brooke jumped and excitedly gave me a tight hug, I was excited as well and hugged her back

“We actually won!” I exclaimed

“I know right!?” Brooke answered excitedly

Then the race officials approached us and gave us a trophy and an envelope with a $1000 cash prize, Confetti fell from above and people clapped and cheered

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After the race, we decided to hang at the park and rest for a while

“That was awesome” I said, as I sat next to Brooke “best day ever!”

Brooke giggled “glad you enjoyed it” she then opened the envelop, took out $500 and handed it to me “here’s your cash prize” she said “and here is your prize for beating me” Brooke leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, I blushed and smiled at her

She smiled back then looked at the trophy “so, who brings this baby home?”

“Well, I beat you so I guess-”

“Ugh, unfair!” she laughed and pushed me a little

I snickered then I turned at her “you should keep it” I said “a reminder that you gave me an awesome first date”

Brooke smiled heartily at me and hugged me and I hugged her back

When we parted, I smiled at her “want me to take you home?”

“Yes, definitely” she answered “but you have to hang out at my apartment first before you go home, Emily really wants to meet you personally”

“Sure” then we stood, rode our bicycles and off we went

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I had a great time hanging out at Brooke’s apartment, her roommate and best friend, Emily, was really friendly and a bit talkative.

We watched 50 first dates and had a lively chat afterwards and this is when some of Brooke’s secrets were spilled by Emily and her unstoppable mouth which I find really funny and entertaining

“You don't know this” Emily started “but back at the party, we were about to leave when Brooke saw you arrived and she was like “wait as sec, let’s go back, I want to talk to her”, she was staring at you and I think she was drooling”

I laughed out loud

“I can’t help it ok”, you’re very attractive” Brooke said to me “also you can’t blame me for not wanting to talk to you, you were awesome on the guitar”

I smirked and looked at her ”Well, you certainly did a lot more than talk to me”

Brooke shyly looked away “alcohol kinda helped with that incident”

I gently patted Brooke’s head “that ended well, didn’t it? I got to go to a bike race with you so I wouldn’t call it an “incident””

“I’d call it fate” Brooke spoke and smiled softly

“N’aww, you too are so cute together!” Emily reacted “are you sure you two are just dating right now?”

“Yeah” Brooke answered “but I hope we get together soon” then she turned to me

I just smiled but didn’t say anything, Arden…..

“You better make it fast then” Emily said “Nicky turned out to be a good opponent on NBA live 2011 and I like to keep her” she grinned at me

I smirked “I’m not going anywhere” I said “and I’ll continue to beat your ass with my amazing joystick abilities”

“Bring it sweet cheeks!” and we continued to laugh and chat about Brooke being a great dancer and how she’s practicing for a dance contest, Brooke even demonstrated a part of their routine, It was awesome and cool, Brooke really is a great dancer which unsurprisingly, is very attractive to me, I’ve always had a thing for dancers, so it’s not a surprise that I already like Brooke

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It was already 8 pm when I decided to go home, after saying goodbye to Emily which again I beat on NBA live, Brooke walked me out of her apartment

“So, I take that you really like me?” I blatantly asked as we walk outside

Brooke nodded “Yeah, I do, maybe even more than that”

“How do you know? How do you know that it’s not just a simple crush?”

Brooke stopped and stared at me “do you believe in love at first sight?”

I shrugged “no, I don’t”

“I don't either” she said “but then I saw you and that happened”

I quietly stared at Brooke as she continued to speak

“Look, I’m not saying you should like me back, I just want to see if we have a chance”

“I want to see that too” I spoke then I approached her and kissed her on the cheek “thanks for a great day”

Brooke heartily smiled and embraced me, “I’ll go to your school so we could go home together”

I smiled “that’d be great”

After that I left and went home