“We’ll pick up the lakefront path just over there and tour around the city,” he says. “We can take as long as you want.”
“I’ve never been on a bike ride.”
Not even after I grew up and moved out of the Blacks’ house. By then it just seemed pointless.
“I know.” He taps his ear. “I was listening.”
Emotion crawls up my throat as the weight of what he’s doing—what he’s offering me—settles, and I pinch my lips together because the last thing I want to do is burst into tears.
Once I’m confident I can speak without crying, I say, “Aside from taking me skating, this is probably the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”
Cradling my cheeks in his hands, Rex leans down until our lips are nearly touching. “It makes me sad that this is the greatest thing anyone’s ever done for you. It also makes me happy that I get to be the one to do it. I love making you smile.” He runs a thumb along my lower lip. “And you can expect these lips to do a lot more of that with me, Shae Black.”
If a moment ever called for a kiss, it’s this one. Pushing up on my toes, I kiss Rex, right here at Buckingham Fountain, for the entire world to see.
The guy who delivered the bike to us clears his throat, and I kiss Rex once, twice, and a third time before turning to look at him.
“Thank you, Marlin,” Rex says. “We’re good to go from here.”
Marlin nods. “Call me when you’re done, wherever you are, and I’ll pick up the bike.”
“Thank you.” Rex holds out his hand, and Marlin shakes it and walks away.
Rex turns to me. “You ready to do this?” He grabs a helmet hanging on the handlebars. Unclasping it, he places it on my head.
Lifting my chin, I allow him to clasp the buckle. “More than ready.”
Holding the bike steady, he motions for me to climb on.
“Aren’t you going to wear a helmet?”
Rex shoots me a look. “I’ve been riding a bike since I was five years old. I’m a pro at this. Plus, I don’t wear helmets.”
“You don’t, huh? Well, what happens if we get into a wreck and your head smacks the ground?”
“Too many what-ifs, Shae. I don’t like what-ifs.”
I open my mouth to argue but he grabs the back of my head, slams his lips against mine in a fierce kiss, and leaves me speechless, which I think was his intention.
“Get on the damn bike,” he says, his smiling lips brushing against mine.
“Only because you asked with a kiss.” Flinging my leg over the seat, I straddle the bike and put both feet on the pedals. The bike tilts to the left and I squeal, dropping my feet back to the ground.
Shaking his head and laughing, Rex straddles the seat in front of me. “You can’t lift your feet until we start pedaling. Put one foot on a pedal and leave the other one down. Once we start going, you can start pedaling.”
“Okay.” I nod, and the helmet slides in front of my face. I push it up. “Promise me you won’t let us fall.”
“I won’t let us fall.”
“You didn’t promise.”
Rex looks at me over his shoulder. “Shae, I promise I will not let us fall. You’re safe with me, always.”
With those words, Rex starts pedaling, and I quickly join in. Balancing on a bike is much harder than it looks, and It takes a few tries for us to get going. At first I can tell by the occasional tightening of Rex’s back and arms that he’s having to compensate for my lack of balance, but after a few minutes, I get the hang of things.
The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and I have the greatest view in the entire world: Lake Michigan to my right, the Chicago skyline to my left, and an unexpected Romeo smack dab in front of me. A wide grin stretches across my face as the wind whips around us, and I can’t remember the last time I felt this free.
Desperate to hold on to the feeling, I keep pedaling, taking in the sights and sounds of the city I grew up in, refusing to search for hidden memories, tucking my father’s letter away in the back of my mind—for now.