"Eric."Evangeline"s soft but authoritative voice stopped Eric on his tracks. He glanced at the woman who was standing beside her eye-catching sensual white Ferrari Laferari with a boy his age that seemed to be her driver at the side – glaring nonstop at him.
"I have a bike. It"s much faster with all the traffic outside." Eric explained, reading Evangeline"s thoughts. He then began walking without letting the woman react from his steadfast decision to rode his bike.
Evangeline admitted that for the first time, she felt at a loss. Eric didn"t exactly say to ride with him and didn"t tell where they were going or what the plan was.
Too prideful to ask, she silently stomped her six inches heel and walked after the man.
"Go back first. I"ll call when I need your service."
"Miss!"
Evangeline didn"t look back and continued to follow behind that man with messy dark hair. She didn"t like it that she was walking behind people. She always walked ahead. A leader, not a follower.
But oddly enough, right at this moment, she didn"t mind one bit if it was that man.
When they had reached Eric"s bike, Evangeline once more, held everything she got not to gasp as she remained in control.
She knew that if Eric rode his bike and her on her car, they might lose each other as Eric had said, it was easier to ride a bike against traffic. And if ever they got separated, she didn"t know how to contact the man since he didn"t have a phone with him.
Thus, it was better that she rode with him, she concluded.
Evangeline was okay on riding a bike since she had ridden many time before on Asher"s motorcycle.
However, what she didn"t expect was that Eric"s bike was completely different from what she had predicted.
It"s a peddling bike…
With a basket on the front and a pa.s.senger seat at the back.
Evangeline couldn"t help but glanced at her outfit.
She was wearing a body-hugging black chequered shirt with white bow tie and high waisted black mini skirt with her six inches heels ankle booty.
Eric too gazed at the woman. Then his eyes glint with l.u.s.t before it quickly faded as soon as it came. He grabbed an extra headgear and extended it to her.
"Here."
Evangeline wanted to kill the man in front of him.
She never felt insulted in all her life!
"You expect me to sit on that filthy… thing?" Finally, she could no longer take it. She felt repulsed in anything that was old and dirty and smelled vintage.
Although Eric"s bike was clean, it still looked antique and shabby that she couldn"t fathom to bring herself to dint even a single of her hair on it.
"I won"t force you then." Without a word, Eric put on his helmet and rode his bike.
"Wait!"
Eric instantly stopped and stared at her.
Evangeline inhaled and closed her eyes shut. Then without a word, grabbed the spare helmet.
All her nerves acted up when she stared at that stainless steel pa.s.senger seat like she wanted to destroy it.
"Look, I"m running a little late. Are you going to hop in or not?" Eric chuckled in amus.e.m.e.nt as he watched every twitched of the woman"s brows.
Evangeline ignored him and continued to breathe in and out.
You can do this Evangeline.
It"s just a harmless seat.
You"re a Queen, and Queen"s don"t back out with challenges.
They face it head on!
After psyching up her mind and calming her emotions, she put on the helmet and grabbed a disinfectant spray from her bag as she sprayed it on the pa.s.senger seat before wiping it clean with a tissue while Eric watched all of this in hilarity.
Then without a word, she positioned herself to ride the bike, but before she could hop on, Eric stopped her.
"What?!"
This time, Evangeline"s soft voice turned high screech as she had about enough of this impudence for one day.
Eric just shrugged her discontent as he removed his jacket and gave it to her.
"Cover your legs with this."
Evangeline blinked.
For the first time, she had nothing to say.
She was used to boys offering their expensive leather jacket or cashmere coat to her to step upon so her shoes wouldn"t get dirtied. But oddly, she felt warm when this man offered his tattered jacket to her.
Evangeline felt so touch that she forgot herself and blurted out softly, "thank you…"
She blinked, and still a bit lost in her thoughts, she sat on the pa.s.senger seat, didn"t know which position she should take.
"Sit sideways."
Evangeline followed the man"s instructions without any resistance, and not before long, they had taken off.
She was surprised by the sudden movement and wrapped her arms around Eric"s waist.
"Hold on tight."
Evangeline was so focused on steadying her ragged beating heart while controlling her nervousness that she didn"t notice Eric"s soft laughter.
This was the first time that she ever rode a peddling bike, so she didn"t know how to steady herself. She felt like one wrong move, she would fall.
Thus, she was seating so frigid with her fingers white, balled into fists, wrapped tightly around Eric"s shirt that the man couldn"t help but let out another soft chuckles.
Then Eric played a little trick on the frigid nervous woman. He purposely took a sharp turn.
"Kyaaah!!"
"....."
"....."
It was not only Eric who was surprised upon hearing that girly scream, even Evangeline didn"t expect that there was something that could make her shriek like that. She felt that it was not her.
It was not her voice!
Eric, on the other hand, let out a hearty laugh which made Evangeline"s blood rushed to her face causing it to heat up.
This was the first time that someone ever made her fl.u.s.ter that she was lost on what to do or say. Instead of being angry and lashed out at the man for scaring her to death, she indulged herself in listening to that deep hearty laughter.
It was like a lullaby to her ears, and she loves listening to it.
It made her fill contended and happy for whatever reasons.
"We"re here."
Eric steadied his bike so Evangeline could get off first. However, it had been a while now, yet Evangeline still shakily wrapped her hands around his shirt, not letting go.
He glanced at her.
"What"s wrong?"
"My legs..." Evangeline softly answered while trying to steady her trembling voice, hiding the embarra.s.sment and humiliating feelings inside.
"What about it?" Eric glanced at her legs, but his jacket prevented him from seeing anything.
Evangeline breathed another mouthful of air.
"It"s trembling."
"..."
"..."
Eric held his laughter for the reason that he didn"t want to embarra.s.s the woman more than she already was. But his shaking shoulders only made Evangeline"s cheeks blushed in a rosy red tint. She had to bit her lips to control her emotions.
"Take your time."
Eric softly said while he focused his eyes forward, steadying his bike to support the girl while Evangeline tightly held his shirt.
Under the glowing moon on that busy sidewalk behind the parking reserved for bikes, a young man stood still, holding his bike firmly while a woman sat at the pa.s.senger seat, holding the man"s shirt. The cold night air blew gently while the leaves rustled in a serenade.
Evangeline never trusted anyone but herself. Not even Asher. Not even her mother"s family side.
Yet somehow, she trusted this messy hair nerdy guy to held the bike for her, not letting her fall during her weakest moment.
At this second, she felt peace. She felt that time had stopped.
She wanted this time to freeze forever.