Page 26 of Sailor's Delight
“Nothing more than that, huh?” Jenn hummed doubtfully.
“Doesn’t need to be,” Casey shrugged again. “I mean, I wouldn’t hate it if it were more, but I’m not gonna push it to be, either.” He paused. “It can be whatever you want it to be.”
Casey, surprising her again with his self-awareness and respect. Unexpected, to say the least. She nodded toward the plaza, where several groups were beginning to form and gather around cruise and tour group employees holding printed signs for various destinations.
“You doing an excursion?”
“Not if you aren’t,” Casey replied.
“Look, kid.” Jenn turned to face the younger man. “Yes, I’m calling you kid. I still own CDs that are older than you.”
Casey’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t say anything. So, Jenn continued.
“I don’t need any company. I don’t know if you’re one of those guys who thinks a womanneedsa man to take care of her and protect her. I don’t. So, please, if you’re hanging out for that, just do me a favor: don’t.”
Casey had flinched and folded his arms at one point. Jenn waited for him to blow up, to begin berating her or attacking back.
“If we don’t hurry, I think we’re going to miss our rides.” He nodded toward the first of the tour groups that had begun taking off, headed for the parking lot. “Last chance.”
“Screw it,” Jenn muttered under her breath. Out loud, she said, “One more for the taco tours!” She headed for the sepia, reddish-brown skinned man holding up the sign denoting “Taco Tours.”
She turned to look back at Casey. “I’m about to stuff my face with tacos. What are you doing?”
Casey smiled mischievously, one eyebrow lifting above the sunglasses. “I’m all about stuffing my face with taco.”
Despite herself, Jenn found her cheeks growing warm and her eyes dropping to the ground.
Casey didn’t say anything else, simply followed after her, holding up a single finger to the guide to indicate his intention. The man nodded in acknowledgment.
Whew!The morning was certainly beginning to warm up! Jenn started to wonder if perhaps not discouraging Casey from accompanying her was going to turn out to be a mistake.
The e-bike tour, culminating in an authentic, Mexican spread of tacos and other foods, was just what Jenn wanted.
For the last time, Jenn caught her floppy hat as it tried to sail away with the warm coastal breeze. She crushed the offending accessory into the bottom of the bike’s basket, even going so far as to adjust the complimentary bottle of water so that it rested on top.
Jenn pretended not to notice Casey’s side eye as she hiked up the mermaid skirt high around her thighs, nearly to her hips. She hadn't planned on cycling when she’d gotten dressed this morning. But the last-minute cancellation and switch required adaptability. Many of the other outings had already filled.
She strapped the helmet provided to them and cinched it tight, smiling as she pushed off to follow the guide.
The first thing she did was switch off the electric pedal-assist motor on her bicycle. Under the rising eye of the Yucatán sun, it didn’t take long at all for Jenn to begin to sweat heavily from the effort of pedaling.
The exertion felt good. Jenn had always preferred riding a bicycle for her cardio over running, or worse, a treadmill. An actual bicycle, outside, exposed to the actual elements and giving her something more to look at than the same four walls, gym bros, or even just the slowly transitioning scenery of running. With a bicycle, one could actually see something, cover some distance in a short amount of time.
Several minutes later, she was grateful that she didn’t have long hair; several of the other women on the tour who’d forgotten hair ties were battling the breeze and their own speed, unable to look very far in either direction, else their hair was blown straight into their mouths, noses, and eyes.
Jenn couldn’t help but smile as she pedaled harder, shooting out away from the group to catch up to their guide, a few yards ahead. Her thighs burned, and the sweat dripped down her neck and armpits. She felt electrically, deliciously alive.
Casey sped up to match her, riding quietly and nearly effortlessly at her side.
“You know, these work better if you turn them on,” Casey said, taking in her sweat-matted hair, glistening arms, and heavy breathing.
“Depends on what you want out of it,” Jenn puffed.
“If you wanted to swim, you picked the wrong outing.” Casey’s half smile told Jenn that he found himself funny, even if she didn’t.
“Oh, a funny guy!” Jenn said between breaths. The guide was leading them up a slight hill. Jenn heaved the bike side to side, standing up to give added strength to her downstrokes. They crested the hill and began coasting down the other side. Jenn took the opportunity to study the town around them.
The road was divided in two by a wide, tree-filled median. The trunks of the sprawling, brightly leaved trees were all painted a bright white.Bugs? Aesthetics?Jenn had seen the practice before but wasn’t certain of the actual purpose.