Free Hard Edge by Tess Oliver

the steps leading up to the Everett’s front walkway. He raced toward them.
    “Don’t forget the last time you took that jump you were a teenager and your leg hadn’t been pinned back together,” I called to him. As expected, he ignored my warning. He jumped the bike up onto the step and rode it off the other end, circling around as he came off. He landed smoothly back on the sidewalk and flew off the curb to join me again.
    “Shit, forgot how fun this bike was. I’m glad you suggested this ride. I was starting to melt into the couch cushions.”
    “How are your dad and Sally doing?”
    “Not great. I’m glad they have each other. I’m not sure how much help I am though. I thought I was going to fly to Wisconsin to pick up Grady’s things, but it turns out that he didn’t have all that much stuff. Dad told his roommate to give his clothes to goodwill and then he sent him money to pack up his belongings and send them home.”
    A lump formed in my throat as I thought about all of Grady’s existence being packed up in a box and tossed around in the back of a delivery truck.
    We pedaled awhile in silence.
    “I think I might head back to the beach,” Caden said suddenly. “Sally has been fine having me around, but I don’t think it’s helping her. I’m just too much of a reminder.”
    “So you’re going to leave me here alone? With the candy diva and her truffles?”
    “Come with me. We could hang out, surf, eat sandwiches on the beach. It’s only an hour away. I can bring you back in a few days.”
    I was left slightly speechless by the invitation. “Uh—I’m not sure. My mom needs me and—” My next words should have made mention of Jeremy. That would have been the right and proper response from a fiancée.
    “No big deal, Trinket. Just thought we’d have fun.” He looked ahead.
    The old train depot, a three sided relic of an earlier time that had deteriorated into weather worn walls with chipped yellow paint and graffiti, loomed in the distance.
    Caden glanced over at me. “I’ll race you. And I’ll even give you and that lead filled bike a head start.”
    I leaned down over the handlebars. “You’re on.” I stood to get the bike moving faster and pedaled hard. The handlebars wobbled some in my grasp, but I kept my focus on the dilapidated building at the end of the road. Weeds and shrubs had sprung up all around the old depot. I could hear Caden riding up behind me, taking the time to jump some curbs and spin a trick or two along the way. I laughed as I looked back over my shoulder. He was pedaling casually along as I pumped my legs as if my life depended on it.
    As I turned to face forward, a ground squirrel scurried across the path in front of me. I turned the handlebars sharply to avoid it and pitched myself off the bike. The water bottles flew out of the basket. My hands shot out in front of me. Grit ground into my palms and knees as I landed hard on the pavement.
    “Shit, Kenna.” Caden dropped his bike and raced over to me. He knelt down next to me. “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine. The fall was sort of slow motion. However, I am a little humiliated about sitting on my hands and knees in front of my childhood crush.” I sat back. My knees and palms stung, and every bone in my body hurt from the jarring thud. I turned my palms up. Rocks had been ground into my skin leaving behind tiny pinpoints of blood.
    “Trinket, did you just call me your childhood crush?”
    Suddenly, it occurred to me precisely what I’d just absentmindedly blurted out. All those years of hiding it, and it had only taken one, somewhat painful, fall off a bike to squeak it free. “Maybe. Or maybe I was talking about the squirrel. Which would be weird, I know, but I can’t erase what I just said. So ignore my silliness. It’s the sight of blood. I get squeamish. Besides, every girl in the whole damn neighborhood had a crush on you. I was just following the crowd.” I glanced back toward the shrubs.