Andrew turned onto Broadway Ave. Easing off the pedals he coasted down the slight incline. Four blocks down he could see where the banks of the river met the town. It was a muggy day and his shirt clung to his sweat. A slight breeze picked up momentarily and separated his shirt from his back. Gazing into the shop windows as he coasted along, he saw nothing of particular interest. He almost missed her as he passed the ice-cream shop.
He slightly turned the handlebars on his bike and curved back until he came to a halt out in front of the shop. He ventured a weak "Hi". The group of girls turned to look at him momentarily, then turned back to face each other and giggled. He would have felt more awkward if she hadn't remained looking back at him momentarily, eyes cast over her shoulder with a slight smile.
He hopped off his bike and leaned it down to the ground in a noticeably ungraceful motion. The bike perched up on the left pedal and the rear tire span as the bike shifted into its resting position on the ground. He heard more chuckles from inside the ice cream shop. Putting his hands in his pockets, he slowly walked two doors down to the old second hand book store.
The windows were fogged with dirt, and he could barely make out the names of the books on display - a display that hadn't been changed for as long as he could remember. He wiped the window with this left hand and tried to make out the name of the big green bound book lying on top of the stack: The Mercbant of Ven...
"Bye..."
She was walking up Broadway and away from him. Andrew ran back to his bike and hopped on. He pedaled back up the street until he was slowly coasting just behind her.
"Where you going?"
Again she looked at him over her shoulder with a slight smirk on her face - without reply.
Lifting his right leg over the rear tire, he let the bike drop to the ground and skipped along to catch up to her. Again he asked, "Hey, where you goin?"
He walked next to her in silence for a few moments before he spoke again, "I'm Andrew..."
She began to slow down her pace, and he stopped completely. She stopped and turned back to him. Her head slightly tilted to her right side she replied, "Hi Andrew."
He moved towards her until they were face to face. She was a few inches shorter than him. Her hair smelled like flowers. She twisted slowly from left to right, moving to a song unheard by anyone but her. A strain of her hair slipped in front of her blue eyes. Andrew reached up with his left hand and ran his finger across her forehead, catching the hair and sweeping it behind her right ear. She looked up and into his eyes. The same look that had originally caught his eye. He softly lifted his right hand until it grazed her right hip. She moved towards him. He could feel the heat of her body, now.
Dusk had begun to settle, and the sound of crickets rose to greet another welcome summer evening.