july.
bey.
Orange Therapy was packed, and that was unusual for the Upper East Side. Well, not for the Upper East Side, but this particular location. It was tucked in the corner between The Open Book and Trader Joe's, tucked so tightly that people barely even knew it was there. That was why I was so shocked to see so many cars—especially in New York—and so many people walking inside in their biker shorts. It was so full that I was wondering if I was going to keep my spot.
As I crossed the street, I saw Kelly coming in this direction too. I could tell that she had literally just walked out of that beautiful brownstone of hers. I always told her that she was so lucky to live so close to the one place that we spent most of our time.
We both made it to the door at the same time and she held onto it, looking over at me and smiling.
"Ladies first?"
"Chivalry isn't dead," I said sarcastically and let her open the door for me.
Immediately I could hear the loudest voices from inside the reception area. We hit the corner and there was a herd of men and women with fresh smiles on their faces, ready to try something new.
"There has to be some kind of special," Kelly leaned in and whispered.
"Has to be."
We followed the line of newbies to the line of existing members and Tiana was there talking to Dennis, grinning. Class didn't start until 9:00, so we had maybe 10 minutes to kill.
"Damn is there a free class or something?"
Dennis looked straight at me with those pearly whites. He was such a beautiful boy. Young and optimistic, he kept a smile on that pretty face, no matter what rude ass, entitled customer stood in front of him. They loved him. He was perfect for his job.
"As a matter of fact, there is."
I threw my hands up, "I knew it."
"It's okay. This time the newbies are in their own class. We got y'all."
"Mhm."
I had no problem with people trying new things, but not being a beginner makes you a bit impatient because it's 'easy'. In reality, I was no pro at cycling, I'd just been doing it for longer. It was a healthy hobby that I'd picked up when Samora's job began to demand time. I had to find something other to do than sit at home and sulk about the inevitable.
"Joshua's inside already. I'm sure he doesn't mind starting a little early for you," He winked and went back to his conversation with Tiana, giggling to himself.
Kelly pretended not to giggle too, but I could see her. She pushed my back to make me move.
It was like Dennis had summoned him. Joshua was waiting outside the room, his orange cloth wrapped around his neck, sweat turning the traffic cone orange into a burnt orange.
"The pretty lady I was waiting for."
"Waiting? It looks like you got started without me."
He went red, his pale cheeks turning crimson red. Then he moved out of the way and let us in. Instantly I knew that Dennis had lied to me There were faces in here that had never ridden a bike in their lives, let alone cycled.
But they were friendly, immediately sparking conversation. They spoke to me like Joshua had been speaking about me, and I didn't doubt it.
Most of them were men who saw the ring on my finger and wanted to challenge a husband that they could not see. The women were friendly too, all bubbly and glossy in the face from exercise. They wanted to talk about the size of my ring and the duration of my marriage, where my man was, and why he doesn't come cycling with me.
