Chris Evans Imagines

Bike Ride

You felt yourself jolt with fright as the ding from the timer went off and the bread sprang from the toaster in front of you. You forgot you'd even placed it in there after becoming lost in the virtual world of social media. You giggled in embarrassment after gasping, placing a relieved hand over your chest.

"You're so easy to scare," Chris teased from across the kitchen, not even bothering to look up from his laptop, "I can't imagine how you'd do in a horror movie."

"Oh, shut up. Be grateful I didn't burn your toast," You said, still chuckling.

You tossed the hard, golden bread onto a plate, smearing butter over the front side. After putting the knife down on the counter, you moved toward the table with the food in hand and set it beside his computer. He thanked you by placing a kiss on your cheek once you sat yourself beside him.

"So, anything you wanna do today?" He asked just before biting into his breakfast.

It was his first day back and you couldn't have been more thrilled to have him home. He had been confined to Atlanta for the last several months to shoot the final Captain America movie, while you idled the summer away in LA working part time at your favorite local restaurant. You picked him up from the airport last night and brought him back to the apartment, wasting no time on the freeway so that you could give him a proper welcome home. After a long night of reconnecting, today was meant for the two of you to get out and spend some time together.

"I'm up for anything," You told him, knowing you'd be happy no matter what he chose, "As long as I'm with you, I'm good."

"Well I'd certainly hope so, otherwise that would make last night super awkward," He joked.

You smacked him in the arm playfully for his remark. He couldn't help but laugh as a light blush formed across your face.

"All jokes, aside, I'm very happy to finally be home with you again," He assured you, grabbing your hand on top of the table and bringing it to his face to kiss it.

There he was, just as charming as the day you'd met him. You smiled to yourself as he went back to scrolling through emails on the screen. He paused suddenly after a few moments, quickly bringing his attention back to you.

"Why don't we go for a bike ride?" He suggested.

In the three years you and Chris had been dating, not once did he ask you to go on a bike ride. In fact, you couldn't even be sure he owned a bike. You weren't opposed to the activity, but if that was how the two of you were going to spend the morning, then there would have to some preparation on your part. You furrowed your brow, unsure of how to break the news to him.

"That might be nice," You responded, "The only problem is that I don't know how to ride a bike."

He closed his laptop immediately upon your confession, his mouth agape, "What?! How do you not know how to ride a bike?"

"I mean, with raising six kids, it's not like my parents had a lot of time on their hands," You explained.

You grew up in a small suburban neighborhood with a spacious yard and wide street; perfect for roaming and entertaining oneself. But as the oldest of the bunch, you were expected to help look out for the little ones, which meant not a lot of play time for you. Learning to ride a bike was merely a part of the sacrifice.

"Then I guess we're going to have to teach you, aren't we?" He said as a mischievous smile stretched over his mouth.

~

You were starting to regret allowing your boyfriend to be your teacher. For one thing, his bike was extremely old—one from his early twenties that he got when he first moved to LA—leaving the functionality of the controls questionable. For another, his description of how to maneuver a bicycle was hardly useful.

"When it comes to steering....I mean it's pretty self-explanatory really, you know, these are the brakes," he rambled on, gesturing to the clutches beneath the handles, "and the pedals, I mean... you just...slowly move one foot forward and the other follows."

You were quick to object, "I don't like this. Why aren't there any training wheels?"

He giggled at your whining as he moved toward the back wheel. His figure quickly disappeared from your field of vision but you felt his hands gently settle on your waist, making you feel safer instantly.

"Alright, go ahead and try moving forward a little bit. I promise I've got you," He began speaking in a soft tone.

You took a deep breath. It may have seemed silly, but you genuinely felt nervous for your first attempt. You were scared to fall or potentially hurt yourself, and you were scared of embarrassing yourself in front of Chris. But, you managed to firmly place your foot over the top pedal and push down, bringing your other foot onto the opposite one.

You drove forward at the slowest pace possible with Chris' still holding onto your waist for balance.

"Oh my-WOAH! Woooaaaaah," You shrieked, trying to feel it out.

"It's okay, you're doin' great, babe," He said calmly, "Wanna try going a little faster? It might help."

You began pedaling faster, though the downward elevation caused you to take off quicker than anticipated. The sudden acceleration made your heart skyrocket, and you could feel yourself losing control with steering. For a few moments you were completely independent in riding the bike, with Chris having to let go of you after you sped up. You almost made it to the next house when your hand slipped from sweat, causing the front wheel to squeak and slide from under you. You fell back onto the pavement of the road, your butt hitting the ground first. The force had been so strong, the rest of your body was thrown down onto the road as well.

"(Y/n)!" Chris shouted, running over to you.

You sat up right away, examining your body for wounds. Everything looked fine, except for your hands were slightly scraped from the pavement.

"You okay?" Chris asked, kneeling beside you.

You nodded, "It was my fault. I took off too fast."

"Well, you don't have to keep going if you don't want to," He offered.

You stood up, having reached a new level of determination, "No. I wanna do this."

With that, you swung your leg back over the seat of the bike. You eyed him, implying for him to come and hold onto you again. Fortunately he complied and he walked toward the back wheel, replacing his hands on your hips.

"Okay, you got this. Just remember you gotta speed up gradually," He reminded you.

"We've established this," You said, sarcastically.

His scoff made you laugh. You loved giving him a hard time while he was trying to focus.

"Geez, I'm sorry I've never taught anyone to ride a bike before," He said, laughing.

Carefully, you began to inch forward at a slow pace. Chris' commentary made it somewhat difficult to concentrate, but you managed to keep a solid pace as you ventured further down the road. With your grip on the handles now more secure, you felt comfortable enough to speed up, and it wasn't long until he was forced to remove his hands again. You quickly looked over your shoulder, watching as he stopped chasing after you.

You missed his hands, but you felt confident that you wouldn't crash again. Instead you focused on the breeze flowing through your hair as your heart rate began to settle. When you reached the end of the street, you clutched the breaks and slowly curved around to start heading back. You felt your heart flutter when you saw Chris standing by the curb with a smile so big, you could spot it all the way from the end of the road.

"Wow, honey, that was amazing!" He exclaimed as you came to a stop beside him, "I'm so proud of you."

You pulled him into a breathy kiss, bursting with excitement over your new accomplishment, "Well what can I say? I had a good teacher."