Bike Ride

This story is about two people who do not know each other but come together because both are having a bad day and through a release of frustration meet each other and become friends or more.

Italics is text talk

Ash

"I cannot believe my luck, I am supposed to go with my friends and they left without me and I am 15 minutes early."

Ash - What is your guy's problem, I am early and I arrive to a note you already left

Friend – we figured you never wanted to go in the first place so we decided for you, now let us enjoy our day.

Ash clicked his phone shut and put it in his pocket. Now what is he to do since he was looking forward to the day but when they asked him he just got back to the apartment after four classes, a six hour shift at the bar and then on the way home was talking to Dawn and she informed him since they were friends who dated, she wanted more so she is going out with Paul now.

Should not have hurt because they agreed they would not get serious but the other night they went to a movie, had a nice dinner and she wanted to take him to the local store that her parents owned so they could meet Ash, all things that serious dating people do so he thought they might be nearing that level. The sealer of his thoughts was when he went to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek and she put her hand on his cheek and turned him and kissed him on the lips quickly.

The both ended up looking at each other then they mutually leaned in and kissed on her porch until they saw the lights of her parents car pull into the drive way. He had not heard from her from that day, a Friday until this past Monday when she announced she needed more. He thought they were going for more but he was wrong again about girls.

Misty

Misty was in the shower trying to dry her eyes in the wet shower, make sense, no but she was hurting, hurting really bad. Her boyfriend she has had since they were in eighth grade had cheated on her and he said he figures since she did not want sex with him, she must be getting from someone else so he found someone else too, some girl named Dawn or Dusk or some other time of the day, she did not care.

She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower and she tried to text Gary again.

Misty - Can we talk, I am confused why you thought I was cheating on you and why didn't you talk to me before you did what you did?

Gary – Leave me alone, I have been told you are friendly with the guys and figured that is why you did not want me.

Misty – I did want you but you know I want to be a virgin when I get married. My beliefs teach me the wonderfulness of being pure for your husband and I promised God I will not stray from this. Why would you think otherwise?

Gary – About this God stuff, I only told you I believed in him in hopes to get in bed with you but instead He is the reason I did not. You need to decide if you want me or God, if you chose me then prove it when I get back from my trip with the guys this weekend.

Misty – Good Bye Gary, I made my choice long time ago to follow God and that was before you wanted me to follow you. Do not respond back.

He did not and she cried again. She felt betrayed by him and at the time she was feeling some anger for her Christian upbringing and wondered if she was made to feel guilt not sleeping with him and what harm it would have done. "I would have betrayed God and I would have regretted it. Bad enough I have impure thoughts let alone if I would of sacrificed my loyalty to God because of human pleasure."

She closed her phone after checking again to see if he responded back, she told him not to and he listened but a part of her was hoping for a sorry but it never came. She shut her eyes and at that time the only thing to do was screaming very loud.

She found out her roommates were home, she thought they were gone and they came running. She looked at them once and could not hold back the tears and told the whole story. All of them knew Gary and never figured he would do this, especially Gary's older sister who was a senior in college and allowed the three freshman girls, Misty, May and Serena stay with her.

"Misty, clear your head and let out some frustration. Take my bike and go on a ride but make sure you brings your phone and in case you go too far let me know and I will come and get you."

"Thank you Daisy and sorry I scared all of you."

"Believe me, when I get home the next time and Gary is there, he will be screaming much louder" said Daisy.

"I think I am going to accidently forget to catch Dawn in the next cheerleading practice. I thought she has a boyfriend she says they are friends who hang out a lot but she really likes him and she said she was going to kiss him this past Friday but I am not sure how that went. She probably didn't since she slept with Gary on the Thursday before that."

"I know Dawn's friend and he is the nicest and quietest guy in the world and he told me he was going to ask Dawn to be more than friends but he was scared because he knew she has a wild side and he is not ready for a wild girl. He is a believer in God, not that I understand that stuff, but he said a man and woman should save themselves for that until married. He turned me down and I even got him drunk once and he could barely walk but he turned me down and told me to go home. He was mad at me but still paid my cab. We are finally getting back as friends but he does not trust me and he needs trust in a girlfriend" said the now sad Serena knowing what she is missing because of sexual desires she cannot control.

"I wish I could meet a guy like that and no do not introduce me to him because what is meant to be, God will give me direction. I have my faith in God and before I ride I will pray for him to direct me to do what is right."

Ash

Ash changed his clothes and put on some shorts and a sleeveless shirt. It was sunny and about 80 degrees outside, perfect weather for a walk to clear his mind. He should not be real mad but with the incident with Dawn, then coming home and being asked to go the following weekend with the guys on a camping retreat, which he knew he answered with no emotion but he did say yes and was already packed before school and work the day before.

He walked out the door and decided to head over to the park. He enjoyed watching people run, walk, ride bike and play on the playground. He also liked to play Frisbee but since it was just him, kind of hard to play. He did decided to bring one with just in case he tossed it up and caught it himself and maybe someone would offer to play with him, has happened before.

Both

He was deep in thought until he noticed this red hair girl sitting on the side of the park, her bike was lying beside her but she looked to be in the same if not worst mood than he was. He wanted to talk to her but if she felt like him, she also wanted to be alone like him.

He walked through the park and found nothing to do, after an hour he headed home and when he approached the exit, he noticed the girl still sitting there. As he got closer he noticed the chain on her bike was jammed into the wheel sprocket and even if she wanted to push her bike home the back wheel would have to be lifted up because it would not move.

"Sorry if I am disturbing you but noticed you here earlier and see you are still here. I apologize I did not notice your bike was broke because maybe I could of fixed it so you did not have to sit her this long."

Misty looked up at the person talking to her and noticed the kindness, sadness and even regret on his face. "It is okay, gave me some time to think but now I would like to go home and I cannot get a hold of any of my roommates to help me home with the bike. I only live a mile from here but just too tired and worn out from life to carry a bike." She regretted sounding so needy but she felt comfortable with this person.

She was not looking at him when she talked last but when she looked up he was not in her view and then she heard her bike being moved. Normally she would have let her anger flare and ask if he was going to steal it but she sensed no wrong in the person, this man she noticed and she blushed.

"I can fix this but might take a few minutes if you do not mind."

"I would appreciate this and thank you for stopping. Do you realize how many people will pass a woman who must have seen me fall and not one asked if I was okay or if I needed help."

"I would of but when I walked by you were sitting her and had your head on your knees with your arms wrapped around your legs."

"You must have really looked at me intensely" she teased but then regretted it because she was not being right teasing like that. She appreciated the honesty and here she just gave him a hard time about it. "Sorry, that was not nice of me to say that."

Ash did not say anything but he did smile before going back to work on the bike. He took longer than he expected but after an hour he final got the chain out of the sprocket and onto the gear. He tested it by lifting the back end up and spinning the wheel and it moved freely.

"What do I owe you for fixing this? I can pay you since I teased you and wasted your time."

"You already paid me, I am having a terrible day and to know there is one woman in this world that can be civil and act sincere, I am happy. I as doubting the world today about woman and friends but you have proven me wrong, thank you." Ash then started to walk away but he heard her call after him.

"You said you came in this way" as she pointed to the gate "and I did to and there is only one trail for a half mile before it splits. If we do not live the same way, can we at least walk and talk the half mile.

"I would like that" and then they left after he offered her a hand to get up. It was then he noticed her bloody knee and scraped up shin. "Are you okay?" She looked down and was shocked how much she was bleeding and the blood on her leg was approaching her white socks and new white shoes.

Ash stripped off his white sleeveless shirt and before she could reject he knelt down and tied it around her leg and stopped the blood from flowing down her leg. Misty had on a short skirt and probably unknown to Ash she had on bike shorts under the skirt but she noticed he not once looked up to take a peak and made it obvious he was being proper.

She remember they had not introduced themselves yet but then it was kind of fun being mysterious. It is not like they will ever date or even see each other again so the mystery of the unknown name made it exciting. She kept glancing at him but he kept his eyes to himself in a respectful way. Misty was really torn about wanting to know him more.

They came to the split and of course luck was not with her, he lived down the path she did not. He said good bye and started to walk away and she looked at him longer than she should. She is not sure why but she blurted out the first thing she could think of. "Do you go to church my hero?"

He smiled at her attempt to be funny but also sensed some honesty I her words wince she blushed and looked away when he made eye contact. "Of course, how else can I learn to be around other Christians and also the short comings I have in life I might learn from my fellow Christians."

All Misty could think about now, when will he ask me to marry him. She shook her head and wondered why those thoughts, she never once thought about marriage with Gary except when he wanted sex and she said if they get married but she honestly could not see it happening.

"I thought so, you are a good guy." She then ran off, well hobbled with a bad limp. She was pushing the bike and the pedal hit her sore and she could not help but yelp out. Before she knew it the bike was directed away from her and she looked up into the kind eyes of her hero.

She did not truly believe in heroes but she did know this guy was all heart and she has not felt like he has stripped her with his eyes and everything about him is done in respect towards her.

"I am not busy today, was supposed to go camping this weekend with some friends but they left without me so if you do not mind me being around you a few minutes longer I can push your bike for you."

She wanted to scream only a few minutes longer, stay as long as you like but instead she nodded and said yes before they moved on. She looked at him more and once he caught her and he smiled. She was scared to be caught because he was nice looking and she was not into body judgement but he was walking beside her with no shirt and she could tell he kept himself in shape.

"I do not mind being looked at but I am not the kind of man to stare at a woman. If a woman has s nice body and yet does not flaunt it, then she deserves the respect to be treated as a lady and her body only for her and the man she someday loves and marries. Kids our age jump into sex and then they wonder why when they get married sex is not intimate with the one they marry and then end up cheating, or cheat before they are married." When he said this, she saw a tear run down his cheek and she wanted to wipe it away for him, not to touch him but to be of comfort.

"I know exactly what you mean, I have this ring reminding me Jesu asked me to be pure and when my boyfriend, I mean ex pressures and I had a hard time fighting the urge, I look at the ring and remember that Jesus died on the cross for me, the least I can do is wait to give my body until I am in love and married to the man who treats me the way Jesus has asked him to treat his wife, with respect and love."

"I agree and so far this has not worked out for me, I guess the girls lose interest in me and find another when I am trying to slowly build a relationship with them."

"This is where I live, thank you so much for walking with me and thank you for the wonderful conversation. May I know you name please." When she looked at him and saw fear in his eyes she knew she asked him something difficult to him. He needed to have trust and knowing a person a few hours was not worth giving trust.

"God will find us together again if we are meant to know each other, I trust this and I was not being silent to avoid giving my name but to ask God to lead me back to you if we are meant to see each other more than this once. I am going to go for a run and thank you for the wonderful day. You truly are kind person and I hope my prayer is answered."

She watched as he took off down her street in the opposite direction he lived. She sat down on the steps hoping he would come back that way and she would not force him to talk but she would wave to him. Her luck was not with her an after an hour, she started to go into the house.

She opened the door and then heard a horn honk, she turned and saw Daisy, May and Serena pulling into the driveway. "Were have you been Misty and what happened to you, are you okay?"

"I have never been better, I met the most amazing guy, he loves God and before we parted he would not give me his name but prayed that God brings us together some day. I trust God and so does he, I trust him too."

"We tried to call you and could not reach you so we have been out for three hours looking for you."

Misty looked at her watch and was shocked how much time had passed, it was almost five in the afternoon and she left at ten this morning. "The chain on your bike slipped and caught on the wheel and I crashed. I sat there which I did not mind and then after an hour or more, this kind person stopped and asked if I needed help. I crashed in front of a bunch of people and not one stopped to help or see if I was okay. This man fixed my bike and said sorry for passing me by earlier but I sitting on the grass with my head down and legs wrapped in my arms so he did not want to disturb me. He was honestly sorry for making me sit there that long and yet nothing was his fault."

The three girls looked at her in shock because none of them knew of a guy like this, well except maybe Serena but she figured this could not be Ash since he was out of town with the guys this weekend and if he was in town he worked on weekends and he did not miss work.

"When I stood up my leg started to bleed and the blood was going down my leg towards my white socks and shoes and he took off his shirt and had not shirt underneath" she blushed just saying this "and he wrapped my leg with his white sleeveless shirt so I did not bleed on my clothes, he did not even hesitate or wait to be asked. He kept his head down the whole time when he could have looked up my skirt even though I have on those mini bike shorts but he did not know that. When he stood up he put his hand over his eyes to not get a view either."

We walked to the split in the path and when I started to walk he heard me yelp when the bike pedal hit my leg and he rushed over and pushed it here and that is when he prayed and then he took off running down our street in the opposite direction he said he lives. I waited for a while in hopes he returned but he mist of went home a different way."

Next Day

Misty

The next morning Misty woke up after wonderful night of sleep, she did not have naughty dreams of her hero, like she is known to have at times and she feels guilty but her dream was a third persons view of what happened that day. She witnessed his effort to not take inappropriate looks at her, how he made sure at all times she was comfortable and how fast he removed his shirt to help her.

She woke up smiling and then she heard a scream, a joyful scream from the kitchen/laundry room. "Misty, get I here right now and I do not care if you are naked." She ran into the room, and no she was not naked, to see what the big deal is.

Serena was in the laundry room going through some laundry and she figured she would try and get the blood from the person's shirt that was so kind to her roommate. "Is this the shirt that he took off his back to comfort you?"

"Yes"

"Did you see the writing on this shirt?"

"No"

Serena showed her that the shirt had in very faint letters the words 'He Lives' and she loved it but she knew he was a Christian or at least he said so not sure what this meant.

"I helped Ash buy this shirt online and he spent a whole day trying to find a shirt just like this and when he could not, he paid 100.00 for the specific fabric and lettering to make this shirt. You were with my friend Ash, the nice guy I told you about. He is the one I messed up with because of my physical desires."

Serena looked down at the shirt and Misty looked at Serena and could see a tear in on her cheek. "You said you are still friends with him, is that enough?" Misty asked.

"It has to be, I have known Ash since elementary school and the one thing he hates was being mistreated and disrespected. I did both in one night when I tried to get him to commit to me through sex. My intentions were to take advantage of his loyalty and it was not a one night mistake, I planned it out Misty, I knew if we had sex I could have got pregnant and that was how I was going to get him to notice me. After he denied me that night I broke down and confessed everything to him and he called a cab and asked me to leave. I am dirt and should be honored he came to me a few weeks later to make sure I was okay and slowly we have talked again. We were seniors in high school and to this day I found he blames himself as much as me for underage drinking and flirting with me enough to let me feel I had a chance."

"Serena, promise me that you will not mention me to Ash. I want fate to lead us back together and if that does not work then someone else was meant for me. I will not deny he has captured my interest and I prayed last night the same thing Ash did but I need our meeting again to be purely by fate."

Serena agreed and then she left the room, Misty was sure she as going to her room to cry. She saw the kindness in Ash and she can only imagine if you betray that kindness and know you ruined any chance you have to be with a person like him.

She did not notice that she was now clutching his shirt to her chest and she could smell the odor of the male she was with yesterday. She felt guilty she sniffed it but the smell warmed her heart and not her body. "Please God answer my prayer, I put this in your hands and will follow the path you have chosen for me."

Ash

"I cannot believe I was not thinking when I gave away my favorite shirt" he said to himself but then he smiled seeing the look of comfort on her face when he made sure she was not smeared with blood and her clothes were not ruined

He could not help remember her smooth muscular legs and the eyes of blue ocean water that penetrated into his hardened heart that day. He was wondering if he was right in not giving her his name but then he was going by fate.

Dear God,

I pray for my request yesterday to be answered and pray for me to be patient. I felt things with her that I never have before and when I saw he love for You, I melted on the inside. I know you have a timeline for each of us and I will wait but let me know if she is the one for me. I will look for any signs to go another way but until then I will wait for this girl. Amen.

Ash then put his head down thinking of the prayer he just said "I hope this is not too long of a wait" as he regretted saying he will be patient

Graduation Date

Ash

He just received his engineering diploma and slowly walked off the stage and was going to leave instead of sit down and listen to the rest. He felt sorry for the last few people because most people left and the crowd thinned out, that is what happened when the ceremony lasted four hours and people got tired of waiting.

He was there alone, he has been alone for over three years now and the last time he did not feel alone was the day he met her. He has not seen her once since then but she has never left his heart. He separated him from the social world because that is not how he felt he needed to meet her again, not some party or anything else that they might both regret.

He shook his head trying to shake the thoughts of her, he said he would be patient when he prayed but even he was losing his patience. He could close his eyes and see her plain as day even this much time after the only day he saw her. He still felt she is the one.

Misty

She could not believe her name started with a W and she had to wait this long to get her diploma. She could have received it in the mail but no, she wanted to have the honor of walking across the stage. She arrived late skipping out on the speeches and over half of her class receiving their diploma. She thought of getting there earlier in hopes to see 'him' get his but she was not sure if he would be there since he seemed too withdrawn from the world.

She heard a couple times from Serena he was quieter now and she even lost touch with him the last two years of school. "Oh Ash, what has happened to you?" she looked at her program and she saw the program had six people referenced as Ash. The school allowed nicknames so some could be Ashley's who went by Ash and all of them had last names that started with M or sooner so she missed them all.

She finally heard her name and started to walk up to the stage and notice 70 percent of the crowd and classmate had gone and the clapping was proof of this. How saw I am here alone and even the people who came early could not stick around to hear my name.

God's Answer

Misty Waterflower the announcer belted out, this name meant nothing to Ash but he liked the name, sounded pretty and he would have looked but he was too busy kicking himself that he forgot his suit jacket on the back of his chair. He grabbed his jacket and he noticed how few people clapped so he stood and face the stage to clap out of respect but he only clapped once when he stopped.

Misty received her diploma and she heard the tender claps from the crowd but then she hear a louder clap and for some reason this got her attention and she looked. Her diploma dropped to the stage flor when she saw the person who did on loud clap and the stopped, it was him.

She forgot about her diploma and he forgot about his jacket and she ran down the steps and he ran up the isle leading to the steps. The crown started to clap louder and few people who were outside the ropes turned and saw the couple running to each other. They were not sure what was happening but they clapped too.

Serena was still there because she did not graduate until that fall so she helped with clean up and she witness the whole thing, she clapped the loudest and yelled out, "Finally Ash and Misty" and then kept clapping.

Ash and Misty met in the isle and he pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around him. She had tears and he did too but neither cared. "I missed you Misty and thought of you every day and waited for this day. I knew God would answer my prayers, I just knew it."

"I have thought of you every day too and I prayed every day but was ready to give up. I knew this would come true though because since that day, God did not allow one man to ask me out and I knew he had other plans for me, you."

Ash's face turned red and he looked at her from the 3 inches that separated them "Misty, this is going to be so unlike me but can I kiss you."

"You better" and he did.

A/N: I know this is a very long one shot and I am trying to work on shorter chapter but I could to bring myself to break up any part of this story.

You ever have something in life that you ask God for and it does not happen according to your timeline? God is patient and will give us what we need and deserve when we need it. For Ash and Misty they were recovering from a bad experience and also had school. God did not let them be tempted with other people but he also made them wait.

I can only imaging the love they share during courtship and also how much the love each other the many years of marriage (Maybe a sequel?)

God Bless and remember our time line and God's timeline are not the same and He is the one who knows best for us, be patient and trust in God.