Twisted Destiny
Chapter 243: Riverside

We walked hand in hand through our street to a spot where Sam said she had seen some sharebikes. The weather outside was pleasantly sunny with a couple of clouds. Not too hot, not too cold, perfect for cycling. 

Sam hummed a song as she swung her hand, taking mine with her. It was a bit whimsical but I could definitely use that after yesterday. 

A couple of seconds into her song, Sam stopped and looked at me questioningly. “Have you ever done karaoke before?” 

I shook my head. “I don’t see when I would have had the opportunity too… With my voice being… well…” 

“Right, yeah, stupid of me.” Sam winced but she quickly recovered. “Would you like to do so? It’s pretty fun.” 

“Have you done so already?” 

Sam nodded. “A couple of times, yes. When you are in a group of very outgoing girls, that tends to happen occasionally.” 

“Good singer?” 

Sam laughed. “Absolutely not. But it’s fun to hang out with friends, even if you aren’t great at it. I’m sure it would be a blast with Hailey, Carol and Max.” 

“We can always throw it in the group I suppose…” 

“You don’t sound very convinced.” Sam remarked. 

“Well… I guess I feel a bit insecure about it still.” 

Sam nodded. “I can understand that. But hey, if you don’t want to sing, you can just order food and watch us sing while you stuff your face with snacks. That’s how I spent my first couple of times at karaoke too.” 

“Alright then.” I chuckled. “I’m convinced.” 

Sam smiled softly. “Let’s ask our friends later then, but first, behold, the bikes.” Sam rounded the corner of the street and in front of us appeared a set of eight bright red bikes in their natural habitat. Surrounded by metal stands which clamped their front wheels in place. Sam walked towards one of the bikes and took her phone out of her back pocket. 

“Are these bikes electric?” I asked, standing next to my girlfriend as she was logging onto her app’s profile. 

“They are.” Sam took a second off from looking at her screen and crouched down to show me something. “These metal clamps are actually wireless chargers. They charge the battery that’s in here.” She pointed at the wide front bar of the bike frame. 

“Then we need to make sure it doesn’t run out.” 

Sam softly shook her head and smiled. “Nah, we will be fine. The electric range is so high on these things that we would need to drive around the city multiple times for them to run out.” 

“Oh I see.” I stood up as Sam did the same and also took out my phone so I could install the app Sam was using as well. 

Sam stopped me before I reached the app store though. “I’m just going to use my app, you don’t need to install it yourself.” She then tapped her phone on the back rack and with a beep and green lights, two of the bikes were released from their racks. 

“Didn’t that cost a lot?” 

“A daypass doesn’t cost more than a scoop of ice-cream, it’s really not a biggy.” Sam then opened the door next to the bike rack and took out two bicycle helmets. One for her and one for me I presume. “Is this going to work with your ears?” 

I took the helmet out of her hand and tried it on. The bicycle helmet pushed my ears down against my head, making the sounds around me a bit more muffled than usual, but I could still pretty clearly hear my surroundings. “It’s fine.” I smiled and showed her a okay sign. 

“Great. Safety first.” She smiled back and put on her own helmet too before walking to the bikes and getting them free from the rack. 

“Do we need to bring them back here?” 

“We just need to make sure we get them near one of the racks from this company at the end of the day. There’s plenty around though so that shouldn’t be an issue.” Sam handed one of the bikes to me and then swung her leg over her bike. “Ready for a leisurely ride?” 

“I am.” I smiled and hopped on my bike as well. “But please do keep the ride leisurely, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a bike.” 

“Sure.” My girlfriend smiled and pedaled over to me so she could give me a kiss on my cheek. “Maybe let’s go to the river first?”

“Riverside park?" 

“Sounds good.” She smiled again. “Know the way or do you want me to drive in front of you?” 

“I think I know, so you can ride by my side.” 

“Alrighty.” Sam rang her bell twice. “Let’s go, my love!” 

Her loud love confession had me blushing as two elderly ladies walked by. Both chuckled at us. “Sam…” 

“The whole wide world can know about my boundless love for you.” She smirked, ringing her bell twice once more. 

I rolled my eyes while trying to fight back my cheeks getting even redder and just started paddling to get out of this somewhat embarrassing situation. Luckily Sam stopped teasing me and decided to follow along. 

Our bike ride towards Riverside park was calm. Morning rush hour had passed already which left only a couple of people on the road. Most people we passed were mainly doing recreational biking as well and we weren’t even on the scenic route yet. 

As for my bike riding skills, while it had definitely been some time since I had last been on a ride, the cliché seemed true that one really didn’t unlearn how to ride a bike. 

“Next intersection to the left and then across the bridge and then we should be there.” Sam drove slightly in front of me as the lights sprang to green. “I love that park, we should definitely go to it more often. Ideal location for picnics too.” 

“It’s actually my first time going there.” 

“Really?” Sam waited to comment further on my reply before she pulled up into one of the compact sand roads at the edge of the park. “Then I’d recommend just taking things in slowly.” She then parked her bike in one of the designated bike parking spots and waited for me to do the same. The bike parking was right next to the river and already gave a nice view of what the rest of the park would be like. Lush green trees gently waving in the wind with high grasses and flower perks everywhere. In the distance I could see some stepping stones they had put in the river as well to offer a place to play for adults and children alike. 

But as it was a school day, and rather early on for one, there weren’t really any kids around. It was mainly adults relaxing in the quiet atmosphere together with the occasional pensioner and the college student who was diligently reading through some of their work. 

“Maybe we should go somewhere else before we start feeling guilty.” Sam teasingly prodded me in my side as she clearly looked at the same student I was looking at. 

“Nah, I’m fine. We are going to be fine.” I turned towards Sam and pressed myself against her after which I looked up wantingly, waiting for a kiss. 

She delivered swiftly. Brushing some of my hair from in front of my eyes and then gently kissing me on the lips. “There are more romantic places in this park than the bike parking area by the way.” She chuckled. “Maybe we should go there?” 

“Good plan.” I smiled into my girlfriend’s eyes. “But only if we can go there walking hand in hand.” 

“Of course! Is there any other way?” She smiled back and then softly grabbed my hand. “I’ll take you past all the beautiful spots.” 

“Lead the way, Captain.” 

Sam halted and looked at me, rolling her eyes slightly. “I thought you were done with that.” 

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” 

Sam rolled her eyes again. “I’ll allow it, but only because it’s you.” 

“Yay.” 

As she promised, Sam took me for a bit of a walk through the Riverside Park. Apart from being stunning it was also quite interesting. Using a part of the delta that the river through our city made, to create a peaceful green sanctum very close to the city center. With both a lot of trees and flowers and also wide open areas that could be used for relatively small-scale events. While we were walking Sam told me about the small summer fairs and festivals they hosted in the park and some of her memories she had here with her parents. 

“Next festival we should definitely come here again together with my parents. Make some new memories with all of us together. I’m sure it’s going to be a blast.” Sam’s bright smile filled me with warmth. 

“Yeah, I would like that. I can already imagine the scene in front of me. It kind of makes me want to start drawing.” All the little food stalls and kids playing around in the river at night with lights and fireworks… If I added some yukatas it could have come straight out of an anime or manga. 

“If you want to, we can take some extended time here. We don’t have anything planned anyway.” 

I shook my head. “That won’t be necessary. I will take some pictures for reference though.” 

Sam took out her phone and held me tight before I could take out my own. “Let the first one be one of us two together then.” Before I could react Sam kissed me on my cheek and snapped a selfie of the two of us. My blushy face was captured in all its glory. But admittedly, it was a really good picture too. Especially with the lighting of the sun that hit the river just right.