Thomas White was enjoying a normal Sunday afternoon biking along the trails. It was a beautiful day. The birds were chirping, there was a slight breeze, and there wasn’t a cloud for miles. After his bike-ride, he headed for his car to pack up. Thomas began to take off his biking gear. He unclipped his helmet, pulled off his elbow guards, and finally changed out of his obnoxious neon yellow suit, which many could argue, was a size too small on Thomas. Packing up his bike, however, posed a problem for him. Standing at a mere five feet and five inches and 215 pounds, Thomas wasn’t the most athletic guy. He let out a couple of grunts in his frustration, but was soon silenced by the most calming voice.

“Here. Let me help you with that.”

As Thomas lifted his head, he soon found himself gazing at one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. The woman gave Thomas the push needed to get his Huffy bike on the hinge on the back of his car. As his mind yelled at him for buying probably lamest bike possible, the woman held out her hand and introduced herself as Skylar.
“Thomas,” he replied.
“Nice to meet you Thomas. Cool bike.”
He knew she was lying, but he appreciated her kindness.
“You ride?” he asked.
“Yeah, everyday,” she replied.
“What kind of bike do you have?”

As Skylar continued the small talk, Thomas found himself so entranced by her that he didn’t hear a word come out of her mouth. In Thomas’ defense, Skylar was a little distracting. She was the complete opposite of Thomas. She was five foot nine inches, with a very athletic body, and had eyes that were a mixture of blue and green. After an awkward silence, he realized that Skylar had finished talking and was waiting for him to reply. Not knowing at all what she had said, Thomas did what any other person would do in this situation: smile and nod, hoping to God that she didn’t ask a question. She let out a small laugh and replied, “hope to see you on the trails sometime Thomas.” He smiled and waved, soon criticizing himself for the lame gesture.

The further Skylar walked away, the further Thomas saw his chances at seeing her again. Thomas was a lot of things: overweight, obnoxious, lazy, but he wasn’t delusional. He knew his coming back to the trails were slim; it was a miracle that he came today. Thomas had always let opportunities pass him by, but not this time. He decided to act. Skylar was still in view, but still far away. Thomas picked up his pace. He was getting faster with each step. He felt his heart beating faster too. He was so close. He had almost reached Skylar till everything went black.

When Thomas finally woke up, he had no idea what had happened. He could make out that he was in a hospital, but had no recollection how he got there. Just as he was about to go in freak mode, he heard that voice again: Skylar’s.
“Oh thank God! You’re awake!”

Thomas felt his worries go away when he saw Skylar, even though he was beginning to see the extent of his injuries. He felt like his head was going to fall off, he might have a broken ankle, and he was almost positive he punctured his lung.
“What happened?” Thomas asked.
“Well, after I said goodbye, you began to run after me. You must have not seen it, but there was a dip in the ground, which caused you to…uh...flip.”
“Flip?”
“Weird, I know. I guess you were running so fast that when your foot got caught in the dip, your momentum caused you to fling forward. It was quite the sight,” she answered.

The memory began to come back to Thomas and how painful it was, but none of that mattered. Skylar came with him to the hospital. She cared. As these thoughts filled his mind, Thomas’ doctor walked in.
“There was a rumor you were awake. Good to see they were true. How are you feeling Thomas?”
“Sore, but I'm okay.”
“Alright, I’ll get the nurse to up your meds.”
“When am I going to expect you tonight?” Skylar asked.
Thomas felt Skylar was maybe moving a little fast, but he wasn’t about to complain. As he was about to reply, the doctor said, “My shift is over at nine, so no later than nine-thirty.”
“Great!” Skylar replied.
The doctor walked over to Skylar, kissed her on the cheek, and walked out the room.
“You know him?” Thomas asked.
“He’s my finance,” Skylar replied.
Thomas couldn’t believe it. Here, the girl of his dreams was engaged. As his disbelief filled his head, he began to think of the many ways to destroy his bike. I mean, what was he going to use it for? Exercise?