HIS HEART,HIS RIDE

The day Bella Rose discovered that her boyfriend was cheating on her, she was standing outside a restaurant with two cups of coffee in her hands. One was hers. The other was for Ethan. She had spent almost an hour choosing what to wear that afternoon, not because they were celebrating anything special, but because Ethan had promised to take her out after weeks of being too busy to see her properly. She wore a white blouse tucked into a pair of blue jeans, with her long brown hair falling over her shoulders. Her camera hung from her bag, as usual, because she never went anywhere without it. She had been looking forward to the date since Monday. Then she saw him. Ethan was sitting inside the restaurant near the window, laughing with a girl Bella had never seen before. The girl was beautiful, with long blonde hair and a red dress. She leaned across the table and kissed him. Bella stopped walking. For several seconds, she couldn't move. She stared through the glass, waiting for Ethan to pull away, waiting for him to explain that she had misunderstood what she was seeing. But he didn't. He kissed the girl again. The coffee cups slipped from Bella's hands and crashed against the pavement. The sound made a few people turn toward her, but she barely noticed. Her eyes were fixed on the man she had loved for two years. Ethan finally looked toward the window. Their eyes met. His smile disappeared. Bella watched him stand abruptly, nearly knocking his chair over. The girl beside him turned in confusion as Ethan hurried toward the entrance. "Bella!" She stepped back when he reached her. "Baby, wait. Let me explain." She stared at him, unable to believe he had the nerve to call her baby. "Explain what, Ethan?" "It's not what you think." Bella let out a short, painful laugh. "Really? Because from where I was standing, it looked exactly like my boyfriend was kissing another girl." Ethan glanced around nervously. "Can we please talk somewhere else?" "No." "Bella, please." She looked down at the broken coffee cups scattered near her shoes, then back at him. "I came here because you said you missed me. I bought you coffee because I thought we were going to spend the afternoon together. And you were sitting inside kissing someone else." Ethan rubbed his forehead. "I made a mistake." How long? He said nothing. How long have you been seeing her? "Bella, it just happened." How long? His silence answered her. She nodded slowly, feeling something inside her break. "Two years, Ethan. I gave you two years of my life." "I love you." "Don't." He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. Don't tell me you love me while you are standing here trying to explain why you were kissing another girl. Bella turned and walked away before he could say anything else. She didn't stop until she reached the small park across the street. Sitting on a bench beneath a tree, she finally allowed herself to cry. Her phone kept vibrating with Ethan's calls, but she switched it off. That evening, she packed her suitcase. Her mother had been dead for several years, and her aunt, who lived in a quiet town several hours away, had offered Bella a place to stay whenever she needed a break from the city. Bella had always refused because of college and Ethan. Now she had nothing keeping her there for the summer. She called her aunt. Aunt Clara? "Sweetheart? What's wrong?" Bella swallowed. "Can I come and stay with you for a while?" There was a brief silence. "Of course you can. Is everything all right?" "No," Bella whispered. "But I will be." By the following morning, she was on a bus heading toward a town she had visited only twice in her life. She didn't know that the journey would change everything. You're finally here! Aunt Clara rushed toward Bella as she stepped off the bus, wrapping her in a warm hug. Bella smiled for the first time in days. "I missed you." "I missed you too, sweetheart. Look at you. You've grown so much." Clara took one of her bags and led her toward a small silver car parked nearby. The town looked different from the city Bella was used to. There were fewer buildings, less traffic, and more trees lining the roads. Small shops stood beside cafés, and people greeted one another as they passed. It was peaceful. For the first time in weeks, Bella felt like she could breathe. "You're going to love it here," Clara said as they drove. "There's a lovely café near the square, and the summer festival starts next week. You'll have plenty to do." I just want to sleep for three days. Clara laughed. "You can do that too." They arrived at a comfortable two-story house with a small garden in front. Bella carried her suitcase upstairs to the guest bedroom, which had white curtains, a wooden desk, and a large window overlooking the street. She placed her camera on the desk and walked to the window. Maybe this was exactly what she needed. A fresh beginning. No Ethan. No arguments. No more wondering whether someone was telling her the truth. Just Bella, her camera, and a summer she could spend doing whatever she wanted. *** By late afternoon, Bella had unpacked most of her clothes and changed into denim shorts and a loose pink T-shirt. Aunt Clara had gone to visit a friend, leaving Bella with instructions to buy bread from the bakery near the town square. It sounded simple enough. Bella grabbed her purse and camera before heading out. The square was busier than she expected. A few teenagers sat outside a café, an elderly couple walked past the fountain, and several motorcycles were parked near a repair garage at the end of the street. The sound of engines immediately caught her attention. Bella slowed down. She loved photography, and motorcycles had always fascinated her. She lifted her camera and took a few pictures of the bikes lined up outside the garage. "Careful, camera girl!" The sudden shout startled her. Bella turned just as a motorcycle came around the corner. The rider swerved to avoid her, his tires screeching against the road. Bella stumbled backward, dropping her camera strap from her shoulder. The motorcycle stopped only a few feet away. For a moment, she stood frozen. Then the rider removed his helmet. He was tall, with dark hair that looked as if he had run his fingers through it a dozen times. His black T-shirt clung to his athletic frame, and a small silver chain rested against his neck. He was annoyingly handsome. That was Bella's first thought. Her second was that he had nearly run her over. "Are you crazy?" she shouted. The guy raised an eyebrow. "Me? You were standing in the middle of the road." "I was standing beside the road!" "Same difference when you're staring through a camera." Bella stared at him. "You could have killed me!" "But I didn't." She opened her mouth, then closed it. The audacity. He leaned his motorcycle onto its stand and glanced at her camera. "Let me guess. Tourist?" "No." "Then you should know better than to stand in front of a moving bike." "And you should know better than to drive like you own the road." A slow smile appeared on his face. "You're new here." Bella folded her arms. "And you're rude." He laughed. Actually laughed. As if she had just told him the funniest joke in the world. "Ryder," he said, holding out his hand. Bella looked at it without moving. What? "My name. Ryder." "I didn't ask." His smile widened. You're going to be fun. "I'm going to the bakery. Move your motorcycle." Ryder glanced at the bike, then back at her. "You're welcome, by the way." For what? For not running you over. Bella shook her head and walked past him. "Unbelievable." She had barely taken three steps when he called after her. Hey, camera girl! She turned around reluctantly. "What now?" Ryder pointed toward the camera hanging against her hip. "You dropped the lens cap." Bella looked down. He was right. The small black cap lay near his motorcycle. She marched back, snatched it from his hand, and muttered, "Thank you." "You're welcome, sweetheart." "Don't call me sweetheart." "Okay, camera girl." Bella glared at him before turning away. Behind her, Ryder chuckled as he put his helmet back on. She continued toward the bakery, determined to forget the irritating man and his stupid smile. But when she returned home twenty minutes later, Aunt Clara was standing in the kitchen with a knowing expression. "Did you meet Ryder?" Bella nearly dropped the bread. "Who?" "Ryder Black. The boy who works at the garage near the square." Bella stared at her aunt. "Unfortunately." Clara burst into laughter. "Oh, dear. What did he do?" "He nearly ran me over, then acted like it was my fault!" "That sounds like Ryder." Bella dropped the bread on the counter. "Well, I don't like him." "Nobody asked you to." "Good." Clara smiled as she began preparing dinner. "Just don't be too hard on him. He's actually a good boy." Bella rolled her eyes. Of course her aunt would defend him. She went upstairs, showered, and settled on her bed with her camera. She decided to review the pictures she had taken in the square. Most were ordinary shots of the street, the fountain, and the motorcycles. Then she reached the last photograph. Bella stopped breathing for a second. It was a picture of Ryder standing beside his black motorcycle, his helmet tucked under one arm, his head turned slightly toward her. And he was smiling. Not the annoying grin he had given her earlier. A real smile. Bella stared at the photograph longer than she intended. Then she shook her head and deleted it. She wasn't going to spend her summer thinking about some arrogant biker. Her phone buzzed on the bed. She glanced at the screen. Ethan. Three missed calls and a message. "Please, Bella. I need to see you. I'm coming to get you tomorrow." Bella's stomach tightened. She had switched off her phone before leaving the city, but apparently Ethan hadn't given up. She typed a reply. "Don't come. We're over." Before she could send it, another message appeared. "I know where you are, Bella. We need to talk." Her fingers went cold. She stared at the screen, then slowly looked toward the window. Outside, a black motorcycle had stopped across the street. The rider removed his helmet. Ryder. He looked up directly at her window. And smiled.