Chapter 14

You know, I’d never really given the phrase ‘overcome with emotion’ all that much thought, until this very moment. I knew something felt like it was missing, I mean I felt sort of out of sync with everything that had been going on in the last few weeks or even months, but I actually thought I had it all under control by now. I mean, I’m a guy, right? And guys have their emotions firmly in check, right? Add to this, I’m an athlete and a cyclist, and I should have had all my emotions checked at the door. And right up until I saw Melody in the ‘vampire-mobile’ I thought I had it totally handled, and ‘under control’. And then I very slowly lost all of it. Big, strong man ... right!

Have I mentioned that cycling shoes are all part of a vast international conspiracy? They are! And that conspiracy comes in two parts: First, to discourage a cyclist from walking; at all, anywhere, by pitching their foot the wrong way up. Second, to make said cyclist look really stupid when they try to actually walk in the stupid things! The best you can hope for is that the people who see you have a soft spot in their hearts for the person they are watching duck walk up to them. Lucky for me, Melody really, really loved me! I crossed the short distance to her without falling over or tripping, and pulled her into a very tight embrace. As I nuzzled against her, taking in the smell of her hair, the scent she wore, each and every little detail swirled around me as a rush of emotions warred with each other for my attentions. Up until this very moment, I had no idea what it really meant to miss someone ... the deep in your soul sort of miss someone.

As I held Melody tightly to myself, I could feel her gently shaking, not with tears, but with barely suppressed giggles. I could tell they were barely suppressed because I could hear her starting to giggle ... When I finally eased up on the hug and just leaned against her, she gave into the giggle fit, and then out-and-out laughter.

“You really should have seen your face, Nate.”, Melody said, as I finally looked her in the face. “I mean, you really should have been outside of yourself watching yourself. You went through emotions even I didn’t know you had!”

“You should be nice to an old man like me ... you could have given me heart failure. One, question, though...”

“Only one? I come all this way and work so hard to surprise you like this, and you only have one question?” And a twinkle was added to her already bright eyes.

“Okay, maybe two questions then...”, and I smiled as well. “First one, who all was in on this little surprise of yours, and second question, will you come visit me in prison once I kill them?”.

“Two answers, oh love of my heart ... Pretty much everyone was in on this, and yes, that includes the Belgians, so be careful about that whole killing thing. And, yes, I will come and visit you, but only if they are conjugal visits!”

“Those damn Belgians! Just when somebody who richly deserves killing is within reach too...”, and I sighed as dramatically as possible while keeping a straight face. “I guess I’ll just have to break a few legs then!”

At this point, the door to the trailer was flung open and Lance and the entire team, plus those aforementioned ‘damn Belgians’’, applauded and whistled loudly from without. There were even a couple of those stupid cowbells too boot!

After all the hooting and hollering started to die down, Lance, all smiles at another successful prank, said, “Dude! You should have seen your face ... I mean, that was pretty fuckin’ funny the way you drug ass on your way to the ‘vampires’ lair’ ... pretty fuckin’ funny! Hey, Johan, you were right about his reaction and I owe you a ‘Shiner’, good call as always!”

Okay, so when your boss, and the Director Sportif of your former professional team as well as your current Olympic gig, decides that a joke is a joke, you take it like a man ... and quietly plot your revenge! Oh, but this revenge promised to be epic! Anyway, camp was winding down, and we were all set to go our separate ways for a few much-needed weeks away to get our affairs in order before we would all regroup and head off for China and the Olympics! So, after a few more smiles and back slapping, as well as several sly looks and knowing smiles, were exchanged, Melody and I beat a hasty retreat to the team hotel ... someone was going to pay for their part in this little affair! Now, how does one ‘pay’ someone back for being part of one of ‘the Bosses’ games? Hmmmmm ... I’m pretty sure something will come up!

Once safely back at the hotel room, Melody and I kissed like we had never kissed before. Melody was pretty flush, and I was a bit breathless as well. I offered to take a shower, just to get the last of the road grime off, and Melody quickly vetoed that idea as she ran her hand along the front of my riding shorts. Little Nate was clearly evident, and he really wanted to come out and play! Well, so much for making Melody pay for her part in the prank at the end of camp. Then again, maybe I could make her pay...