“I’m hungry and don’t feel like walking back.”

“Same. Think we can make it work on one bike?”

“Yes.”

He gives me the seat, and he stands up on the pedals. I wrap my arms around his waist and tuck my feet up to rest on the back axle. It’s wobbly, but it works.

We coast down the hill through the forest.

I am reminded of being on the back of a motorcycle the summer that I was nineteen. The similar feeling of letting go of all control to the man in front of me. The wind on my face as I peer around his body.

The wobbles even out as we learn how to balance each other.

We pass by a pedestrian, and he calls out to us, “You’ve got this!!”

We learn together. We balance each other. We move forward together, however unsteady at first.