Melody sighed when she walked out of the supermarket. She was carrying her backpack filled with groceries and she noticed how her bicycle was buried by three or four others. Her entire body was already protesting at the thought of having to move them, but leaving the bike here and walking home wasn't an option either.
"Do you need a hand?" Daniel leaned against the window, his arms crossed over his chest. His lips curled up into a smile and Melody frowned her eyebrows.
She had been certain that Daniel had been nothing but a product of her imagination, someone her brain had created simply because it was the only way to brighten another sad evening.
"Let me move those things for you." Daniel didn't even wait for an answer and lifted the first bike up as if it didn't weight a thing. Quickly he also grabbed the second and the third, until he held out his hand and moved his fingers.
"O, sorry..." Melody took the key from her pocket and placed it in his hand. A part of her was afraid that her brain was playing tricks again, that she would open her eyes and would find out that the bicycles were still there and that she did have to remove them herself.
But Daniel gracefully maneuvered her bike out of the mess and parked it in front of her.
"That looked so easy." Melody smiled and she curled her fingers around the handle bars. "You should show up more often in situations like this." She clicked her crutch into the special holder.
"I could always give you my phone number so you can call me whenever you need me." Daniel winked, or at least he tried to, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"You'd seriously give your phone number to helpless strangers simply so they can call you to remove bikes?" Melody raised her eyebrows and she shook her head. Not that she didn't want to have his phone number.
"No, I won't." Daniel shook his head. "I'd give my phone number to you simply so you can call me to remove bikes. There is a difference." He smiled again and Melody felt her cheeks heating up.
It was only then that she realized that she had forgotten to brush her hair in the morning and that she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and the day before yesterday. "Am I supposed to feel special now?"
Daniel cocked his head a little and he curled his fingers around the steer too. "Actually, yes." He paused for a moment. "But if it's not working, I can always offer you a ride home?"
A small laugh escaped Melody's lips and she placed her hand in front of her mouth. "I assume that this is the price for your phone number? My address?"
"Sounds like a fair trade to me." Daniel laughed along, but his hands didn't let go of the bike he was holding. "But you can always give me a fake address and I'll make a fool out of myself when I have flowers delivered to a stranger's door."
Melody rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't like flowers anyway." She did however let her steer go and stepped away from the bike. "But fine, you can give me a ride home."
"I'd have loved to bring you home on a white horse, but I'm not a prince." Daniel sat down on the saddle and he looked over his shoulder while Melody grabbed his waist and sat down on the carrier.
"A bicycle would have been fine if it had been your own." She squeezed his sides and then he placed his feet on the pedals and started riding. Even though Melody didn't like to admit it, she was happy with his offer. For a moment she didn't need to make sure her mind stayed focussed on the road. For a moment she didn't need to ignore the pain in her foot when using a little too much power. For a moment she could close her eyes, enjoy the wind through her long blonde hair and enjoy the speed she never managed to reach anymore.
"Are you gonna give me any directions or are you gonna let me guess the road to your house? In that case I hope you didn't bought any ice."
Melody opened her eyes again and she grinned. "Cross the street here and then straight on until the traffic lights. There you go to the right, take the first left and the second to the right."
"I guess I can remember that." Daniel indeed crossed the road and while Melody enjoyed the cars passing by he followed her directions until they stood still in front of her house.
Even though she felt comfortable around Daniel, she was somehow glad that she lived in a huge building with only one front door. He would never be able to guess the number of her house, unless she would give it to him. Or unless she would invite him in for a drink.
After all, he had removed all those bikes and he had brought her home.
Was inviting him for a drink not the least she could do?
"We're there." She waited until Daniel stood still and she carefully put her feet on the cobbles of the street. "You can park the bike here, if you want." She pointed at a spot in front of a window. Her window, but she was not going to tell him that. Yet.
"So, is there anything else I can help with?" Daniel gave her her crutch and the key of her bike before he hid his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
Actually there was a whole list of things Melody needed help with. She needed help with getting the groceries in the fridge. She needed help with doing the dishes of the last few weeks. She needed help with washing her clothes, with cleaning her shower and with changing the sheets on her bed. "No, I'm fine. But if you want you can come in for a drink?"
The smile on Daniel's face disappeared. He stared at the building and he narrowed his eyes. Then he licked his lips and he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly he pressed his lips together again and he bent his head to stare at the cobbles under his shoes.
"You don't have to come in, of course, if you don't want to." The smile on Melody's face disappeared too and she felt the insecurity taking over again. She had actually been certain that Daniel had been flirting with her, but it seemed that the flirting part was only nice until she had started to take it seriously and had invited him into her home. She had not been planning on doing anything indecent or something. She had not even had her first kiss yet. Actually, she had not even thought about how her invitation could come across, had come across.
"I'd really love to come in, but I can't." Daniel eventually looked up again and he scratched the back of his neck.
"No, it's fine. I get it. Don't worry." Melody forced herself to smile again. It wasn't the first time she had made the mistake of reading too much into a guy being nice to her. She wondered why she had even allowed herself to believe it this time. "Thanks for the help and the ride, though." She wanted to turn around, but Daniel cleared his throat.
"I haven't given you my phone number yet." He whispered, but Melody shrugged her shoulders. Of course he was simply saying that to be polite. Why would he give her his phone number if he didn't even want to come inside to have a drink?
"It's fine. I didn't give you my address either." She lifted her hand up and bit her lip. "Well, see you, I guess." She didn't wait for him to react and walked straight towards the entrance of the apartment building. While she pushed the heavy door open she allowed herself to look over her shoulder.
Daniel was gone already. He had not even waited until she was safely inside. Not that it was a surprise that he had much better things to do than hanging around with her.
"Ouch!"
The door hit a young man and Melody turned her head back quickly. "I'm so so sorry!" She opened her mouth and widened her eyes. "I wasn't looking where I was going and...Did I hurt you?"
The blond haired boy shook his head and smiled. "I can handle a little bruise, don't worry." He stared at all the papers on the floor. "I'm just afraid all the mail got mixed up now."
Melody followed his glance and before she realized she actually couldn't do so, she kneeled down to help him collect everything. "O, this one is for me!" She held up an enveloppe and smiled.
"You do realize you've just given me your name and address, right?" The mailboy winked and Melody bit her lip while she giggled.
"I didn't, but I don't mind either."