Eliza Carlisle woke up tired this Saturday morning. As she shut off her 7:00 AM alarm, she thought, "Maybe I'll skip SoulCycle today." Then she remembered what a big day it was—her 29th birthday and her milestone 100th ride, and she knew she couldn't miss out. That gave her the energy she needed to throw on her favorite workout outfit—a tight, slightly cropped tee with ties in the back and matching high waisted leggings. She popped in her contacts and had a banana and some pre-workout protein milk before prepping her gym bag and rushing out the door. Once she entered the studio, she was greeted with a sing-song of "Happy birthdays!" and "Happy 100th ride!" before being bombarded by her good friend Madison.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY & CONGRATS YOU BADDIE!!! 100th ride, your birthday, your promotion, your Ph.D...seriously woman, what CAN'T you do?!" She said, giving her a hug.
"Thanks, Mads...you know I love you, but save your energy for our sprints, don't ya think?" She said with a wink and a smile to her loud friend as they walked back toward the lockers. They talk for about five minutes before Madison interrupts Eliza's train of thought.
"Ooohhhh shit," Madison says.
"What is it?" Eliza asks inquisitively.
"You mean you can't FEEL it? That guy hasn't stopped laying eyes on you ever since we walked over here," Madison said.
Eliza glances up to see a tall, dark-haired man look her up and down before scurrying back to his phone. Not quick enough to give him a soft smile, though, which she sees makes him slightly blush.
"Wellllll, you gonna do anything about that? Otherwise I might have to," Madison says.
"Madison, chill! Give a woman some time, will ya?" Eliza says back. She glances down at her watch. Three minutes until class started. "Alright, I'm gonna get this shit started. Walk in with me." She says to Madison; once they walk in, everyone else follows. It's a pretty full house today.
Eliza and Madison get to their bikes in the front row of the class. To Eliza's right, no surprise, is the tall handsome man who was admiring her just moments before. Eliza notices him struggling to adjust the handlebars of his bike for a few moments and walks up to him.
"Do—do you need some help?" She asks him with a soft smile.
"Oh uh—yeah, that'd be great actually. Thanks." He says back with his smile of his own.
"Of course; this one always seems to stick. Are you new here?" She asks.
"Yeah, I'm doing a triathlon in a few months, and cycling is not my strength," he replies.
"I gotcha; that's exciting. I think I've got it now," she says, adjusting the handlebars so they're no longer stuck. "It should be good now."
"Thanks," he says. "So what brings you here today?"
"Actually, it's her 100th ride here. Big stuff. AND it's her birthday," Madison chimes in from her bike.
"Madison!" Eliza exclaims. "I can speak for myself, thank you." She chides.
"Oh wow, happy birthday, uh I'm sorry, I don't know your name," he says.
"Eliza," she says with another smile, extending her hand for him to shake. "And you are...?"
"Aaron." He says, shaking her hand.
"Well Aaron, welcome to SoulCycle. I hope we'll see you around again." She says with another smile. He smiles back, and the lights go down and the music turns up to signal the start of class. The song is "Level Up" by Ciara.
"Alright riders, it's a big big day here at SoulCycle. It's our girl Eliza's 100th ride and her birthdayyyyyyy!!!! Let's go birthday bitch!!!" The instructor says.
Eliza just laughs and gets in the saddle ready to ride. It's a good thing she was sitting, as the instructor announces that it's time for sprints.
"Alright riders, time for a sprint!!! Partner up, challenge each other, and let's make it a great ride!!!"
Eliza glances at Aaron, who already has his eyes on her. She nods at him, signaling that she'll be his partner. They each speed up, trying to beat each other's heart and power rates up on the monitors. The music's pace increases, and so does everyone's speed.
"Keep it up riders, keep it up!!! 400 RPM average, WOW!!! Almost there for this first one, 5-4-3-2-1...and our birthday bitch takes the cake!!!" The instructor says.
Cheers abound, and Eliza glances over to see Aaron with a big smile. They partner up on the other sprints; he wins a couple, but she wins all the rest. After all, it is her day.
Once the ride ends, everyone hops off their bikes. Several more people come up to Eliza to tell her happy birthday and congrats on her 100th ride.
"Alright sis, you gotta take your obligatory ride pic with me," Madison says.
"Be right out," Eliza replies, quickly glancing up at Aaron.
"So, what did ya think? Will you be back?" Eliza asks, wiping her forehead with her towel.
"Oh absolutely. I feel like I'm gonna die, but I do think I'll be back," he says while leaning on the bike, out of breath from the last set of sprints.
"Don't be shy; just say you wanna see her," Madison says as she walks past. Eliza rolls her eyes as Aaron blushes.
"Ignore her; she has no filter whatsoever," Eliza says. "Hey Aaron, what are you doing tonight?" She asks with some shyness in her voice.
"Ummm, well, I don't think I have anything planned for once, actually. Work keeps me pretty busy." He says back.
"Well," Eliza starts, nerves filling her body, "My friends are throwing me a party—a birthday party—tonight...dinner, a couple bars, then a club...would—would you wanna come? Maybe come to my place before and have a drink?"
"That sounds great," he says with a smile and no hesitation.
"Great! Come out with me and I'll give you my card," she says.
They walk outside to find the rest of the class chatting and enjoying some celebratory sugar cookies with bikes and 100 emojis on them. She walks up to her locker and grabs a business card from her wallet.
"My—my cell is on that line there," she says. "I can text you my address and stuff here in a bit."
"Well, won't you need my number for that?" Aaron jokes.
"Shit, you're right. I must need some water or something," she says, blushing.
Aaron smiles. "Here, give me your phone. I'll put my number in now."
She gives him the phone, puts his number in and returns it to her. She starts to say thanks when Madison comes scurrying over.
"Ok lover girl, are you ready to take your picture?? It's gotta go on the Insta feed!!" She says with impatience, taking Eliza's hand and dragging her away.
"Sorry for my friend here, I guess I'll see you later?" Eliza asks.
"Sounds great. I'll see you then." Aaron says.
Eliza waves with a smile. "Byeeeee," Madison says over her shoulder as they walk toward the wall with the milestone numbers on it.
Eliza turns and lightly swats Madison. "Bitch, what the hell?"
"I'm sorryyyyy," Madison says.
"No you're not," Eliza says with a smile. "You ready?"
Eliza signs the 100 on the wall, and they take their pictures (some with the instructor and other friends), snag some cookies along with their stuff, and head out the door.
"Same time next week?" Madison asks.
"You already know," Eliza replies.
"You better be my sprints partner next week," Madison says.
"We'll see who shows up," Eliza says with a smile. "Bye bye now," she says as they enter their cars.
"Bye!" Madison says.
Eliza lays her stuff down in the passenger seat and glances at her phone. She has several happy birthday texts, some tagged photo notifications, and a new message from a number she doesn't recognize.
"It's Aaron. Can't wait to see you later xx"
"Holy shit, that was fast," Eliza says, starting her car. "Just wait until the girls hear about this one."