They still had their clothes on
I can say that much

Back door of a car
wide open
Back street
industrial suburb
across the river
from the port
A second vehicle nearby

Officially
a No Through Road
but walkers and cyclists
have full access

I had my sunglasses on
Bike helmet
Navy shorts
Lime hi-viz shirt

I’d changed gears
feeling the weight
of the slight incline
and the heat
of the hot afternoon

The young man
was above
the young woman
at an angle
leaning over

They were not quite parallel
not romantically attached
so to speak
Not yet

Maybe they heard
the bike’s tyres
gripping the gravel
or a ship’s horn
down by the water

He looked up
She turned her head
looked across
My large sunglasses
spared them a little

She was wearing –
it was hard to tell –
jeans, a light summer top?
Anticipation at least

He was wearing
jeans
a sports club polo shirt
logo and three colours
Red
(their heaving hearts?)
White
(their enduring love?)
Blue
(their embarrassment?)

I may have nodded
ever so slightly
with the effort
of pushing that bike
that ever-faithful orange bike
Nodded as if to say
Your secret’s safe
I won’t tell a soul

They still had their clothes on
I can say that much.