Me: Dude, you home or you out already?

Danny: I’m out. Wanna join us? We are at Paddy O’s.

Me: No. Jeff bailed on Alexa and I need to run with her, but don’t have the gear. Can I steal your running tights and cold weather running jacket?

Danny: Yeah, third drawer down in my dresser.

Me: Thanks bud! Pray for me. We’re doing 15 tomorrow.

Danny: LMAO

 

Asshole. He was more than likely doubled over laughing. I was a wuss when it came to the cold. Danny still ran outside, snow permitting, in the winter, and when the weather was nice, we usually went together.

I threw on a fleece jacket and slipped on my flip-flops with my socks, grabbed my keys, and walked across the street to Danny’s place.

As I passed the desk, I waved at Katie, the concierge on duty. Since she knew I was an approved guest, and I had a key, I didn’t have to wait for security to let me in. I took the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

Danny’s one-bedroom unit was a total bachelor pad. Like my place, his had floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, but his view overlooked Downtown Crossing and Emerson College rooftops. Because he refused Jessica and Elle’s interior design help, his house was lifeless. In the living room, a brown leather couch on one wall faced a mounted sixty-inch television. The only other piece of furniture was a nasty, blue La-Z-Boy recliner from our college days he refused to throw out. I hated that thing and would rather sit on the floor than on it. It was probably growing its own sexually transmitted disease after countless people used it over the years.

Our homes were complete opposites. Mine was spotless, almost compulsive. His place was always in a state of disarray.

I walked down the hallway and into his disheveled bedroom. Clothes littered the floor, leaving only a small path from the door to his bed and to the en suite bathroom. On my way to the dresser, I kicked stuff out of my way. Surely he didn’t bring girls here when it looked like this, but it would explain why he never kept a girlfriend for long. Everything I needed was right on top when I opened the third drawer. Against my better judgment, I gave them a sniff to make sure they were actually clean. I had enough time to wash and dry them if necessary, but thankfully, my best friend wasn’t that gross.

With that problem solved, I headed home and crawled right into bed, knowing I needed as much rest as possible for my run.

*****

I woke up insanely early for a Sunday morning considering I didn’t have to work. Since we were meeting at eight, I had time for food. Needing some carbohydrates, I ate toast with nut butter and a bowl of oatmeal before warming up my body. I didn’t want to cramp or pull anything.

After I finished my breakfast, I headed to the Frog Pond in the Boston Common. In the winter, it was an ice skating rink, and in the summer, it was a wading pool for little kids. I wanted to beat Alexa to our meeting site, and wondered if Jeff told her about the change in plans. Sometime in the middle of the night, he emailed me the route he planned to use. It was a straight shot to Chestnut Hill and back, and I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Alexa.

I didn’t know how to act around her in this new environment after our time together Friday night. Our relationship status was foggy at best. We started as therapist/client, and then hit friendship level on Friday while hanging out at Caffe Vittoria. And by Sunday, my feelings were closer to romantic territory, even though I couldn’t act on them. So out of my comfort zone, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

All my other relationships started in the romance category. Boy met girl, boy and girl liked each other, and then boy and girl had crazy sex. Done. There was no questioning of anything. Yet with Alexa, I questioned everything.

It was seven forty-five when I arrived at the Frog Pond. As I approached the still frozen pond, I saw her using one of the frog statues to stretch. Her ear buds were in her ears, so she didn’t hear me approach. I took the opportunity to watch her. She really was gorgeous. One of her legs rested on top of the frog’s head. From my angle, I had a great view of her hot as hell ass. Black running leggings molded to her body like they were painted on. A simple, black running jacket, with the Nike Swoosh on the sleeve and reflective stripes along the back, hugged her torso. Watching her tight body in action excited me. Her long, blonde hair was in two braids, and a bright blue beanie sat on top of her head to keep the heat in and her ears warm.

My ensemble was almost identical, except for my red beanie for my near bald head. We looked like twins.

After I stared at her for a few moments, I decided to stop being a creeper and get this show on the road.

“Morning,” I yelled to get her attention in an effort not to scare the crap out of her.

She looked up and took her ear buds out, turning her head in my direction. “What are you doing here?” A look of complete confusion covered her face as she lowered her leg off the statue. Jeff apparently did not inform her of the switch.

“Jeff had to head home to New York late last night for a family emergency, so he asked if I would stand in for him this morning,” I answered with a huge smile on my face, trying to set her mind at ease. I took a few steps toward her, wanting to go in for a friendly hug.

“I hope everything is okay with Jeff’s family, but you don’t have to run with me. I could have just gone by myself and run with him later this week,” she said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

I wanted to pull that lip between my teeth and taste her. God, the simplest things she did took my breath away.

“It’s no problem. He asked, and I wanted to. He sent me your route, and it’s pretty straight forward,” I said, trying my hardest not to stare at her perfectly shaped mouth. “However, besides checking out your gait, I’m more of a running partner than a trainer today.”

“Sounds good. I need to finish stretching, and then I’ll be ready to go. Have you stretched yet?” She seemed nervous, which I hated. But she lifted her other leg onto the frog.

“Yes, I stretched at my house since it is so close. Do you need help?” I asked, hoping she did so I could touch her. My hand itched to be on her body. Something about her drew me to her, and the desire to simply be in her presence was stronger than anything I had ever felt before. There was no instant bang when we touched, but more of a slow simmer through my body. I was getting greedy for that feeling.

“Not right now, but I’ll probably need your help when we finish.”

She gave me the sweetest smile I had ever seen. I stared at her mouth for a few seconds longer than I probably should, but her lips were distracting.

“Do you use Spotify or iTunes when you run?” I asked, pointing to the iPhone wrapped around her bicep. I loved running to music, and I wanted this peek inside her head. Music was a way to look into someone’s soul to see what drove her, what made her tick.

“I use Spotify. I have a few running playlists. Wanna follow me so we can run to the same tracks?” She stretched her arms over her head.

“Sure, but if your music sucks, I’m making you listen to one of my playlists.” I nudged her shoulder to show I was teasing her.

“My music kicks ass. You won’t need yours.” Alexa gave as good as she got, and I loved it. “Ready?” she asked, hopping from foot to foot.

I finished following her on Spotify on my phone and put it in my protective arm cuff.

“Yup, let’s go. We’ll run down Beacon Street for an obscene amount of time, then we’ll loop around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and then back in on Commonwealth. The shitty part is we’ll have to run up Beacon Hill to complete the fifteen miles.” Beacon Hill was brutal on a good day, but after almost fifteen miles, it was going to be hell.