Off the Record (Off #3)(19)

After she finishes cleaning, we both decide to get the run out of the way. She’s changed into a pair of shorts and a sports top that molds nicely to her curves. I can tell by the quality of her shoes that she’s not a novice runner. Her hair is braided down her back and I hate to admit that she looks beautiful even getting ready to get her sweat on.

We take off and run companionably through an older neighborhood near my condo. I have to shorten my strides up a bit so she can keep up but I don’t mind. It’s nice having company, even if it’s quiet. I point out a few things to her as we run but I don’t waste precious oxygen on talk.

Just as we are starting our fourth mile, Ever stumbles beside me and starts to limp.

“Ouch...ouch...ouch...”

“What’s wrong?” I keep running in place to keep my heart rate up.

“I have a charley horse.” She limps around in a circle, bending intermittently to massage her calf. “I’m sorry...go finish your run and I’ll meet you back at the condo.”

I think about finishing on my own but she looks to be in some serious pain. Instead, I walk over to her and sweep her up in my arms. She gives a half startled yelp but then moans as her calf muscle hardens again.

Laying her on the grass of someone’s front yard, I kneel down and take her leg in my hands. I’m embarrassed that my first thought isn’t about her injury but rather that her skin is as soft as it looks. She lays back and drapes her arm across her forehead. I can see the muscle knotted and start to gently massage it.

“Damn, that hurts,” she groans.

“I know. Just bear with me and we’ll get it worked out.”

“I can’t believe this happened. I’ve never cramped up like that before.”

I can feel the knot loosening but I continue to work at it, going a little harder the more pliable it becomes. There’s no way she’ll be able to finish the run though.

“How often to do you normally run?”

She leans up on her elbows to watch me working her leg. Those aqua eyes are watching me with interest. “I usually run five times a week but only about three miles. But I know I can do five. I used to run cross country in high school.”

“Maybe you’re a little dehydrated. Do you think you can stand and stretch it out a bit?”

She nods at me and I help her up. She gingerly puts some weight on it and seems to do okay. She takes a moment and stretches the calf, and I use the opportunity to admire her movements. She’s so much shorter than I am but she’s got a natural grace about her. I would actually peg her as some sort of dancer. Her actions are fluid and timeless, supporting that sort of ethereal beauty that I’ve come to recently appreciate.

“I’m good,” she says as she steps out onto the road. “I think we can head back. I can probably even run it.”

“No way. Not taking a chance of you cramping again. We’ll just walk it.”

We’re silent for several minutes as we walk back to my condo. I let her set the pace. My mind is actually going through the various exercises I’ll be doing today at the gym when her soft voice cuts in.

“I’m not a prude, you know.”

I look at her startled. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not a prude. I don’t want you to think I was judging your lifestyle because I have antiquated views about sex.”

Well, hell. That is exactly what I had thought after I read that article, but I have no clue what to say in response. So I ask instead, “Then why were you judging me so harshly?”

She shrugs her shoulders, as if her answer is silly. But then she stops walking and looks at me. Her eyes are serious. “Let’s just say I’ve had some betrayal issues in my past that tend to make me a little bit sensitive to things like loyalty and commitment. I must have seen your actions as some sort of betrayal.”

“I don’t understand why? I owed you nothing. You owed me nothing.”

Ever throws her hands up in frustration and resumes walking. “I know. It’s crazy. The only thing I can fathom is that maybe your invitation to dinner seemed like a serious effort on your part to get to know me. And your meaningless sex was, well...meaningless. It just rubbed me the wrong way...that you could want both things.”

Now things are starting to make sense to me. Reaching out, I grab hold of Ever’s wrist. She stops and looks at me with curiosity.

“Did someone cheat on you?” I ask.

Her face goes even paler than normal and her irises eyes actually darken a bit. I have my answer without even needing her to say it. But she provides it to me anyway.

“Yes. My ex-fiancé,” she says quietly.

I curse under my breath. Now I feel like such an * for making the comment yesterday about her driving her fiancé off.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I rub the inside of her wrist as I ask, trying to sooth her.

Ever glances down to my hand. It’s large around her tiny wrist and my skin is dark compared to her paleness. She pulls back slightly and I release her.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she says as she resumes walking. “It’s over and done with. I never even think about it.”

Yeah, right. “Never?”

“Nope. I’m pretty resilient, Caldwell. You trample on me, I know how to pick myself up, brush myself off, and get on with my life.”