Fall From Grace(13)

Every so often, he’d read a message from off is phone and brush his arm against me and laugh.  I forced myself to ignore him, but he still hadn’t put his shirt on and the closeness of him made me want to reach out and feel his skin.  He really was ridiculously beautiful.  Too bad, he wasn’t much more then eye candy.

Another twenty minutes was all I could stand.  I jumped up, grabbed my sneakers, and put them on.

Lea sat up.  “Where are you going?  We were going to go to the bar again tonight around ten.”  She gave a nod towards Shane.  “His band is playing another gig there.  Want to hang out again? I’ll let you get drunk this time and hold your hair back,” she pleaded.

I tightened my laces and stood up.  “I’m getting antsy.  I thought I’d go for a run.”

Shane put his phone on the table and watched me.

“Well, what about hanging with me tonight?  We haven’t seen each other in six months, I missed you!” Lea whined.

“I don’t know.  I’ll see how I feel after my run.  If you’re not here when I get back, I’ll text you.”  I hurried out of the room and out of the front door.  I just needed to be outside.

The minute I turned around to stretch my legs against my front steps, Shane was standing right next to me.  I rolled my eyes and ignored him.  That is until he started stretching alongside me.  “What are you doing?” I asked.

“I thought I’d run with you,” he said laughing a little.  “I figured you wouldn’t care; you know, since you’re just one of the guys, and this is what I do with the guys.  Unless you don’t think you could handle it.”

Mentally flipping him the bird I smiled sweetly, “I’ll try my best.”  I took off running along the street and headed towards Fifth Avenue; hooked a right and sped passed the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It had been a little over six months, but I could do this run in my sleep.  Even at the hospice, I ran at least ten miles a day at the gym, just to separate myself from what was happening.  I took up running after my accident when they taught me how to walk again in rehab and I never stopped.  Running is as natural to me as breathing now.

Once in Central Park, I started on the Reservoir Loop around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  Shane kept pace with me silently.  The only sound I focused on was my feet hitting the soft cinder pathway.  My eyes stayed focused ahead of me, never once acknowledging Shane next to me.

The Jackie O Loop is about 1.5 miles long, and as soon I completed it, I started on one of the full loops through Central Park along the East side.  I vaguely remembered each loop being about five miles long.  I ran them twice.  I think I hit my runner’s high twice; it was pure bliss.  Starting the second loop, my mind took over; my soul pushing me forward as it always does, my body just a machine.

Shane kept pace still.  I decided that he wasn’t human.

I ran through the 86th Street Transverse, out onto Fifth Ave, and slowed my pace.  I continued to slow until I was cooled down and walking; breathing evenly.  I walked towards my apartment steps, only then noticing night had fallen and the temperature had dropped to around 35 degrees.  I stretched my legs against my steps; still remaining silent.

I guessed Shane was somewhere behind me doing the same thing.  I didn’t care to look at him until he cleared his throat, seemingly to get my attention.

I spun around to face him.  He stood in the middle of the sidewalk glaring at me in what looked like disbelief.