Toe the Line(7)

Archie stood up and inched closer, putting my body on high alert. “If you want to get to know me, then get to know me. But don’t make assumptions without anything to back them up.” He looked me in the eyes. “And I promise to do the same.” He then stood and walked backward toward the bathroom door. “Anyway, the bathroom’s free. But FYI, only the door on your side seems to lock from the inside. So while I can lock you out, you can’t lock me out. I’ll be extra careful to knock first, though.” He winked and turned away. “Unlike some people.”

Great. “Thank you.”

He turned around one final time. “Nice to actually meet you, Noelle Simone Benedict.”

He knows my middle name? Interesting. “You, too,” I murmured.

He headed through the bathroom and disappeared into his room. It felt a little like that bathroom was a gateway to heaven—or hell, depending on how you looked at it.

Imagining him listening to every move I made, I washed my face and brushed my teeth as quickly as possible. I almost opted to go to sleep without using the toilet for fear that I’d fart or something, but then I figured out that I could run the water to hide any potential sounds. He was just too close for comfort.

I had trouble getting to sleep after that, albeit with a reluctant smile on my face. Because Archie Remington? He was a bit different than I’d imagined. He was…alright.

? ? ?

The following morning, I dragged my butt out of bed at 5 AM for another morning run. I spent a few minutes watching the sun beginning to rise over the ocean as I stretched, the sound of seagulls the only sign of life.

But about a minute after I took off down the road, I heard footsteps on the gravel behind me. My heart raced. It sounded like I was being chased—until the footsteps caught up with me. My adrenaline waned after I turned to find Archie jogging beside me.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I panted.

“You shouldn’t be running this early by yourself.”

“Why not? This is a nice area.”

“It’s not as nice as you think. There are plenty of lowlifes lurking around, ready to take advantage of people they think deserve it because they’re rich and entitled. People travel here to prey on others. And you’re the perfect victim, all alone out here with no one else around. It’s practically the middle of the night. The sun isn’t even fully up yet.”

“How did you know I went running?”

“Well, your fucking alarm woke me up, for one. Then I looked and saw you stretching out front. Figured I’d catch up with you.” He turned to look straight ahead. “Anyway, I run too and don’t mind having a partner.”

“Well, I don’t exactly need one, so…”

He shook his head. “You were upset because I was anti-social, and now you don’t want my company? Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction? I get no points for effort here?”

Speeding up a bit, I said, “I like running alone to clear my head. And I can already see you talk too much.”

“Now I talk too much?” He chuckled. “Damn, you’re hard to please, Noelle. How about if I agree to shut up while we’re running?”

God, he looks fucking hot right now. He wore a Dodgers cap backward, which was barely able to contain the golden-brown hair peeking out from under it. And his black athletic shirt hugged his muscles impeccably.

“Okay…” I sighed. “I can deal with running and no talking.”

As requested, the remainder of the jog was surprisingly quiet, though his mere presence next to me was overwhelming and seemed to be all I could focus on. So much for clearing my head when all I could do was breathe his delicious scent and focus on his nearness.

We stopped for a break at the top of a hill.

Archie leaned his hands against his knees. “You’re pretty fast, Benedict. Impressive.”

“I was trying to lose you,” I teased.

“You’re a brat.” He laughed.

I shook my index finger at him. “You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me just to prove you’re not an asshole. I told you I wouldn’t assume anything about you anymore.”

“I do feel bad that you thought I was intentionally ignoring you in the past, but that’s not why I’m here. I came because I didn’t want you running alone this early.”

If that was true, it kind of warmed my heart. I looked up and noticed the way the sun caught his eyes, making them appear even icier than they already were. I cleared my throat. “Well…thank you for your concern.”

“Translation: fuck off.” He grinned.

I smiled and shook my head. “No.”

After a minute, we resumed our run, heading back toward the house.

When we stepped inside, our parents were at the kitchen table having coffee. My mother’s jaw dropped at the sight of us together.

“Nice to see you two getting along,” Nora said.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Archie muttered, smirking over at me.

“He was nice enough to accompany me so I didn’t have to run alone,” I said.

“We appreciate that, Archie,” my mom said. “I’ve always worried about her running alone so early. She does it at home, too.”

Archie came up behind me as I popped a coffee pod into the machine, his closeness sending a shiver down my spine. “You wanna shower?”