My mouth hangs open, and I huff. “You’re dead, Clayton Daniels!” And then I sprint after him.
He looks over his shoulder, and laughter bursts out of him. No matter how hard I push, I don’t get any closer to him. After chasing him halfway around the track, I bend over with my hands on my knees and heave.
Clayton turns around and jogs to me, his face full of joy. “You’re out of shape.”
“Ha.” I gasp. “Ha.”
“You need to run with me.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
Finally able to breathe better, I stand up and look at him. “But, I prefer to read with a view.” I wink.
Clayton shakes his head. “I’ll be at your house at six in the morning for a run.”
“Hell no. That is an ungodly hour.” I glare. “Eight.”
“Seven.” He arches his brows.
Putting my hands on my hips, I say, “You want me to run at seven in the morning on a Saturday?”
“Yup. If you do, I’ll come to another game with you.” He motions over his shoulder to the crowd.
“Ugh. Fine, but we have to finish watching this game too.” I poke his chest with my finger.
He nods, sticking his hand out for me to shake. “Deal.”
I moanas my alarm blares in my ear. There’s a knock on my door. “Go away.” I firmly press the pillow over my face.
“Rylee, Clayton is outside.” My dad’s gruff voice is muffled through my pillow. “He said you made a deal, and I gave him permission to dump water on you if you went back on your deal.”
Throwing my pillow off my face, I sit up. “You did what?”
“Can’t go back on a deal, sweetie.” He looks at his watch from my open doorway. “You have five minutes to get outside. Have a good time.” He smiles and closes my door.
Plopping back into my bed, I groan. I don’t want to do this, but I pull myself out of bed and throw on a pair of leggings, a sports bra, and a T-shirt. I’m not in the mood to even try to get my hair looking remotely nice, so I leave it in the messy bun I slept in, pull on my shoes, and go downstairs. My dad left me a protein bar and a bottle of water by the front door to grab on my way out.
I trudge down the front steps and glare at the smiling face that greets me as I slide into the passenger seat. I put my feet on his dash before sniffing a couple times, and my senses immediately perk up. He chuckles.
“I brought you a cup of coffee. I figured it might help brighten your morning mood.”
Before I have a chance to snip at him, he hands me the cup, and I bring it to my nose. Inhaling the hazelnut and vanilla aromas, I nearly moan while I cradle it between my palms. I take a sip and relax into my seat as he pulls out of the driveway. It can’t be horrible to go running in the mornings if I get coffee beforehand.
Finishing the final lap around the track at the school, I gasp for air as Clayton stands next to me, barely breathing hard at all. My lungs burn as the sun blazes in my eyes. I hate waking up early for school, and this guy has me at school on a Saturday just to run. The slight nip in the air is dissipating with the rising sun, causing sweat to roll down my body. “I don’t know how you do this.”
He shrugs. “Clears my mind.” He looks off in the distance before bringing his gaze back to me. He laughs. “Are you going to make it?”
“Ha. Ha.” I point my finger at him. “You owe me.”
He jerks his head toward his truck. “Come on. Let’s get some food for you.”
I gasp. “Oh, bless you.”
He shakes his head, opening my door for me.
“Such a gentleman.” Smiling, I climb into the truck, putting my feet on his dash. It’s not the same with tennis shoes on, but I honestly don’t know how else to ride in his truck. I’ve always done it, and I’m not going to let these annoying shoes change that.
We pull into a McDonald’s parking lot and walk inside. We order our breakfast sandwiches, and Clayton pays for them.
“I could have at least paid for my food. I eat a lot.” I stand near the counter, waiting for our order.
