Chapter Seven
A cold mist still settled over the track, as I stretched out on the red, gravelly ground. Britte and I tried to run together three times a week. We were vigilantly fighting the extra pounds that came packaged with the first years of college, plus trying to stay in shape. In high school, I did well in track, running the mile, the two mile and a few hurdle relays. Britte had been some kind of volleyball super star. We both missed the regular routine of athletics, but it was hard to find time with our heavy schedules.
We used to run in the evenings on days we didn’t have to work, but now with Fin demanding much of my time, we switched our schedule to the morning. Theearlymorning. I wasn’t even sure if my legs would work this early. I felt stiff and sluggish, but I stretched out anyway, preparing to at least trip around the track until I hit a mile. Usually Britte and I strode for three, but we decided to take it easy this morning and see if we could finish one mile without either taking a nap or causing accidental but serious bodily harm.
“How did the fam dinner go the other night?” Britte asked through a yawn.
“Fine,” I yawned back. What sucked the most was that we couldn’t even have coffee before this. Well, we could have, but probably that wouldn’t be wise.
“Fine?” she asked, unbelieving.
“Ask me again in two hours when I can remember it.” I stood up and then bent down to touch my toes. This felt kind of comfortable so I stood there hanging for thirty sEconds longer than I needed to.
“Did you tell them about Tara the twa-“
“B! Cuss jar!” Gah. There was nothing I hated more than bad words for girly parts.
“Sorry,” she laughed.
“Well, they found out. But it was Beckett that told them, not me. Stupid brothers. I cannot figure out how I got sucked back into a world where my family is everywhere! I must have been out of my mind to transfer.”
“Hey, you still have me! And you would not have had me if you wouldn’t have transferred. The good outweighs the bad here, Els,” she admonished, looking a little hurt.
“You’re right,” I sighed. “I do have you. And a rumored relationship with Fin.”
“What?” She gasped while doing some high knees and then some calf stretches.
“They are convinced I’m dating Fin. Apparently there are some rumors around campus that have us together, acting like a couple.”
“Are the rumors true?” Britte asked with a knowing look.
“We’ve been together twice on campus, Britte. And you were there for one of those times, so you tell me.” Ugh, I hated that these rumors might not be unfounded. He did kiss my neck in front of a lot of people the other day.
“I was there when he kissed you, and when he visited you at your place of work. I think he’s into you, Ellie. Your brothers might actually have something to worry about,” she smirked at me, and then waggled her eyebrows.
“Whatever,” I laughed. “Don’t forget I owe him a ton of money! He’s just micromanaging his investment. Plus, I’m not his type.”
Britte started off in a slow jog and I followed suit. We both hated to talk while we ran; we believed if we weren’t out of breath than obviously we weren’t trying hard enough. But this conversation needed to be wrapped up.
“What makes you say that?” Britte asked in a tone that made me feel stupid for thinking I wasn’t every single guy’s type on the entire planet. She was such a good friend.
“I have full access to his Facebook account, I see the girls that message him all the time. They’re fan-club girls. And I lack the va-va-va-voom to even be considered for membership. As much as Beckett can’t stand Fin, they do share the same type.” I hated how desperately pathetic my voice sounded.
Britte didn’t seem to notice though, “Beckett has terrible taste in girls. What is his problem?” She sounded so worked up about it I raised my eyebrows at her, but she just waved me on and picked up the pace.
Soon my leg muscles were burning and my abs stretched tight. Sweat dripped down from my temples and the back of my neck and my arms pumped with the will to finish out our workout. We eventually woke up and were able to push ourselves past one mile, and then two and we were closing in on the third and final. The only sound between us was heavy breathing and the slap of our feet against the track.
The morning was still frigidly cold, and my lungs burned with every breath. But it all felt good and necessary. There wasn’t much I loved more than losing myself in a strong run. The concentrated effort but how my mind could just drift at the same time, the way every muscle burned and stretched with each step forward, the way my arms pumped at my sides and the slick feeling of sweat as it coated my body. This was a good feeling, a feeling necessary for my happiness.
By the time we slowed our pace to a cool-down jog, the track was filling up with other students. It stayed busy during the days and evenings in the spring and summer months when the weather permitted the use of outdoors. I knew Beckett would be out here this morning, since he made running the track a regular morning routine.
Britte and I finally crossed our finish line at the exact same time and then immediately broke out into more stretching. We were both still panting, wiping sweat from our eyes and neck with the bottoms of our t-shirt. We brought water bottles, but they were sitting over with our things on the bleachers and neither one of us was ready to make that walk.
“Don’t look now,” Britte panted out. “But your fake boyfriend is here.”
“What?” I asked in a breathy puff of air. Not able to help myself I followed her chin nod and looked over my shoulder while strategically stretching my arm. “Oh no,” I sighed when I caught Fin’s gaze from twenty feet away. “Is it just me or is he everywhere now?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly. “But technically I think this time we are in his space.”
