“Eh. Nothing in particular. I like running 5Ks. I like the free shirts.”
I laughed and changed my pace to be a little slower and match hers. “You run every day?”
“Almost every day, yeah.”
“Alone?” I frowned, not liking that idea. It was a semi-safe neighborhood, but some muggings and assaults had been reported in the past couple of months. Plus, when all the college kids came back, the numbers increased because of all the intoxicated dumbasses.
“Yeah. I thought it was safe. Why?”
“It is, but, a couple of incidents occurred last year. Nothing major.” Did I want to scare her? No. Did I want to convince her to run with me?Yes. Hell yes.“I’m actually looking for someone to train with for the half marathon coming up in November. Any interest?”
“Damn it.” She shook her head, not breaking stride. “That sounds like a good deal, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
“It’s just running.” My stomach dropped, though, because that wasn’t a good sign. “It helps us both out. We get along—well, I thought so at least, and you shouldn’t run alone. Plus, I need a partner.”
“Let me think about it. Sometimes I like to run in silence.”
“Me too.” I did, but I’d have agreed to about anything to get her run with me. “How about this? We finish the run today then I buy you breakfast and we discuss the terms.”
“That sounds like a date.”
“I don’t do dates, Callie. It’s breakfast. Order a waffle or an eggo. I don’t care.”
She frowned for a second then broke out into a smile.Thank god.“I can do that. I love me some eggos.”
“There ya go. That wasn’t bad, eh?”
“Shut up. We have over three miles left and you’re exhausting my thinking power right now.”
“Is it because of my good looks?”
“I regret my decision already.” She bit back a smile and we continued to run in a comfortable silence.
* * * *
“God, I didn’t stretch enough. I hate myself.” I lay on the grass on my back, pulling my legs to my chest. I waited for a group of kids to pass near us before continuing. “I feel way older than I should right now.”
“You’re an athlete. You should be in better shape.” She had one leg spread out, stretching her hamstrings, and I had a hard time focusing on anything else. Why had I never noticed how sexy girls were when they stretched?Am I being a total perv?“You don’t need me to tell you about the importance of a pre-run routine.”
“Yeah, yeah. You sound like Nicole. Our team trainer. She terrifies me.” I wasn’t lying. She really did. She was smart as a whip, knew everything but had no filter and had no problem telling is if we were being fucking dumb. Sometimes, I wasfucking dumb.
“Sounds like a smart lady.” She gave me a small smile, a shared moment between us, and I grinned back at her. “Did you bring a water?”
“No, I forget. I rushed to leave the house.”
“Here, have some of mine. Why rush out?” I avoided her glance. I didn’t know why I didn’t want to tell her, but I refused to lie to her. It served no purpose. I took a swig of her water, grateful because my throat was burning.
Shading my eyes with a hand to look at over the park, I collected my thoughts and how to best express them. “Girls stay at the house sometimes. I hate it.” I met her eyes, seeing a flicker of recognition and it pissed me off. “Explain the look, Callie.”
“Oh, nothing.” She darted her gaze away, clearly caught.
“I knew something happened last night, but I couldn’t figure it out. We clicked, Callie. You know we did, yet here you are distancing yourself and judging me. I don’t think it’s fair. I want to know why.”
She sighed, meeting my eyes. “I told you I’ve been around baseball my entire life. I know a lot about the game, and with that, about the egos and types of leaders each team needs. Our attraction distracted me, and I realized I’d already heard of you before. You were only referred to as Zwillow and your reputation is not one I wanted to be a part of.”
Anger seethed through me but I kept my composure. “What reputation is that?”
She pulled her legs to sit criss-cross and tangled her fingers together in clear discomfort. “Zade, you mean to tell me that you have no idea of the womanizing reputation you have?”
