“Good to know. Come on, then.” He gestured with his head for her to follow him and then he started running.
And, okay, he was a fast runner. She was more of a jogger. She did it to escape out of her head rather than to get fit or run marathons like this guy seemed to be capable of.
All too soon, she was exhausted and puffing. It also didn’t help that she hadn’t eaten anything before setting off.
She started to walk, staring at his back. Perhaps he’d just run off and not even notice that she wasn’t behind him.
To her surprise, though, he stilled and turned, watching her.
“You need to work on your cardio fitness,” he stated.
“My cardio fitness is fine,” she said. “You just run like you’re Superman on steroids.”
“Pretty sure Superman’s preferred mode of transport was flying. Perhaps you’re thinking of The Flash.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. On steroids they’re all super fast. Like you.”
“I was running slowly so you could keep up.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Wait. That was you running slowly?”
“Yes. Like I said, you need to work on your cardio. Do you train much?”
“Um, you’re looking at it.”
“When was the last time you went for a run?” he asked.
Drat.
“That’s a rather personal question, don’t you think?” she huffed as she tried to walk past him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t take the hint that she wasn’t interested in talking and fell into step beside her.
“So it was a while ago. Not only did you set out on a run alone in the dark in a strange area with no one around. But you haven’t run in a long time and could have hurt yourself.”
“Actually, Mr. Know-it-all, I went for a run yesterday.”
And had nearly died. She’d been barely able to move yesterday afternoon. But she figured it was better to get moving today and not let her muscles seize.
Still, she might need another Epsom salt bath tonight.
He just made a low grunting noise. She took that as him giving in because he was wrong.
She started jogging again, hoping he’d take the hint and go away. But he just . . . walked beside her.
Yep, that’s right.
He could easily keep up with her walking while she tried to run.
Humiliating?
Yes. Absolutely.
But did she stop running?
Also yes. Because she was exhausted.
“You really don’t have to follow me home,” she said, tripping.
