“Nice try.”
I scowled, which was followed by a shiver. I was freezing. The only thing I had on was a skimpy tank top and a pair of shorts; after all, I had been sleeping.
I still felt like I’d won our battle, though, because as soon as I shivered, I saw Luke’s gaze trail down my body. His eyes paused when he reached my chest. My nipples were as hard as stone, and they were definitely protruding through my wet tank top. I watched him gulp and when his eyes reached mine again, they were undeniably heated. I smirked at him, and he knew he was caught. It was written all over his face.
Since that moment, I’d felt like I had the upper hand on him. Except for the following week. Usually after working all night, I’d go for a light run through town before everyone woke up and things got hectic. But, guess who also liked to run in the morning before heading into work? That’s right, Luke, who I couldn’t help but notice seemed to have an issue with commitment, as I have seen more than a handful of girls at his house since he’s moved in. They’re never repeats, either.
That morning, I threw on my black running leggings paired with my neon pink shoes and walked outside. I pulled my hair up to a less-than-attractive ponytail on the crown of my head and placed my headphones in my ears and took off running down the street. I’ve always kept my volume down, just enough so that I could hear if someone came up behind me (I obviously watched way too many crime shows). But that’s when I heard it. Pounding footsteps behind me. I increased my speed, heart thumping even louder than before, palms sweaty and ears on alert. My tennis shoes slapped against the pavement and the nice morning air wrapped around my body like a blanket. But it didn’t matter, because I was literally shivering on the inside. I knew I should have gotten a dog, but that would only remind me of Alex, because we were going to go to the dog shelter when he got home from Afghanistan. I was still waiting on that to happen.
The eerie feeling of someone following closely behind me continued until I reached the front steps of the grey-stoned courthouse. I knew if I stopped there, the psycho wouldn’t attack me. There were cameras all around the building; no one could be that stupid…right?
At the last second, I jerked my body to a standstill, and he tumbled into me causing us both to fall to the ground. I knew it was a he because any woman would know not to secretly run behind another woman for a long period of time because it would be creepy, and weird, and… stalker-ish. As soon as I pushed the dense body away from mine, grating my hands on the concrete, I stood up and pulled my leg back to kick him right in the stomach. Before I could, though, he grabbed my foot with a strong hand, and I screamed bloody murder.
When I finally stopped screaming, because I realized my attacker was laughing hysterically, I studied his face and my shoulders slumped. When he let go of my foot, I almost kicked him again. The mere sight of his face flooded my body with rage.
“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted.
“Jesus, you are crazy.” Luke stood up quickly, straightening the ball cap on his head, and laughed even harder.
“I’m crazy? You’re the one who is freaking stalking me! Why are you followin
g me?!”
I was full on panting and trying really hard not to focus on his very, very toned arms peeking out from under his dark green t-shirt.
“I’m not stalking you. I was going on my morning run and it just so happens that you run the same route that I do. And,” he stopped and looked me up and down with heat lingering behind those clear eyes. I scowled at him in return, almost letting out a growl. “You have really good stamina. You never once wavered from your pace. I’m impressed. I wonder…” He brought his hand up to his chin and tapped on it with his finger. “I wonder if you have that much stamina in bed…?”
My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. I reached my arm up and smacked him right on the head, which only made him laugh harder. So hard, in fact, that he had to bend down and place his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Anger sparked through my body and my cheeks instantly felt hot.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I retaliated, turning on my heel and running the rest of the way back. I turned my music up loud this time, because I didn’t even want to know if he was behind me or not.
After that, every day that I came home to run after work, there was Luke in his black Nikes on the bottom of his stairs, about to start his run. He would flash me his pearly white smile as he passed me, and it made my heart skip a beat every time. I blamed it on my annoyance with him, but I knew better. His smile did things to me. Unspeakable things.
I would purposely wait until he started his run, to start mine. I didn’t want him watching my ass the entire time, and I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I liked to watch him. I actually liked to look at him. It was his mouth and manners that drove me up the freaking wall.
Just like right now, with him running his mouth on the baseball field. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten roped into volunteering here. Oh wait, yes, I do. It was JoJo. It always ended with JoJo; she knew she was my soft spot. She’s all I had left in the world.
Being here, volunteering on base, wasn’t the real reason that I was so bothered. What was bothering me was the actual thing we were all out here on the baseball field for. The Marine Corps partnered up with the hospital every year to throw a fundraiser for FLB (Families Left Behind).
Families Left Behind has been around for many years, even before I was born. All the money raised for FLB went to the families who had lost someone due to war. That was why being here hurt so much…because now that I was on the other end of this whole military thing, where you actually have to deal with losing a family member to war, little reminders like this stung. I knew how it felt now, after losing Alex. It was like stepping on a bumblebee in the soft grass on a hot summer day; it stung you so fast that you didn’t even realize what had happened.
“Why are you staring over there like that?” JoJo whispered behind me, causing me to jump up so fast I placed my hand over my heart.
“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing…” Becky said from beside me.
Becky and I were the two running the donations table, along with handing out the free water bottles a local store had donated. The other volunteers from the hospital were at other tables, handing out flyers and giving informational talks about FLB. JoJo was only over here because she didn’t want to sit alone on the bleachers to watch the extremely boring baseball game.
“I’m not staring like anything,” I shot back, gaining side glances from the pair of them.
Becky’s gaze landed on Luke. “He’s very good-looking. I definitely approve.”
“There is nothing to approve of. He’s a jackass.”
“A jackass with a nice ass,” JoJo snickered.
I needed to change the subject before my reddening face gave me away.
“It’s really not fair that you get to look so cute and I have to wear this volunteer shirt,” I said quickly, knowing it would lead JoJo into a full-on tangent about fashion. It was her weakness; I knew she’d take the bait.