Before Nora could get up enough courage to go over and talk to him, Lynne blew her whistle, and without preamble, the group assembled on the pavement. This time, Nora ran near the middle on purpose; she had a good view of Tex’s broad shoulders rippling through his tight shirt, and the sound of her feet on the pavement was drowned out by the thudding of her heart. What would it be like, she wondered, to run her hands along his back? Every inch of the Texan was muscular, but he wasn’t too ripped, not like some photoshopped cover model. No, he’s just right, and he’s very real, Nora thought to herself with a delightful shiver. She almost didn’t notice the second part of the run, and when they finally stopped, Nora wasn’t entirely sure if she were panting from exertion, or from the fantasies her mind had started to spin.
Lynne blew her whistle again, and everyone turned their attention toward her. “We’ve had a few new runners join us this week, so I thought instead of our usual cool down, we could do some partner exercises. So grab a buddy; new folks, find someone more experienced and get to know them!”
Nora bit her lip. Would it be too creepy if I asked him to be my partner? Before she could decide, however, someone tapped her on the shoulder and Nora turned around, steeling herself to be nice to whoever it was. Her disappointment died as soon as she saw a pair of familiar gray eyes, almost silver in the darkness, staring down at her.
“Want to buddy up, hon?”
The soles of her feet started to melt, and Nora nodded at him. Maybe wishes can come true, she thought, following the Texan to a patch of grass near the group and sitting down across from him, mirroring his posture.
“So,” he began, stretching his legs out in front of him into a wide straddle, “I didn’t catch your name.”
Nora pressed the toes of her sneakers to his, opening her legs wide to reach, and tried to steady her breathing. “Nora. What about you?”
“Kingston.”
She couldn’t help herself; a laugh bubbled up past her lips. “What, as in Jamaica?” She tried to bite back the stupid comment, but it was too late.
Kingston just smiled. “Nope. As in Samuel Kingston Price the third.” He reached for her forearms, clasping his large hands around her, and Nora shivered in delight. After a beat, she remembered that she was supposed to be doing what he did, and she wrapped her arms around his forearms, resisting the urge to stroke the fine, dark hair that covered his arms.
“Why not Sam?” Nora stammered, acutely aware of the feeling of his skin against hers.
“Named for my daddy, and his father before him.” He shrugged. “Too stuffy for me. Now, don’t get me wrong; I loved my granddaddy, and I respect my daddy, but Kingston suits me better.” He leaned back, pulling her arms, and Nora let herself hinge forward, feeling the muscles along her back unwinding the deeper they moved into the stretch. Nora exhaled sharply when she realized that her face was hovering dangerously close to Kingston’s groin, and she shut her eyes, feeling the blood rush into her cheeks. When he began to bend toward her, Nora forced herself not to watch as his dark head crept closer and closer to the inside of her thighs, but her body was acutely aware of his presence. Nora’s palms were slick by the time the stretch was over, and when Kingston let go of Nora’s arms, she realized how cold she suddenly was without his breath between her legs.
“What’s next?” She tried to sound nonchalant, but her body was on fire from the first stretch. If they’re all as intimate as that, I might as well die right now. Heaven can’t be any better.
“Why don’t we do hamstrings next? You can go first.”
Wondering how he was going to turn this into a partnered stretch, Nora folded her left foot into her groin and flexed her right foot. She started to lower her torso over the extended leg, and suddenly, warm hands pressed against the small of her back, urging her deeper into the stretch. Her lips parted and an involuntary sigh escaped from her mouth, and the pressure on her back instantly eased.
“Too deep?” His voice was low and soothing, more suited to a bedroom than a midnight run in Central Park, and Nora took a deep breath, trying to catch hold of her runaway emotions.
“No,” she finally managed to say, “just right.”
“Good,” Kingston put his hands back on her and gave her one final, gentle push. “Now the other side.”
A warm, tingling sensation had started to build between Nora’s legs, and she wasn’t sure she could make it through another stretch without blurting out something utterly inappropriate. She gritted her teeth and tried to focus on anything but the hands at her back, but this time, instead of light pressure, Kingston rubbed a few gentle circles on her spine.
“Relax,” he said. “I can feel how tense you are.”
If you only knew! Nora bit back a giggle and tried to fold deeper into the stretch, but every muscle in her body was acutely aware of Kingston’s hands, and he shook his head gently after the stretch.
“It’s no good to stretch out when you’re tense. You might injure yourself.”
“I’ll be okay,” Nora managed to say. “Your turn?”
He sat down in front of her and began to bend effortlessly into the hamstring stretch. Nora studied the way his muscles rippled across his back for a moment, and then, gingerly, she placed her palms on his lower back.
“You can push harder than that, hon. Not going to break me.”
Self-consciously, Nora leaned into him, bearing down as he folded even deeper into the stretch. His breathing was deep and even, and Nora took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to steady hers to match his. Get a grip, she admonished herself. This isn’t as hot as you’re making it sound.
But it was. Every time she touched Kingston or felt his hands on her, Nora’s pulse raced and her body responded in ways that she didn’t know it could. By the end of the cool down, Nora was more wound up than before, and she knew there was no way she was going to get any sleep that night. Just when she was gearing up to head to the diner with the rest of the group, her phone vibrated against her arm.
She glanced at it, but the number was unfamiliar. “Probably a junk call,” she reasoned, setting the phone to silent and letting it go to voicemail.
To Nora’s disappointment, Kingston didn’t join them at the diner, but she’d already said she would go, so she didn’t want to back out. It ended up being a small group; Lynne, the guy with the flashy light, who Nora learned was named Jerome, and Nora. Jerome led the way to a corner booth, and Nora slid onto the cracked vinyl after him.
Lynne smiled at her across the table. “I’m glad you decided to come out. Sometimes, it’s a bigger group than others.”
Jerome laughed. “Remember that time when we literally cleaned them out of pie?”
Lynne chuckled. “For a bunch of runners, sometimes we sure eat like crap.”
Nora smiled, enjoying their easy banter. “How long have you both been doing the midnight thing?”
Lynne scrunched up her face in thought. “I started running after my divorce, and I got into the midnight runs by the end of that year. So I guess for me it’s been seven years.”
Jerome nodded. “You joined the group right after me, and seven sounds about right.”
“Wow,” Nora admitted, “I haven’t even been running for seven years!”
Lynne eyed her with a smile. “You look like you know what you’re doing. Is this your first half?”
Nora nodded, a little embarrassed. “I haven’t signed up for it yet; I’m not sure I’ll be able to run it by March.”
Before either of them could respond, a chipper waitress with curly black hair bustled up to their table. “There’s my finish liners! Light group tonight, huh?”
Lynne nodded. “Cassidy, this is Nora. She’s new to the group.”
The waitress beamed at Nora. “Welcome, sweetie. Hope I’ll see you in here often with these fools.”
Jerome just laughed. “You love us. I’ll have a short stack of pancakes and a coke.”
“And coffee, two creams, no sugar, right?” Cas
sidy looked at Lynne, who nodded. Then the waitress turned her attention to Nora, who’d been fiddling with her phone. “What about you, new girl?”
“Um,” Nora glanced up, distracted. “Pancakes sound good.”
Cassidy headed back to the counter without writing their orders down, and Nora picked up her phone. “Whoever called when we were back at the park left a message.”
Lynne frowned. “It’s a pretty odd time to call.”
Nora hesitated, staring at her phone for a moment. “Do you guys mind if I step out for a sec?”
Jerome and Lynne both shook their heads. “I hope nothing’s wrong,” Jerome said as Nora stood up.
She nodded absentmindedly, but she already had her phone to her ear as she opened the door to the diner, and her dad’s familiar voice had a twinge of panic to it, and Nora felt her heart clench as she played his message.
“Sweetie, call me as soon as you get this. It’s your mom.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
That night, Kingston barely slept.
He went through his usual post-run wind down, complete with a long, hot shower to get his blood flowing again, but in all honesty, he didn’t have any trouble getting his blood flowing that night. He’d barely noticed the cold for once; stretching out with Nora had provided a welcome distraction from the winter weather, and Kingston flushed when he remembered the feeling of her body under his hands.
“Get it together, boy,” he muttered, plumping up his pillow and trying yet another position. “She’s a run buddy, nothing more.”
But his body clearly disagreed with him, and the more Kingston thought about her, the more turned on he found himself getting. Flipping onto his back, he closed his eyes, trying to dispel the vision his brain had conjured up of Nora in bed beside him. Don’t be a flake, he admonished himself, dragging his thoughts away from Nora and focusing on the barista he’d been mooning over. How can you forget those big brown eyes? Sure, Nora was fine to look at, but he was pretty sure he was only obsessing over her because of their intimate cool down session. Quit thinking with your balls, boy.
Drawing his thoughts firmly away from the runner, Kingston tried to recall the details of the other face that had filled his mind for days. I wish I knew her name. He focused on remembering every detail from the few times they’d met; the way her hair hung in loose waves around her face; the sweet, simple honesty that shone out of her gaze; the particular way her apron clung to her in all the right places. Kingston smiled, but his thoughts couldn’t quite let go of Nora, and in his tired state just before he finally dropped off to sleep, Kingston decided that the runner sort of reminded him of the barista.
He woke up with a stiff neck, and when he rolled over to check the clock, he cursed softly. He’d slept way past his alarm, which he realized with a sinking heart he’d never set, and he sprang out of bed and started pulling on his clothes. There was only one clean suit hanging in his closet, and Kingston cursed himself again. “How did you forget to send out the dry cleaning this weekend? Get it together, boy.” As his fingers hurriedly buttoned up his crisp blue shirt, he promised himself he’d stop mooning over the girl at the coffee shop. In fact, he decided, he wouldn’t even go there for a week.
His resolve lasted until lunch time. No one had chastised him for his late arrival at the office, although Carrie had pouted angrily when he swept in, and Kingston had thrown himself into work that morning to make up for being tardy. But despite his best intentions, when he left the office at noon, his feet led him directly to the little coffee shop, and he scanned the space eagerly, hoping for a glimpse of her.
Another girl was behind the counter, and he vaguely remembered seeing her before when PB had been working. As he approached the register, inspiration struck, and he smiled down at the barista.
“How’s it going today, hon?”
She grinned up at him. “Better now that you’re here. You’re becoming quite the regular.”
Kingston paused. “You could say that,” he said, his eyes drifting away from her face as he tried to catch a look at the back room behind the counter.
“So, what’ll it be?”
Dragging his eyes back to her, he smiled. “Cup of coffee, to go. What’s your name?”
Her eyes got wide, and her smile nearly broke her face. “Laurel. What’s yours?”
“Kingston,” he said, his gaze skimming over the girl and looking behind her once more. “Um, do you like working here?”
She leaned forward, and Kingston caught a flash of a hot pink bra strap, and he swallowed nervously. “It’s okay, I guess.” Her eyes traveled down his body before returning to his face. “You make it loads better.”
Kingston took the cup of coffee she offered, trying not to let the barista’s obvious interest distract him. “Do you, er, like your coworkers?”
She rolled her eyes. “Who wants to talk about them? I’d rather hear about you,” she offered suggestively, leaning forward even more.
Kingston took a step back. “Nothing much to tell,” he said, glancing behind the counter one last time before retreating to the door with a wave. Laurel looked annoyed, but he was too frustrated with himself to really notice.
Sipping his coffee as he walked, he shook his head ruefully. “That totally backfired,” he grumbled to himself. “Now she probably thinks I’m interested in her!” With a sigh, he downed the rest of his coffee and headed back to work, promising himself that he’d do his best to forget the mysterious barista.
CHAPTER NINE
Nora’s hands were shaking as she punched in the number her dad had given her; neither of her parents had a cell phone, something which she’d teased them about mercilessly for years, but when a strange woman answered with the words, “Mercy Hospital,” all thoughts of teasing fled.
“My dad called,” she stammered. “His name is Richard Willson.”
“Hang on a minute.” Hold music filled the line, and Nora jiggled her leg nervously. A couple walking into the diner glanced at her before moving away quickly, and Nora slid down the building to a spot in the shadows.
“Peanut, is that you?” Her dad’s voice was scratchy, almost as if he’d been crying, and Nora felt her whole body clench in fearful anticipation.
“Dad? What happened?”
“Your mom had a heart attack.”
Nora stared at the dark city street, unseeing. “What?”
“She’s still in the ICU, but I’m hoping she’ll be better soon. The doctors are running some tests; we should know more in a few hours.”
“But, Dad, how? Mom won’t even touch fried food!”
She could practically hear his shrug over the phone. “Like I said, we don’t know much right now. Can you come home?”
She paused, remembering suddenly that she was supposed to start her new job in a few hours. “I’ll have to see.”
“Peanut, I don’t want to worry you,” he stopped for a moment. “But the sooner the better,” he finally said.
Nora’s throat constricted. It’s that bad? “I’ll catch the train into Philly first thing in the morning.”
“I might not be able to drive out to pick you up.”
Nora shook her head impatiently. “I’ll figure something out.” Her voice started to break, but she pushed the words out. “Dad? I love you. Tell Mom I love her, too.”
“We love you, too.”
Nora hung up the phone fighting back tears. “Damn it!” Her words were loud on the deserted street, but Nora didn’t care. Her brain still couldn’t quite grasp everything her dad had said, but it was having an even harder time sifting through what he hadn’t said. One thing was certain; if her dad was pushing her to come home immediately, her mom was probably worse off than he was letting on.
Quickly, Nora fired off a text to Todd letting him know that she’d had a family emergency, and then she poked her head inside the diner. Lynne looked up immediately and frowned in concern, but Nora didn’t want to talk about it. “A family thing,” she managed to say. “I�
��m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
“Of course! Let us know if you need anything.” The words should have sounded empty coming from a near stranger, but Nora could tell that Lynne meant it.
“Thank you.” She hesitated. “I might not be at the run for a few nights.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll see you whenever you’re able to come out.”
Nora nodded, almost smiling. She wasn’t really big on sharing the details of her personal life, but she had a feeling that if she kept up with the running group, she and Lynne could become friends.
Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, Nora hurried across town. When she got to her dark apartment, she hesitated for a moment. Part of her wanted to wake Carl up; she was feeling desperate for someone to talk to about the whole thing with her mom, but since she barely knew anything, she decided to let him sleep. I can always call him from the train, she reasoned, tossing some clothes into her shoulder bag. She didn’t bother checking online for tickets; trains ran every few hours from Grand Central to the 30th Street station in Philadelphia, and she knew she’d be able to catch one, even at such short notice.
After leaving a sticky note for Carl, Nora hailed a taxi a few blocks from their apartment, and the sun was just coming up when she made it to the train station. Instead of stopping to admire the beautiful architecture like she usually did, Nora pushed through the crowd to a ticket kiosk, and in moments, she had a ticket in hand for a train leaving in half an hour.
Settling back into her seat, Nora squeezed her eyes shut and tried to will herself not to worry. Mom’ll be fine, she promised herself. Dad’s just scared, that’s all. But even though her mind desperately wanted to believe the words, her heart wasn’t so sure.
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