Our eyes met. I felt it in my toes. In my chest. In my limbs. Everywhere. For some reason this man had a way of touching my insides. And suddenly, it wasn’t so chilly.
I nodded. Without wasting a second, he pressed the button on the stopwatch. A sharp beep sounded, and then we were off.
I had no concept of how much time had passed, but my sides burned, and the cramp that had seized my pancreas—or was that my kidney—had spread, and was now an ache that throbbed across my whole body.
My feet hit the red dirt in a steady rhythm. With every step I took a sharp pain stabbed me in the side, but I wouldn’t stop. Next to me, Max had barely broken a sweat.
Beep, damn you. Fucking beep.
The thirty-second intervals felt like thirty minutes. I was so out of shape it was embarrassing.
“Are we almost done?” I panted out my words. Choked them out, was more like it. “How much longer?”
“No idea.” His voice was smug. I hated him right now. “I’m not paying attention to the time.”
As if God himself saved me from my torture, the stopwatch beeped.
I slowed down, taking long, careful steps. I grabbed my side, wincing, wishing that I had never set foot on this track. There had to be something athletic that was less…torture. I’d rather be studying. Or even listening to Sadie and Grace recounting their worst dates. Those were some horrifying stories.
Gram said to try something athletic. She didn’t say I had to finish it.
But you’re not a quitter.
I limped off the track, toward a tree near the fence that lined the perimeter.
I laid my palms flat on my aching thighs, trying to breathe through the burn in my lungs. I swallowed hard and there was the distinct taste of blood settling at the back of my throat. I wanted to breath deeply, needing the air to fill my lungs, but it hurt.
“You look like you’re in pain.” His shadow fell across the grass in front of me.
“What gave you that idea?” I doubled over, my body betraying my words.
“Let me help you.” He was next to me in one step, his big hand on my side, his fingers pushing into the exact spot where I had cramped.
“Take deep breaths,” he demanded.
His fingertips worked into my skin and with just a few deep breaths, the stitch in my side eased up.
“Better?”
I nodded.
“Where else do you hurt?”
I hated that he had to see me like this. Thirty seconds was easy, my ass. Maybe I could will away the pain. Or pretend it didn’t exist.
“How do you know I…” My body betrayed me, my damn calf spasming as I tried to take a step away from him, and I winced, almost toppling into the tree.
“Next time, you need to drink more water before we begin. Muscles cramp when you’re dehydrated.” He pointed to the grass. “Have a seat.”
I hesitated. Unless it was my parents, I didn’t like taking orders. By the stern set to his jaw, I knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, though. Besides, taking the stress off my leg was a good idea. With a huff, I struggled to get my ass on the grass.
He sat beside me. His broad shoulders blocked my entire view of the track and when he grabbed the bare skin of my calf, I shivered. His warm fingers worked my muscle, kneading out the cramp. I moaned…from relief. At least that’s what I told myself. It had nothing to do with his hands on my body. Nothing to do with the way his eyes bore into mine—the warm, chestnut color reminding me of warm fires and Christmastime.
“That was great for your first time,” he said as he continued, his hands now working the muscle on my other calf. My left leg didn’t have a cramp, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. I was enjoying his hands on my body. A little too much.
“Right. I feel great.”
He smiled, and damn it if that smile didn’t zing right to my girl parts, spreading heat to the