Pizza? Movie?
Son of a bitch. Mason’s wrong on two counts.
She sets her purse down on the foyer table and heads into the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder at me as she says off-handedly, “There’s a big pirate festival this fall on Tybee. If you’re into festivals, you really might want to check it out.”
God help me, no.
“’Kay. Thanks.” I’m about to toss all of Mason’s crappy advice out the window and ask her whether she’s up for a pizza tonight when her next words stop me in my tracks.
“I was actually wondering whether your offer still stands.”
My eyes widen. “My offer?”
“About joining you to go running some mornings.”
I crack a smile. “You want to gorunningwith me?”
Mason, you suck at this, the little voice in my head whispers.
“If you’re really okay with me tagging along,” she specifies. “I mean, you saw how bad of a runner I am. And I’m totally fine if you want to ditch me after I need to stop. I just—well, it reallydidfeel good. Running. Kind of empowering.”
I grin. “I know, right?”
“And Tybee has a half marathon they always put on every winter. I kind of thought it might be a cool thing to do this year if I can get to the point where I might actually be able to finish it.”
“I can totally get you ready for that.” I practically leap at her idea. It’s brilliant.
We get to know each other better over some runs. I even get to be shirtless in the process, because I’ve been told by women that my pecs are more impressive than my wit—which I suppose is an insult. But hey, at least I’ve got something that appeals to women.
So we get time to talk. To laugh. To train. We learn what makes us both tick. And I get to figure out just how set in concrete this rule about not dating military guys is, all while enjoying the backdrop of sun and sand and a picturesque beach town.
Hell, I’m falling for this girl even more, just thinking about this.
“You can?” she asks.
“Sure. I’ve run three marathons and done two triathlons. I can get you trained for anything.”
She holds up her hands slightly. “I’ll be content if I can just handle a half marathon.”
“You got it. Want to start tomorrow morning?”
“Perfect.”