Away From Everything We Fear

Lacey:

It really shouldn’t hurt this bad, but it had been so long.

I looked down at my watch to see I had been running for twenty minutes. Finally, thank God I thought to myself. I was doing one of the old runs I used to do back when I ran cross country. It was one of our easier ones called twenty-twenty. You ran twenty minutes out and turned around to run twenty minutes back.

The trick was to run faster coming back so that you actually ended up running less than forty minutes, but it had been so long since I had last run that my breathing was heavier than normal. I felt really out of shape.

After ten more minutes of what was beginning to feel like torture, I made myself stop even though I didn’t want to. My brain said keep running, but my body said otherwise.

I ripped my earphone buds out of my ears needing to hear silence. I started to walk with my hands over my head to steady my breathing. After a few minutes, my breathing calmed down. The downside was that I started to sweat more, because I had stopped. This was my least favorite part about running. While running you didn’t sweat as much because the sweat tended to evaporate off your hot body, but once you stopped your body went in to overdrive to cool you off.

I ripped my hair out of its pony tail and retied it into a high bun on the top of my head, finally accepting that I would have to walk the remaining ten minutes home, but because I was walking it would probably take closer to twenty. I sighed, that’s what I get for taking out so hard.

Soon, I just let my surroundings fade away. I put my headphones back in listening to nothing but the music coming into my ears. That explains why I didn’t pay attention when a black BMW served past me until it was pulling to a quick stop in front of me.

I paused my music. I looked past the car to see my house in the distance. I was dying to get some water. I didn’t even pay attention to the guy stepping out of the car that is until my eyes connected with his. They were gorgeous, green with flecks of yellow, hazel, but they were angry.

As he approached, I took in his appearance. Tall and lanky, but not lanky in weak way, the height worked for him. He had on skinny jeans and a lose tank top. I couldn’t help but think who would wear black jeans in Arizona, in June. It was like asking for heat stroke, but it didn’t even seem to phase him.

He came closer, towering over me. “I almost hit you!”

I looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

He stared down at me like he was trying to figure me out, “Are you serious? You were walking in the middle of the road and I didn’t even see you when I turned the corner. You’re lucky I swerved at the last minute!”

I noticed his hands had a slight shake to them. His eyes followed my stare and he instantly closed his fist, “Just… just be more careful next time.”

I wiped the sweat that was dripping down the side of my face and looked back up into his eyes even though it was almost painful to look into them, they were so beautiful. “I’m sorry. I’m probably just lightheaded. But thank you, for—for, uh… for not hitting me, I guess.”

His eyes softened and got less intense and for that I was grateful. “It’s fine.” He took another moment to take in my appearance and realization hit him. “Do you need a ride home then? I mean if your lightheaded who knows what could have happened if it were another car…” He let the rest of his words fade away.

I smiled a small smile, one of the ones where you only smile with you lips without showing any teeth. “No, I’m fine, really. I just live up there.” I said pointing to the big white house just up the road.

His eyes widened at the house in front of him. “If you live in a house like that I guess you would be ‘fine’ wouldn’t you?” He turned to head back into his car. “Remember what I said okay? Try to be more careful. This could have ended badly you know.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I know. Thanks again.”

He shrugged, “All in a days work.” He said simply. He got into his car and I heard the engine start.

I stood there as he began to ease off the curb.



John:

I was about to pull away from the curb when I heard a tap at my window. I looked in to see the girl I had nearly missed hitting with my car. I rolled down my window slowly. She bit her lip and without being able to control it my eyes fell from her mouth, down her neck and to her chest where sweat was making her skin glisten.

I shifted my eyes away from her body quickly and steadied them on her eyes. It was remarkable really, her face I mean. I knew she wasn’t wearing any make-up or if she had been, she had sweated it all off… yet, she still looked stunning. I silently thanked God that I didn’t hit her. If I had I wouldn’t know what I would have done with myself.

She stopped biting her lip and I waited for her to speak. “I didn’t get your name,” she said. Her voice had a light air to it with a slight tone hidden beneath it. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly, but it intrigued me.

I smirked, I couldn’t help it. Something about this girl made me more than happy to give her my name. “It’s John.”

She let the name sink in. “Well, John. I feel that since you didn’t kill me today. I kind of owe it to you—”

I lifted my left hand up from the steering wheel to quiet her. “No, no, please. You don’t owe me anything.” She frowned making her eyebrows bunch up together and that’s when it hit me that she hated not having things the way she wanted. “But,” I began making her eyebrows soften, “I would like to see you again.”

“I would like that too.”She smiled a real smile this time, one that showed the top row of her teeth, but still not quite a full smile. I would get her to smile.

I sat back in my seat and thought for a second. She adjusted her weight so that most of it was on one foot and I could tell she was thinking also. Finally I spoke, “I would ask for you number, but the truth is I don’t want to talk to you later.”

She gave me a look that showed that she was a little indignant. “Oh?”

I smirked as I leaned forward, in a whisper I said, “Yeah, I’d much rather just talk to you now.”

“Oh?” She repeated, but in surprise this time. She pursed her lips together trying to keep a smile from playing across her lips, but I could tell by the sparkling in her eyes that she was impressed.

My smile grew wider. It was so strange how fast I was beginning to like her. The previous words I had just spoken came out so naturally. “Yeah, we can go out and get something to eat.” I suggested anything to get to know her better.

Her face grew serious, “Are you kidding me?”

I looked back at her in shock. I was confused at how fast her emotions had changed, “What?”

She leaned down and inches from my face she let her words ring out loud and clear, “Let’s get one thing straight, John. I am not some innocent, little girl that can be persuaded by some fast, smooth talker. I don’t even know you so why in the world would I just hope in your car so you can take me for a ride?”

I could hear the double meaning in her words when she said ‘ride’. It wasn’t what I meant at all, but I knew where she was coming from. It wasn’t normal to just want to take some stranger out to lunch. I couldn’t help it though; I wanted to get to know her.

My eyebrows bunched together. “No, you’re reading me completely wrong. I just want to get to know you better.” She looked at me skeptically, but allowed me to continue. “Just—you said you wanted to make it up to me right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you were that, I don’t know—skilled, at…” She sighed. “I’m not a girl that can be played, okay?”

She was smart, that much was evident.

I looked up into her eyes and knew what to say to make everything better. “Okay, why don’t I give you my number then? That way when you’re ready you can call me.”

Her face softened, “Yea-yeah, I can do that.”

“Really?” I tried my best to act indifferent, but the truth was that everything about her excited me.

She nodded. Turning away from her I scrambled to get a pencil from the backseat of my car and an old receipt. Scribbling my name and number quickly I handed it to her.

Her eyes ran over the small piece of paper, “Johno?” She asked. She lifted her questioning eyes up to mine.

“Oh, yeah, that’s what my friends call me.”

“Well, I think I’ll just stick with John.” She folded my number it and stuffed it under the strap of her sports bra and began to walk the rest of the way home.

Scrambling to put my car into gear I pulled up next to her in a slow crawl. “Wait! You never gave me your name?”

“Lacey.” She offered.

I smiled, “It was nice to meet you, Lacey.”

“Likewise, John.”

Without a further word, I speed off, but I couldn’t keep from smiling to myself.