by Alyssa Kress
~~~
Pat, pat, pat, pat. Erica's feet created a healthy rhythm as she ran in the street alongside parked cars. Sidewalks were too hard on the joints. Asphalt was only marginally better. She was on her way to the local middle school where she'd noticed the brand-new track was open to the public before classes began each morning.
She needed a new routine if she intended to stay here, something to keep her at her prior level of fitness.
Plus, a good long run would help clear the anxious sensations left over from having cut all her ties to Los Angeles. Yesterday she'd called her roommate, Cheryl, and given her a month notice she was giving up her half of the apartment. Then she'd called every customer to deliver the bad news that she was not coming back.
In a way, doing all this had felt liberating, particularly surrendering the cramped room she rented in Mar Vista. It could be nice to start over. But it had also freaked her out a little.
Breathing steadily, Erica got close enough to the school's track to see it was not empty. Someone was already there running laps, fast and athletic. She didn't have to be close enough to see his face to know who it was. Brennan.
Her heart jumped. Damn. She hadn't considered he might be using the track.
Panicking, Erica halted her forward progress, then jogged backward to ponder the situation behind the safety of some fir trees.
She was confused about what to make of her next-door neighbor. The other day he'd helped her fill out the guardianship forms with no apparent ill will. This was weird. She'd not only dumped him, she'd dumped him hard. Ultimately, his calm assistance with all the forms had made her feel rather stupid and petty about the way she'd reacted to his past.
Breathing through pursed lips, Erica watched Brennan round the far end of the track.
For heaven's sake, he'd been honest with her. How many men had she dated who'd done that? Heck, most of them had remained closed books even after she'd begun having sex with them.
Damn, she shouldn't have thought about sex while watching Brennan run. He'd rounded the turn and was coming back toward her.
She forgot about reducing her visibility and inched forward to get a better look. He was gracefully tall and moved with elegant strength. Both biceps and leg muscles were clearly visible in the T-shirt and shorts he was wearing.
He was obviously not an alcoholic now.
Heat spread over her skin. Oh, no. She couldn't think that way. She didn't want to get involved with him, no matter what he was now.
That meant she was not spending more time with him. She was definitely not going to share the track with him and thus do something physical in the same space with him where she might be tempted to observe the way his body moved.
Just then, Brennan stumbled. Erica gasped, but he recovered quickly and then produced a wan smile as he waved.
Shit. He'd seen her. Judging by that weak smile, he wasn't any happier than herself at the chance meeting.
Immediately, Erica sprang into a fast run. Smiling briefly, she waved back at Brennan.
Then she ran right past him. She ran past the track and the school—as if that's what she'd been intending to do the whole time. Right. Just passin' by.
It took a long while before the heat left her face. Shoot. This was definitely not going to be easy, living in the same town as Brennan.
