by J. M. Snyder
He might win.
No, he wouldn’t go that far. The only people who ever won the 10K were Kenyans shipped in specifically to run it; everyone knew that. But he could run in it, just to see how well he did. Establish a baseline, then see if he couldn’t beat his own time the following year. He could do that.
And he would.
* * * *
It didn’t take long to reach Bryan Park. The rest of the world still seemed fast asleep, and as Josh drove under the stone archway at the park’s entrance, he felt as if he were entering a secret, magical realm. One where he wasn’t a tax attorney at a dead-end job—that was the next change coming in his life, he swore, and he’d already begun polishing his resume. Here he allowed himself to be one of those crazy exercise nuts he had sworn he’d never become. Once he parked his car and started running, no one he met on the park’s numerous paths knew he used to be fat and lazy. They saw him as a kindred spirit, a fellow runner, healthy, like them.
Though, granted, at this hour on a Saturday morning, there weren’t many other people out and about just yet.
He circled the lake near the park’s entrance and drove around behind the soccer fields to the gravel lot beside the athletic building. There he could refill his water bottle after his run, and use the padlock he kept in his glove compartment to lock up his car keys and wallet in one of the available lockers provided as a free service by the park. After he did that, he stretched against one of the metal rails that lined one end of the lot—they always reminded him of those bars in front of saloons in westerns where cowboys tied up their horses, but these weren’t as grandiose. In a former life, they used to hold seesaws on the park’s playground, before they were replaced with newer equipment during a rebuild. Now a few bikes were padlocked to the rails, and there was plenty of room for Josh to stretch out his hamstrings and calves before setting off on his run.
Others ran with iPods to block out noise and allow them to concentrate, but Josh wanted those distractions so he could learn to ignore them on his own. There was a strict, no-iPod policy at the 10K—running through downtown traffic meant you had to be alert to the world around you—so Josh didn’t allow himself the luxury of music. He listened to the wind through the trees, the birds above him, distant dogs barking and people laughing and cars whizzing past on the interstate.
He found his own internal rhythm in the blood pounding in his ears, his heart thumping in his chest, his feet thud-thud-thudding on the ground beneath him, gravel or tarmac or grass, the miles eating away beneath him. He’d only just started running—he wasn’t yet up to 10K. He could do three miles easily, but his legs began to shake during the fourth mile, and he wasn’t anywhere near stretching it out to 10K yet. Bryan Park was perfect for him to get started, since once around the park trail came to just under the two mile mark, and getting back to the car gave him the added boost he needed to push himself. When he no longer felt that tell-tale shake in his knees upon returning to the gravel lot, he’d move onto a longer—and more difficult—trail in one of Richmond’s many other parks.
For now, this one was more than enough.
When his stretches were out of the way, Josh took an extra moment at the edge of the parking lot to map out the route in his head. Some days he began heading east, some days heading north, but always following the footpath. He double-checked his pedometer, stretched his arms one last time, then realized he was procrastinating so he hit the pavement. Getting started was always the same. The lazy bastard he used to be wanted nothing to do with running or working up a sweat, and Josh had to push past that. He probably always would.
He kept his pace slow, leisurely—he wasn’t trying to race yet. He wanted to build up his endurance and then press his own limits. The first mile passed quickly, ten minutes down, and given the early hour, he didn’t see many other people out and about yet. At one point a group of bicycles zoomed by him—three women and a guy his age on ten-speeds, one rang the bike’s bell as they passed and, for a few moments afterward, the ladies giggled back at him over their shoulders. But otherwise, Josh had the trail to himself. He started on the path that would return him to the parking lot without even breathing heavily. There he’d grab a quick drink from the fountain and run the circuit once more, getting in his miles for the day.
His heart beat in time with his steps, thud, thud, thud, even and sure, an ancient rhythm accenting the blood in his ears, the breath in his lungs. The sweat trickling down his neck had more to do with the heat from the sun than it did with any real exertion, but he’d push himself on the second lap. He’d run faster, press harder, break through.
* * * *
As he neared the athletic building, he heard giggling and thought of the women on their bikes. Water splashed, more laughter, a locker slammed shut. He ducked into the breezeway and saw them, three pretty women in their late twenties, hair tied back, long legs and arms bared for summer. They wore tight biker’s shorts and loose tank tops, and their Keds were well-worn and dusty from use. The three of them crowded around the building’s only water fountain. One held the button down while another drank from it; the third held her friend’s hair back out of the way so it wouldn’t get wet. The laughter came because the one with her finger on the button kept letting go, stopping the flow of water just when her friend tried to drink. “Crissy, stop!”
Josh paused at one end of the short breezeway and leaned over, hands on his knees, to wait out their antics. The women saw him and giggled more—this close, they sounded like a bunch of turkeys gobbling to each other in a language he couldn’t quite understand. “Stop,” the one said again, nodding her head in Josh’s direction. “You’re getting me all wet.”
That set them off again. Josh rolled his eyes and waited. Finally Crissy held down the button long enough for her friend to drink and the ladies switched positions. Then it started up all over again. Seriously? he thought, watching them. Can’t I just get a quick sip and be on my way?
Before he could ask, a door squealed behind him and their friend exited the men’s room. “Hey,” he said to Josh. When he biked past, Josh hadn’t had a moment to really look him over, but now…sweet Lord.
Six five, maybe, very tall. Not slim really, but lean, arms and legs thick with muscle. He wore Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, a baseball cap clamped down backwards over dark, wavy hair, and a pair of wraparound, iridescent sunglasses hid his eyes. But the cut of his jaw, the set of his mouth, the hollow of his throat…everything Josh could see only made him want more.
Hoping his voice didn’t really sound as high-pitched and squeaky as it did to his own ears, Josh limited his response to, “Hey.” Anything more would have turned into an invitation to go back inside the men’s room for a quick fuck.
Yeah, right, he berated himself. A guy like that isn’t interested in your fat ass.
Only he wasn’t fat anymore, was he?
The guy looked at the water fountain, then back at Josh. “Come on, girls. Can’t you see he’s waiting to take a drink?”
One of the girls gave Josh a seductive smile. “You look hot to me.” Her friends squealed with laughter, and she pressed the button to activate the fountain. “Let me hold it down for you.”
“Kelly, seriously?” The man groaned and turned to Josh. “I’m sorry, man.”
“It’s cool.”
As Josh moved toward the fountain, the ladies backed up to let him use it. At the last moment, Kelly moved out of the way, too, casting a hard look at the man with them. “Party pooper,” she mumbled as Josh bent to take a quick drink.
When he leaned over the fountain, one of the girls let out a loud wolf whistle that echoed through the breezeway. Another said, “Mmm, baby,” and her friend added, “Sexy butt.” Josh felt his face burn and he dipped it under the flow of water to cool it off. Was this how women felt when men catcalled to them? Part of him wanted to like it, but part of him couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.
Their male friend muttered,
“God, you’re worse than a bunch of construction workers.”
“Guys like it,” one woman said. “You would, too, admit it. If we were a bunch of hunky dudes instead of your sister’s friends.”
“Shut up,” he growled under his breath.
But her words caught in Josh’s head and stayed there like a thorn, jostling as he moved but refusing to work itself free. If we were a bunch of hunky dudes…did that mean what he hoped it meant?
Like you stand a chance with him.
Still, he gave the guy an appraising glance as he rose from the fountain. Licked his upper lip while looking at those opaque sunglasses. Lowered his voice a little. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” The smile the guy flashed his way sparked a flame that coursed down Josh’s spine to jolt his dick. Thank God he wasn’t wearing a pair of tight biker shorts, or the girls would start giggling all over again.
As it was, he didn’t even manage to make it back to the trail again before he heard them start in on the guy. “He was so hitting on you, Chad!” one girl screeched. “Oh my God, he was! Wasn’t he, Kelly? Wasn’t he?”
Fighting back a smile, Josh found his earlier rhythm as he took the eastern path back through the park. Yeah, he was.
* * * *
He wasn’t on the trail for two minutes before he heard a bike behind him. He moved to the side to let it pass, expecting the girls and their handsome friend to zoom by him again. So he was more than a little surprised to look over his shoulder and see the man with the backwards baseball cap and wraparound shades pedaling to keep pace with him.
“Hey,” the man said. He shook his head and grinned. “Women, you know? I’m Chad.”
Then Chad stuck out a hand, as if he expected Josh to shake it. Instead, Josh gave him a quick wave and kept running. “Josh. It’s cool.”
“No, man, I’m sorry.” Chad pedaled faster, racing ahead, then turned the pedals backwards to stop. When Josh caught up to him, he fell in beside the runner again. “I feel real bad about it. They were so immature.”
“Really, it’s okay.” Josh checked his watch and noticed he was falling behind—he always ran the second lap faster, to teach his body how to sprint even when his energy flailed.
Chad stayed alongside. “Maybe we could go somewhere and you’ll let me buy you a drink to make up for it, or lunch? How’s that sound?”
Josh gave him a sideways glance but didn’t answer. He needed each breath to keep his legs moving.
Then Chad squealed to a stop. “Look, it’s really hard to flirt with someone who’s trying to run away.”
Laughter bubbled up inside Josh and he let it out in a harsh, breathy gasp. “I’m sort of training,” he said.
“I get it, you’re in the zone.” Chad pulled up beside him again, grinning. “And here I thought you were shooting me down.”
Josh shook his head. “Let me get one more circuit done.” He didn’t add it would be the last circuit he’d be able to make before his legs gave out—Chad didn’t need to know that. “Meet you back at water fountain in, say, ten minutes? I’ll flirt back then, I promise.”
“You better,” Chad growled. He zoomed ahead, pulling the bike into Josh’s path playfully before making a wide turn in the middle of the path and heading back the way he’d come. “If I don’t see you in ten minutes, I’m coming to find you.”
“You’ll see me,” Josh said. “My car’s there.”
He chanced a look back at Chad and smiled before pushing himself to run a little faster. With someone like that waiting for him, Josh probably wouldn’t need ten minutes to get through the next mile and a half. Hell, he was tempted to turn around himself and head back now, but he wouldn’t finish the 10K with that attitude.
Or with his dick chafing inside his shorts. It took a little doing, but he managed to push aside all thoughts of Chad and focus on the path ahead. He’d see the man again soon enough. Sooner, if he hurried.
He ran faster.
* * * *
When Josh came around the final curve and saw the athletic building dead ahead, it looked deserted. From this angle, he couldn’t see the cars in the parking lot, but no one waited in front of the building, and no one lingered inside the breezeway as far as he could tell. He put a little extra oomph in his stride, sprinting full out like all the great marathoners seemed able to do, and his knees cried out in protest. Great, he thought, focusing on the building and pushing himself to the edge of endurance. First really hot guy I meet after Robbie and I blew him off. For what? I’m not going to win the 10K—they ship in men from Kenya to run it, they outpace me just walking, I’ll never even cross the finish line and, if I do, no one will be there waiting because why? I couldn’t be bothered to stop and flirt with Chad.
He felt a familiar blackness descend over him. Served him right. Who’d been trying to kid? Guys like Chad didn’t go for guys like him, plain and simple. Yeah, he was in shape now, but if he didn’t keep up a strict daily regiment, he’d gain back all the weight he’d lost and then some. He would always be the fat kid, no matter what the mirror reflected. Chad wasn’t a chubby chaser, he didn’t look the type.
Josh didn’t slow down until he reached the building, and then he ran a few steps into the breezeway to cool down. The water fountain stood like a lone sentinel across from the restrooms. Chad’s sister and her friends had left, too. Josh paused a moment to stretch out the back of his legs, planting one foot flat against the wall and leaning down over it, feeling the burn in his hamstrings, then following with the other leg. Then he stood, stretching his arms above his head, and bent at the waist one way, the other, front, back. He twisted right, left. Grabbed his ankle with one hand and pulled his leg up behind him. Did the same with the other foot. Like that, he hopped to the water fountain and stretched further as he leaned over to take a drink.
He dropped his foot and drank deeply, savoring the cold, clear cleanness of the water. It felt heavenly on his parched throat. He paused only long enough to draw in a deep breath, then leaned down to drink some more.
Behind him came a familiar wolf whistle, then Chad drawled, “Beth was right. You do have a sexy ass.”
Josh whirled around, startled, but when he saw Chad leaning against the wall beside the door to the men’s room, he wiped a hand across his damp mouth and grinned. “Hey. Thought you ditched me.”
“Are my pick-up lines that bad?” Chad asked. He held out a hand and closed the distance between them. “Josh, right?”
“Yeah.” Josh shook his hand—it felt firm and tight and strong, everything that excited Josh about a man. “You said what, Chad?”
“I also said lunch,” Chad reminded him. “There’s a cozy little cafe down on Lakeside if you’re interested.”
Josh felt sweat drip from the back of his hair down his tank top and grimaced. “I really need a shower first. Can we do it some other time?”
“Or,” Chad said, drawing the word out. “How about this? You shower while I wait and we get a bite to eat when you’re done.”
Heat and the stench of sweat rose from Josh in waves. The closer Chad came, the further Josh backed away. He knew he stank, and he probably looked like hell, too. He caught a glimpse of himself reflected back in Chad’s colorful sunglasses and quickly looked away. A shower would go a long way toward increasing his self-confidence because, at the moment, he felt totally out of his league. “You mean meet back here?” he asked, confused. He didn’t want to lose this opportunity, not with a guy as hot as Chad, but he had to clean up. When the wind changed, Chad would catch a whiff of his ripe body, and the deal would be off. “What time?”
Chad leaned against the water fountain, trapping Josh in the corner between it and the wall. He pulled down the reflective shades and peered over the top of the glasses—his eyes were an unexpectedly pale shade of blue that took Josh’s breath away. “Actually, I was thinking of hitching a ride back to your place with you and waiting there while you freshen up.”
When Josh swallowed, he
heard an audible click in his throat. Chad, in his car, in his house, while he was in the bathroom, naked and wet from the shower and God. He stemmed that thought before it could run away from him.
“No?” Chad asked. “What do you think?”
“I think…” Josh swallowed again. Man up and tell him what you want, he admonished himself. Say you want him, you know you do. Aren’t you tired of living alone? Or, worse, with Robbie’s ghost? You have a new body, so it’s time to put it to use and get a new boyfriend, too. Someone who isn’t abusive and mean.
Chad could be that someone.
Josh sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose so hard, tears rose into his eyes. He blinked them away. “Look, I don’t want to scare you off or anything, but this is a little difficult for me. I haven’t really been single long, so I don’t really know what you expect.”
“Lunch,” Chad told him. “I’m hungry, aren’t you? After that run…”
Josh laughed. “No, I mean…is this a date? I haven’t been out on one in so long, I really don’t know if you’re asking me out or not.”
Chad pushed the sunglasses up onto the brim of his cap and gave Josh a steady, sincere gaze. God, those eyes! “You want me to tell you straight up? I think you’re hot. You have a tight ass, nice arms, and strong legs, and I’d love to see your abs and chest. I like you already, and I’d really like to get to know you better. See if we click. So yeah, I’m asking you out.”
Josh’s sigh of relief trickled off into a little laugh. “Okay. Cool. I hoped you were but I didn’t really know.”
One of Chad’s eyebrows arched above his brow. “Seriously? I find it hard to believe someone like you isn’t beating guys off left and right.”
Josh opened his mouth to reply, but he saw the gleam in Chad’s eye and recognized the innuendo in Chad’s words a second later. His laugh was genuine, this time. “At the moment I’ve sort of been concentrating on solo performances.”
Chad grinned. “We’ll have to see about changing that. So, are we on for lunch, or what?”
