Part 11
It was nice running with someone.
Until tonight, Lisa had always run alone, unless it'd been part of some intramural activity in high school. She'd always used her solo runs as time to think or just clear her mind and concentrate on breathing, the rhythm of her feet on the ground and the beat of her heart.
Tonight, though, she was enjoying having a companion on her journey through shadows and glow of street lamps, along lighted pathways.
Of course, he was virtually jogging while she was running. His long legs would have carried him way ahead of her if he'd run his equivalent of her pace.
They passed building after building, crossed streets and continued on, sticking to visible areas. They passed campus police patrols from time to time, and the other occasional middle-of-the-night runner.
House's steady breathing and his heavier footfalls were louder than hers, especially when they passed beneath trees or through courtyards, which captured or magnified sounds. They blended with her own, making her wonder what they would sound like together in the throes of passion.
Throes of passion? I should have never read those romance novels Tina Miller gave me in junior high, Lisa mused as she ran on, House at her side.
They didn't take a break until they reached the fountain on the North Campus. They stopped there, stretched and milled around in circles to keep from cramping up and to cool down a bit.
After she'd caught her breath, Lisa asked him again, "How did you know I had insomnia?"
"You're worried about your physics exam," he said then explained, "You've been working out equations in class for weeks."
She had been doing that.
"Still doesn't explain how you knew I wasn't asleep," she said, a hand on her hip as she circled him.
"Ambitious students never sleep before an exam, worried or not," he said.
There was truth in that.
"I could have been asleep," she challenged, though, and watched him smile.
"Not a chance," he countered.
"What if I had been?" she flirted and flashed him a coy smile.
"I would have gone home," he said.
And he would have, she realized. That he would have made her like him more, never mind she would have preferred he wake her and have his way.
Still smiling at him, Lisa went over and sat on the retaining wall that edged the wide sidewalk that surrounded the fountain and reflection pool. She sound of the cascading water was both crisp and soft. And soothing.
Lisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the night air. It wasn't cold yet, but fall was taking hold. She knew they would have to get moving before long so they wouldn't cool down too much. Neither of them needed to get sick.
Hearing House sit beside her, Lisa looked over at him. He was already looking at her, his expression assessing as if saw something in her that he couldn't quite make out.
She wanted him to kiss her. But he didn't. Which prompted her to ask him a question.
"Why haven't you kissed me yet?"
On the heel of the query, she bit her bottom lip, instantly worried about whether or not she should have asked and worried about what his answer might be.
His expression didn't change but he asked her a question in return.
"Do you want a kiss?"
She nodded, a bit of hope worming its way back to the fore.
A moment, then two passed before he held out his hand to her. She took it and hopped down from her perch when he tugged. Her heart was pounding by the time he'd guided her to stand between his long legs. The organ was like a battering ram in her chest, beating so loudly she couldn't hear the water anymore. But in her anticipatory state, she was attuned to him. She could hear his breathing even as the rest of the world became muted.
His torso length, coupled with the height of the retaining wall left their faces almost level. He was just slightly lower.
She trembled when he set his hands on her waist and drew her closer still, until the toes of her shoes touched the stone. His eyes searched hers for several moments then he craned his neck and touched his lips to hers.
The contact was electric. It was so light but it jolted her system, every part of her.
She moaned softly when something incredibly powerful washed through her in its wake. That powerful thing settled into her muscles and bone, making her flesh hum. She'd never felt anything like it before. But she felt it again when he kissed her again, just as lightly, with just his lips.
She felt a sense of loss when he eased back. She forced her eyes open and looked at him, her body heavy with what she knew was desire.
"Good?" he asked.
Unable to find her voice, she gave him a nod and it was met with a warm, gentle smile, and a question.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"