I'm soooo sorry for the long delay. Instead of excuses, I will offer you this chapter.
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Theo had never liked gym class. He hadn't like dressing out in front of other boys, hadn't liked basketball or football or kickball- especially kickball. He'd finished his required two semsters of gym and never set foot in the place again.
But now, jogging towards the distance skyscrapers of New York City, he wished he'd worked just a little bit harder at it. His breath was coming short, his knees felt like they were going to wobble off, and he was holding Cat back from whatever was in the city she needed to get at.
He could tell that Cat had set the easy pace purely for his benefit- there was a bounce in her stride and a regularity to her breathing that said she'd have to go much faster before she even thought about getting tired, much less did it. She had taken his pillowcase, with it's sheets and soap, and had it slung over her shoulder with hers like some perverse Santa Claus.
"Why don't...you just...go ahead..." he gasped out. "I'll... catch up."
She halted midstride, deftly pivoting on an ankle to face him. "You think I'd just leave you behind?" she demanded, propping her fists on her hips, eyeing him like he'd suddenly gotten stupid and she was wondering how she'd missed it.
"Sure," and he tried to sound matter-of-fact about it, hoping his breathlessness disguised his dejected tone, propping him hands on his knees so she couldn't see his face. "Nothing keeping you." Almost a full minute passed before he caught his breath and looked up, fully expecting her to be gone.
But she was still standing there, regarding him with a raised eyebrow and the strangest expression in her eyes. Then her lips quirked upwards and he promptly lost his breath again as she touched her lips to his.
It was the barest whisper of contact, not what he'd expect from the tough, almost slutty image she projected, and yet it seared through him as if she'd lit his every nerve ending on fire. He started to move forward, wanting more, but she pulled back and lifted her pillowcases again.
She turned back to grin at him after a few steps. "That's a lot of nothing, huh?"
Theo couldn't find his voice to agree. But he found that he didn't mind the jogging so much anymore.
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Review. Next chapter soon.
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Theo had never liked gym class. He hadn't like dressing out in front of other boys, hadn't liked basketball or football or kickball- especially kickball. He'd finished his required two semsters of gym and never set foot in the place again.
But now, jogging towards the distance skyscrapers of New York City, he wished he'd worked just a little bit harder at it. His breath was coming short, his knees felt like they were going to wobble off, and he was holding Cat back from whatever was in the city she needed to get at.
He could tell that Cat had set the easy pace purely for his benefit- there was a bounce in her stride and a regularity to her breathing that said she'd have to go much faster before she even thought about getting tired, much less did it. She had taken his pillowcase, with it's sheets and soap, and had it slung over her shoulder with hers like some perverse Santa Claus.
"Why don't...you just...go ahead..." he gasped out. "I'll... catch up."
She halted midstride, deftly pivoting on an ankle to face him. "You think I'd just leave you behind?" she demanded, propping her fists on her hips, eyeing him like he'd suddenly gotten stupid and she was wondering how she'd missed it.
"Sure," and he tried to sound matter-of-fact about it, hoping his breathlessness disguised his dejected tone, propping him hands on his knees so she couldn't see his face. "Nothing keeping you." Almost a full minute passed before he caught his breath and looked up, fully expecting her to be gone.
But she was still standing there, regarding him with a raised eyebrow and the strangest expression in her eyes. Then her lips quirked upwards and he promptly lost his breath again as she touched her lips to his.
It was the barest whisper of contact, not what he'd expect from the tough, almost slutty image she projected, and yet it seared through him as if she'd lit his every nerve ending on fire. He started to move forward, wanting more, but she pulled back and lifted her pillowcases again.
She turned back to grin at him after a few steps. "That's a lot of nothing, huh?"
Theo couldn't find his voice to agree. But he found that he didn't mind the jogging so much anymore.
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Review. Next chapter soon.