the run, Whitehouse.”
“There are other ways to get your heart rate up, Miller,” Mick said, following her out into the sunny winter afternoon. “Things a lot more fun than running.”
It was cool outside—probably no more than fifty degrees—but after their time in the weight room the air felt good against his skin. Mick was grinning, already looking forward to the run when Faith turned to him, an unamused expression on her face.
“Yeah, well, I don’t do those sorts of things casually,” she said, a brittle note entering her voice. “I’m not that kind of girl, so if that’s what you’re looking for, we can end this right now.”
Mick blinked, but didn’t grant himself the luxury of a hasty apology. He didn’t like having Faith annoyed with him, but he wasn’t sure what he was looking for and now was as good a time as any to let her know that. He had promised her he would be honest, and he wasn’t the sort to go back on his word.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” Mick said, holding her gaze. “At first I just wanted to date you long enough to get you out of my system, but—”
“Well that’s great,” Faith said, rolling her eyes.
She started to back away, but Mick reached out and caught her hand, stopping her. “But it’s not like that now,” he said, knowing it was the truth. “I really like you, but I spent my last year of college in a really difficult relationship, and I’m not ready for something serious. Not even with someone I like as much as you.”
Faith cocked her head, studying him for a moment before she said. “So…you just want to be friends with benefits, or something like that?”
Mick shook his head. “No, it’s not like that… I…I don’t know.” He shrugged, feeling like a fool for starting this conversation. He ought to know better than to jump into the “defining the relationship” talk without advance preparation. “I haven’t really thought about it. I just like spending time with you. You’re interesting and funny, and I feel like I can be myself when we’re together, and I… I kind of want to relax and see where that goes.”
Faith frowned. “As long as it doesn’t go to a serious place.”
“Yeah? Sort of?” Mick braced himself for her to tell him to hit the road, but she surprised him by saying—
“All right.” She crossed her arms at her chest, nodding seriously. “This was moving too fast for me, anyway. I like the idea of taking a step back.”
“Oh. Well…good,” Mick said, wondering why her words stung. This was exactly what he wanted. Wasn’t it?
“As long as we lay down some ground rules,” Faith continued. “First, no hand holding in public. That gives everyone the wrong idea. Second, no sleeping together.” Her cheeks flushed as she glanced up at the building behind Mick. “Because like I said, I don’t do that casually.”
“I respect that,” Mick said. And he did, though he couldn’t honestly say he was thrilled about eliminating the possibility of having sex with Faith.
“And third, no hard feelings when it ends.” She met his gaze again, a hard look in her brown eyes that made him wish he’d never started this conversation. “I’m all for having fun together, but when it’s over—for whatever reason—there’s no drama.”
Mick nodded. “All right.”
“Good, then let’s stop talking and start running,” Faith said, starting toward the impound lot. “I’ve only got thirty minutes before I have to be back upstairs, and I still need to shower. Want to do four warm up laps, four sprints, and then four somewhere in the middle?”
“Sounds perfect,” Mick said, falling in beside her.
It did sound perfect, both the course for the run, and the course she’d set for their future. It was exactly what he wanted—a fun, no-strings-attached relationship custom designed to make sure no one got in too deep, and no one got hurt.
So why did he feel like he’d lost out on something special,
“There are other ways to get your heart rate up, Miller,” Mick said, following her out into the sunny winter afternoon. “Things a lot more fun than running.”
It was cool outside—probably no more than fifty degrees—but after their time in the weight room the air felt good against his skin. Mick was grinning, already looking forward to the run when Faith turned to him, an unamused expression on her face.
“Yeah, well, I don’t do those sorts of things casually,” she said, a brittle note entering her voice. “I’m not that kind of girl, so if that’s what you’re looking for, we can end this right now.”
Mick blinked, but didn’t grant himself the luxury of a hasty apology. He didn’t like having Faith annoyed with him, but he wasn’t sure what he was looking for and now was as good a time as any to let her know that. He had promised her he would be honest, and he wasn’t the sort to go back on his word.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” Mick said, holding her gaze. “At first I just wanted to date you long enough to get you out of my system, but—”
“Well that’s great,” Faith said, rolling her eyes.
She started to back away, but Mick reached out and caught her hand, stopping her. “But it’s not like that now,” he said, knowing it was the truth. “I really like you, but I spent my last year of college in a really difficult relationship, and I’m not ready for something serious. Not even with someone I like as much as you.”
Faith cocked her head, studying him for a moment before she said. “So…you just want to be friends with benefits, or something like that?”
Mick shook his head. “No, it’s not like that… I…I don’t know.” He shrugged, feeling like a fool for starting this conversation. He ought to know better than to jump into the “defining the relationship” talk without advance preparation. “I haven’t really thought about it. I just like spending time with you. You’re interesting and funny, and I feel like I can be myself when we’re together, and I… I kind of want to relax and see where that goes.”
Faith frowned. “As long as it doesn’t go to a serious place.”
“Yeah? Sort of?” Mick braced himself for her to tell him to hit the road, but she surprised him by saying—
“All right.” She crossed her arms at her chest, nodding seriously. “This was moving too fast for me, anyway. I like the idea of taking a step back.”
“Oh. Well…good,” Mick said, wondering why her words stung. This was exactly what he wanted. Wasn’t it?
“As long as we lay down some ground rules,” Faith continued. “First, no hand holding in public. That gives everyone the wrong idea. Second, no sleeping together.” Her cheeks flushed as she glanced up at the building behind Mick. “Because like I said, I don’t do that casually.”
“I respect that,” Mick said. And he did, though he couldn’t honestly say he was thrilled about eliminating the possibility of having sex with Faith.
“And third, no hard feelings when it ends.” She met his gaze again, a hard look in her brown eyes that made him wish he’d never started this conversation. “I’m all for having fun together, but when it’s over—for whatever reason—there’s no drama.”
Mick nodded. “All right.”
“Good, then let’s stop talking and start running,” Faith said, starting toward the impound lot. “I’ve only got thirty minutes before I have to be back upstairs, and I still need to shower. Want to do four warm up laps, four sprints, and then four somewhere in the middle?”
“Sounds perfect,” Mick said, falling in beside her.
It did sound perfect, both the course for the run, and the course she’d set for their future. It was exactly what he wanted—a fun, no-strings-attached relationship custom designed to make sure no one got in too deep, and no one got hurt.
So why did he feel like he’d lost out on something special,
Similar Books
