opportunity to gawk. I sat motionless in my seat, watching as he ran by my car window. My heart thundered in my chest as I watched a trickle of sweat track its way down the deep contours of his well-muscled back, disappearing inside his shorts. He was long gone by the time I shook myself out of my fawning comatose state enough to drive home. I felt feverish. Glancing in the mirror, I saw that my face was flushed.
" God, you're a mess. What are you going to do if you ever see him naked? Spontaneously combust?" I asked my reflection.
***
The ringing of my cellphone woke me the next morning. I fumbled around my nightstand trying to find it while still keeping my eyes shut.
" Yeah," I croaked into the phone, my voice still heavy with sleep.
" Are you sick too?" Brittni's voice croaked back at me, although she sounded much worse.
" No, I was just sleeping. You're sick?" I asked the obvious. She was either sick, or she'd swallowed a very old frog.
"Yeah, m y mom made Dr. Baker come out and check me. He said it looked like strep to him. I bet I got it from my damn students," she complained. Brittni subbed at the elementary school while she worked on getting her teaching degree. I found it ironic that she insisted she wanted to be a schoolteacher, but didn't seem to like kids all that much. Tressa told me the dislike thing was actually an act. "She may be gruff, but she has mad skills when it comes to teaching," she had stated.
" Well, crap. I'm sorry you feel crummy," I offered, trying to hide my disappointment that I wouldn't be able to cross an item off my list.
" I'm sorry I'm bailing on you."
" It's no biggie. Just get better," I reassured her.
"Okay. We'll go when I get back fro m that stinking training thing next week," she promised before hanging up the phone.
I sat up , contemplating my list in my head to see if I could tackle one of the other items. Coming from hot-as-hell Florida, most of the items on my list centered around winter-related activities, with the obvious exception of the activity that possibly involved Nathan. A mental picture of a shirtless Nathan flashed through my head, making me jump out of bed abruptly. There was no way I was going to mope around all day. It was bad enough that thoughts of him had kept me up tossing and turning half the night.
I made my bed hastily, and threw on a pair of cutoff shorts and t-shirt with a hooded sweatshirt over it. Ten minutes after hanging up the phone with Brittni, I was headed for Mason Bridge over on the county line. The air had a nip to it, making it clear that summer was over and fall was right around the corner. It felt glorious knowing it was September and already cooling off. In Florida, it would be several months before they saw similar temperatures. After a lifetime of missing real seasons, I was greedy for them to begin. I wanted to see the barren trees once they shed all their current multicolored leaves. I wanted to make a snow angel and build a snowman. All three were items on my bucket list that would take little effort as long as I was still here. I just needed enough time.
I was at Mason Bridge in less than five minutes. By the time I pulled off the side of the road just before the bridge , the nerves I'd been keeping at bay reared their ugly head. Sitting behind the steering wheel, I swiped my hands down my shorts in an attempt to remove the moisture that had collected on my palms. I could do this. Opening my car door, I forced myself to get out before I could chicken out and go home. The cool breeze blowing through the branches of the aged oak trees that lined the banks of the river below made me shiver slightly. I warily eyed the bridge in front of me. It was now or never. I stripped off my sweatshirt despite the chill and tossed it on the passenger seat next to the towel I had brought along. Closing the door with determination, I left my car behind, heading for the bridge.
My knees shook more and more the closer I got to the
" God, you're a mess. What are you going to do if you ever see him naked? Spontaneously combust?" I asked my reflection.
***
The ringing of my cellphone woke me the next morning. I fumbled around my nightstand trying to find it while still keeping my eyes shut.
" Yeah," I croaked into the phone, my voice still heavy with sleep.
" Are you sick too?" Brittni's voice croaked back at me, although she sounded much worse.
" No, I was just sleeping. You're sick?" I asked the obvious. She was either sick, or she'd swallowed a very old frog.
"Yeah, m y mom made Dr. Baker come out and check me. He said it looked like strep to him. I bet I got it from my damn students," she complained. Brittni subbed at the elementary school while she worked on getting her teaching degree. I found it ironic that she insisted she wanted to be a schoolteacher, but didn't seem to like kids all that much. Tressa told me the dislike thing was actually an act. "She may be gruff, but she has mad skills when it comes to teaching," she had stated.
" Well, crap. I'm sorry you feel crummy," I offered, trying to hide my disappointment that I wouldn't be able to cross an item off my list.
" I'm sorry I'm bailing on you."
" It's no biggie. Just get better," I reassured her.
"Okay. We'll go when I get back fro m that stinking training thing next week," she promised before hanging up the phone.
I sat up , contemplating my list in my head to see if I could tackle one of the other items. Coming from hot-as-hell Florida, most of the items on my list centered around winter-related activities, with the obvious exception of the activity that possibly involved Nathan. A mental picture of a shirtless Nathan flashed through my head, making me jump out of bed abruptly. There was no way I was going to mope around all day. It was bad enough that thoughts of him had kept me up tossing and turning half the night.
I made my bed hastily, and threw on a pair of cutoff shorts and t-shirt with a hooded sweatshirt over it. Ten minutes after hanging up the phone with Brittni, I was headed for Mason Bridge over on the county line. The air had a nip to it, making it clear that summer was over and fall was right around the corner. It felt glorious knowing it was September and already cooling off. In Florida, it would be several months before they saw similar temperatures. After a lifetime of missing real seasons, I was greedy for them to begin. I wanted to see the barren trees once they shed all their current multicolored leaves. I wanted to make a snow angel and build a snowman. All three were items on my bucket list that would take little effort as long as I was still here. I just needed enough time.
I was at Mason Bridge in less than five minutes. By the time I pulled off the side of the road just before the bridge , the nerves I'd been keeping at bay reared their ugly head. Sitting behind the steering wheel, I swiped my hands down my shorts in an attempt to remove the moisture that had collected on my palms. I could do this. Opening my car door, I forced myself to get out before I could chicken out and go home. The cool breeze blowing through the branches of the aged oak trees that lined the banks of the river below made me shiver slightly. I warily eyed the bridge in front of me. It was now or never. I stripped off my sweatshirt despite the chill and tossed it on the passenger seat next to the towel I had brought along. Closing the door with determination, I left my car behind, heading for the bridge.
My knees shook more and more the closer I got to the
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