Page 13 of Forever and Always

“I fell in love with running in high school,” she said. “I’ve always found running to be very therapeutic.”

“Were you on the track team?” I asked.

She laughed humorlessly. “No, we couldn’t afford that.”

I realized it was probably the first time that Katy had told me anything personal about herself. She was particularly skilled at surface level conversations – sharing stories about her work, discussing current events, and with our shared relationship, talking about Steph and Christopher. She asked a lot of questions and was a good listener, but she wasn’t particularly forthcoming about anything personal.

“Tell me about your family,” I said. “You know all about mine.”

She sped up slightly and I adjusted my pace to match hers.

“Nothing to tell,” she said.

There was a long pause while I waited for her to say something else and when she didn’t, I prodded, “Are you parents still alive? Do you have siblings?”

She shot me a quick glance before returning her attention to the road. “No siblings. My mom died a few years ago and I never knew my father.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I learned to take care of myself at an early age, and it worked out just fine for me. Resilience has served me well as an adult.”

I could tell by her tone that she didn’t want me to pry any further. Somehow I had the sense that she’d already revealed more than she intended to, so I let it go. We were both silent until we turned the corner to my street, signaling the last block of our run.

“Race you to your house,” Katy called as she started running full out.

She was faster than I expected. I put on a burst of speed and set off in pursuit, catching up with her right as she reached my driveway. On impulse I grabbed her from behind, my hands gripping her waist as I lifted her off the ground and spun her in a circle with a whoop.

“Caught you!”

“Put me down you idiot!” she screeched.

I set her gently back on her feet but held onto her waist. Katy turned in the circle of my arms, looking up at me curiously. Her eyes were shining, and her face was flushed with exertion. She looked so beautiful in the light of the morning sun I wanted to kiss her. More than anything. But I wanted her to make the first move.

I leaned forward, waiting to see if she’d meet me halfway. Katy’s eyes bounced between mine, both of us completely still for several seconds, then she grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me down to capture my lips.