A "fitness couple" jogs the park trail in matching spandex leggings and Nike shirts. Colourful sweatbands accessorize their heads, arms, legs, and various other creative spots.
Runners; no one understands them.
But, every few paces the guy looks back at the girl with a smile, and she smiles tiredly back. A white earbud chord bops between them from the iPod strapped to his arm.
They disappear around the turn in the trail, and I'm left alone with my thoughts and Starbucks.
Curled on a granite bench-sort-of statue with my white and green cup and heavy jacket, I would normally have a view of hundreds.
The catch is, it's six a.m. No one besides fitness nuts are out and about on a Saturday.
The Weeknd croons through my earbuds, and I relax back against the stone with my coffee cup warming my fingers and close my eyes.
Grace?
Grace, wake up...
I make an ungrateful sound and curl away from the noise. Something touches my shoulder, and I jump.
I squint in the much brighter-than-before sunlight, at the gorgeous male specimen before me.
Adrian? Adrian.
He wears a hooded sweat shirt with the sleeves shoved up, and I can see the beginnings of his massive tattoo. His hair is still that intentionally-tousled blond, and his smile could make a nun drop her... undergarments. [[HAHAHAHAHHA I'm funny jk that was dumb]]
He grins. "It's not safe to sleep in the park, you know."
"It's six in the morning, I was alone." I say it kind of grumbly because I was tired. The sleep was nice.
"It's nine, now." He checks the pretty leather watch on his wrist.
"Oh."
Awkward pause.
"So... I'm glad we ran into each other again." He starts, stuffing his suede Sperrys on the grass. He's wearing skinny chinos, and the overall look is oddly preppy, minus the tattoos of course.
"Um, okay?"
He opens his mouth then closes it. He bites his tongue. "Uh... Ah, whatever. Wanna see a movie with me right now?"
"Now?"
"Yeah. I just dropped my sister off at ballet and the new James Bond movie starts in ten minutes." He bites his lip. "I know you don't know me and you shouldn't go out with strangers, but on the safe-spectrum, it's a lot safer than falling asleep in the middle of a semi-deserted park."
"No." I say abruptly, and he smiles self-deprecatingly. "Uh, I mean, yes. I'll go. I'm just... uh, bad at talking."
His grin goes supernova. "Cool."
***
Woop woop Aide and Grace :) :) :)
