PALE FIRE

OH BOY, THAT WAS WEIRD

The air was clouded with awkwardness as I cleared my throat getting down from the counter and creating some space between us "Thank you for the ice, I'm gonna go shower" I mumbled untying my curly hair from my scrunchie letting the deep brown curls cover my flushed face as I ran up the stairs shutting my room door I plopped on the bed with my face to the sheets " I need to get some air" I groaned mentally flicking my forehead
I got into a sports bra and my favorite pair of sweatpants tied my hair up my curls on most of my face as I wore a pair of running shoes quietly going outside not stopping to check if he was still downstairs with a deep inhale of the cool breeze I jogged lightly making a mental note that it's been almost ages since I last went for a run in a couple of minutes I was panting like I was going to die which was a harsh way of my body telling me I was overweight everywhere burned and it didn't feel so good at first but I was getting used to the burn people passed by going about their lives like nothing else mattered and maybe that was one of the reasons I loved living here everyone minding their business except it was necessary and that was almost unlikely.
From the corner of eye I spotted the cutest brown mutt I've seen his owner was definitely a six foot guy with a baseball face cap he had grey sweats and a black tank top that hugged his body making his built physique obvious to the onlookers that he clearly worked out and by 'onlookers' I meant myself as I shamelessly gawked at him from the other side of the walkway his face was covered with a cap as he gave his dog a pat on the head standing back up his head turning towards my direction I instinctively crouched down pretending to tie my laces i could feel someone's piercing gaze on me my head lifting to catch his eyes on me i shot him a guilty smile knowing i had been caught then the next few seconds felt like hours as i awkwardly tore my gaze from his piercing stare i couldn't see the color of his eyes because of the distance then in that instant his dog started jumping excitedly like he had seen some rabbit around he seemed to catch the man by surprise as he ran towards me releasing the leash from the owners grip just in that moment a car comes speeding the exact time the dog is lunging towards me, my feets moving instinctively to push the dog out of the way considering his rather large size I managed to grab him my feet twisting the wrong way as pain shot from my ankle to my entire body  his weight landing on me and my body hitting the paved walkway the car had passed us without stopping to check if the driver had killed someone i was feeling faint all i could hear was faint deep voices of a worried person the dog barked as he licked my face his owner scolding him and putting his leash back on, then like I weighed nothing he picked me up his muscles flexing under me as I forced my eyes to stay open "I'm terribly sorry my dog hasn't acted so carelessly before" he had a guilty expression on his face his forehead creased with worry "I'm so sorry I'll take you to the hospital are you badly hurt" he spoke
" no it's fine I think I hurt my ankle badly though but aside from that I'm fine my body just hurts from the impact" I tried to lighten his tension as I forced a smile ignoring the pain in my ankle and he wasn't buying any of it "please at least let me take you to the pharmacy to get it checked I'll drive, my car is just around the corner I would feel less terrible if I help in some sort of way" he insisted that's when I got a good look at his face he had a combination of features that were both manly like his sharp jawline a clean-shaven chin not to mention his perfectly shaped lips then softer features like his honey brown eyes his black curly hair peeking out of his hat "okay" I softly spoke as he walked to his car he carefully put me in the passenger seat strapping me up to the seatbelt his chest was so close to mine allowing me to take a little sniff of how good he smelled "did you just sniff me? " He stiffened still trying to buckle the seat belt my eyes shot open like a deer in headlights my cheeks rosy and I fixed my eyes straight "No, definitely not"I mumbled praying for the ground to open up and swallow me he chuckled muttering under his breath"sure you weren't " he whistled for his dog, his ears perked up at the sound of the whistle while he scurried to his side hopping into the back seat "I'm just going to drop him off with his dog sitter and we'll leave okay " he lightly said looking over at me "it's fine" I replied peering at him through my lashes.