Alaina Clark

Chapter 9

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The italics are a flashback

Once we arrive at the gym the first thing we do is head to the lockers. Dean drops his duffle bag into the locker, closing and locking it. We only ever bring one duffle bag because it seems unnecessary to bring two when we can just share one. We head to the treadmills, I pop in my earbuds and play my workout playlist on shuffle. I turn to my left side and notice that Dean's actions mirror mine. For half an hour we jog nonstop. I've always thought treadmills are weird. You can jog for hours and you're in the same place as you started. Aimlessly running with all of your strength and still going nowhere. Just like my life. My subconscious adds and I push her to the back of my mind. After we get off of the treadmills we do different types of exercises that focus on our legs. My legs burn after a while but it's a good burn. I've done this enough times that I actually enjoy the burn. After we finish with our leg day exercises we head to the lockers to retrieve Dean's duffle bag. More like our duffle bag. Dean places his phone in the duffle bag and holds his hand out to me, signaling for me to hand him my phone. I oblige and he takes my phone placing it next to his. Then he pulls out my sparring gloves, handing them to me. Yay! It's boxing time. Dean pulls out his focus mitts. We head out to the boxing arena. Looking around I notice how the padding everywhere makes it seem like somewhere you would send a crazy person. I love this place because of all the memories Dean and I have made here, so if I ever go insane send me here. I follow Dean to the center of the ring and we raise our arms and separate our legs. Once we are in the perfect boxing stance I throw a few punches at Dean's focus mitts. Dean says words of encouragement as I continue to throw punches. We do this for a while and before I know it we are done with today's workout. I follow Dean to the locker area, my eyes shamelessly raking up and down his body. A thin layer of sweat coated every inch of his body making it seem as if he's glowing. His basketball shorts allow me to get a good view of his toned calfs. My eyesight goes up his legs and stops at his butt. He has a nice ass. I raise my view to his back. His back muscles look nice in his thin t-shirt, which is sticking to his back due to the sweat. He turns around and my eyes meet his. His hair is messed up but looks good nonetheless. His tan skin makes his blue eyes pop. I notice that his freckles have become more prominent. God I love his freckles. They are much under appreciated. A smile tugs on my lips as I remember the time I tried to count them. We were sitting on the couch in my living room, our bodies turned to the side allowing us to be face to face. A silly argument had led us into having a staring contest. A serious expression covered our faces as we looked into each other's eyes. Dean squinted his eyes making his expression seem slightly sour, I couldn't help but giggle. He smiled widely in response drawing my attention to the crinkles by his eyes. The lighting created by the big window in my living room gave me an amazing view of him. Every single detail was visible. That was when I notice how the freckles dusting his cheekbones and nose were standing out. I have always admired his freckles. How can I not? Freckles are such an attractive quality. Even when we were little I would point them out and lightly trace them with my fingers. I had tried to count them before but I would always end up playing connect the dots with them, while Dean would stare at my face with an amused smirk. He's had that panty dropping smirk since I can remember, like his daddy before him. "You blinked." He said as his smile widened. "How many freckles do you have?" I asked him, having completely forgotten about our staring contest. "I don't know." He said with a small laugh. He has always found my curiosity amusing, which is strange because he's just as curious as me. I stood up and pointed a finger at him. "Don't move." I ordered as I stood directly in front of him. His eyes held a mischievous glint as he looked up at me from his seat on the couch. He shook his shoulders and arms. Directly disobeying my orders. "Dean!" I scolded, drawing another laugh from him. I rolled my eyes and said, "I'll be right back." Running up the stairs, my feet thudding underneath me as I headed towards my room. I burst open the door and went straight for my makeup bag which was on my dresser. I quickly grabbed what I needed and then I ran back downstairs. Standing in front of Dean I held up my pencil eyeliner. He held out his hand stopping me from getting the eyeliner any closer to his face. "Oh no. I'm not letting you put eyeliner on me... again." He stated firmly. A smile crossed my face as I remember practicing the perfect winged eyeliner on him. Thanks to him I mastered the art of winged eyeliner. Actually, I have to thank him for becoming a master on makeup in general. He has always let me practice putting makeup on him because Elizabeth hated makeup. She said it would ruin her skin, and would allow nothing to wreck her perfect complexion. Dean never minded me using his perfect face to practice. "I'm not going to. I just want to use it to count your freckles." I say in a cheerful voice. "Okay then." He quickly agrees, rolling his eyes playfully. Narrowing my eyes I carefully placed a dot over one of his freckles. I repeat the action a few times, despite that it's slightly difficult since I feel like I might loose my balance. "It might be easier if you sit down." Dean suggests watching me struggle. "You're right." I say as I move closer and lift my legs over his thighs, straddling him. His hands immediately go to grip my waist making sure to keep me anchored. With my left hand on the back of Dean's head, I hold him steady as I count, coloring in the freckles on his left cheekbone. "Six, seven, eight, nine." I mutter softly counting the cute little freckles. Too busy counting to notice the devious smirk growing on Dean's lips. Suddenly his hands go from my waist to the sides of my stomach as he begins to tickle me. My laughter ringing through the otherwise empty house. I threw the eyeliner pencil somewhere behind me in surprise. Dean shifted so that I was laying on the couch with him on top of me still tickling my sides. In between fits of laughter I begged him to stop. He finally gave in after I told him that I was going to pee on him. Glancing at the small dots of eyeliner on his cheekbone I realize I didn't finish counting. I never got past fifteen. "Sparkles you ready to go?" Dean asks pulling me back the present. "Yeah." I reply absentmindedly. He holds his hand out and I immediately take it in. I follow him out of the gym and into his Camaro. The drive home is quiet and short. Once he parks outside his house he opens the passenger door for me and I thank him. "Once you shower come over for lunch." He suggests. "Ok sounds good." I say nodding. I tilt my head to give him a goodbye kiss on the cheek. He does the same. Instead of the rough scruff, I was expecting, my lips collide with his soft plump ones. My eyes widen as I realize my mistake and I notice his do too. We quickly pull away and I muster a quiet and awkward goodbye as I quickly turn to walk away. I don't take more than a few steps before he grabs my arm to stop me. "Sparkles." He says as I look into his eyes, noting that they look darker than they normally do. "You forgot your phone." He says holding it out for me, his voice is rougher than usual. "Thanks." I state grabbing my phone from his hand and quickly walking to my house, leaving a confused Dean behind me. I rush up to my room and head straight for the bathroom. Undressing and stepping into the shower. I set it to a scorching temperature, standing under the steamy water. Letting it soothe me. I can't believe I just kissed Dean. It was accidental but it's still weird. My thoughts drift from his perfectly soft lips to his freckles. I wonder exactly how many beauty marks Dean's face holds. Looks like the mystery of many freckles Dean Miller has will remain just that. A mystery.