A Walk In The Park

7 - Mali

As Calum predicted, a few more people have trickled in. I'm feeling awkward, though I really have no reason to. There are plenty of people here in worse shape than me. But, hey, they're putting forth an effort, so kudos to them.

I finally finish up on the treadmill and take a few minutes to catch my breath. Then I go outside where Calum and Mali are still with Harley. She's using a stick to play fetch with him. Great, Harley likes her, too. Whatever. Calum notices me standing in the doorway, so I walk closer instead of gawking like an idiot.

"All done?" he asks, giving me a manly pat on my sweaty back.

"Yeah, finally. I think I'm going to regret this tomorrow."

Calum laughs. "You're going to be sore for sure. Just make sure you stretch again before going to bed. But you did great, man. Really, way better than most people their first session. I'm proud of you."

I'm flattered, but I'm also trying to be mad at Calum. And he's not making this very easy. That is, until he nods toward Mali and asks, "She's cute, right?" and gives me that mischievous half grin that does so well.

Is that something that heterosexual guys do: ask their male friends if their girlfriends are cute? Why would you do that? I kind of shrug my shoulders and try to act indifferent. "Yeah, she's cute."

Cute is a definite understatement. Like, if I were into girls, she'd probably be my type: tall with long, wavy blonde hair (it's obviously been dyed, but it suits her well) that contrasts with her brown eyes, dark complected much like Calum, full lips, perfect body, and beautiful smile. And, okay, I must admit that she seems very friendly, from the little bit I've encountered so far.

Calum puts his arm around my shoulders like we've been best buds forever, and guides me to walk toward Mali, who's still playing with Harley.

"Mali, this is MJ. MJ, Mali," he introduces us.

"Hi, MJ! It's great to meet you. And Harley, too. I'm in love with him," she says excitedly, squatting down and hugging my dog.

"Nice to meet you, too," I reply, though not nearly as enthusiastically as her.

Mali rises and and dusts off the debris left on her pants and hands from Harley, and addresses Calum. "Well, I just wanted to stop in and say 'hi' on my way home. I'll see you in a bit, yeah?"

Calum nods and they hug and kiss each other's cheeks.

"Bye, sweet Harley. I hope we get to play together again soon. Bye, MJ. Again, it was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you, too. See ya." Or not.

Calum offers to let me use the shower at the gym, but I tell him it'd be pointless, as I have to walk home in the heat. He gives me a bottle of some kind of post-workout recovery juice to drink along the way. I thank him again for his time and he reminds me of our scheduled slot in two days at 5:00. That'll be on Wednesday, and I can't freaking wait. I just hope this Mali chick doesn't show up again. Not that I have any hope for Calum falling for me now, but if I'm being honest, I'd still rather not have to see them together.

The next day, Calum calls me out of the blue while I'm eating lunch between classes.

"Hey, Calum. What's up?" I'm smiling so big, and I'm glad he can't see me.

"Hey. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No, not at all. I'm between classes right now, eating lunch. You'd be proud of me, by the way. I'm eating a turkey wrap with avocado instead of a cheeseburger. And it's pretty damn delicious."

Calum chuckles and says, "Wow. That's good. I'm glad you're taking this 'getting healthy' thing seriously. Not that you look unhealthy or anything. You don't look bad at all, actually, for someone who doesn't workout. I can only imagine how you'll look by the time I'm through with you, though."

I'm suddenly flushed. Oh, the things I'd let him do to me. But I'm feeling a little awkward and not sure how to respond other than a simple, "Thanks."

Calum clears his throat and says, "Anyway, I um, I was wondering if you'd be interested in meeting me for a run tonight. The usual, 5:00. I promise to take it easy on you. And of course, if you think Harley can handle it, it'd be cool for him to tag along, too. I know that's when you usually take him for a walk, so..."

His words trail off in question. I notice that I'm bouncing in my chair when my ass screams at me in pain. But I'm too excited to pay much attention to my sore muscles. All 600 or so of them. Or something like that. I hold the phone away from my face briefly while I compose myself, to make sure Calum doesn't hear any strange noises that I may be making during my mini freak out. Then I answer casually, "Yeah, Cal. That would be great."

It'd also be great if every single muscle in my body didn't hate me more and more as the day wears on. I have no idea how I'll even walk the short distance to the park, let alone run. But I'll figure it out if it means spending time with Calum.