Banking on Him

Chapter 30 - Serena

I'm not sure what possessed me to invite Reese on my run, but I was excited to hang out with him. Honestly, I'd missed talking to him. We shared a lot of similar interests, and he was easy to talk to.

I got to the park five minutes early and plopped down in the grass to stretch. A few minutes later, Reese sat down beside me. He wore black shorts and a grey t-shirt. He had one of those armbands on with his phone in it, but I noticed there were no earphones attached. He smiled down at me, "Thanks for inviting me." 

I laughed, "Don't thank me yet Mr. Logan. We'll see if you can keep up first." 

He nodded, clearly trying to suppress a smile.

I chose to ignore it and instead told him about my normal route. "It's three miles, and I normally do it twice. I worked out with a trainer yesterday, so I have to take it easy."

"Well, in that case, you lead the way, Miss James."

I started out with a light jog, really wanting to save my energy. Also, I had drank last night, and even though I'd had several bottles of water since then, I didn't want to overdo it

About half a mile in, a thought took over my mind. A question I just had to have an answer to. "Why are you here?" I asked, looking at him over my shoulder. His expression showed his shock, but he quickly schooled his features back into an easy smile. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

Ok, so we were going to play it that way.

"I mean, you wanted to see me so much you decided to torture yourself with a run outside in the North Carolina heat?"

He laughed, "You think this is torture?"

"Well, normally I'd be in the gym, but this is my punishment for overdoing it last night."

"That's interesting. Why overdo it then?"

I sighed and picked up my pace. "You're avoiding my question."

He stopped abruptly, so I stopped with him, looking up into his beautiful eyes. His body had a slight sheen of sweat starting to form, and I had to admit, he looked sexy as hell.

He took a step towards me and cupped my face in his hand. "I'm here because you are the most beautiful and captivating woman I've ever known. You're passionate about something that makes it impossible for us to be together right now. So, if this is the only way you're comfortable spending time with me, then this is what I'm willing to do to see you."

I sighed, unsure of what to say to that but also feeling an ache in my chest for him. Luckily, I didn't have to think about it because he started jogging again.

"Come on, slacker. We're just getting started."

The next couple of miles were run in comfortable silence. Although, I kept replaying what Reese had said in my head. The thing was, I wasn't sure I was passionate about the bank anymore. I'd been thinking recently about starting my own business, a consulting company. I'd also thought about possibly developing a new program for struggling companies as a cheaper alternative to consulting firms. It was something I wanted to talk to Erica about first, but I had to admit the idea had me excited.

By mile five, I was hurting, but I set my mind to finishing strong and ended up passing Reese at the end. He laughed as I fell into the grass and plopped down next to me. His presence had really pushed me. "If you're going to improve my workouts this much, I may have to hire you as my personal trainer."

His eyes darkened, and that's when I realized the double meaning in that statement. "Oh baby, I'd be only too happy to teach you a few things."

I ignored his comment and stood up, offering him my hand. He took it and stood, before pulling my body flush against his. My already hot skin heated where his body touched mine, and I gasped at his unexpected movement. He just smirked, "How about I take you to lunch?"