Midnight Run

Chapter Thirteen

Even though she was dead tired, before Nora closed up the coffee shop that night, she tossed back a double espresso, and just before midnight, she headed down to Central Park.

Jerome waved at her when she got there, and Lynne came over to greet her. "Is everything okay with your family?"

Nora nodded. "My mom had a heart attack, but she's okay." She hoped that if she said it enough, she'd convince herself it was true. "She's having surgery soon."

Lynne gave her a quick hug. "I'm glad everything's okay, but man, how scary."

Nora's gut clenched, and she just nodded. "Still," she said, trying to sound chipper, "I'm glad to be back."

"We're glad to have you! Just in time, too; we're ready to start."

Her eyes skimmed the group, but she didn't see the tall frame she'd been looking for. "Are we—are we all here?"

Lynne shrugged. "There were a couple of maybes tonight, so I'm guessing they just aren't coming."

Nora's heart sank, but she tried not to focus on the lack of Kingston's presence as they began to warm up. As had started to be her habit, she was running toward the back of the group, and it wasn't long before her muscles were complaining from lack of use. Slowing her pace, Nora dropped back a little farther, still in sight of the group but no longer running beside anyone. I really shouldn't have let so many days go by without a run, she thought, concentrating on her breathing.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Nora automatically moved over to the right side of the trail to let whoever it was jog by, but no one passed her. Glancing up, she almost tripped on her sneakers when she saw that Kingston had fallen into step beside her. He caught her eye and grinned.

"Late start," he said, his breath even and unhurried.

She smiled and nodded, but she didn't try to talk. Her heart was beating erratically, and she was pretty sure it wasn't just the exertion from the run. Nora kept waiting for Kingston to pull ahead and run with the front of the group like he usually did, and she was surprised when he kept pace with her for the entire run. She was acutely aware of the sound of his breathing, and her skin prickled from his proximity, making it nearly impossible for her to concentrate. Between the cramp that had started in her left foot and Kingston's warm presence, Nora had what was probably the least focused run of her life, but by the time it was over, she didn't care about the wasted training session.

Smiling up at Kingston as they started stretching out on the grass beside each other, she decided to figure out once and for all if he'd recognized her earlier that day. "It's good to see you," she began, pulling on the top of her foot and folding it toward her tailbone.

He nodded. "We've missed you these last few days, hon."

So maybe he hadn't recognized her. Nora wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. "My mom had some health troubles, so I went home for a bit."

"Where's home?" He asked, sitting down on the ground and reaching effortlessly for the soles of his shoes.

"Outside Philadelphia. And you're from Texas, right?" She already knew that, from the first time she'd seen him at the coffee shop, but she wanted to test him and see if he really hadn't recognized her there.

"Yup," he smiled. "born and bred with a Stetson on my head!"

She laughed. "So what brought you to New York? A relationship?" It had sure seemed like he was dating that girl she'd seen him with the first time they met, but she wanted to be sure.

"Nope. Work. I had a chance to transfer, and I've always wanted to see what the fuss was all about, so I picked Manhattan." He paused. "And I'm glad I did, because there actually is somebody."

I knew it. Nora's heart sank, and she pulled her arm across her chest in a stretch, grateful that the shadows hid her expression. "Oh? Um, what's her name?"

Kingston laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Funny thing is I don't actually know."

"Excuse me?"

"There is a girl I'd like to know better, but I haven't found out her name yet."

Had he had some random hookup? Nora didn't think he was the type, but then again, she realized that all she really knew about Kingston was being close to him made her hyper aware of her entire body in a way she'd never really experienced. "Do I even want to know?"

"It'll probably sound stupid." He sounded almost embarrassed, and even though Nora really didn't want to hear about his mystery girl, she was also decidedly curious.

"Try me," she finally offered, studying him carefully in the shadows.

"Well," he said, "there's this little coffee place I go to sometimes."

He didn't see Nora's startled reaction, and he kept talking.

"There's a girl there who really sparked my interest, but I'm not sure if I should say anything. I'll bet she gets hit on by all kinds of creepy customers, and I don't want to be another one of those guys."

Nora's breath came a little faster as she asked, "What does she look like?" God, don't let it be Laurel. If he's fallen in love with Laurel, I don't think I could stand it.

He stooped down to tighten his shoelaces. "You'll probably think I'm a loon, but you sort of remind me of her."

Nora's heart skipped a beat before accelerating frantically. She tried to keep her voice neutral. "Really?"

Kingston nodded. "'Cept she wears glasses," he said.

Oh my god. A slow smile spread across Nora's face in the darkness. I think he means me! Just as she started to open her mouth, Kingston's next words made her pause.

"She's almost too pretty for words."

He can't possibly mean me, she thought, frantically sifting through the other employees at the coffee shop, trying to remember who else wore glasses. Caity sometimes wore a funky black horn-rimmed pair, without lenses, but Nora wasn't sure if he'd ever been there when Caity was working. Unless I haven't been there, she realized. Finally, she noticed Kingston staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Nora forced herself to smile. "Well, if you want my opinion, you should talk to her. I wouldn't say no if you asked me out," she added lightly, trying to ignore the way her heart clenched at the words.

Kingston held out his hand to help her off the ground, and when his strong fingers wrapped around hers, Nora's arm tingled with awareness. He let go too fast, though, and she tried to mask her disappointment. "Thanks, hon," he offered, giving her a wide smile. "That helps a man's confidence a bit!"

Before she could say anything else, another one of the runners gestured to Kingston, and with a quick wave, he left Nora standing there beside the path, feeling like her heart had been turned into a ping-pong ball. She watched as he jogged over to the friend who'd summoned him, and then she shook her head with a sigh.

"You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up," she whispered into the darkness. "You knew he couldn't be talking about you."