Lily's Summer of Precarious Happenings

Chapter Eight

Colin stood over me, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his neck and slipping tantalizingly underneath his shirt.  We stared at each other, and I felt myself melt a little bit into the mat below me, whether that was due to my own sweat or the intensity of his gaze.  He extended his gloved hand out, and I grabbed it, body groaning in exhaustion.  In a flash, he had pulled me up onto my feet, steadying me with an iron-like grip on my shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Colin said, leaning closer to my face, pools of warm chocolate boring into my icy blues.  I was incredibly aware of his proximity, and if my heart hadn't already been racing for other, more logical reasons, I would've been embarrassed.

"I'll be fine," I managed to mutter, wriggling out of his grasp.  My bare feet padded over to my water bottle, as I grabbed the edge of my shirt and lifted it up to wipe my face.  "It's the heat, I'm not used to it."

Of course, that wasn't necessarily the reason for my lack of stamina.  I had spent most of my life training in a variety of climates.  However, I had also spent the last six months trying to deny the existence of my father and anything that reminded me of him.

Which means I hadn't trained in over half a year.  

I would never admit it to Colin, but he had me completely and totally beat in the endurance department.

"How are you feeling?" He was asking, watching me take sips from my water.

I shrugged.  "Are you finally realizing I'm not the prodigal fighter you thought I was?"

Colin laughed, a warm sound that danced through the air and made my cheeks grow redder.  "I think you're just a little rusty.  The skill is still there."

My head whirled, and I quickly realized it wasn't just his presence that was dizzying.  I bent forward and placed my hands on my knees, squeezing my eyes shut.  A hand was on my forehead, and suddenly Colin was kneeling in front of me.  "You need to sit down," He said, and if black spots hadn't been swimming around and clouding my vision, I would have refused when he helped me sit down on the mat.  

"Put your head between your knees," My ears were ringing now, and his soft voice had become a numb, distant lull.  He seemed to notice as he helped me bend my knees and lean forward in between them.  I took deep breaths, remembering all the times I'd come close to blacking out in the gym before.

A few moments passed, and I realized the ringing had stopped and the tingling in my limbs had faded.  Colins hand rubbed my back, as his other gripped my elbow. 

I turned my head, opening my eyes to see his own filled with concern.  "Don't worry, happens all the time."  

"That's not good," He said, eyebrows furrowing together in the confused expression that was quickly becoming my favorite.  Colin leaned forward, looking deeper into my eyes, as if to make sure I was really okay.

His hot breath fanned my face, and I distantly registered the faint minty smell, before my eyes fell on the mouth that it came from.  I looked back into his stare, just in time to see him asses my own lips, the air around us thickening drastically.  Self-consciously, I licked my lips, cursing myself for not bringing any Chapstick in the dry California heat.  Colin's brown eyes grew darker, sparkling in a gorgeous new way I hadn't been lucky enough to see until that moment.

He has a girlfriend.

The hot air around us was pulsating with an electric current that ignited the butterflies in my stomach and made my bare toes wiggl- wait, what?

He has a girlfriend.  He has a girlfriend.  Hey, idiot!  He has a girlfriend!

My subconscious was throwing itself at the barriers of my mind, slapping my logic monitors to life and sounding off a blaring alarm.  I suddenly assessed the situation, feeling his strong arm around my shoulders and his face inching closer to my own.  Aw, hell no!