AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A jolt shoots up my spine, hearing a woman’s voice call my name. I know that voice. It can’t be.
“Heather! Hey!” I say with way too much zeal at the sight of her pushing her son in a baby stroller not ten feet away. Holy shit. Did she see our kiss?
“Um…hey,” I repeat like an idiot. “Ha. I said that already. How, uh, how are you?”
Could I sound more guilty with my stammering? She’s smiling, though. Well, she always smiles. I wish I knew if it was because she’s happy to see me or if it’s because she’s curious about if she saw what I think she just saw. Pete is unreadable, looking as calm as I probably should right now. And apparently, he’s leaving the talking up to me. Bad idea, Pete!
“I’m good. I bring Hunter here during his naps to get my cardio in, so I won’t regret it after the baby comes. I didn’t know you jogged here.”
“I don’t. Um, here.”
Fuck. I so do not look like I jog on the reg. My face is probably still purple.
Why? Because I don’t jog unless a lumberjack in sweatpants asks me to.
“First time here,” I clarify. “I thought it’d be nice to get out of town, and then I ran into Pete!” I smack him in the chest like I can’t believe the coincidence that’s not a coincidence. “And now you.”
Oh, God. They’re both looking at me like I’m on drugs. Why am I talking?
“Small world, huh?”
“Yeah.” She chuckles along with the creepy laugh coming out of my mouth. “Well, you see me enough at the office. I’ll leave you guys to it. I want to get my steps in before Hunter wakes up.”
Glancing down at her wrist, she checks a watch-like device. Is that a Fitbit?
I bid her goodbye, thankfully, like a normal person. I don’t let the air out of my lungs, however, until she rounds the curve of the jogging path.
I whirl around, lobbing my panic at Pete.
“Holy crap. Did she see us? I think she saw us.”
“I don’t know.”
“I feel like she did.” Why does he look so calm? I’m nauseous. Doesn’t he know how bad this is? We thought we were being so careful coming to this park on the edge of town. Why was she jogging? What pregnant woman checks her Fitbit?
Forget my heart; I think my head is going to explode. Pressing my hands to it, I pace. Maybe a cooldown walk can prevent a mental breakdown, but I’m doubtful. All I can see are visions of what will happen at work.
“Oh, God. This is awful. What if she says something? I don’t want to get you in trouble. My father will freaking flip out. He can’t find out. We shouldn’t have come here.”
How can he be so quiet? How can he–”
Shit.
The look on his face is such a contrast from moments ago when he rewarded me with a kiss. ‘He can’t find out.’Did I actually just say that out loud? The reward for that is utter confusion on Pete’s handsome face.
“I’m sorry. That was an awful thing to say.”
Stepping forward, he frowns and squeezes my biceps. I hate that I have the urge to flinch in fear of being discovered by someone else.
“Cam, it’s okay. Don’t worry about me. Are you okay?”
Me? He’s worried about me and not the fact that I basically just confessed I live in terror of my father finding out?
“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” How he can look so unconcerned about how my father might react is beyond me. Not seeing me freak out any further is definitely something I can control, though, so I let out a breath and shoot for positivity.
“Sorry. Heather’s cool, honestly. Even if she did see something, I don’t think she’d make a big deal about it. I don’t even know why I was worried. Everything will be fine.”
That still sounds like I’m ashamed of us, and I hate myself for it because I’m not. It was such a perfect day. It’s been the most perfect four weeks of my life—actually, ever—since we first went to his parents’ place last month. And now I’ve burst the bubble that we were living in.
