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“Don’t you dare touch me like that again,” she bites back.
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m a football player, and you’re training with me. It’s what I do to all the guys. Now, keep up. Oh, and jean shorts? Not the smartest outfit choice.”
I hear her huff behind me as I pick up my pace and run along the riverbank, just like we did on the horses, but on the opposite side.
Instead of turning around to check on her, I slow down and allow her to catch up with me, only so I can run behind her. Then, I cross to the other side of her, then run ahead of her and cross over again.
“You can stop now,” she bites out in irritation.
“Why? I think it’s fun. I’m literally running circles around you.”
She doesn’t miss a beat with her steps. “Ha-ha. Very funny. You have no idea. I can keep up with you just fine.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yep. Try me.”
She puffs out her chest, and I don’t know whether to be offended or turned on. I’ve never met a girl who challenges me like this.
“Okay then.” I run faster, and instead of heading straight, I take a turn up a path that leads back up to my property.
When I glance over my shoulder, she’s right on my heels, so I pick up the pace a little more.
Her labored breathing rings in my ears, so I shout over my shoulder, “You tired yet?”
“Nope,” she says between breaths. “Just getting started.”
I decide to test her even more by heading up an even steeper path that has more challenging terrain, making each step a little more difficult than the previous one.
We run like this for a few minutes, and even I’m starting to get winded, but no matter what I do, she’s right there behind me.
I hear some commotion behind me, and then she squeals, so I stop and turn to see what happened.
She’s bent down, reaching for her ankle.
Oh shit.
I take the few steps back to where she is. “Are you okay?” I lean down to examine where she’s rubbing.
“Got ya!” she yells as she takes off running, leaving me in the dust.
Because I’m taller, it doesn’t take long for me to reach her, and when I grab her waist, picking her up to stop her, she screams in surprise, only making me laugh so hard that I have to put her down so I can catch my breath.
“You suck. That wasn’t nice,” I say as I take long inhales and exhales.
She takes a few seconds to catch her breath, acting like she’s about to hyperventilate. “Neither was taking me on a run that’s kicking even your ass.”
I lean down and put my hands on my knees. “I ain’t gonna lie; I’m surprised you could keep up.”
She lets out a sharp laugh. “Me too. My desire to not be beat by you kicked into overdrive.”
I press my lips together and nod slowly as I stretch my arms up. “Competitive nature. I can dig that.”
“Good.” She’s still having trouble breathing. “Can we walk back then?” she says with the most pleading expression I’ve ever seen.
I chuckle under my breath. “Yeah, that’s fine.” I lead the way, and instead of having her walk behind me, I walk on the side of the path to make room for her to walk beside me. “How come you don’t play sports if you’re so competitive?”
“I do barrel racing in the summer with Brandy.”
