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“What dreams are made of,” Jarod says, laughing again.
“It’s what my dreams are made of,” I say, sitting up and shrugging. I rest my elbows on my knees, rubbing my temple with the hand not holding my phone.
“Whatever works. My offer still stands for Friday night. Just let me know. Gotta get back to it. Lunch is over.”
“All right, talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I drop my phone in my lap and reach for the remote, turning the TV on. I pull the ottoman over to the edge of the chair and prop my feet up. It feels weird to be sitting in an empty living room in the middle of the day. Anytime I’m usually home, Ivy and Vicky are here, or I’m asleep. I can’t remember the last time I turned the TV on just to mindlessly watch.
I hear a door shut somewhere upstairs and then footsteps coming down. I glance over as Alice appears in the doorway. She’s wearing athletic shorts that show off her toned legs and a blue tank top with a bright pink sports bra underneath.
“I’m heading out for a run,” she says, lifting one sneaker-clad foot behind her to stretch.
“In the middle of the day?”
“Yeah, my app says it’s not too hot today.”
I stare at her and then glance at the TV.
Oh, what the hell?
“Want some company?”
Alice switches legs as she jerks her head up to me, getting off-balance, and she grabs the doorframe with her free hand. “On my run?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
I stand and head to the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water. I get my sneakers from the mudroom off of the laundry room. After putting them on, I meet her coming into the kitchen.
We walk out the door in silence. I stretch a bit, like she did earlier, before we take off at a light jog around the neighborhood. The gated community I live in is large with a few miles that wind around to the back streets of the property.
I try not to glance out of the corner of my eye at her hair that’s bouncing back and forth or her toned arms held at ninety degrees as they pump with exertion. She easily keeps stride with me even though I’m a bit taller than her, and I know she must do this a lot to keep in such good shape.
After two miles, we slow to a walk, taking it easy the last quarter of a mile back to my house.
“You run a lot?” I ask and then take a sip of my water.
I look over at her as she pours a little water on her head, and then I trace the rivulets of water that fall down her face and neck, disappearing into the top of her sports bra.
“Yeah, almost every day usually. You know, before the show. I love it.”
“I can tell.”
“That I love it?” She glances over at me.
“No, that you do it a lot. You keep up a good pace.”
“Yeah, back where I used to live, I did races. Haven’t done that here.”
“When did you move?” I’m frankly a little shocked at myself for asking questions, but I find myself interested in knowing the answers.
“A year and a half ago. I went through a bad breakup and wanted to get out, so Desi, my cousin, invited me to come live with her.”
“You’re still living with your cousin?”
