Page 160 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I
“Ronald Ashton. Friday night. So…” I sigh.Why did I tell him that?Now I can’t run away from him fast enough. “Sorry, um… I have to continue my…” I trot past him, thumbing over my shoulder.
“Sure,” he says. “You’ll call me. Even if you turn down my offer.”
I nod spastically. “Sure.”
“Good seeing you, Paisley.”
Those words rolled off his tongue like silk blowing in the wind.
Nodding, I turn away from Hercules, and even though my calves are tight, I run away from him at a faster-than-usual pace.
Don’t think about him anymore.
Do not think about him.
Nope. Stop thinking about him.
I catch up to the witch who yelled at me earlier. After I zip past her, she struggles to keep up with me. I’m aware that I’m running too fast. I’ll certainly pay for it later. Now that I’m near Fourteenth Street, I check over my shoulder. Hercules is nowhere in sight.
I stop and bend over to catch my breath. Taking my own emotional temperature, I feel I’m doing quite well. I thought seeing Hercules would make me cry. But no tears threaten to roll out of my eyes. I’m fine. I’m really, really, really fine.
I check the time on my smartwatch. My eyes grow wide.Yikes.
It’s almost ten thirty in the morning. That gives me less than an hour to prepare to receive Lake’s email. My calves are killing me as I hobble over to the city bike rack.
Don’t think about him.
I take my subscription card out of the pocket inside the waistband of my compression running pants and rent a bike. Since I’m already a masochist for running without regard for how much I’ll hurt later, I pedal like a madwoman up Fourteenth Street.
I’m breathing so heavily that each inhale ends with a gasp. The more tired I am, the farther Hercules stays from my thoughts. I don’t want to remember that frown on his face when I congratulated him on asking another girl to marry him.
What a jerk.I was too kind about it. I should’ve told him what I really thought.But…
The walk-ride sign has five seconds to go before turning red. I put my soles to the metal and pedal as fast as I can. Not only did I barely make it, but I nearly avoided colliding with a Mini-Smart car. Those little vehicles are all over the city these days. A few more blocks to go and I’m so thirsty I would probably consider drinking out of the Hudson for two seconds before coming to my senses.
The near brush with death, my aching muscles, and my thirst all make me forget whatever thoughts I had about Hercules before darting across the avenue.
Finally, I arrive at my destination and lock the bike in the city bikes’ return station right in front of my apartment building. Convenient city bikes service is another perk of living in my building. If I would’ve allowed my conversation with Hercules to go on longer than necessary, I would’ve told him that.
Still racing against the clock, I hobble as I run up the stairs and into my apartment.
The first thing I do is down two glasses of water.
His suit.
His scent.
His sexy voice.
I squeeze my eyes shut, getting him out of my thoughts as sweat pours down my face.
“I need a shower,” I mutter.A cold one.
My phone beeps.Dang it.
It’s the text from Lake.
Chapter Fifty-Six
