His

I don’t remember who I was before I was his…

Part 1: Becoming His

It Starts With A Fall

Sam

“Let’s get some water,” Molly panted as we ran down Wacker Drive.

We were nearing the two mile marker of the Shamrock Shuffle, an annual 8k race through downtown Chicago. It had been our tradition every March since we were 16, now seniors in college and roommates.

I followed her lead, and we veered towards the left side of the street where there were tables covered with little paper water cups. I assumed the plan was to just grab a cup from one of the volunteer’s outstretched hands as we jogged by, but apparently Molly had another idea. She left my side suddenly to come to a full stop at the water table, double fisting water cups and throwing them back like shots.

“Molly, what the hell?” I muttered to myself, doubling back.

I turned to cut over to the sidewalk and out of the way of the other runners, and didn’t notice the guy coming up on my left until he collided with me, sending us both stumbling.

“Ouch!“ I yelled, more a knee jerk reaction than a response to pain. I recovered quickly, realizing I wasn’t actually hurt. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you coming!”

“Shit, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” he said at the same time, his hand on my arm as he braced himself.

I would’ve expected him to be annoyed with me for getting in his way, or not paying enough attention. But when our eyes met, he just looked genuinely concerned. I couldn’t decide whether it was better or worse that he also happened to be really cute.

“I’m fine,” I said, forcing myself to stop staring into his deep blue eyes. “The ‘ouch’ was just a surprised reaction. And sorry, it was totally my fault, I got in your way.”

“No harm done. I’m glad I didn’t hurt you,” he said, and removed his hand from my arm.

I felt its absence right away.

It looked like he was ready to take off again and continue running, but something was holding him back.

“I should get some water anyway. I skipped the last one,” he said, turning back towards the water station.

I followed, being careful to watch where I was going this time. “My treat,” I said, smirking as I picked up two water cups and handed one to him.

“Thanks, big spender,” he teased, taking the cup and drinking right away.

I laughed. “Well you know, it’s the least I can do, after nearly tripping you and probably messing up your race time.”

He shrugged. “Nah, I’m not really concerned with that.”

“Lucky for me, I guess.”

We just smiled at each other for a few moments then, almost oblivious to the race continuing on around us.

“I actually don’t remember the last time a pretty girl offered to get me a drink,” he flirted. “I like it - it’s a good move.”

My laugh was louder and more bubbly than usual. I mentally slapped myself and told myself to get a grip, glancing around and expecting some judgmental stares from the volunteers who were witnessing the interaction. “Oh yeah, I’m full of those. Clearly.”

He laughed with me.

Molly chose that moment to finally catch up.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she said, then noticing the handsome stranger I was chatting with, her expression turning curious as she said hi.

“This is my friend Molly,” I said. “And this is a poor unsuspecting runner I almost took out trying to stop and wait for you to drink a gallon’s worth of tiny water cups.”

We all laughed together, my new friend and I taking our last sips and discarding the cups. I knew I couldn’t stall any longer. It was time to move on.

“Good luck making up your time,” I said, giving him permission to run ahead of us.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he chuckled. Then he winked at me as he said, “Thanks for the water,” and I felt a tingle spread through me.

And with that, he continued running, and so did we.

“He was cute!” Molly said once the guy was out of earshot.

“Yeah,” I agreed easily. “I guess I should thank you for drinking like a camel.”

She laughed, and we continued on our way.

The next water station was almost 4 miles into the race. I knew Molly would want to stop again, so I was already planning on it this time, looking behind and around us as we made our way over. I was so busy checking my blind spots that it took me longer than it should have to notice him standing there.

“Isn’t that the guy from the last water station?” Molly asked.

“What?” I asked, glancing at her to see where she was looking.

I followed her line of sight, and there he was, standing amongst the volunteers. He smiled at me, and held out two entire bottles of water.

I smiled back, feeling a flutter in my stomach.

“I talked the volunteers into giving me the full bottles. I figured those flimsy half-filled paper cups wouldn’t do the trick for you two,” he said, once we’d jogged up to him.

It was enough to win Molly over.

“You are a genius!” she exclaimed, thanking him as he handed her a bottle.

She took a big gulp from it right away, then said, “I think I’m gonna take a minute to stretch over there,” giving me a quick look and raising an eyebrow as she jogged away.

I knew I was friends with her for a reason. So, the sexy runner and I stood off from the water station to talk some more.

“I hope you weren’t waiting that long for us to catch up?” I said.

He shook his head, “No, not long at all.”

“Are you running with anyone? Some poor unsuspecting friends that you ditched to serve water?”

He chuckled. “No, I’m just running with a group of coworkers. It’s like a company team building type thing, I guess. But no one I’m running side-by-side with or anything.”

“Oh, okay,” I smiled.

“Anyway, it was kind of fun watching as you ran up. Now I’m feeling pretty tempted to follow you for the last mile to enjoy the view from behind.”

I felt heat rushing to my cheeks and took a sip of water, biting my lip when I finished drinking to hide my grin.

His eyes roamed down my body and then back up, eventually returning to meet mine. His gaze was intense, making me wonder what all he was imagining.

I had to force myself to maintain eye contact, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by a throbbing sensation between my legs and my nipples hardening through my tank top and sports bra.

Neither of us said anything else. We didn’t need to.

Molly came back over soon. “Ok, I’m ready if you are.”

“Yeah, okay,” I agreed, snapping out of it, finally.

We thanked him again for the water bottles.

Then, as we got ready to continue the race, he said, “I’m gonna hang back another minute or two to see if one of my co-workers will catch up.”

I noticed the slight smirk at the corner of his lips and wondered if that was just a story, for Molly’s benefit.

We took off jogging again, and I tried not to be too obvious as I peered back at him over my shoulder. Sure enough, I caught him staring and checking out my ass, unabashedly.

I blushed harder and smirked back.

Molly noticed me looking.

“Okay, tell me you got his number?! He’s totally into you!” she said, peering back and noticing him watching, too.

I just shook my head. “No numbers. Not even a name.”

“Samantha! What the hell?!”

I shrugged dramatically. “You know how awkward I am! What do you expect?!”

“You better hope you have another shot at the finish line! And you know I will make the move for you if I have to!”

I laughed, but didn’t argue. I was thankful for Molly’s pushiness. It was usually just what I needed.

After finishing the race, Molly and I met up with some other friends who came to watch and support us. We hung around in Grant Park for the post-race festivities, walking around to the different tents and booths set up by vendors and sponsors, enjoying the music, free food and drinks.

At some point, Molly noticed me scanning the post-race area, obviously looking for my new runner friend.

“What?!” I asked when she gave me a knowing look. But I knew I was busted.

“Oh yeah, and Sam met a guy during the race!” Molly shared with the rest of our group.

“Oh my god, stop!” I groaned.

But she’d piqued the others’ attention and regaled them with the story. She was teasing me a little, but I knew she mostly meant to encourage me to look around for him again and go for it.

I just shook my head, rolling my eyes and telling her to drop it. But she knew me better than that, and I knew any resistance I put up was a waste of breath.