As always, I thank my volunteer editors profusely. This is a story that took me by surprise emotionally, and it took some work to get it into shape.
Imagine a cool evening in the summer when the sun is about to set and the day's heat is breaking. You are in a green park with a small pagoda for concerts and, in the distance, fields for playing soccer and open spaces for kite flying. Beyond sight, a fountain sprays its water into the air, and maybe if the world is quiet enough and you listen very hard you can just hear it from where you now sit. The park is looped by a well-laid white sidewalk along which old women walk slowly talking with their friends, young couples stroll with their children, and triathletes with well-toned bodies run past them all as they dream of finishing the Ironman. Not a hundred feet beyond the sidewalk's edge lay the beaches of Waikiki with its small surf washing the feet of tourists and locals alike, while the ever-hopeful surfers out in the distance wait for the perfect swell.
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It takes a little more effort when you get to 32 to keep the body you want. I remember eating anything I wanted to a decade ago, but now that just doesn't work. To stay in shape I swim early in the morning at my favorite beach, and then twice a week I go for a run in the evening, when the sun is going down and the air is cool. Besides keeping my stomach flat, I treasure these times most of all for the clarity they bring to my mind. When I'm in stride, it's hard to worry about the day's little problems.
My little adventure started at mile 3. That's where the sidewalk loops around a hedge and merges with a path from the opposite direction. I turned the corner and was immediately faced with a sight to behold. She was jogging in a pair of tiny red running shorts that hung so low on her hips you knew she shaved part of herself. On top she was adorned with a charcoal gray athletic bra that her bosom filled out nicely. She was taller than me – maybe 5'9" or 5'10" – and had her long black hair in a ponytail that bounced with each step. Her body was long and lean and yet curved. These were all the details I could catch as I ended up a couple steps ahead of her on the path.
I kept jogging, but my sweat-induced meditation was broken, because all I was thinking of now was her. I wanted to look again, but didn't want to blatantly turn my head and stare. I just continued running, hearing her footsteps behind mine and feeling her presence. I wondered if she was even looking at me. Was I worth looking at in my dark blue athletic shorts? Would she notice my flat stomach exposed by my short t-shirt? Or was she looking up my legs to my rear, watching it move beneath the fabric? I knew the answer was "no". After all, the chances of her also being a lesbian were low, and I was about 10 years older than her to boot.
I finally turned my head slowly to see her again. As I did, she looked me right in the eyes and smiled, not 3 feet behind me. I turned my head back immediately, my cheeks turning crimson.
She had caught me checking her out.
She was just running along, listening to the I-Pod strapped to her right arm, and she'd gotten caught behind an older woman whom she was too polite to pass and who was eyeing her. I didn't turn my head again and decided to run a little faster.
I don't know why I sped up. Was it to get away from her? Maybe I wanted to show I could still hang with her 22 year old body. For whatever reason I did it, I could still hear her behind me. Her long legs were taking fewer steps than mine, but they didn't seem to be getting any further away or closer. I sped up again.
My legs were beginning to feel a slight burn as I lifted my knees higher, moving faster down the sidewalk. I could feel more sweat on my body being met by the cool air breezing past. My t-shirt was getting damp; my breaths were deeper, more controlled. However, my body kept up the pace, and the feeling of the surprising power tingled through me. Yeah, I still had it.
But I could still feel her footsteps. In fact, they sounded closer than before. She must be right there. Right at my hip.
I sped up again. The pace was now beginning to take real effort. My mind and body began to focus. I spoke inwardly to myself. Breathe. Keep your body relaxed. Feel your feet hitting the pavement.
But her footsteps echoed in my mind.
I finally turned my head to find her not one pace behind me. She was just as beautiful as I was imagining her. She grinned at me and then suddenly put on a burst of speed, pulling even with me.
So that's how it was going to be?! I sped up too, keeping pace with her. We were both breathing hard. "Race you to the fountain," she threw at me in one breath, and then took off, leaping ahead of me. Well, fuck.
I wasn't going to be outdone that easily! I shifted my body into overdrive and we were flying. I hadn't run so fast in years. Not with such delight. And I was immediately next to her again, actually pulling ahead. She looked at me, this time not with a smile as much as shock, and sped up too, finally putting her true abilities to the test. We were running side-by-side as fast as we could down the track. Soon it was hard to tell who was ahead though, as we had to dodge people, getting around the stroller, the woman with the small dog. I was going as fast as I possibly could.
My body felt so alive. My blood rushed through my body warming me before the cool air cooled me back down. But in the back of my mind was always her. I was going to give her everything I had. Wipe that smile off her face. Oh, but what a smile it was and how beautiful she looked when she wore it.
The fountain was in sight now. My lungs and heart were beginning to tire. After all, it was a mile to the fountain from her challenge and we weren't pacing it. We came together again on the sidewalk still side by side. I stole a glance at her, and she was completely focused. I wanted to bump her, not so I could win, but so I could touch her. I got my mind quickly off of her and back on winning.
There's a time to think with your heart and a time to let your mind get what your heart wants.
Everything else faded. I just saw the fountain ahead and heard her deep full breaths next to me. I concentrated on my legs and just moved them a little faster than I thought I could. The fountain was almost there.
She was right by me.
Faster. Just a little faster...
I heard the sound of the water, the sound of her breath.
Almost. . . there. . .
Move it, M-Y!
Slap! My hand touched the concrete of the fountain.
I had won.
Wow, I had won!!
"I can't believe you beat me!" she yelled.
I didn't answer. I just walked in circles trying to get my breath back. Damn, my body was bursting. My lungs had never worked so hard, but I hadn't felt so elated in months.
"I can't believe you beat me!" she yelled again, trying to regain her voice between deep breaths. "You're amazing." Deep breaths.
I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I couldn't help but grin.
"I've never run so hard," she continued. "My body is burning up."
"Same here," I replied. What an idiot. My first words to this angel were "same here"?
"When you sped up the second time in front of me..." she paused for a deep breath. "I just had to race you. I was sure I was going to win."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"Leg length. Long legs," she explained, kicking them out to explain. "And I run everyday."
"I really wanted to win." I was still walking, my lungs beginning to relax.
"I can tell." She extended her hand and smiled again. Oh, that smile. "Congratulations."
"Thanks. And thanks for daring me. I haven't run like that in years."
She laughed. "You're welcome. I'm just kinda competitive."
"I'm not. Usually."
"Why so competitive this time?"
I blushed, unable to think of an answer I dared confess. She looked even better now. Little beads of sweat covered her lean body. I wanted to watch them glide down her smooth, muscled abdomen. Oh, how the water reflected the sun on her golden skin. "I don't know," I said, turning redder again.
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