This Isn't Working Out

I'm Running, Are You Chasing Me?

The morning after the barbeque Lily saw an article about a man who had gone glacier hiking and fallen into a 150-foot crevasse (he was eventually rescued, so nothing too grisly). She couldn't resist texting it to Ben along with the words, "Another victim of attempting to exercise...when will you finally admit I am right?"

Since then, they had been exchanging multiple texts per day. Hers were mainly stories of people injured in increasingly complicated ways while exercising, while he responded with articles about the seemingly endless benefits working out brought you. Lily had started to feel a rush of excitement every time she heard her text tone ding.

On Tuesday, she put her phone to the side (having just sent Ben the story of a man and woman who became so entangled doing couple's yoga that they had to be taken to the hospital) and picked up the phone to call her agent.

Janice picked up after two rings. "Lily!" she cooed, "I was just about to call you. This morning I had a call from a certain lead singer of the most popular '80s hair band. He's decided to write a tell-all memoir and requested you by name to write it with him!"

Lily was quiet for a moment, her mind racing. "Oh...well, I was actually calling to talk about maybe taking a break from the ghostwriting. I was thinking about going back to the adult series I started working on. About the librarian? I thought after the book I was working on, I could maybe pick it back up."

Janice gave an exaggerated sigh. "Darling, you know I absolutely love your original work. But after the lackluster sales of your first series, is that something we really want to try again?"

Lily felt herself deflating. "Maybe I could do it part-time? Take a little longer with the memoir?"

Janice clucked her tongue. "I think he's wanting to get it out pretty soon, so I'm not sure that would work. Don't worry; when you see the advance you're getting, you won't give another thought to your little story."

The next day Lily was still mulling over her conversation with Janice as she went to meet up with Ben. This time they were meeting again at the park near her house, so she was able to walk over. Despite several text entreaties, Ben had refused to give her a hint about what they were doing that day but promised there would be no injuries.

She saw him waiting by the corner of the park, bouncing happily on his heels, and she felt her heart give a leap in her chest. It was clear she and her traitorous heart were going to have to have a sit down later so she could explain again how she and Ben had nothing in common and besides, she had given up dating for the foreseeable future.

His eyes lit up as she crossed the street to meet him on the corner. "You came! After your texts, I had my doubts. I kept picturing myself showing up at your door and you brandishing a cross at me and refusing to let me in."

Lily laughed. "No, at this point, I'm just working on my speech that starts 'I told you so' once we are crushed in a wildebeest stampede."

"I think it's your constant optimism I enjoy most of all," Ben quipped. "Today, I'm going extra simple so there will be zero chance of injury. The weather is gorgeous, and you and I are just going to take a little jog around the neighborhood. And afterward, I'll take you back to the gym and show you some stretches that will help with your back."

"I'm pretty sure running unless pursued was on my 'exercises I have known and hated' list," said Lily.

"I remember," said Ben, "but at some point, I had to weigh the likelihood that anything not on the list was going to get you maimed. Not," he said when Lily began to open her mouth, "because you and exercise are cursed but just because...the energy between the two of you is maybe a little weird. Besides, you've never run with me. I promise to distract you." For a moment, Lily's mind filled with a number of ways he could distract her, and none of them were as G-rated as talking. She quickly (and guiltily) pushed those thoughts out of her mine.

Lily continued to grumble as he led her through a series of stretches to loosen her up for the jog. "You'd better be interesting; it's going to take a lot to distract me," she said as the two of them started to run.

But to her surprise, she forgot almost immediately how much she hated jogging. Ben kept her entertained with stories of his high school high jinks as well as the people he had met as a personal trainer. Lily's favorite was the one about a man in his 50s going through a midlife crisis and trying to be a bodybuilder, which included eating fifteen eggs a day.

They were starting to loop back to their starting place, running side by side on the sidewalk and comparing notes on the craziest diets they had ever heard of. Suddenly a huge truck sped by them, hitting the muddy puddle by the side of the road at top speed. In a flash, Lily was drenched from head to toe in mud and dirty water.

Ben, who had somehow escaped without a drop on him, stared at her, his eyes huge and his mouth agape. "I...how...this doesn't count as an injury!" he finally exclaimed, looking very much like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

Lily stood motionless, feeling the water run down her skin. "I told you...." was all she could manage.

Ben continued to stare at her, motionless. Finally, he said, "We're pretty close to your place, right? Let's get you back there so you can get cleaned up."

The two of them walked gingerly the few blocks back to her apartment, Lily trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone they passed. When they got to her door, Ben ran in and brought her a huge beach towel so she could try and spare her carpets. As she head off to the bathroom, he said, "If you stick your clothes outside the door, I can get a load of laundry started."

By the time Lily had washed her hair three times and scrubbed the mud off her body, Ben had started the clothes and made them both a cup of tea. "Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly.

Lily surprised them both by laughing. "Luckily, I'm washable. I thought that was something that only happened on TV, though."

Ben's smile was relieved. "I really am sorry. I swear, these things are all just crazy coincidences."

"Sure," said Lily, raising her eyebrows.

"Do you want me to show you a couple of stretches before I go?" Ben asked. "There's room on the floor in your living room."

"That would be great!" Lily and Ben went to her living room and she moved the coffee table over so they would have more space.

"Just lay down on your back," Ben said.

Lily lay down, and Ben grabbed her ankle, putting her knee on his shoulder and leaning into her thigh. "This should help your back muscles relax," he said, pushing slightly. She could smell the tea on his breath and the scent she had come to associate with him – clean sweat and freshly mowed grass. He switched to her other leg, and she could feel her cheeks starting to heat up. The feeling of his body so close to hers made her stomach flip over. She drew in a shaky breath.

"Is this okay? Am I hurting you?" Ben asked quietly, his eyes never leaving hers.

Lily flicked her eyes to his lips, want racing through her. She shook her head as if to clear it. "Nope, totally fine," she said, moving away and sitting up. "I should probably get back to work, though."

"Lily...do you..."

Lily walked past Ben to the door, opened it, and stood next to it. "Thanks so much for everything. At least this time, no one got hurt, right?" Her laugh sounded brittle.

Ben's smile fell. "Yeah, of course; see you later."

Lily closed the door behind him and leaned her head against it, feeling like she had just lost something but not sure what it was.