Love & Great Buildings

TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE

Rosemary leaned heavily on Tom's shoulder as she fought to regain her breath. Her hair, which at the start of the morning had been pulled into a neat, high ponytail now clung desperately to her sweat covered neck. Her legs shook with the effort of keeping herself upright. God, she hadn't done that in years. And now I definitely remember why. "I can't believe I actually let you talk me into doing that!"

Tom merely laughed in response, his own breathing labored. He stood, hands resting on his hips and flashed a smile. "You're the one who wanted to see what my morning run was like."

She shot him a cool glare. "Yeah, well you could have warned me."

He laughed again. "Where's the fun in that, Rosie?"

Rosemary responded by sticking her tongue out at him while smiling.

"Very mature," he responded with a roll of his eyes. They looked at each other and both burst into breathless laughter. Tom ran a hand through his sweaty hair as they calmed. "God, we must make a sight."

Rosemary nodded and turned away from him, not trusting herself to speak or look at him without bursting into laughter again. She took several deep breaths and when she was certain she was back under control she turned towards Tom smiling. "So as wonderful as this torture session has been, I think it's high time I got my sweaty arse home." She paused and sniffed at her arm before pulling a face. "You may want to keep my fellow commuters in your thoughts because I certainly wouldn't want to be caught in an overcrowded carriage with me."

Tom looked at her, an odd expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. He hesitated for a moment before offering, "Why don't you just shower at mine?" She started at his words and she watched as his eyes widened almost comically. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean like that." He broke off shaking his head and offered her a tentative smile, before taking a deep breath and starting again. "My house has multiple bathrooms and I'm sure Emma's left something that will fit you. You don't have to offend your fellow men and women if you don't want to." He shrugged nonchalantly as he finished, eyes flicking uncertainly towards hers.

"I..." Her voice trailed off hesitantly. It was sound suggestion and honestly made more sense than attempting to catch the tube as a sweaty mess. But still the idea made her unspeakably nervous, though she knew there was nothing untoward in his intent. They were friends after all. Just friends, her mind scolded firmly, that is what you told him you wanted. And this was something that one offered for a friend; there was no sense in trying to read anything more into it. He had promised to respect her decision and so far he had kept to his word. Sometimes things had to be taken on trust. She took a deep breath, smiled at him reassuringly and nodded. "Okay, Tom," her voice was tentative but steady. "Sounds like plan."

The walk back to his was spent mostly in silence, much as it had been earlier that morning. While Rosemary was able to be up at all hours and function like a basic human being, she did so much better with numerous cups of coffee in her system. And that was something she had forgone that morning in an attempt to actually arrive at Tom's relatively on time. She had overslept and in doing so had to rush out of the door almost as soon as she'd thrown on running clothes; a fitted tank and leggings. God, she thought as they moved through the much busier sidewalks towards Tom's door, I would literally kill for caffeine right now.

"You quite alright there?" Tom's voice cut through the mental fog that had surrounded her. She blinked rapidly as he pushed open the front door. She hadn't even realized that they'd arrived, much less that he'd had time to open both gate and door without her noticing.

She laughed despite herself. "I'm completely fine," she reassured him. "I'm just not quite sure what I need more, caffeine or a shower."

At this Tom first let out an undignified snort before cracking into a short burst of laughter. "Sorry. Sorry," He wheezed holding his hand out. "I don't know why that's so funny."