Chapter Sixteen - Samantha

Lucas really is fast. He’s even quicker than I would have thought. He runs like his body was made for it, with strength and poise, his defined muscles moving effortlessly with his strides. It’s impressive, and I can’t help but think how good he looks like this.

The jog is really nice, too. I don’t usually run around the lake, but the path is smooth and scenic. It’s a good run, enough natural hills and turns to be challenging, well-maintained enough to feel good under my feet. The night air is clean and crisp, a little chilly, making me want to move even faster.

The pace Lucas is setting also makes me want to go faster, to push myself even harder than I normally would. I may not have gone to college on a track scholarship like Lucas apparently had, but I’ve always enjoyed running. I’ve always known I was pretty fast, and I’ve worked hard to get even faster and have greater endurance. I’m really enjoying running with someone who takes it as seriously as I do.

We only talk a little as we jog, keeping the pace fast and strong enough that we can’t have a full conversation. Even the little exchanges we have are motivating, though, keeping me on my toes.

“Tired yet?” Lucas asks, grinning at me. I smile back, even though I’m getting sweaty and out of breath.

“I could run all night,” I say. It might not be entirely true, but sometimes, on nights like tonight, I feel like I could. I feel like my legs want to just keep going, to keep pushing me farther.

“How about for another half-mile? That’s where the trail ends,” Lucas says, huffing a laugh.

I nod. “That works too,” I say. Lucas grins at me again, then looks ahead like he’s breathing and steeling himself for the last bit of the run. I do the same, pushing myself through the last half-mile, feeling every stride of my legs and every breath I take.

We slow our pace when the end of the trail and the small park nearby are in sight. We head to a bench in the park and sit down to catch our breaths and drink water.

“I like this trail,” I say, smiling and looking out over the water.

“I actually just discovered it a few weeks ago, but it’s already one of my favorites,” Lucas says.

“Didn’t spend much time over here before, I guess?” I ask. Lucas shakes his head.

“Never really had any reason to,” Lucas says. “Although I did come to an absolutely terrible concert in a warehouse once a few years ago.”

“I’ve been to a few of those,” I say with a slight wince, thinking of sticky floors, too many bodies in small spaces, and bands that would go on to break up a week later. I’d always been too busy with the center to really be part of that scene, but I had friends who were. It had always seemed like more effort than it was worth. The times I’d been dragged along had made me absolutely miserable.

“I didn’t really know much else about the neighborhood until recently,” Lucas says, shaking his head.

“That’s not the best first impression, I guess,” I say, laughing.

“It wasn’t,” Lucas agrees, “but I’m glad the business brought me back. Even if you might not be.”

“I won’t pretend the development makes me happy,” I say, “but it really is a great neighborhood. It would have been a shame if you’d never come back.”

“It would have been,” Lucas says, gesturing out over the water, lights from downtown buildings sparking on the surface. “It’s stunning here.”

“It really is,” I say. “When I was looking to open my center, I knew I wanted it to be in the neighborhood, but I didn’t know exactly where. When I found a vacancy right across from the water, though, I fell in love with the location. I’m still in love with it.”

“What made you decide to open a fitness center?” Lucas asks, turning his eyes away from the water and on to me.

“When I was in elementary school, I was really shy,” I say, remembering how terrified I’d been to even raise my hand in class at the time. “It was hard for me to make friends or ever participate in class. But I started taking dance lessons, and it changed my whole life. I gained so much confidence. I really started believing in myself and seeing myself differently. I wanted to give that to other people.”

“I have trouble imagining you as shy,” Lucas says, smiling at me again like he means that as a compliment.

“The dancing worked,” I say. It’s true – it had. I had gone from being afraid to raise my voice to running for student body president in two years’ time. My parents and neighbors all marveled at the change in me. To this day, when I’m not in control of my body, I feel myself start to think a little less clearly.

“It must have,” Lucas says, taking another long gulp of water.

“What about you?” I ask. “What made you start your gyms?”

“I was actually sick as a kid,” Lucas says. “I had a heart condition that required several surgeries before I was nine. I missed a lot of school as a result, and it took me a few years to get caught up with my peers. Ever since, I guess I’ve been obsessed with doing whatever I can to be as healthy as possible. I started running as soon as the doctors cleared me for it, and I loved it. Every health exam I’ve had since I was a teenager has said I’m in great health, and I want to keep it that way. I thought that if exercise could do so much for me when I’d started life in such bad health, then it would help other people, too.”

“Oh, wow,” I say. I can’t imagine being so young and having medical problems so severe. It sounds terrifying, and all of a sudden, everything about Lucas makes so much sense to me. The elite gym chain, the hardcore attitude toward exercise – so much of what I’d initially thought made him an arrogant jerk. “It’s amazing that you’re so healthy now, and it makes sense that you made it such a huge part of your life.”

“I suppose I’m proof exercise really is good for the heart. My health was my whole life when I was a kid, so I guess I just wanted to make it my whole life in a positive way,” Lucas says with a bit of shrug like it’s hard for him to talk about.

“You’ve definitely done that,” I say, putting a hand on his shoulder for a minute. His skin is warm under my hand, muscles still burning from our run.

The more Lucas and I talk, the more we seem to have in common. The more our motives and passions in life seem to line up perfectly. I’m starting to think my first impression of him had been entirely wrong. I’m starting to think I gave him the wrong first impression of me, too. I’m glad we’re correcting it now and actually getting to know each other.

Even if I’m not happy about the new development, I’m starting to be glad Lucas is becoming a part of my life – even if I still don’t know what to do about the fact that his gym will be coming along with him, too.