I could only grin as my roommate Alex, rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head. “Again?” she groaned.
I shrugged to myself and finished lacing my running shoes, putting in my headphones and selecting my running playlist. Yeah, it was early in the morning, but I had a class at 8:30. Of course, most people would probably just take the day off or maybe go running a little later in the day, but running had been the start of my morning routine for years now, and I wasn't about to change it just because I had an early class.
Especially not since the weather was so nice that morning. The sun was just starting to come up, but it was already warm outside. Even though we were well into fall—the leaves on the trees were bright gold and everything—it felt more like a summer day. Probably one of the last nice days that we'd have for the year.
I smiled again and started running.
I had a few different routes that I ran along, just to change things up every once in a while—but my favorite route was to run the length of campus and then turn off into the arboretum. At this time of year, it was particularly lovely, and at this hour, it was nearly deserted out there.
Nearly deserted, except for the asshole that ran pell-mell around the corner on the wrong side of the path and slammed into me.
We both bounced back from the impact. I slid on some damp leaves and ended up falling down hard, all the breath going out of me. I grimaced—but at least I knew how to fall in a way that shouldn't leave any serious bruises. I had a sharp rebuke on my lips when I looked up at him...but it died in my mouth.
Holy shit was the guy handsome. I mean, granted he was also sweaty and dressed in plain athletic wear, but he had these incredible, piercing blue eyes and dark hair, with a sharp, angular face. And his muscular physique was like something out of Greek mythology. I watched as he slicked his hair back away from his face, looking genuinely bashful about having knocked me on my ass. He held out a hand to help me up.
“So sorry about that,” he said, and oh god, not only was he tall, dark, and handsome, but he was also English.
“It's okay,” I mumbled, taking his warm hand in mine and allowing him to pull me to my feet.
“I have to get used to running on the right side of the path,” the guy continued, looking sheepish. “I'm used to doing everything on the left—driving, running, biking, etc.”
“Yeah—no problem,” I said, even though I was mentally kicking myself. Seriously, I couldn't come up with anything better to say than that? There had to be something very obvious and witty that I could say…
The guy was still smiling down at me. “So I see that we're going in different directions, but would you maybe let me take you to breakfast?” he asked. “As I figure it, I owe you one.”
I blinked dumbly at him for a moment, wondering if he was actually using that flirtatious tone with me. But he was staring directly at me, and he seemed sincere. I glanced down at my watch and grimaced; it was already getting close to when I had to start getting ready for class. By the time I showered and got dressed and made myself up into some semblance of a human being, it would be time to grab my books and head over to the campus.
“Sorry, if you're not interested, that's fine,” the man said, looking embarrassed.
“What's your name, anyway?” I asked.
“Ben.”
“Ben,” I said, smiling a little. “I'm Rachael.” I shook his hand. “Look, it's good to meet you, but I actually have this...” I trailed off suddenly, frowning. Was anyone really going to miss me if I didn't show up for my class? I mean, it was one of those huge classes that you clicked into anyway; it wasn't like my professor would notice if I was there or not. I could just text my friend and ask her to pick up my clicker on her way to class; she lived in the same dorm as me…
“What are you thinking?” Ben asked, looking amused.
I shook my head. “Sorry, it's still early, and I haven't had my coffee.” I grinned sheepishly at him. “I'm just thinking that maybe I could blow off my 8:30 class and take you up on that offer for breakfast.”
“Well, now,” Ben said, shaking his head at me, his grin still firmly there on his face. “I wouldn't want to make you do anything naughty...” I wondered if there really was that emphasis on the word or if I was just imagining it. For all I knew, it could just be a product of his accent.
But there were so many naughty things I'd like to do with him, to be honest.
This whole thing was honestly a bit strange to me. I wasn't the type of girl to blow off classes just for a guy. I mean, I had figured out once that each college class cost about $268 per lesson once you factored in tuition and dorm costs and everything else. That was a lot of money to just be throwing out the window each time I didn't show up. And yet…
“You don't look too sure,” Ben observed. “Here, I have a better idea. Why don't you give me your phone number, and sometime when you don't have class, we'll go out for a run and get that breakfast that I owe you.” He held out his phone to me, and I shyly accepted it, punching in my number.
To be honest, I didn't really expect him to call; this was probably just one of those lines like guys threw out in bars or things like that. Or if he did call, it was probably just that he wanted to fuck me. I was sure that he had a whole string of girls lined up. Probably he slept with a different girl every night; I knew his type. He probably was part of a frat and… Well, once he realized I wasn't going to spread my legs that easily for him, he'd want nothing else to do with me.
So I gave him one last smile and then jammed my headphones back in, hurrying off to continue my run so that I could get to class. Then, I promptly forgot about the sexy British runner.