Single Wide Female: The Bucket List Mega Bundle - 24 Books (Books #1-24) (18 page)

“It’s okay. I was just doing a little stretching,” I said and smiled nervously at her. I enjoyed hanging out with her, but I was still waiting for her to tire of me.

“Good idea,” she said and stretched her arms high above her head. “I got caught up with Max this morning,” she added.

Max and this morning screamed in my head. Did that mean she went to a super early breakfast with him or did that mean that he’d spent the night? I knew what it meant, to be honest. Max had no problem finding his way into bed with women. He was charming, with a decent build and a romantic nature when it suited him. But it still made me uneasy to think about it. Focus, I snapped at myself. You’re here to train for a marathon, not to think about Max.

“Let’s warm up,” Stephanie said. “We can just do a quick lap around the pond and then we’ll figure out how many we feel up to.”

I stared at her for a moment. “Around the whole pond?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, laughing. “You’re so funny, Samantha.”

I wasn’t joking. That path was pretty long. She thought that was a warm-up? Brave, I reminded myself
—
brave and adventurous. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“Let’s do it!”

“Great!” Stephanie cheered. She began running toward the path.

I loped after her. Everything about Stephanie was bouncy. She bounced from foot to foot as she jogged. Her long thick hair was bouncy. Her perfectly formed breasts were quite bouncy. Behind her I felt like a potato that had sprouted legs for the first time. I wobbled, my pace irregular and throwing me off balance.

I tried to keep up with Stephanie, but the faster I jogged the tighter my chest felt. Not to mention the fact that I kept coming down at an awkward angle on my ankle, and a twinge of pain was shooting up my calf with each stride.

Stephanie kept getting further and further away from me. At some point she wasn’t even Stephanie, my new friend, anymore. She was every woman that I felt I couldn’t measure up to or keep up with. I knew that was unreasonable. Stephanie had never been anything but nice to me. But she had the figure I wanted, she had the confidence I craved, she had the man I had been crushing on for over ten years. How could I not feel some jealousy building within me? But that jealousy sparked a fire within me, a determination to catch up with her.

I pushed myself harder and ignored the burning of my lungs and the screaming of my knees. I was almost a foot away from her when I tripped over absolutely nothing. I mean there was nothing on the path, nothing darted out in front of me, nothing caught my toe. I just fell, because I was me. Because my face needed to be introduced to the path.

Chapter 5

Stephanie must have heard the thump and my groan. She stopped and turned to face me. “Oh my gosh, Samantha, are you okay?” she asked as she crouched down in front of me. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” I muttered in reply and pushed myself up off the ground. “Just a little bump in the road.”

Stephanie swept her eyes over the path. “Usually they keep it pretty clear,” she said. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” I nodded. “I guess I just couldn’t keep up,” I admitted with a sigh.

“Why didn’t you just tell me to slow down?” Stephanie said. “I didn’t realize how much trouble you were having.”

“I thought I could keep up.”

“Samantha, this is your first marathon. It’s going to take time for you to find your rhythm.” She smiled.

“My rhythm?” I asked as I leaned against one of the benches close to the water.

“Yes, your body will tell you what pace is right for you,” Stephanie said. “If you find that you’re having a hard time maintaining a certain speed, slow it down a notch or two. If you go full force every time you run, you’ll never find your natural rhythm. A marathon isn’t about sprinting, it’s about maintaining. If you want to make it to the end you have to find your steady pace.”

“I see,” I nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed. “I just wanted to do well.”

“And you are,” Stephanie said with an encouraging smile. “Why don’t we try things at a swift walk and we can figure out what works best for you?”

“You don’t mind?” I asked. “I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Nonsense, I am looking forward to getting a chance to talk with you.”

We fell into step together. It was nice not to feel my lungs burning.

“I love being out at this time of day,” Stephanie said. “It’s like the day is new.”

I smiled at her words. I had to agree with her. There was something calming about knowing that I still had the whole day ahead of me.

“So how have things been going with you and Max?” I asked.

I cringed. Why, why, why, did I ask that? It had just popped out of my mouth, unplanned. Now I would have to hear the answer.

“Oh, you know
—
we’re keeping things casual,” Stephanie said with a distant smile. “Seems to be the way he prefers it.”

I bit my tongue to keep from telling her that what he actually preferred was a different girl every week. I was in a tough place. I knew that Max was a bit of a player and I wanted Stephanie to become a good friend. But I couldn’t betray Max either.

“Well, I’m glad you hit it off,” I said, and immediately regretted it.

“Me too.” Stephanie shrugged. “I swear it’s so funny, all I hear about is Sammy this and Sammy that. I feel like I might already know you pretty well.”

I was stunned by her words. “He talks about me?” I asked, surprised.

“All the time.” Stephanie nodded. “He told me about the vacation you two went on together. He said it was the most fun he’d ever had on a trip.”

“It was fun.” I nodded. “Max and I always have fun.” I cringed as I heard my own words. “I mean
—
as friends.”

“Friends
—
of course.” Stephanie glanced over at me.

I could tell that she wanted to ask me something more, but I avoided looking back at her. I hoped she would drop the subject.

“He seems so dedicated to his work,” she continued. “That’s nice to see.”

“I guess. I’ve never understood what he finds so fascinating about computers.” I laughed a little.

“Well, if it makes him happy,” Stephanie said with a smile. “I love to see people passionate about what they do. It makes them more passionate about other areas in their lives
—
if you know what I mean.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

I thought I might vomit. Maybe it was the exercise catching up with me, but I was pretty sure it was the idea of Max being “passionate” with Stephanie.

“You know what?” I gasped out as I slowed my pace. “I think I’ve had enough for today.”

“Oh, really?” Stephanie said with a frown. “Are you sure?”

“I’ll do better tomorrow,” I said, taking another deep breath.

“Good, because you know the race is on Sunday.”

“Sunday?” I laughed. “Very funny.”

“I’m serious.” Stephanie frowned. “Didn’t you see the updated flier?”

“Huh?” I stared at her with disbelief, still hoping that she was joking.

“Yes. They moved the race up a month because of the bad weather last year. They’re hoping to avoid any rain,” she said.

“There’s no way I’ll be ready by then.”

“You’ll do fine,” Stephanie assured me. “Just meet me here tomorrow. We’ll get your body nice and loosened up, and you can do the best you can at the marathon.”

“I could probably show up,” I said, nodding my head but feeling more skeptical about the whole idea.

“I think you might surprise yourself, Samantha,” Stephanie said with confidence.

It was nice to have someone believe in me, but it also made me question Stephanie’s sanity.

“Alright, I’ll meet you tomorrow,” I finally said.

“Great!” Stephanie grinned. “I’ll bring us smoothies!”

“Great,” I replied and managed a smile before I limped off to my car.

Chapter 6

I proceeded to spend the rest of my day flipping out. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. My legs were sore, I was tired from waking up way too early, and the marathon was on Sunday! There was nothing I could do to stop this from happening. I had already told Stephanie that I would do it, and she would likely tell Max. I couldn’t have Max believing that I was too lazy to do what I said I would do. I had been absolutely out of my mind to think I could do this in the first place.

By the time I returned to my apartment that night, I’d decided that I would have to claim some terrible disease that would magically be cured by Monday. I had spent some of my shift at work looking up short-lived, easily faked, highly contagious diseases. I was debating whether to go with shingles or influenza when my phone rang, causing the picture of a rash to disappear from the phone screen. It was Max.

“Hello?” I asked, hesitating slightly.

“Hey there,” he said with that familiar, easy tone that made my insides melt. “I hear you’ve been busy.”

“Maybe,” I said and then coughed. “I haven’t been feeling too well.”

Then I winced. Did people with shingles cough? I had a feeling I was stuck with influenza.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Max said. “I was hoping maybe I could come by some time. We haven’t had a lot of Max and Sammy time.”

“That’s true,” I said, my heart pounding.

Even with Stephanie to occupy him he was still thinking of me. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? I shifted uncomfortably. Was I hoping that he wanted to be with me more? I felt a little guilty for it.

“But if you’re not feeling well…” he said quickly. “I’m sure that you need your rest.”

“No, no, I’m better,” I said and immediately felt foolish. “You should come over tomorrow. I work the morning shift, so I should be home by the time you get off work. I mean
—
unless you have other plans,” I added.

“Other plans?” he asked with shock in his voice. “No other plans could ever stop me from seeing you, Sam,” he said, being his normal charming self.

I tried to ignore the quickening of my heartbeat. I was supposed to be getting over Max, not getting jealous over him.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said.

“I’ll be there,” he said and clicked off the phone.

The picture of the rash popped back up on the screen. I grimaced and deleted it. There was no way I was going to get out of this. I remembered what the young man at the shoe store had said to me. “It’s not a big deal.” Like Stephanie had said, I would run in the marathon and that would be that.

I decided I needed a little more motivation. My blog was the perfect place to get that. Once I put down in words what I was experiencing, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to take it back.

I opened my computer and began tapping on the keyboard. I had to admit that even my fingertips hurt a little bit. I was determined to get my feelings out about running.

As I described the sensation of liberation
—
to run like I had once as a child
—
I found myself smiling at the memory of it. Of course I admitted to face-planting. I also detailed what it was like to feel as if I had to earn my place running beside Stephanie. I described finding my own pace.

I didn’t know for sure that my words would help anyone, but I imagined I wasn’t the only person in the world who felt the way I did. I knew there would be at least one pair of eyes reading my words.

Blue. I had come to look forward to reading any comment that Blue left. I knew it was a little silly of me to feel as if I had some kind of bond with a complete stranger on the Internet. I didn’t even know if Blue was male or female, old or some young teen, but it didn’t matter. Blue always appreciated what I had to say and even offered advice at times.

When I submitted the blog post, I felt like I had just spoken to my priest. Everything was out in the open and off my chest. I felt lighter. I waited for a few minutes. I pretended that I was not waiting for a sign that Blue had left a comment.

I checked my e-mail. I surfed some news sites. But the truth was, I
was
waiting. I was hoping. When I heard no chime telling me that there was a new comment, I finally closed my computer. I crawled into bed, my sore body eager to collapse.

When my alarm went off in the morning I was determined not to throw it. I knew that would only result in my likely having to buy another alarm clock. Luckily the blog I’d written the night before was on my mind. I wanted to see if Blue had left a comment yet. So I pulled myself out of bed and headed for my computer.

I opened it up and logged into my blog. I scanned quickly and immediately saw a post from Blue. I smiled at the sight of it.

A new adventure for you; I’m sure that you will accomplish it. Please post a picture of you crossing the finish line.

Those words made my excitement fade a little. A picture? I wasn’t sure if I was willing to do that. My anonymous blog would become much more personal if I did. But I also felt a little thrilled that Blue wanted to witness my victory. It felt like a true friendship to me. My heart beat a little faster as I got ready to meet Stephanie. I was ready to seize the day, knowing that Blue was expecting that picture. I wasn’t going to be able to flake out now. I would have to have something to post.

Chapter 7

My run with Stephanie was uneventful for once. There wasn’t much chatting between us. I was pushing myself harder than ever. I wanted to be able to make it to the finish line, and that meant that I had to train a little harder.

In my mind it was Blue waiting for me at the finish line. Whoever Blue was, they were someone who believed in me, and that was enough motivation for me to keep moving.

Stephanie was still pacing herself slower than normal
—
I could tell
—
but she was complimenting me on the progress I had made. I just kept my head down and kept moving. No more distractions. No more thinking about Max and Stephanie together. No more worrying what I looked like in my workout gear or how bright my green shoes were. This was about a mission, and I was going to get through it.

However, by the time I drove to Fluff and Stuff my legs were screaming. I had certainly made them angry. I spent most of my day at work sitting down. I sat to fold clothes, I sat to sort clothes, I hobbled to switch clothes from washer to dryer. By the time my relief showed up, I was desperate for my bed.