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Eight
    “What are you doing
up so early?”
    Hayden kissed my lips
when he saw me the next morning in the entryway tying my tennis
shoes. “I thought I’d go for a run before school,” I said
sheepishly.
    “A run?” It was
even more embarrassing that he looked surprised. Okay, I need to
get out and exercise more.
    I shrugged. “Yeah, I
don’t know. I just feel like I have all this energy lately and I
just need to get it out. I need to run.” I could feel the
adrenaline build even just speaking about it.
    Hayden looked at me
curiously, then smiled. “Okay, I’ll go with you then.”
    “Really? You don’t
mind?”
    “Not at all, I like
to run.”
    “Are you coming
because you want to or are you coming because you think you should?”
    “I’m not sure what
you’re trying to say, you are as elusive as ever, but yes. I want
to, I’ll always want to.”
    I fought a girlish
chuckle at his comment while I finished tying my shoelaces. Hayden
went upstairs to change. By the time I stood up, he was standing in
front of me again.
    “I thought you were
getting dre—oh”.
    “I don’t like to
keep you waiting.” He winked at me.
    Hayden was effortlessly
clad in black shorts and sleek tennis shoes. He wore a sleeveless
shirt, his tanned arms perfectly muscular. I couldn’t keep myself
from reaching out and touching them. I made a mental note to not let
him wear anything like that to gym class at school and added jealousy
to the list of new emotions I experienced lately.
    Our neighborhood was
perfect for running through, with a lot of streets to lengthen the
route and a pretty path through the golf course. I had wondered why I
hadn’t taken advantage of it before, when I had lived with my dad.
    “For how long have we
been running?”
    Hayden looked at his
watch and answered easily, “about a half-an-hour.”
    “Really?” I said
surprised. It didn’t feel like we were running for that long. I
wasn’t even out of breath yet. “We’d better start heading
back.”
    “School,” he
agreed.
    A wicked smile spread
across my face. “I’ll race you back.”
    His dark hair spilled
back as he laughed.
    I stopped running and
put my hands on my hips. “I’m glad that amuses you, but I’m
serious.”
    “Okay, Ana, I’ll
race you.” He fought a smile as he worked to speak seriously.
    “No cheating.”
    “Obviously. It’s
bright as day with humans everywhere.”
    “And don’t let me win, either.” I pointed a finger at him in warning.
    He leaned toward my
face almost touching my nose, “I can’t promise that.”
    I was slightly
disoriented when he moved back. I grunted as I turned in the
direction of the house. “Ready?”
    He nodded once and we
both took off toward the house. Even at human speed, he was
superternaturally fast. I pushed my legs harder against the pavement,
wanting and needing to go faster. The sensation I got when I ran was
unlike anything thing I'd felt before. Well, maybe I'd felt it once
before. The more I ran, the more it fueled my need to run. Faster and
longer. The house came in view and I didn’t slow until I got to the
front doorstep. I felt disappointed when we stopped.
    I bent over, slightly
panting, but Hayden looked at ease. “You let me win,” I scolded
him between breaths.
    “I did not.”
    I glared at him.
    “Okay. Maybe I did. I
didn’t promise that I wouldn’t, remember.” He winked. “You
were fast though, I almost didn’t have to.”
    “Stop teasing me.”
    “I’m serious, Ana.
You were really fast,” he said as we walked into the house.
    I caught a glimpse of
the clock, quickly panicking at the time I had to get ready for
school.
    “Oh no, I have to
shower.” I started running up the stairs. “Oh and after school,
is it okay if I take the car? I want to run somewhere after work.”
I turned around when I reached the top.
    “It’s too soon to
be going anywhere by yourself right now.”
    I put my hands on my
hips. “You’re being paranoid. It’s been