Read Online Inspire by Heather Buchine - Free Book Online

runner?” he asked. His question puzzled me, but maybe he just had gotten the impression since I had gone running two days in a row.
    “No. I love it, but I don’t compete or run marathons or anything.”
    “Oh,” he said, looking slightly disappointed by my response.
    “Why do you ask? Do you race?” I returned the question trying to understand the reason for his expression.
    “No. It just seemed like you didn’t want to break stride today to chat, so I just figured you were timing yourself.”
    Travis’s answer made me aware that I had been a jerk in the woods earlier. Maybe Tracey was right, and I needed to give everyone a fair shot and just be myself. Running by him was so out of character for me that I was mad at myself for doing it. “I’m sorry. I just had a lot on my mind this morning and needed to jog it off,” I explained, hoping to smooth over the situation.
    “I get it. I run to clear my head too. Is everything okay?” he asked, sounding concerned and I realized I had said too much.
    “Yeah, everything’s fine. So, what kind of ice cream are you serving?” I changed the subject to avoid having to reveal my Ashley dilemma and the fact that I was hurt that everyone had shunned me.
    “Chocolate and vanilla. I actually need to go get some more containers out of the freezer, but I’ll be back. Can I get you some?” he offered, giving me his sexy smile again.
    “Sure. I would love some chocolate.”
    “Chocolate it is. Coming right up!”
    He winked and then turned to make his way out of the pool area. As he was leaving though, he stopped to pull his shirt off over his head and tossed it down on an empty chair. He turned and gave me another wink before leaving. I was practically drooling over his body, and wondered if he had intentionally stopped to give me the show. With a body like his, he had to have a girlfriend so I forced myself to shake off the inappropriate thoughts that were running through my mind.
    As I waited for Travis to return with the ice cream, I began working on my dance. The music over the loud speakers was a bit distracting, since I was trying to come up with moves to a different song. So I plugged my headphones in, and put “One More Night” on repeat. Moves started coming to me, and I began to jot them down in my notebook. Of course I wasn’t about to get up and try them out, but I had been dancing long enough to be able to visualize most of it. Then later, I would practice them on the beach to make sure it all flowed together.
    I was thoroughly engrossed in what I was doing and hastily writing in my notebook when I was startled by an ice-cold feeling on my leg. I jerked my head up to see Travis standing next to my chair holding a bowl of ice cream.
    “One bowl of chocolate ice cream!” he exclaimed, handing me the dish and offering me a wink. I took my headphones off so that I could hear and thanked him.
    “So, what are you busy working on? I’ve been standing here for a minute, but couldn’t get your attention. I was beginning to think you were trying to ignore me,” he said, giving me an adorable pout that came across as a little flirtatious. He then took a seat on the edge of the neighboring chair and put his hands on his knees.
    “Just coming up with a dance for something. Sorry, I kind of get focused when I work. Thanks for this!” I said, taking a bite.
    “No problem. So you’re a dancer.”
    “Yeah, it’s just something I like to do in my free time,” I answered and then glanced over to see that Britney and Ashley were now swimming down towards our end of the pool.
    “And you also choreograph? Do you work for a dance studio or something?”
    “No. Well sometimes I help out with the younger classes at our local studio. But this is for the annual Labor Day Festival in East Hampton. My friends and I will be performing at it.” I didn’t elaborate or get into any of the details about my organization because I didn’t want him to think that I was trying