Page 15 of When We Were Younger

Sweat beads at my brow as Kira and I make our eighth pass around the Meadow Methodist High School track.

It feels insane to be sweating even with a chill in the morning air and grass that’s still coated in frost crystals from last night. My cheeks and the tips of my ears are flushed red, a hot contrast to the cool air. If it were up to me, I would have opted for sunrise yoga by the lake with Keith as my morning workout. But Kira wanted to burn some real energy and looped me into running with her in circles like a hamster on a wheel.

I am huffing and puffing as I try to keep up with her on this final lap, watching as my breath forms fog in front of my face. I'm not out of shape by any means, but the woman next to me does cardio for a freaking living. She's an anomaly of human nature, and I'm proud of myself for not having tapped out already. We round the last bend, and Kira grabs me by the hand and drags me out into the middle of the turf.

"Two miles in sixteen minutes. A lot slower than I'd like, but not bad!" She says, checking the watch on her wrist and pressing two fingers on the other hand to her pulse point. I've got both hands on my knees, hunched over as I try to catch my breath.

"C'mon," she says, nudging my hips. "We gotta stretch while we're still warm. You don't wanna be all locked up when you're older, do you?"

I try to sigh as I drop to the ground and spread my legs, reaching over to my right side and grabbing my toes. My chest hits my thigh, and I breathe into the stretch. This is the area where I excel. I've always been incredibly flexible, and I can't pretend I don't feel the tiniest bit smug watching my less-limber friend struggle to hold onto the tip of her sneaker.

"How come two miles on a stationary bike feels like nothing, but two miles on foot feels like I'm going to fall apart at any moment?" I groan as I inhale, reaching up and over to my other side.

"Because cycling is a lower-body sport and running is full body. Also, the bike has a wheel, and your cute little tootsies do not," Kira answers, reaching over and tickling my ankle. I jerk as I laugh, accidentally kicking her right in dead center in her boob in the process.

She grabs her chest dramatically and falls backwards onto the grass as she cries out, "My tit! My poor tit!"

I laugh even harder, my sides splitting at the exertion. I didn't mean to kick her, but it does feel like an appropriate payback for making me run. Kira starts tolaugh through her shrieks, and I fall back onto the grass next to her.

"I'm sorry I kicked you, Keeks. I didn't catch the piercing, did I?" I ask through my chuckles, referencing the silver barbells she has in each of her nipples. She got them done on her eighteenth birthday. I went with her, dead set on getting my own nipples pierced as well, but as soon as I saw the blood dripping out her tit and the needle sticking through it, I chickened out.

I opted for a nice, sensible stud in my nose instead, and I have no regrets.

"The piercing is fine. You'll be getting a bill from my plastic surgeon, though. I think you deflated it," she whines, still rubbing her hand over her decidedly flat chest.

"Bullshit. You can't deflate what was never blown up in the first place," I say, then grimace when she lifts her leg and hits me right in the shin with the heel of her shoe.

"Payback, you bitch," she sing-songs, sticking her tongue out at me, and we devolve into another fit of chuckles.

We lay like that for long moments, smiling at nothing and staring up at the sky. I watch as clouds float across the endless sea of blue.They’re all the perfect, white fluffy kind that lie low and don't block the light from the early morning sunshine.

I throw my arms over my head and arch my back, stretching from head-to-toe like a cat. I close my eyes and breathe into it, embracing this supine position andthe way it allows me to feel the stretch in my legs, lower back and arms.

When I open my eyes, I nearly scream. Kira is leaning over me, one hand on either side of my torso, her messy honey-colored curls a millimeter from being sucked up my nose on my next breath.

"What the fuck, Keeks?" I yelp as I try to swat at her face. She's quicker than me, though, and she snatches me by the wrist before I'm able to make contact. She straddles me, planting herself on my thighs and pinning me to the ground. I thrash and wiggle as I try to get out of her hold, and for a moment I think that if we had a kiddie pool and Jell-O, we might be able to make some serious money right now.

"This will go down a lot easier if youstop struggling," she grunts out as she manages to get my hands over my head.

"I'll stop struggling when you tell me what the hell you're doing to me!" I lift my knee, thinking I might be able to get in a good crotch shot, but it ricochets right off her tight, firm ass cheek instead.

Bitch has the glutes of a Greek goddess, I swear.

I suck in a breath, wondering how it's physically possible that her butt muscle hurt my knee on contact, and then I admit my defeat. I go limp, becoming nothing more than an overcooked spaghetti noodle under her strong grasp.

"Good girl, was that so difficult?" Kira coos, and I roll my eyes.

"Honey, you better watch the praise shit becauseyou're in a perfect position for some serious dry humping right now," I say, and Kira wiggles on top of me.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, baby girl," she purrs, and then we both laugh. I can only imagine how ridiculous we look right now, but there's no one around to care.

"Are you gonna tell me why you have me on my back in the middle of the turf?" I ask her, and despite her power position, her eyes soften.

"I've given you all weekend. Are you going to talk to me about this Stephen thing or not?" She asks quietly.

Well, quietly for Kira, anyway.

"I will, if you get off of me," I answer. Kira just shakes her head, but she does let my wrists go.

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