Page 20 of Little Did You Know

The reality had been both better and infinitely worse. Better because the spark I'd felt when his lips met mine had been electric enough to short-circuit every coherent thought in my head. Worse because of how quickly that perfect moment had shattered.

One second, he'd been holding me like I was something precious, and the next—gone. The whiplash of his retreat left me dizzy, questioning every move I'd made.

The memory of his face pulling away, eyes wide with something that looked terrifyingly like regret, made my stomach twist into impossible knots.

I hadn't told him it was my first kiss. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he could tell how inexperienced I was, how my hands had trembled against his back, how my heart had threatened to burst from equal parts terror and joy. Or maybe the reality of kissing his childhood friend’s little sister had finally hit him, and he'd realized what a colossal mistake he'd made.

Rolling over, the bedside alarm flashed four-thirty in my face. That didn't surprise me; we hadn't gotten home until three am. My body was used to being up early, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to sleep.

Tossing my feet over the edge of the bed, I sucked in a deep breath, trying to push the memories of Nick and me to the side.

Running always helped clear my mind.

I pulled on a pair of shorts and a sports bra and quietly headed downstairs, wondering if Nick was still awake.

I reached the bottom. All was quiet and dark.

Luckily, Arlena had given me a house tour while Nick was at work yesterday. Otherwise, I'd be lost entirely in the large home. I found the back door, and as I started to open it, a loud clanking noise caught my attention. Pausing, I listened, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. The sound repeated. It sounded like weights clanging together, and I remembered Arlena had showed me a gym.

Snaking my way through the house, I found the partially open door leading to it. By the sounds echoing from the room, someone was intensely working out.

Peeking through the crack in the door, I watched Nick's methodical movements. Each rep was precise, controlled—so different from the gangly teenager I’d grown up with. Sweat traced down his broad shoulders, catching the light. I pressed a hand against the doorframe, steadying myself as an unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest. This wasn't the boy I remembered. This was someone else entirely. He'd transformed from the cutest boy to the hottest man I'd ever seen.

His body was rugged and defined, his face a masterpiece of chiseled beauty. He stood naked from the waist up, and I watched every muscle in his arms and chest dance as he pulled the weighted dumbbells up and down. He looked delicious and it made me feel things I'd never felt before.

Apart from wanting to go in, the other part said to leave, and since I didn't know what to say if I went in, I started to back away from the door.

"Olivia." My name in his voice froze me mid-retreat, sending sparks racing down my spine. The same way he'd whispered it just before the kiss, making it sound like a prayer and a question wrapped into one. I forced myself to turn back, praying the dim hallway light would hide the blush I could feel burning across my cheeks.

"Sorry," I managed, hating how breathless I sounded. "I was heading out for a run and heard..." I gestured vaguely at the weights, unable to admit I'd been standing there drinking in the sight of him like a woman dying of thirst.

"You're not disturbing me." He set the dumbbells down with a controlled grace that made my mouth go dry. When he reached for his towel, I caught a glimpse of that familiar half-smile—the one that had gotten him out of trouble countless times as a kid. But now it held something else, something that made my heart stutter against my ribs. "Give me a minute and I'll join you?"

The question hung between us, heavy with unspoken words. This was our chance—to either address what happened last night or pretend it never existed. Running together meant talking. Or worse, not talking and drowning in this charged silence.

He ran the towel over his face, catching beads of sweat that had carved paths down his temples. I tried to look away—tried and failed. The gym's low light caught in his dark hair, turning droplets of moisture into momentary diamonds. When he glanced up, those dark brown eyes locked with mine, and my lungs seized. The years had chiseled away the softness in his jawline, leaving angles that begged to be traced. His lips—the same lips that had been on mine hours ago—curved upward, revealing a smile that made my knees unreliable. I gripped the doorframe tighter, suddenly aware of how little space separated us, and how the air between seemed charged with something dangerous.

"Like what you see?"

My throat dried instantly. I shifted my weight, one foot already angling toward the hallway. A lie formed automatically—the same dismissive eye-roll I'd perfected through years of hiding this attraction. But something had changed. The phantom pressure of his lips from hours ago still lingered on mine, making the familiar lie stick to the roof of my mouth.

Squaring my shoulders, I held his gaze. "Yes." The single syllable hung between us. My pulse hammered in my ears, so loud I was certain he could hear it from across the room.

Shock flashed across his face before he could hide it, replaced by something darker, more intense. The corners of his mouth tilted upward slowly, and I had to press my lips together to stop from licking them.

“Let’s go run.” Nick pushed open the gym's back door, the predawn air rushing in cool against our skin.

We silently took the path to the track neither of us speaking until we stopped.

"You're not going to try to kill me again today, are you?"

I bounced on my toes, testing my muscles. "If you can't keep up" —a grin tugged at my lips— "hang back and watch how it's done."

His eyebrows shot up. He leaned to one side, stretching his legs. "And let a little thing like you show me up?" A familiar competitive gleam lit his eyes. "No way. I can keep up."

He gave a forward nod, indicating go. I took off, and he kept a steady pace beside me. He maintained the first few miles effortlessly, but he was beginning to sweat by the sixth mile, and his breathing increased, but he stayed by my side.

It didn't take long before I lost count of how many miles I'd run. My breathing was heavier and uneven now, and the slight burning in my lungs let me know I was done.

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