Page 21 of The Thorne at My Side
I'm wiping sweat from my brow when I spot Maggie Collins across the street. I almost didn’t recognize her in leggings and a cropped hoodie with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, but my attention was magnetically pulled to her form. She’s jogging along the river path that will pass my condo building. Does she live nearby? It's funny how she was a stranger no more than two days ago but now I seem to see her everywhere. And when we got the contract signed with the senator's office this morning I realized I'll be spending much more time with her.
Without thinking, I make my way to the corner and start to cross. I've got the walk signal as I move towards her. She isn't slowing down or looking to the left or right as she approaches the bike path crossing and I can see a group of riders on road bikes headed straight for her.
I pick up my pace and get to her just as she's about to find herself in the middle of the peloton. I sling my arm around her waist and pull her back against my chest.
My body ignites at the contact. Warmth and electricity race through my bloodstream and instinctively I flex and hold her even closer.
"The fuck!" She yells right before pain radiates up from my foot to my leg, followed by a sharp sting at my ribcage. I stumble backwards, grabbing my side as she spins around and pulls her leg back.
"Back off asshole!" She grunts as she lands her sneaker to the side of my knee.
I collapse, my yoga mat unrolls, and I reach up to grasp anything to help me win this fight against gravity. As I fall, I latch onto something soft and I open my eyes to find I'm pulling Maggie by the hip down on top of me.
Her arms flail out to the sides as she tries to catch herself but it's too little too late. My face is sandwiched between the sidewalk and her ass.
Maggie scrambles up, rights her clothing, and stares down at me. She's pulling her leg back to kick me while I’m down and thankfully my brain kicks in.
"Maggie, whoa, stop!" I beg as I curl up into the fetal position and place my hands up in the air. "It's me, Austin."
"Why are you attacking me, Austin Thorne? Is this why you wouldn't share dating advice? Because your advice is to grab women from behind and try to pull their pants down?"
“Hey now. No.No.That's not what happened." I grunt as I stand up. My left leg is in serious pain. I look up at her and see the hurricane brewing in her ocean blue eyes. The crossed arms. The hip popped out to the side. I can stillfeel her on my palm but that's probably not wise to dwell on at the moment. "It was an accident."
"Grabbing me was an accident?" She asks with an eyebrow raised.
"No, that was to prevent you from getting run over by a bunch of middle aged men in lycra. The almost pulling your pants down part was the accident. I'm sorry."
"Oh,” she says quietly as she looks at the pack of bikes that are almost out of sight, “well, okay," she says quietly. I brush my hands off on my shorts and when I take a step, I immediately limp. My knee is already swollen.
"If you ever want to change jobs, I hear the Secret Service is hiring." I say as I start to rub my knee.
"I took a self defense class when I first moved to D.C. and I watch a lot of action movies. You are lucky I didn’t go full S.I.N.G. on your ass like Sandra Bullock taught the women of America inMiss Congeniality. "
"Well watch outKill Bill. You did a number on me."
"Sorry," she winces as she looks down at my knee. "That looks bad."
I take a step to retrieve my yoga mat and inhale sharply with the movement to try and sooth the sting.
"Here," she says as she steps next to me and picks up my mat. "Were you at yoga?"
"Yep," I point across the street to the studio. "I practice there and when I came out I saw you trying to play real-life frogger and thought I could come to your rescue."
"I usually pay better attention," she admits. "But I was distracted by the fact that I'm going to have to compete with a computer to do my job for the next four weeks."
"Ah, yes, big bad technology," I tease as she hands me therolled up mat.
"You know what, I can't with this.” She waves a hand in my general direction. “I can't go another ten rounds with you only to hear that the human brain is trash. Some of us try to make the world a better place and that requires some bravery and putting our neck on the line."
At the mention of her neck I immediately drop my gaze to it. The slender column holds her head strongly and the nook of the hoodie looks like a place I could get lost in.
"Do you need help or can I go now?" She asks, drawing my attention up to her face. Her jaw is clenched but her blush betrays her. She caught me looking and liked it.
"Where are you headed?" I ask, not answering her question and standing at my full height. Her gaze follows and I like the view of her looking up at me.
"I've gotta make my way home."
"Shame, I figured you would at least buy me a drink to make up for the fact that you've sent me to physical therapy with your attack tonight."
