56. Running Together…Apart
Running Together…Apart
Fly
Dropping Sheri off yesterday after our date just about killed me. It was perfect. Quite literally the best date ever. She likes riding on my bike.
More than that…She loves riding on my bike. I need to look into building a bike she can sleep on, because I have the feeling it isn’t going to be long before she starts trying to take a nap back there.
Then she started opening up to me…that had to be the best part. I can’t wait to talk to her this morning…or run with her again.
Too bad this morning’s run is going to be virtual again. She has wedding stuff through the day and I need to check in at the clubhouse. Something I haven’t done in days.
Having Vandal back in my ear all the time has been bad enough. The two of them are soppy.
Time to message Sheri.
Fly
Good morning, My Royal Highness. Date number two was the best so far.
Sheri
Good morning, My Prince. It was. Though now I’m tempted to call you, My Butterfly Prince. Thank you for sharing so much of your strength with me.
Me sharing. She’s the one who shared her strength.
Fly
I loved getting to know you. I’m already looking into a new bike for us. Something for you to nap on.
Sheri
Tease.
Who’s teasing? I’m dead serious. Is that her pulling back? Am I pushing too hard, too fast? She took the jacket, knowing what it meant.
Fly
Always and never.
Sheri
Outside.
I flip her over to my earbud. Sheri is in one ear. Vandal is in the other, but thankfully, he’s still asleep, and I won’t have to try to follow two conversations at once. It’s not impossible. It just takes more of my attention, and I want all of that on Sheri. “Good morning, My Royal Highness.”
“How do you do the cheerful thing every morning? I wanted to climb back into bed.”
“You know, you’re allowed to climb back into bed.” My bed, preferably.
“There’s no time for that. Almost right after my run, we have wedding stuff to do. Aren’t people arriving there soon?”
“Not until tomorrow.” But I really need to get there and help out. Also, I need to hunt down Bishop and see what he found out about you.
If she was anywhere else at all in the world, I’d be losing my mind right about now. But she’s safe until I can figure this out. Which probably won’t be until after the wedding.
“Is it really going to be as wild as Mindy seems to think?”
Probably. “There will just be a lot more people than you would expect, and a few of them will indulge a bit more than you’d expect.”
“You do know I’m from down south. Jimbo distills his own moonshine. Have you drank bathtub gin? You don’t know what a party is until Jimbo brings the moonshine.”
“Do I want to know about Jimbo’s parties?” The answer is probably no.
“Nope. Little Timmy got sick of breaking them up, so he told Jimbo to bring less to the party, or they’d have words.”
“Did you go to a lot of Jimbo’s parties?” Sheri just doesn’t give me the party girl vibe.
“I watched a bunch of them.”
What does that mean? Whatever it is, it makes me sad that she was on the outside looking in, but I’m also happy she wasn’t there with a preppy jerk falling in love while drinking cheap booze. “Did you ever wish you went?”
“No. I was never their kind of people.”
I get that all too well. “Pretending to be never quite felt right.”
“Exactly.
“Fly?”
“Yeah.
“When I told you about that tattoo, I didn’t really explain the meaning behind it.”
“You said it was a little rebellion.”
“Not the way you would think. I never felt seen. Like everyone there saw the me they thought I was. But that tattoo made me feel visible…at least to myself, since I never showed it to anyone. It was a weird teenage deep thought.”
“And now do you still feel invisible?” I worked to make sure no one saw me. Sheri worked to be seen but always remained invisible.
“No. They see me now. I just don’t care if they do.”
That feels oddly healthy and sad at the same time. “I see you.”
“Yeah, you do. You’ve seen me since the first kiss.”
If only she knew how much that first impression meant to me…Why can’t I tell her? “I saw you before that kiss.”
“Uh, don’t remind me.”
“The joy on your face the night we met made me want to know more about you. It was the reason I stopped to talk to you before that kiss.” The reason I did a lot of things.
“I wish it didn’t. Maybe you are remembering one of the other girls?”
Like I could ever confuse you with someone else. “You were wearing a sparkly pink dress with heels so high your legs looked never-ending. I should have known you were a runner then, just looking at your legs in those shoes, but it was your smile and laughter that had me enthralled.”
“Like my drunken stupidity kept you enthralled. It’s so embarrassing that you even remember.”
“Sheri, you never need to be embarrassed with me. I’m never judging you. All I ever see is a beautiful, brave, vibrant woman who takes on the world one challenge at a time with unfailing honesty.”
“It was that bad then.”
“Have I told you, you’re stubborn?”
“Well then, we fit together because you’re incorrigible. At least it wasn’t the karaoke bar, too. Tell me you didn’t see me there as well.”
“I wasn’t at the karaoke bar, but now for one of our dates we’re definitely going to a karaoke bar.”
“You’re going to have to get me very drunk first. Like VERY drunk.”
My body freezes at her words. Not because of what they said, but because of the trust she placed in me. Sheri would be comfortable getting drunk with me. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”
“You might say that now, but just you wait. I’m a sloppy drunk. And a sappy one. I’ll either laugh the whole time or cry.”
“I don’t mind if you do either, as long as you’re in my arms.”
“Fly.” Her voice gets sharp.
“What?”
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes me want to fall in love with you.”
“You know that only makes me want to say more.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
Everything for the rest of your life…