Chapter 30 Owen
N ot starting the day with my workout routine feels odd. Especially since I’m up early and in athletic shorts and a tee.
I try not to pace outside my building, but I think if I stretch out any more than I already have, I’ll somehow manage to injure myself from overdoing it. Instead, I unzip my pocket and pull out my phone. The group text is already open, but Noah hasn’t opened the texts Poppy and I sent saying we were heading outside. To be fair, our messages were sent less than one minute ago.
It wasn’t surprising to see a message from Noah pop up with an unknown number with a local area code. So now, I have Poppy’s number. Which would normally be tempting for me to message outside of the group chat, but until I can be near her without momentarily forgetting how to function, I think I should steer clear of texting my coworker.
Once I’m done double-checking there’s nothing new, I hear slowing footsteps on the wooden planks that make up the boardwalk.
When I turn, I’m not surprised to see that Poppy’s jogging here, slowing to a walk before she gets to me. God she looks incredible this early in the morning. Honestly, she could have major bedhead and throw on a burlap sack and I’d still think she was stunning.
“Good morning,” I say, noticing that she isn’t very winded even though she lives a ways down the boardwalk. I’m never going to keep up on this run. As she nears, I see the smallest hint of sweat on her forehead, but that’s it.
“Good morning is right.” She gives me a smile that lights up her whole face. “I haven’t gone running this early in the morning since I returned home and it feels amazing.”
She looks out over the cove, and after a moment of watching her, I shift my gaze so I’m watching the sun rise over the water. There are pinks and oranges throughout the sky, and it brings a sense of peacefulness that can be felt deep in your bones.
“How often do you and Noah do sunrise runs?” I’m already kicking myself for not just letting this lovely moment continue.
“Maybe once a month when we’re really motivated. We do try to get several runs in with each other every month. But, especially in the summer, it’s hard to start the day this early, so we’ll do mornings, just not before six,” she explains. “Speaking of running with Noah, have you heard from him? Is he running late?”
“No, I haven’t heard. We can message him to see how long he’ll be,” I suggest.
“Let’s call him, actually. If he’s warming up by jogging here, he easily misses messages.”
As my phone starts to ring, Poppy asks me to put it on speaker phone. She leans in, tilting her head to one side to bring her ear closer to the phone. The smell of poppies is a little more faint than usual, but it’s still there, bringing with it memories from our dance under the stars.
“Hello?” Noah’s voice is scratchy.
“Why do you sound like this call woke you up?” she asks, her voice full of skepticism.
“Well, because my body slept right through my alarm, I would venture to guess.”
“I’ve heard your alarm, it could wake anyone.” The skepticism increases as her lips purse, waiting for his response.
“I must have selected the wrong time, when I set it. Sorry.” He sounds anything but sorry right now. Judging by the look on her face, she agrees with my thoughts. “You two should enjoy the run while the sun rises. By the time I’d be able to leave my place, the purpose of the run would be nullified.”
Poppy’s eyes narrow.
“So, you’re not coming?” I ask, suspicions raising that this might have been his plan all along.
“You go ahead without me this time, I’ll be sure to double check my alarm for the next one.”
I hear her mutter something like “unbelievable” under her breath. It seems that I’m not the only one who thinks there might be some meddling.
Suddenly, the thought of Noah planning out a sunrise run and purposefully sleeping in cracks me up and I let out a chuckle. Her gaze meets mine, a crease forming between her brows.
“Go back to sleep, Noah, we’ll see you Monday,” I say. “Just don’t be surprised if you find your Bobbi’s coffee switched out with the school’s decaf sometime soon.”
Poppy’s mouth falls open before breaking into a smile as she holds back laughter.
“You wouldn’t.” I can practically see skepticism washing over his face.
“Oh, we would,” she joins in. “Sweet dreams.” She disconnects the call, mischief dancing in her eyes making it impossible to look away. “That was brilliant.”
“It might be too cruel to actually do,” I point out.
“Maybe we’ll just replace half of his Bobbi’s with the school’s decaf, but not for a week or two so he’s lulled into a false sense of security.”
“Deal.”
She holds out her hand to shake and when my fingers first make contact, I can feel those sparks. I wonder if she feels them, too, because something shifts in her expression and she bites her bottom lip.
God, I’d love to kiss her again.
Nope, I can’t go there. We’re coworkers. And, hopefully, friends. Nothing more.
Pulling my hand away is significantly harder than it should be, but I need a break in contact so I can get my head on right.
“Well, should we run?” Maybe that will help clear my mind. Physical exertion.
“Yeah, how about we go to where the jetty for the lighthouse begins?” she suggests. “We don’t have to go all the way to the lighthouse, the rocks are pretty slippery with dew in the mornings.”
“Not slipping on rocks seems reasonable.” If my math is correct, that’s going to be under two miles by the time we get back here. That should be good enough to reset and see Poppy only as a friend.