A smirk touched his lips. “I’ll reimburse you,” he said, pocketing the cigarettes before continuing on with his walk. Grabbing my hand and bringing me along with him. “What’s made the last few days rough for you?”
My only response was a shrug of my shoulders. I was trying to forget about it and the last thing I wanted was to dive back into my issues. Yet, I was surprised when my mouth opened to spew out things I thought were locked away.
“Just crap with my mom. I should be used to her drama by now but…” My voice trailed off as my shoulders gave a half-hearted shrug once more. Corey linked his arm around my neck and pulled me into his side.
“I don’t want to overstep here by saying this, but I’m sure it’s difficult to know she’s locked away. If you think about it though, she can really get the help she needs in there. Things were getting bad with her here and nothing was going to change but now it can.” I let my eyes wander from the sidewalk up into those penetrating blue eyes. My suspicions were correct. Corey knew my mom and what was happening with her. Even with that knowledge he wasn’t sitting here shoving it back in my face, mocking me and taunting me with what he knew, like Oliver had. The things he had said made sense and I hoped more than anything that—he was right—that she would get better.
“I just want her to be healthy again,” I whispered out. Corey placed a kiss against the top of my head; for a moment I reveled in the unspoken support I felt, I was receiving.
“Is that the point of your walk today? To get that stuff off your mind?” “Well, it started as a run, but it’s been a while since I’ve done that.” The sudden amusement dancing in Corey’s eyes worried me.
“Then let’s go. I was in the middle of my own run.” He released me and started jogging in place next to where I stood.
“Uh yeah—I’m good, but you go ahead.”
“Come on Danielle—I’m not doing this alone!” He continued pumping his arms in preparation to run. Instead of motivating me, the gesture sent very dirty thoughts about what those arms could do—through my brain. If I wasn’t already sweaty from the run—I sure would be now.
I threw my hands into the air, letting them fall and hit my thighs. “You just were!”
“But I’m not leaving you alone, now that I’ve found you.”
“Corey.” I whined. This didn’t faze him in the least. He grabbed hold of my hand and took off running—pulling me along behind him. I felt completely ridiculous being yanked around like a puppy, but I couldn’t deny the warmth he was giving me. A natural smile that had been missing from my face the past few days spread carelessly.
At one point I retracted my hand from his and sped off in front of him. My strides became more effortless, as I easily put distance between us. The sound of Corey’s steps grew louder as he closed the increasing space. As my left hand pumped backwards, his latched around my wrist, slowing me down.
“Cheater!” I yelled behind me, as Corey’s laugh echoed through the trees. When he released my wrist this time, he managed to move ahead of me. While I didn’t mind the view of him from, behind, I still hated to lose. So with one more burst of energy, I bolted forward and leapt onto his back; my arms wrapped around his neck so I wouldn’t fall backward.
Corey was still laughing as he slowed to a walk, his arms linked around my legs to keep me against him. My chin rested on his shoulder, as the soft chilly breeze was a refreshing relief against my heated face.
“That was definitely the most fun I’ve had running in a long time,” he said, making me smile.
“I hate exercising but that wasn’t bad. I enjoy going for a run, oh about…once a year I’d say.” Corey let out a deep laugh but in an instant his façade changed to a non-joking attitude.
“I can think of a better way to work out the body, if you’re looking for one.” His head turned slightly, so he could get a look at my expression.
My heart rate was already racing but now it was going wild for a completely different reason. “When exactly were you looking for another round of exercise?”