He awoke from his nap and felt a deep ache in his heart where Jenny had been just a couple of hours before. He had been positive that he loved her as early as a year before, but his pure physical and emotional need for her when she was gone just made him more sure of it.
Since they resumed talking once again a few months before, he tried to leave Jenny alone when she wasn't online or she didn't message him first. He knew that she was busy with work, her family and a long list of duties and responsibilities and he didn't want to make himself just another thing she had to worry about. "Low maintenance," he told himself, as hard as it was to refrain from constantly texting and checking in with her.
He picked up his phone and opened the UberEats app to see what type of dinner he could get. He decided on a lasagna from a local Italian restaurant and punched in the order, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels as he waited, half his mind on the events of the past few days, the other half, trying to pay attention to the mindless sit-com on television. Eventually the knock at the door signaled that his dinner was there and went to collect his food. He returned, sat on the couch and pulled up the coffee table to eat on and slowly consumed his meal. His phone pinged and he checked it, noticing it was already 9pm.
"Now that the kids are asleep, I'm getting my gear ready for the half marathon," Jenny had written to him.
That text was followed by a photograph of Jenny in her blue lacy bra and panties framed against the foot of her bed with her running clothing spread out on top of it.
He smiled to himself, put down his plastic fork and knife, took a swig of his water and swallowed. He texted back, "You might want to reconsider that choice of underwear... might not be the best for athletic endeavors."
He put down the phone, cut off another piece of lasagna and popped it into his mouth, chewing heartily. He could only manage half of his attention on the TV as he waited for a response from his love. Several minutes went by before the phone pinged again.
"Is this better?" read the text that accompanied the photo of Jenny, naked from the waist up, holding up a sports bra with one hand (as the other was holding the phone to take the selfie). He marveled at her breasts, her pointy nipples and the curves of her hips.
"Much better," he wrote. "Much, much better."
There wasn't as long of a pause this time before his phone pinged. "All right big boy. That's all you get. I'll see you tomorrow." A kiss emoji followed. His heart soared.
"Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow," he replied.
He tried to turn his attention back to his dinner and the television but he couldn't take his mind off the pictures that, by now, had disappeared from his phone. His cock was getting hard but he didn't want to jerk off again. He wanted to save himself for Jenny tomorrow.
He polished off the lasagna and then opened a crossword puzzle on his phone. He was about three-quarters of the way through it and a wave of exhaustion came over him. He looked at the time and it was quarter after 10pm and he decided he would turn in.
He went to sleep with naughty thoughts of Jenny drifting through his mind.
*****
He woke up at 6am and found he was hard as a rock. Apparently, as satisfying as the sex with Jenny was, he was still horny for more. Well, more of her, at least.
He used the restroom and drank some water, getting dressed for a short easy run before he went to the race route to go watch Jenny as she ran the half marathon. He enjoyed the cool air on his face as he ran for 2 1/2 easy miles. This was his last "shake out" run before the marathon. Always something he loved but dreaded. This phase of the training was the "taper," when he drew down his mileage in order to let his body rest and recover. Basically, at this point in his training, the best he could hope for is to not do anything to hurt himself or do something that might negatively impact his marathon. So he paid close attention to how he felt and where he was placing his foot on each stride, making sure that his footing was secure. A sprained ankle now would be disastrous.
He looped back to the hotel and grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the Starbucks right by the hotel. He proceeded to his room, and scarfed down the food, then undressed, showered, shaved and made himself as pretty as he could.
He checked his phone and there was a message from Jenny asking him to be at Mile 11 on the half-marathon course. He looked at the time and noticed that the race would have begun already. He looked at a course map and found Mile 11. He had made a sign that said "Jenny, you inspire me," and he grabbed it and headed out to the prearranged place on the course.
He enjoyed the energy of the crowd and reveled in being on this side of the barriers. While it was a little more sparse than it would have been pre-pandemic, there was still an energy that he knew would transfer to the runners themselves and help them towards the finish line. He looked at his watch as he arrived near Mile 11, staking out a spot at the metal barrier that gave him some social distance from others around him. He started doing the mental math, figuring out when Jenny might be arriving at that point in the course, using her training times and paces as a guide to estimate when she might turn the corner and come into view.
He looked at his watch again. He shouldn't have to wait more than five or 10 minutes before she arrived. He watched the runners as they approached and passed his position. Men and women. Many were slim but others were a little larger, showing great grit to get through the 13.1 miles of a half marathon. Some wore costumes. Superheroes were a big theme as the occasional Captain Americas, Supermen, Wonder Women, Batmen-and-women and others ran by him. He missed this in-person race atmosphere and this was yet another reason that he was so happy that he had come to Chicago for the weekend.
He turned his attention up-course and watched for several more minutes before he saw her. Jenny was running with her dad and he could see them running his way together. Jenny looked a little fatigued and ragged, but he could still see her beauty radiating towards him. He could see her eyes scanning the crowd for him. He raised his sign and waved and shook it back and forth. He saw the recognition on her face, a brief smile, as their eyes locked. She guided her dad to that side of the road and stopped briefly in front of him.
"Hey," she rasped, her breathing heavy while she started to stretch out her legs.
"What are you doing stopping," he said. "You got this, Jenny. Great job, Jenny's Dad."
Jenny's dad smiled, also breathing heavily. "I'm Eric. You are?"
"Sorry. I'm Rick. An old friend of Jenny's. I just happened to be in town this weekend for work and she told me she was running," he said, not knowing how much of their relationship Jenny had told her father about. "Get going, you guys! I'll see you after the finish!"
He watched as the two of them took off again and he did admit that it was a great view of Jenny's ass as she ran towards the finish line, just a couple of miles away.
