Alex let herself slowly wake, stretching her arms overhead and her back lifting from the mattress. She then curled herself into her smooth sheets under the warmth of the bedspread. Her dark hair trailed long and it tickled her back for a moment as she shifted. She let her mind wander to last night and her unknown companion.
Remembering his eyes gazing into hers, the slide of his tongue on hers and the feel of his body crushed to hers, she couldn't help the shiver identical to last nights run down her spine. And it wasn't just the kiss, she tried to tell herself to keep the lusty thoughts away. His conversation was intelligent, witty, with just enough self-deprecating humor to keep him from being arrogant.
But she couldn't help thinking about his lips on hers, hard for a moment then relaxing to a gentle passion. His hands in her hair, playing with the fine strands at the nape of her neck. Alex thrashed over onto her other side, trying to keep her thoughts from straying to an area that would just make her hornier. The feel of his hands whispering against her skin as he clasped her cloak. His low laugh when she said something witty and his dark voice wrapping around, especially as he said her name.
Alex threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. She dressed quickly in gi pants and threw a t-shirt over the sports bra she had worn to bed. She ran down to the hall to the closet near the door. Lacing into her tennis shoes she stretched the back of her legs, bending from the waist. Her hair she wrapped into a pony tail with the scrunchy she left on her wrist from last night and she was out the door.
As she pounded her frustration into the pavement beneath, she let her legs take her where they willed. She had run every angle from her small house and couldn't get lost. She wanted to let the pounding of her feet relax her mind and take her past the thought of Mark.
A mile into her run, she had caught her rhythm and she entered the almost trance she was used to when she ran. Breathe in, step, step, step, breathe out, step, step, step. Breathe in, step, step, step, breathe out, step, step, step. Her mind finally settled and she was able to get into the fun of challenging herself. Can I run this section faster than last time, how long can I keep the sprint before I have to slow to a jog. Breathe in, step, step, step, breathe out, step, step, step. Breathe in, step, step step, breathe out, step, step....stumble.
Alex looked around herself, and cursed her legs for being as traitorous as her mind. She had run towards the university. She was still a mile away and if she turned right at the next street, she could circle back, completing her run at four miles, a respectable amount and a good enough work out for a Sunday.
Alex continued running straight. Breathe in, step, step, step, breathe out, step, step, step. Continuing forward she could run around the university, and then cut south back home and finish a good six mile run. That should be enough to run out the frustration for the rest of the day. Breathe in, step, step, step, breathe out, step, step, step. And it wasn't because he worked at the university. It wasn't. It was Sunday, he wouldn't be there anyway.
Finally her mind settled again as she made her way around campus. She got to the end of the circle around the university and decided to sprint the next mile. She let her legs stretch forward and back with each stride, reaching to cover more ground with each foot than the last. Breathe in, step, step, breathe out, step, step. Jump pot hole. Reach with arms, stretch calves. Breathe in, step, step, breathe out, step, step.
She finally reached the corner where she needed to turn and slowed to a jog for her last mile, allowing the cooling down jog to settle her breathe. When she reached her front step, she shook off the disappointment of not seeing Mark and opened the door, slipping inside as she heard a truck rev the engine as it sped past her house.
Walking to the living room, she flicked on her iPod and she gracefully collapsed to the floor and started her routine of stretching. Letting the music get inside her mind, she stretched one leg and then the other, standing to stretch her calves and quadriceps. Then she slowly made her way to her shower, stripping as she went, leaving her clothes behind her like bread crumbs.
She let the shower warm as she brushed out her hair, a tangled mess from last nights curly up-do and hastily made pony-tail. She examined her features as she pulled the brush through the dark strands. Round face, dark eyebrows (naturally thick but tweezed to a natural line). Eyes a brown so dark it was occasionally mistaken for black. Eyes with just enough tilt she was often mistaken for some sort of Asian. She always liked that; after-all her Eskimo (sorry, inuit for those who were politically correct) lineage somewhere down the line came over from Asia. But her Irish half gave her slightly lighter complexion then the true brown of a full Eskimo, as well as the freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks.
She liked the stockiness from the Eskimo side of her family, she liked muscle and strength and being able to keep up with her brothers when she went hunting at home. Not that she was thick, but she wasn't a stick either. She always figured if she were as lithe as her mother, she wouldn't be nearly so strong. Though maybe that was her independent nature. She didn't want to have to depend on anyone for anything. So she was strong and skilled enough to take care of her home repairs, fix simple problems with her car, and live on her own in the city.
~I don't want to be alone forever though~, Alex thought as she slipped into the warm water. Alex suppressed a shiver as the trailing of the water reminded her of Mark's hand on the small of her back.
Wishing now that, like the water, his slightly callused hands were slipping down her naked back. She could feel his hands on her hips, trailing slowly up her back to play with her hair. Her head hung back, remembering his hands at her chest and wishing them lower now. She felt her nipples pearl and in between her legs dampen.
Alex cursed, grabbing the shampoo and shoving her hands into her hair as she washed it. Taking her loofa and soap, she quickly cleaned the sweat from her run off of her body, trying to not take time at her sensitive breasts. She turned the water cold and let it run over her, cooling her passion as well as her body. When she was sufficiently cold, she turned off the water and wrapped her self in a towel. Wrapping her hair in another, she quickly toweled off and made her way to her bedroom.
Slipping into a matching blue bra and panty set, she set out jeans and her favorite almost good enough to go out in sweatshirt. Towel drying her hair, she spun it into a bun, holding it in place with another scrunchy. Then she threw on her clothes and made her way to the kitchen. Pulling out the makings for an omelette, she got to work on feeding her now starving stomach.
She listened to her favorite new age music, dancing to the celtic "mummer's dance" as she cooked, cleaning as she went. Then she sat down to eat, a book in her hand.
She tried to wile the day away, but she had taken care of most of her chores for the week yesterday, so she could enjoy The Masquerade knowing she didn't have anything to do today. Her younger brother, Nate, had come over last weekend for his almost monthly visit and in return for food and use of her car, he had helped her finish the small repairs around the house that needed doing. So she didn't have anything around the house to do either.
Normally she would get caught up in her newest book, but she couldn't get her mind to focus enough. She thought about calling Brian, her best friend, to hang out with, but didn't want to talk about The Masquerade with anyone quite yet. Another reason not to call Jeanette, as all she would want to do is gossip and she would ferret out all the information about Mark.
Alex tried to watch a movie, but couldn't really even focus on that. Finally, in the early afternoon, she got out her lap top and tried to surf the web. Of course, not even ten minutes into that, she had found the university's website. Alex sighed and gave it all up for lost. She went through a few pages before finding the history staff. Alex glanced down the list. She found one listing with the name Mark. Mark Underwood, Professor of History. There was a phone number listed as well.
Alex took a deep breath. Well, she could leave a message. It was Sunday, so he wouldn't be there. What should she say? Should she just leave her name and number, or a longer message, giving him details so he could figure out who she was? Alex mulled it over, deciding one way and then the other a few times. Finally, she decided on leaving just her name and number. If he recognized her voice or name, and called, it was all to the good. And if he didn't, well she would fret over the next few days.
Alex grabbed her cell and dialed the number. Then spent time looking at the damn call button, steeling her nerve to actually make the call. She was just going to leave a message. What was so hard about that. Taking a deep breath, she pushed call and listen to it ring twice.
"Hello?" The dark smooth voice she had yearned to hear answered the phone.
"H-hello?" Alex stuttered in a surprised, and high, voice not ready for him to actually answer the phone.
