Note to readers: I'd recommend starting with Part 1 to familiarize yourself with the characters. Thanks to Snakey3456 for his editorial help on this and part 1. Thanks for the feedback; Part 1 was my first submission. The story involves adultery, so if you find that offensive please skip.
I.
I had spent the past few days since my encounter with Gary teeter-tottering between guilt and elation. I had cried on the way home from our encounter, big self-loathing sobs. When I got home I lay on my bed for quite some time and pondered. I could still smell Gary's scent on my skin. My husband was such a great guy; he didn't deserve this at all. He had slipped early in our marriage and had an affair. It was the most horrible and miserable time in my life. I promised I'd never, ever, cheat; the pain was too horrific and devastating. I swore I'd leave him before I'd cheat on him. It took years to get over the pain and humiliation. Why did I stay? Love, mostly. I loved him, second, probably stubbornness, I didn't want to admit defeat. We patched things up with the help of a good therapist and I made peace with what had happened. I didn't want it to happen again.
On the other hand, the goose and gander argument went through my head. Hah! Revenge at last. But you can't fool yourself, I'm not particularly the vengeful type, and that made me feel more ashamed. Well, a bit.
I was ready to never go back to Flatwoods, never see Gary again. I did not need to risk my marriage over a few moments of pleasure.
Then the other warring part of my brain took over. Not a few moments of pleasure, lots and lots of moments of pleasure. Sensations never felt before, screamingly glorious sex. This is what men and women were meant to do together. Screw it, life is short. I could die in a car crash tomorrow. Maybe there would be a way to have my cake and eat it too, as long as no one got hurt.
II
I was progressing in my marathon training, taking some longer runs, and quite frankly, I was tired of running around my neighborhood. I tried to run on the ground when I could, asphalt next, and sidewalks as a last resort. I didn't need to add any stress to my legs if I wanted them to carry me, eventually, 26.2 miles at once. But options were few in my neighborhood. I needed to find a better place to run.
I discovered that within the same park system where I bike on a paved surface is a series of off-road trails for hikers and mountain bikers. And runners. It's called it mountain biking but there are no mountains here in the Tampa Bay area. You can encounter an occasional incline.
Once I figured out the loops and assured myself that I wouldn't get lost in the woods, I took to doing most of my shorter runs there. My weekly long run I did at Flatwoods because there were water stops. Being in the woods made Florida's heat and humidity during the summer much more bearable. It's a few degrees cooler in the shade and it really made a difference on how far or fast I can run, and how I feel afterwards. Once the weather cooled as the seasons changed (Fall starts in mid-November, leaves change on some trees, then all the leaves drop in January; the leaves of the oak trees pushed off by the new ones) it was bliss to run in the cool of the woods (as much as running can be blissful.) There gets to be a point when you forget about your aches and pains and just enjoy the feeling of your body moving on the path; enjoy feeling your breath moving in and out of your lungs, enjoy knowing that this is your body and it is working hard and getting better and stronger with every stride.
Parts of the trail were very narrow and I had to keep my eyes on where I was going, so I didn't actually look around much. There were stumps and roots dotting the pathway, and I had to use care where I placed my feet. I stumbled occasionally and twisted my ankle a few times and had once taken a tumble when my foot got caught in a root but those inconveniences did not dim my enthusiasm for the trails. The soft sand of the path recorded the footfalls and tire treads of those who came before me, and it was always interesting to speculate about the people who left them. Who, really, runs barefoot? My god that's a huge dog...uh...hope that's a dog track, anyway. With my favorite tunes
from my ipod in my ears it was a pleasant way to train.
III
It was mid-morning when I arrived, the Monday after my encounter with Gary. The weather was perfect, mid seventies, and the sky was a clear, crisp blue with puffy clouds slowly floating by. The parking lot was almost empty. I finished my pre-run ritual (sweatband, hat, ipod, water, watch, heart rate monitor) did some stretches and took off on a five mile loop, starting slowly (not that I run very fast anyway) to get my legs and lungs working. I adjusted the volume on my ipod a bit louder than I normally would have it; since there were only two other cars in the parking lot I wasn't worried about not hearing an approaching cyclist. Well, that was a stupid assumption. About 10 minutes into my run I approached part of the trail that narrows quite a bit-- just barely fitting between two trees-- and then right afterwards there's a series of zigzags between the trees followed by a mound about 5 feet high with a fairly steep slope. I think they had 'engineered' this part of the trail to make it more exciting for the bikers. A small plane was flying low overhead, approaching the nearby airport and it was so loud that it drowned out my music. I was running down the side of the mound when I heard a shout. "Look out!" I turned and saw a biker right on my tail as I was coming off the mound. I tried to zag to the right but the biker went in the same direction. I guess the rider must have braked hard, but the bike bumped me and sent me sprawling onto my hands and knees and the cyclist fell as well. I heard a deep angry voice. "Didn't you hear me behind you? What the hell are you doing?" I had moved from being on my hands and knees to sitting on my rear, examining my bloody knee. My back was to him. "Shit, are you hurt? Are you OK? You scared the crap out of me." He extracted himself from his bike, propped it up, stripped off his helmet and tossed it aside, and knelt down beside me. I had recognized his voice by this time and hid my smile when he realized who I was. "Oh, fer Christ's sake, it's you. Damn, Jay, you gave me a scare. What are you doing out here?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I was trying to run." My heart was starting to thump and my blood was starting to quicken just being near him.
"Oh, damn. Let me start over." He paused, cleared his throat and assumed a more authoritative tone. "Jay, short for Jayne, fancy running into you here."
I hesitated for a long moment, and then snorted a laugh. "Badda badda bing. That's right folks, he'll be here all week."
