I am jogging in the rain, at the same time I always do, 4 a.m. Running through the trails, with the trees surrounding me. The rain feels so good on my face, rain mixed with sweat. No one else on the trail, just peaceful, the sky still dark with the hint of blue on the horizon. The sound of frogs near the river, the crickets, but the birds are silent. My breathing is steady with the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground. I don't have my music player, I like to listen to the sounds when I'm out this early. The rain is just more than a drizzle, not enough to make puddles, but enough to slowly permeate my pink tank top, my black running pants.
I'm absorbed in my own little world, a movie working its way into my mind's eye. Recalling the events of the evening before, the sensual lovemaking I had with my husband, slow and tender, my body reacting while he took his time, bringing me to a slow rumbling orgasm that has my loins aching now as I run past the bridge that marked mile 3 for me. I feel myself start to throb with lust.
Then I hear it. The footsteps of someone else. By the sound of them, I know who it is. The reason I come out at 4 a.m. every morning. We joke, calling each other "running husband and wife" because we keep the other going. We met at the local running club; me the trainer, him the "newbie." I speed up, I don't want to make it easy for him to catch me...I like to make it a chase. I know he enjoys it. My heartbeat speeds up a bit, and I know that a part of me knows it is because of him and not just the speeding up. We have been running together for a while now, and my attraction for him has been slowly growing. I can tell his is growing too. He final reaches me, wearing his usual dark blue running shorts and black long-sleeved tech shirt. I can't fully make out his facial features with the rain, but I can see the outline of his strong jaw, his wet brown hair. I don't need to see him, I know every detail of his face; the laugh lines around his dark blue eyes, the slight stubble he likes to sport and I imagine rubbing my cheek against...his nose, his ears. The small scar on his right cheek he got as a child when he fell down some stairs.
He looks over to me.
"Hey, Steve...A bit slow this morning! Maybe you're getting old." I laugh as I say this, as he is 35, me 32. "Naw, you're just my speedy girl." I grin widely as he calls me his girl.
"How many miles are doing? The usual loop?" The loop is 8 miles, I hope he chooses that one, because we will have that much more time together. To talk, to just run, to laugh...
"Not today, Erin. I am thinking 3 miles." I nod, falling silent. I know that 3 miles won't take more than 30 minutes, and since he is going on vacation for 2 weeks starting tomorrow, I am disappointed. It bugs me that I feel this way about him, knowing we are both married. He knows a bit about my marriage, and the fact it is open. I admitted this to him one night when the running group went out for drinks and I was talking to him alone. Alcohol always does a good job of loosening my tongue, but I also used that as an excuse to tell him our secret. He was fascinated by this, but in the end saying he couldn't cheat on his wife. I respected that, knowing that at least he would still be my running partner.
After a few minutes of running, Steve breaks the silence, blurting out, "I think Lisa is having an affair." I am not surprised by this. I know her, and have seen the way she treats him, have seen the looks she gives other men. But, I've always held my tongue when it came to her. She is his wife. "Why do you think that?" "She has been coming home later. She won't have sex with me anymore, ignores me. She just...She is happier now, but I don't think I'm the reason for it." "I'm sorry, Steve. I really am." "Forget it, Erin. I shouldn't be whining to you about it."
