Say My Name

Chapter Three: High and Dry

Rolling, tossing, and turning, Sara let out an exasperated as well as loud sigh, flopping her arms down on the blankets covering her. She couldn’t sleep at all. She had far too much nerves and energy for sleep to succumb her. Now, all she could think about was Nick’s invitation of calling her if she got lonely. Loneliness wasn’t really a problem for her right then, more like pent-up energy that needed to be ridden of. Sleep was something she needed, regardless of how much she took it for granted.

The phone was in reach as were her sleeping pills that she had found the other day stashed far back in the medicine cabinet for emergency use. This could have possibly been an emergency but she was sure that she didn’t need them right then. There were other ways to get rid of her jumpiness that didn’t involve drugging herself… just possibly exploiting herself in front of a certain colleague.

Finally, she hopped out of bed, stumped over her clothing that she had bothered to put away, and made her way to her closet in the dark. The walk-in closet was rather redundant since there was no way that she owned enough clothes to fill it, let alone half of it. Flipping on the switch, she walked in and began searching for her usual attire for when she went running. She wasn’t sure if running at three in the morning was normal but she was in dire need of a cure and nothing else came to mind besides Nick. She couldn’t go there. She wasn’t going there.

Slipping on black leggings after she pulled her rose colored shirt that looked to be a bit of an elongated sports bra because of the thick, x-shaped straps in the back, over her head. An elastic was on her dresser and she snatched it up so she could put her hair in a high ponytail. Her running shoes were at the door and she slid into them with her sock covered feet.

Stepping out into the coolness of the dark morning, Sara locked the door behind her and hid her key. The area around her was mainly residential and perfect for running. It wasn’t all flat terrain. There were a few hills that she liked to run up and down a few times to get her heart rate going.

Sometimes, Catherine would come running with her when she wasn’t busy with Lindsey and her own life. The odd time Sara invited Nick to come as well and he always joined her. It was then that she slapped herself in the side of the head, a rather desperate attempt to forget about the Texan… and what he looked like in spandex.

Nope, she would definitely not think about Nick in spandex shorts and a tight fitting t-shirt as he ran beside her, breath ragged and heart racing. Thought of him only made her run faster and push herself harder. Nothing could quell the desire for him in her like running her ass off and being in utter physical pain as a punishment for nasty thoughts.

Her favorite hill was around the corner and she anticipated it, already feeling the burn in her calves.

Every house was silent and dark, though there was the odd light on for a few moments before it turned off. Everybody in Las Vegas was sleeping, or at least everybody in Sara’s neighborhood was except her. Ahead, she heard the sound of quiet voices and the closing of a car door. It must have been at the top of the hill, her at the bottom, but the still of the night carried the voices effortlessly.

Immediately as she got closer, she recognized the vehicle in the driveway of a house she knew by day was a faded pink. Out front were two people talking in soft voices, too soft for Sara to understand what they were saying. His silhouette was even gorgeous, enhanced entirely by the moonlight. He was fully dressed unlike his companion in a fluffy robe that was probably pink, Sara thought as she squinted.

There was no way that she could turn off the road and avoid them, she noticed, looking around for an escape route. No, she would just keep running.

The southern drawl filled her ears when she was only two houses down and Sara swore that she nearly groaned. Nick stood leaning against his Denali, arms folded over his chest, while Natalie stood a few feet in front of him, only getting closer.

Sara watched out of the corner of her eye as she past them that his girlfriend was leaning into him, practically begging for him to kiss her. Unfortunately for Sara, he reached for Natalie, his hand slipping around the back of her neck, and brought her to his mouth. Sara cursed herself for watching but she knew that if she hadn’t watched, she would have berated herself the entire morning because she would not have known what had happened.

It might have been dark but the odd street lamp lit up the street every sixth or seventh house. Sara knew he didn’t see her, he was too busy pleasing his girlfriend to pay attention to his surroundings.

Making it up the hill and taking a breather at the top, Sara stood there with her hands on her hips until she heard the dull roar of Nick’s Denali. And he was heading up the hill where she was. Every particle in her was screaming for her to begin running once more but her muscles wouldn’t allow it. They were too exhausted. It was the first time that she had forgotten to take a water bottle and she was several blocks from her place.

The Denali only got closer and finally, Sara willed herself to move. She ran faster than she knew she was capable of and was nearly at the end of the block when Nick’s Denali reached the top of the steep hill. Sara turned down the street that would lead her back to her place and she prayed that Nick wouldn’t notice her and decide to follow her.

She made it back to her place in record time. She took two stairs at a time and then quickly unlocked her door, slamming it shut behind her. It took her a full minute to catch her breath as she stood with her back pressed against the door. She could already feel the ache in her body but there was also an ache inside of her that had nothing to do with physical exercise.

Throwing her keys onto the table with the phone on top, next to the couch, Sara gradually made her way towards her bathroom, shedding her layers of clothing before reaching the door. She stood in front of the mirror, looking into her eyes filled with confusion and underlying questions that her mind was working frantically to solve.

It might have been a trick that her mind was playing on her, but Sara swore that she heard a faint knock on her front door. Grabbing a fluffy burgundy towel, Sara wrapped it around her naked body as she went to look through the peephole. However, she didn’t want to look because if someone was really there, Sara knew that it could only be Nick and that would mean that he saw her on her run.

Raising up on her tiptoes to gaze through the small circle, Sara let out a sigh when she saw who was staring at the ground in front of the door. The door unlocked with a rather soundly click and then opened when she pulled it towards her, her free hand clutching the towel wrapped around her.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, her eyes kind and gentile. “What’s up?”

“You’re not mad that it’s four in the morning?”

“No, I was up anyways.”

“With someone?”

“No, why?”

“I just thought because of the towel…” His chestnut eyes looked so innocent and she couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“No, I was just about to go in the shower.”

“Yeah, I saw you running. You’ve got quite a set of legs.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Nick.”

“What else would it be?”

He flashed her a smile and then pried his eyes from her milky white flesh when his eyes began to wander down along the curve of her neck, dipping to stare at her cleavage.

“Do you want to come in or something?”

“No, actually. I don’t why I came here. I just saw you and thought that I would say ‘hi.’”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“’Night, Sar.”

Slowly, he turned to leave but her hand reaching out and resting on his forearm stopped him. He glanced over his shoulder at her, searching her eyes for something. What, exactly, he wasn’t quite sure of.

She was going to say something but she chose not to. “Goodnight, Nick. I’ll see you later.”

He nodded, noting that she chose to say something completely different than what she had intended to. Descending the steps, Nick put his hands in his pocket and walked to the Denali quietly, his head bent to the ground.

When he looked back up at the door, he saw a look in Sara’s eyes that sent a shiver down and back up his spine. He saw oppression of yearning and he knew the feeling.