Ch 9: A Leg Up

Annoyed by Luke’s comment, I quickly tried to save face. “Sure. Yeah. Professional,” I said. “I’ll be here tomorrow at 6 for an early morning run. We should work on your stamina.”
“Sure, boss,” he said and walked away.
All the way home, I replayed our conversations, the looks Luke gave me. Where did I go wrong? Did I misread his cues? I couldn’t be sure. Something made Luke pull back.
When I told Michelle about it, she insisted I lay a big wet one on Luke when he wasn’t prepared. I told her that was a little too bold for me. I reminded her that I needed the job so I could pay my share of the rent, not to mention my student loans, and she relented. I vowed to keep it professional so Daniel and I could profit. It would be hard to look and not touch though. Luke was just so smokin’ hot. Yet, I’d have to restrain myself in order to get out of debt.
That’s partly why I suggested running for our next workout. Most people looked like crazed zombies when they went running. I might not be slim enough to be a fast runner like Luke said, but I have endurance. I was looking forward to putting him through the paces.
***
I gulped down an energy drink on the way to Luke’s the next morning. I wanted to be fueled and ready to go, kind of hoping Luke was the type who slept in and needed a slow start. I was disappointed. Before I could even ring the bell, Luke bolted out the door in a jog, heading down the driveway singing a tune.
“Where we going, boss?” he asked as he continued to jog ahead of me. I sprinted after him, not wanting him to get the best of me.
“I don’t really know the area, but I thought we’d start with a quick 2 miler and then work on some hills,” I said.
“Sure thing,” he responded and continued to run ahead. I followed him along the streets of Brentwood, the sun just starting to burn off the morning LA haze. Tall palm trees gently swayed in the streets. I could see the mountains in the distance, becoming a tiny bit closer with each step. We jogged past a ginormous Spanish style estate and then rounded the corner amidst a massive glass and steal home with its own basketball court. LA could be so beautiful for the people who could afford it.
I continued to trail Luke, taking in the sights, both admiring the architecture and becoming extremely jaded about my own financial predicament. I’d grown up nearby, just south of Brentwood in a working class community. My parents struggled a bit, but we always had food on the table. When my dad injured his leg and lost his job, he had to use the money he saved for my college to pay the bills.
I nursed his leg, tried to get him to do different exercises. I read up on treatments. Little by little his leg improved, and he went back to work. That’s what made me want to study physical therapy. But when he re-injured the leg, I dropped out to help him.
My dream wasn’t to live in Brentwood and drive a Bentley, although I couldn’t help feeling a little dissatisfied that I’d given up a chance at a lucrative career and was just now working my way up to financial stability. Since training with Daniel, I’d started to feel better about my body and found a job I liked, even if I still wasn’t rich enough to afford a car with working air conditioning. I liked the challenge of helping others with their physical goals, enough that I found myself in a race with a very sexy movie star.
As I ran by a driveway with both a red and blue jaguar parked in the driveway, I picked up the pace. We’d run about a mile and a half, and Luke started losing steam. He began to huff a bit on the next hill, and I ran by his side, encouraging him to keep going.
“Just take it a little easier here. You’re strong and fast, but we need to work on your endurance,” I said as Luke looked at me, clearly out of breath. We ran alongside each other stride for stride about half a mile.
He kept pace with me for a few more strides before gaining a second wind and trying to pull ahead. We reached a steep hill, and he tried to sprint faster, probably wanting to prove he could beat me up the hill. “Keep it slow and steady,” I yelled.
Luke didn’t listen. He gained steam as he tried to sprint faster up the hill, leaving me behind, A few yards ahead of me, I heard him cry out in pain and saw him grab his leg. He hobbled for a few steps before falling onto a grassy lawn near the top of the hill. Rolling onto his back, he groaned and held his knee.
I ran up to him and knelt beside him. “What hurts? What happened?”
“My hamstring,” he said, grabbing the back of his leg.
“OK, take a deep breath in.” I breathed in. “Now let it out.” I blew the air out to indicate what he should do. After I saw Luke wince and try to breathe, I gave him the next directions. “Now, try to stretch out the leg, just a little.”
“Ow, ow, it still hurts,” he moaned. He squinted into the sun. I held his foot and started gently pressing on the leg he was holding. He started to straighten the leg a little more. Then his head and shoulders fell back, becoming a little more relaxed.
“There, let me just rub a little more.” I continued to rub Luke’s hamstring, watching his eyes close due to the sun.
“That’s much better,” he said. He began to look relaxed, lying back with his eyes closed, as if he was getting a massage.
“Now, let’s slowly pull the leg in and out,” I calmly instructed, having Luke gently press his leg into my hand and pull it back into his chest.
“Ooh. Still hurts there.” He indicated a spot. I started to rub the spot with my thumbs until Luke’s face relaxed again. As I leaned over, my body blocked the sun, and Luke opened his eyes. My face was inches from Luke’s as I rubbed his leg.
“Don’t stop,” he said. “That feels so nice.” He looked in my eyes. For a moment, looking into Luke’s gaze, my heart skipped a beat. I felt satisfaction at being able to make Luke feel better, and his stare made me feel like the luckiest girl on Earth.
I got so caught up in looking at Luke, I forgot what I was doing and lost my balance, falling forward a little. My face almost came crashing down on Luke’s until I caught myself with my other hand landing on Luke’s chest. It was as solid as a diamond.
“Sorry,” I said as I pushed myself up. Luke put his leg down and sat up, nearly meeting my face with his own.
“It’s OK,” he continued to look in my eyes. “You’ve got great hands, Stella.” I wanted to tell him all I could do with my hands. How if he wanted, my hands could touch everywhere on his body, not just his hamstring.
“Yep,” I said instead. I thought Luke might kiss me in that moment, both of us looking at each other, our lips only a few inches apart.
“I guess those man hands are as strong as your biceps, aren’t they boss?” Luke stood up, the moment lost, the magic bubble once again popped by Luke’s teasing comments. Keep it professional I told myself. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that near kiss, about Luke’s lips inches from my own. There was no mistaking it that time. I felt the electricity between us, first as I healed Luke’s leg and then when we came face to face.
I offered to let Luke lean on me and limp home. Instead, he said he’d call for a ride, texting someone on his phone. We sat on the curb and waited.
“What were you singing earlier?” I asked.
“Oh, just a song from a new Broadway musical.”
“You like musicals?” I asked surprised.
“I may have big muscles, but I’m a softy at heart.”
“I like musicals too. My roommate Michelle is a good singer. I used to watch her in school productions.”
The minutes passed by quickly as I got to know Luke and his softer side. I didn’t just enjoy looking at Luke, I enjoyed getting to know him better – at least until a black Mercedes pulled up alongside us.
As the tinted window slid down, I could see the driver, and I wasn’t happy.