Running to Love

It was all I needed. I knew I was faster than she was, but knowing it wasn't helping me catch her. I knew I had to catch her... I had to, and I did, with five yards to go, and she disappeared?

I was across the finish line and looked back. She was on her hands and knees, just crossing the line. Once across, she collapsed. But there was someone else I needed to see. I pulled away from the lady who was trying to guide me somewhere and hoped my legs would support me as I struggled to run to Jarvis, who was just outside the fence.

I hugged him, and he hugged me, and the tears came quickly... from both of us. It was the culmination of months of planning and training which was often painful and totally exhausting, which had come to fruition. A dream made real. When I raised my head, I saw Kurt standing close by, smiling at me. I stepped aside and extended my arms.

"I'm sweaty and disgusting," I cautioned.

"There's nothing about you that's disgusting, Heather and none of my friends have ever hugged a member of the Olympic team." We hugged. "I can't wait to tell Augie that his Ferrari may be fast, but it's not Olympic team fast."

He laughed, and I joined him.

"Congratulations, Heather. You've worked hard and deserve this. You and Jarvis need to celebrate, and you have my number if you'd like to meet for dinner."

We hugged again, and he left me to J.R., who was surrounded by people who wanted me for presentations and pictures. I was exhausted, but being with the other two qualifiers and having our pictures taken had my adrenaline flowing again.

Jarvis was there watching the whole time, a huge smile on his face, and I couldn't help but think of the school back home and a gym full of people who I'm sure were cheering me on the whole time. I wished I could be with them, my class, and the other teachers to share the joy and excitement. It was the experience of a lifetime, at least my lifetime so far, and I felt like I was bubbling over.

The festivities ended, the three of us congratulated each other once more, and we all headed our separate ways. J.R. hugged me once more, and I felt like I might collapse in his arms.

"You did it," he whispered. "You did it."

"It was so hard. I thought I was going to die during that last four hundred yards, and I just wanted to stop and lay down by the side of the road. Something kept me going." The exhaustion was overtaking me again. He helped me to my box of belongings, still being watched over by the security people. The young girl watching it looked very shy, but she smiled at me.

"May I have your autograph?" she asked quietly, extending a pen and a small notebook toward me.

"Sure, what's your name?"

"Shelly," was the quiet reply.

"Oh my gosh, my best friend's name is Shelly."

I signed her book noting that Shelly was the recipient of my first autograph and good luck.

J.R. helped me to the car as my legs were rebelling at the simple task I was asking them to accomplish -- walking.

"I can lay the seat down, and you can relax a little," he suggested.

"No, I'll just sit here like a regular person. But here, take my phone and text Kurt that we're going to have a quiet evening together and have Chinese delivered."

"Chinese, huh?"

"For some reason, it sounds more appealing than pizza."

We drove to the hotel where lots of the runners were staying, and I was greeted by applause when I came through the front door.

"We saw it on TV. Great job," the manager said as he handed us a bottle of champagne and a bowl of fruit.

I thanked him, and we headed to the room. I wanted to flop into a hot bath and just soak my aching muscles for a long, long time, but we had decided to eat first. Jarvis called in the order, and it was to be delivered in thirty minutes.

"I'm going to go ahead and fill the tub and climb in. When the food comes, you can bring it in and feed me."

As I expected, he just stared at me. I smiled at him.

"What?" I said, questioning his look.

"Heather, if you're in the tub, you'll be..." His voice trailed off, unable to say the word.

"Yeah, I will be. And if I love you, and you love me, it's okay for you to see me naked." I think the exertion of the race had totally deadened my inhibitions, as hearing those words come out of my mouth surprised even me.

"I'm not going to argue with you."

"Help me start the water then."

The water really gushed into the tub, and it was to the level I wanted in no time. Without even thinking, I stripped off my warmup suit, then my shoes and socks. Next came the singlet and running shorts. I unfastened my bra and handed it to J.R., then the same with the running panties I wore.

"Close your mouth and help me into the tub," I said, extending my hand toward him.

He took hold of my hand.

"Jarvis, I'm just a tiny boobed, tall and skinny blue-eyed woman."

He didn't reply but took hold of my arm and supported me as I stepped into the tub. Getting down into the water was a little awkward, but I was finally there, and it felt so good that I sighed.

"Whatever you are, I'm just going to get a chair so I can sit here and stare at you and drool."

"I'm not drool material."

"That's for me to decide, and not you. And I've decided."

"Love blinds you."

"Love opens your eyes, and it's certainly opened mine. And speaking of opening eyes, did you open the envelope they handed you during the awards?"

"No, I didn't, but I know they give you some money to cover expenses and stuff."

"Want me to open it for you?"

"Sure. It'll be fun to know what I won."

He left the bathroom and returned with the envelope that I'd stuffed into my backpack. He carefully tore it open and removed the check, glancing at it and then holding it in front of my face.

"Wow, six thousand dollars. That's great."

"Better look again, babe."

That was the second time he'd called me "babe," and I loved it.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed as the numbers registered in my brain. "Sixty thousand dollars." I looked at J.R. "I never dreamed."

There was a knock on the outer door, and Jarvis quickly reappeared with the Cashew Chicken we'd ordered. He filled one of the plastic plates the restaurant had provided.

"Do I need two forks?"

"Heavens, no, silly boy," I answered, and we began sharing the plate of food.

I wasn't sure what was happening to me. Maybe my success in the race bouyed everything else about me and gave me the confidence to be more free and open with this wonderful man I'd fallen in love with. I'd never liked my body, even though I knew I had great legs. I'd always been slender with no chest, but there was something about the adoring looks I got from Jarvis that was changing me. Whatever it was, I was comfortable with it and wondered where it would go.

We'd cleaned the first plate and most of the second, and the water was getting cold, so I needed to exit the tub. He helped me very awkwardly as he was making every effort not to touch my body anywhere except on my arms, it seemed. I put on one of the fluffy robes hanging near the door, and we returned to the main room, where there was a very comfortable couch.

"Want to try the champagne?" I asked with a giggle. It was almost like I'd already had a glass.

"Sure. Plenty of flutes on the shelf here."

The bottle opened with a loud pop that brought another giggle from me. The first sip was delicious, so I took a second. I looked at J.R., who was grinning and watching me.

"You realize you're sleeping with me tonight, don't you?". I smiled at his amazed look.

"Heather, you're moving awfully fast here. Are you sure you're not just charged up from the race?"

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't enjoy sleeping with an Olympic marathoner?"

Jarvis took a long sip from his flute. "You're enjoying flummoxing me, aren't you?"

"Jarvis, when we said we loved each other, everything changed. I'm just being honest with you. I said I wanted to sleep with you, not have sex with you. I smiled. But that's going to happen one of these days."

With both of us well-buzzed from the champagne and lots more serious talk, we headed for bed. The covers on only one bed were turned back, and two fully pajamaed people climbed under them. When he snuggled against my back, my already overworked heart speeded up once again.

"Jarvis, this is the happiest day of my life. Thank you for everything."

"I think I've never been happier, either, Heather, and I think only our wedding day would find me happier."

I was startled. "Are you proposing to me, Jarvis?"

"Well, it's what I want, so yes, I'd love for you to be my wife."

I rolled over to face him, and the kiss that followed was like none before it. Sharing a fork was nothing compared to the exploring our tongues were doing. The sounds we each were making sounded loud in the silence of the hotel room. My arms were around him, and I struggled to wrap a leg around him, as well.

"Oh, shit. Cramp," I squealed right in his face. "It hurts.". Once more, I struggled to move my leg.

He was standing on the bed, my ankle and foot in his hand, as he struggled to stretch my cramping hamstring. At last, the cramp relented, and he began massaging the big thigh muscle. I was enjoying it in a way I shouldn't. In his enthusiasm, his hands would occasionally stray a little too far north, causing a different kind of moan to escape my throat.

"J.R., honey, you'd better stop now.*

From the look I got, I decided he'd figured out what was happening.

"I'm sorry, Heather. I didn't realize."

I grinned. "Don't worry, I kind of enjoyed it."

His face turned a deep shade of red.

"It might be nice to finish what you started," I suggested, my face now red, too.

"Heather, you just ran a marathon. I'm not sure you're, well, ready for that."

"I may not be, but I'm ready to find out."

He was looking at me, evaluating, I'm sure. Wise or unwise, I was determined to help him decide. Slowly and carefully, I lowered my pajama bottoms. I was bare from the waist down. When I slowly spread my legs, it was all the encouragement Jarvis needed.

I could feel his fingers gently spreading me, and my body felt like it was on fire. When his tongue touched me, I jolted. When it entered me, a long moan erupted from my throat. Then it moved to that small nub that housed more pleasure than I had ever imagined. His tongue was flicking back and forth, and I had no control over my body's movements.

He wasn't slowing down, and I think I was panting harder than I had during the marathon. I knew what was going to happen and was afraid that every muscle in my body would cramp, but it didn't happen that way. The spasms happened, though, and the squealing moans were loud and long.

When my eyes opened again, Jarvis was looking at me.

"You're amazing, and I'm the luckiest man alive."

"When my breath comes back, I'll tell you how much I love you."

"Don't need to, Heather. I could tell from the sounds you were making."

I put both hands over my face, instinctively embarrassed, but he pulled them away.

"You're precious, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I'm good with that. But there's something I want to do."

"Maybe tomorrow. Today is about you."

I wanted to argue, but he wouldn't let me. If I had been exhausted before, I was even further gone now. He climbed in beside me and covered us, my pajama bottoms still on the floor beside the bed. I didn't remember anything after that.

I awoke with Jarvis gently kissing my head.

"Is it really true?"

"You're going to the Olympics, and I want you to be my wife. That much is true."

Jarvis' phone began to ring. He jumped up and retrieved it.

"Hi, Mom. You're on speaker."

"Good. Are you anywhere close to that wonderful lady of yours?"

"Yes, she's standing right here beside me."

"Good. Heather, congratulations, and I'm so proud of you. I watched the whole race, and it was like my daughter was running."

"She'll be your daughter-in-law before too long, Mom."

"What? Honey, did you propose to her?"

He looked at me, and I nodded. "I did, Mom, and she said yes."

"It wasn't a down-on-his-knees proposal, Mrs. Ross, but it was even better."

"Oh my gosh. Wait till I tell everyone that J.R. has a fiance. I'm so happy that I'll have a daughter-in-law before I die."

"Mom, you're not going to die any time soon."

"You may be right. I'm doing much better lately, and Heather, just like you beat the odds yesterday, maybe I'll beat them too. And call me either Mom or Jo, okay?""

"Mrs. Ross, that would be wonderful. And since I still have a mom, I'll call you Jo, okay?"

"Perfect."

J.R. and his mother talked a little longer, and the call ended with Jo telling him that she loved him and then adding that she loved me too. It was probably everything that had happened, but when she said that, my tears came. It was somehow so sweet that this lady I'd never met loved me. When he saw the tears, I got a nice hug and a tender kiss.

"I can't wait to meet her."

"She told me I'm to go home with you so we can celebrate together with your friends, and you can tell them about being engaged. And she said you deserve at least a one-carat diamond ring. I'm to stay until your Thanksgiving vacation, and then you're to come to Oregon with me and meet her. Got it?"

"It's a deal as long as we go get some breakfast."

"Sounds good to me. Those legs of yours are beautiful, and so is that other part that's showing."

I felt my cheeks heating and knew I'd eventually get over blushing at J's suggestive talk. At least, I hoped I would.

Fully dressed, we headed for a small diner we'd seen not far from the hotel. It wasn't a bar, but they had a large TV that was showing the morning news. We were barely seated when our server appeared.

"Good morning. I haven't seen you two in here before. You tourists?"

"Yeah, just here for the weekend," J.R. answered.

"Were you here for the marathon trials by any chance?"

"We were," I answered this time.

She pointed to the TV. "They're talking about it now."

The camera was zooming in on the three qualifiers. There was the winner, then second place, and finally, my face filled the big screen. The server turned quickly.

"That's you," she said excitedly. "I can't believe it. I was focused on you the whole race, I guess because you were taller and that beautiful long stride you have."

"Wow. Thank you. I'm just what I am, I guess."

She stepped away from the table. "Folks, that face you just saw is sitting right here at this table."

There were maybe fifteen people in the diner, and there was applause, and some shouted, "Congratulations." It was my first day as a celebrity. We ordered and were quickly joined by the manager, who told us breakfast was on the house. I demurred, but he'd have none of it. A few people stopped by our table as they were leaving to offer more congratulations and to tell me they had watched me run. During the race, the announcer had noted that I was an underdog, and the closer it got to the finish, the more they were rooting for me. I knew I was blushing again, but I thanked them all very sincerely.

"I guess I'm going to have to walk two steps behind you," J.R. said when they'd all left.

I laughed. "That's for royalty, I think, and I'm certainly not that. I didn't win. If I'd won, it would be two steps behind for you."

We had a good laugh at that.

After breakfast, J.R. wanted to stop at a grocery store.

"Whatcha gonna get?"

Some kind of a snack for tonight. What goes well with champagne?"

"You're asking me? Last night was my first ever champagne."

"Well, me too. Fritos are always good."

"They're the best, no matter what else you're having."

Once in the store, we browsed for quite a while, finally grabbing a large bag of Fritos. I didn't wear much makeup, but I loved to look at all the things you could get, which I was doing, waiting for him to complain. When I looked, he was nowhere to be seen. I shrugged, wondering where he'd gone when he reappeared.

"Just looking around," he answered before I'd even asked.

We headed to the self-checkout lane, and I think J.R. suddenly realized that he had to scan what he'd found and had been hiding from me. When he quickly passed it over the scanner, I saw what it was and, of course, blushed again. A box of condoms.

"What was that," I asked, as I'd decided to tease a little.

He glanced at me but didn't reply. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Pervert," I whispered, and we both laughed.

We browsed a mall and found a store with Olympic Trial sweatshirts, and I bought two of them. J.R. bought one as well. A little more shopping, a nice dinner, and we headed back to the hotel for some Fritos and champagne... and whatever else might happen.

Jarvis took care of changing his plane ticket, and there were no problems. We watched some TV, and I kept glancing at him, expecting something to begin. We finished the champagne, both of us enjoying a pleasant buzz. I began to wonder if he was waiting for me to make the first move. We'd never talked about sex, and he had no way to know that I wasn't a virgin, although most people assume that a woman now twenty-seven is not a virgin. A couple of unpleasant experiments after high school were my only sexual experiences.

Very slowly, he put his hand on my thigh, and even that simple act had my mind racing. I was stiff and sore from the marathon, but I knew it wouldn't affect what I knew was going to happen. He leaned in close and whispered to me.

"Heather, I think I enjoyed last night as much as you did."

"I doubt it, but maybe we can try it again tonight to be sure." When I said that, I think his breathing rate doubled. "But you have to undress before we can begin. He had seen a part of me naked, but I hadn't had the same pleasure. I wanted that to happen. My first sexual experiences had been unpleasant, but being in love seemed to have changed everything.

Jarvis quickly stood and pulled off his shirt. His shoes and socks were next, followed by his shorts. I smiled at the very large bulge in the front of his boxers which did part the fly a bit and give me a delightful view.

"If you want to see it, letting it out is up to you." He stepped directly in front of me.

His smile told me that he knew that I wanted to see it, which was correct, of course. So, I let it out... through the fly, not what he'd expected. It was certainly bigger than its two cousins that I'd seen before, and when I kissed the dark red head, I felt him shudder. When I took the head into my mouth, I heard a loud groan.

I was counting on the tiny bit of porn I'd watched, as I'd never done this before. When I took as much of him as I could into my mouth, his knees buckled slightly. As I continued, I was enjoying his reactions, and didn't expect him to say anything.

"Please stop, Heather. I don't want to come yet."

Substituting my hand for my mouth, I said, "The plane doesn't leave until two o'clock, so we have plenty of time. My hand was steadily stroking him, and he didn't reply to what I'd said. I quickly found out why when a string of warm and milky liquid hit my face, followed by three or four jets just like the first ones. More of the same covered the back of my hand.

J.R. opened his eyes. "I'm sorry that happened."

"I'm not. It's what I was hoping would happen. Was it nice?"

He snorted. "Was last night fun for you?"

"Oh my gosh, yes." And totally overwhelmed by my erotic feelings, I continued. "And when it happens again, very soon, I hope, it will be even better."

J.R.'s nostrils flared. "If you stand up, I'll rip those clothes right off your body, and it'll happen... well, as fast as I can make it happen."

I stood and began pulling off my clothes - all of them this time. I was anxious about his response to my small boobs, great for distance running but perhaps not the best for the bedroom. I was barely naked before his lips were on one nipple, and his thumb and forefinger tugged on the other.