Someday Maybe by Ophelia London Page B

you want to make it five miles.” He shifted his weight back and forth like an athlete whose muscles were cooling, forcing me to take quick note of his leg muscles. Good grief.
    “Oh, yes.” Megs jogged in place, her springy ponytail bouncing up and down. “Gotta run those five miles.”
    More than ready for them to leave, I tried to steady my heart and my breathing, but they were both out of control. It was too hot. Too stifling. Was San Francisco in the middle of a heat wave? I pressed a hand to the back of my neck then ran it across my throat and clavicle, again and again.
    “So, Rach, I’ll see you—” Meghan’s gaze whipped back to me in a double take. “Rachel,” she whispered, leaning toward me. “What are you doing?”
    I flinched at her accusatory tone. “Nothing. I didn’t do anything.”
    “Have you seen yourself? You’re all dewy and tousled and…” She snickered through her teeth, lowering her voice another notch. “And you’re touching yourself…like you’re thinking about sex.”
    I dropped my hand from my throat. “ What ?”
    “Seriously.” She nodded at me. “Is that one of Roger’s T-shirts? It’s way too big, and since when do you go commando upstairs? I can totally see your…”
    I fisted the front of my shirt, pulling it back in place from where it had slid off my shoulder, covering the part of my boob I’d just displayed to the world.
    “Better.” She straightened and returned to the trail. “Bye, Rach,” she chirped. “Call me later.”
    I lifted a hand to wave good-bye then glanced in Oliver’s direction. He was bent over, facing the other way while petting Sydney, who’d wandered from my lap. Before I could even exhale, he pivoted a one-eighty, and our faces were two feet apart.
    “Nice to see you, Rachel.” His gaze flicked from my eyes to the top of my V-neck that I held together in one fist.
    I felt a charge at the back of my neck, under my hair, in the air around my head. Without another word, he straightened and jogged away.
    It wasn’t until Sydney pulled on her leash that I realized I hadn’t moved. When I managed to make it to my feet, it was much warmer outside. How long had I been paralyzed on the side of the trail?
    Securing the leash in one hand, I pressed my other hand over my eyes, trying to decide if what just happened actually did happen, or if it was one of my funky dreams. I stared down at the patch of grass where Oliver had been standing. Could I still see shoe imprints?
    So, Rad was Oliver. Perfect.
    My best friend had the hots for Oliver. Double perfect.
    Welcome home, Rachel.
    Besides Chris Pine and that one singer in Backstreet Boys, Meghan and I had never gone after the same guy. Not that we were now. I’d known Oliver a million years ago, and I probably hadn’t made the best second impression by lounging on the grass, looking—as Meghan insinuated—like I probably used to look right before Oliver and I had…
    Gah! Way to stay classy, Rach.

Chapter Fifteen
    The classic rock continued all morning. After an extra-thorough shower in an attempt to scrub the events of the running trail off my skin, I left home, driving without a destination, though it wasn’t a surprise when I ended up across the bridge at Another Time & Place .
    A lovely punch of spice and citrus invaded my nostrils as I entered the store. Simply being in the same room with so many aromatherapy wonders was enough to ease my tensions. I grabbed a few sticks of beeswax candles, but what I was really after was more oil.
    “Hey. Rachel, right?” Spring came out from the back.
    “Hi. And you’re Spring. Hard to forget a name like that.”
    “We’ve got my mother to thank.” She rolled her eyes. “So what can I get for you? We’ve got some—” She stopped at the sound of something crashing behind her. She glanced at the set of salon-style double doors that led to the back office, but didn’t move to investigate.
    “Do you need to check on that?”
    “That?”