His Brooding Stare.

part thirteen, "lets go home".

I sighed and contemplated what I should do for the rest of the day until I could say goodbye to my family.. speaking of, I grabbed my phone from upstairs and texted Cal,

"Hey, so my mother has informed me I am traveling back to Manhattan with you. I'm assuming I have no choice in the matter"

I shoved my phone in my sweats and made my way back downstairs to fix myself a quick breakfast before getting changed to go for a run. I decided to make some avocado toast and a veggie/fruit smoothie. My senses were filled with the aroma of fruit and fresh avocado as a prepared my meal, my stomach growled in response. I sat along the island and began to eat while scrolling aimlessly through my phone. It buzzes,  arching me off guard,

"Yes Ms Darling I have arranged for you to join me on my private jet back to Manhattan. I will refund you the money for your train ticket, unless you want another form of payment ;)"

I shook my head while trying not to smile,

"I think we can come to a professional understanding and make some sort of compromise Mr. Parker"

"God I miss you"
"I'll have a rental pick you up at your house around 6 and drop you off at the airport, we take off at 7"

I smiled and put my phone back into my pocket. I cleaned up my dishes and made my way up the stairs to change. I put on some workout pants and a long sleeve, grabbed my headphones, and put my hair into a ponytail. I texted back before I started my run,

"Miss you too Cal, I'll see you later"

I plugged my headphones in, started my workout playlist, and began to run. At first my legs were slow to keep a steady pace, straining in the slightest after not running in a couple of days. Once they settled, my muscles began to feel stronger and able to push my body faster. My feet pounded against the pavement, a steady rhythm that kept to the beat of my music.
As I really started getting into it, I willed my body to go faster and my adrenaline kicked in. My breathing was escaping my body harshly but controlled, my heart beat getting faster and then steadying out as I fell into a comfortable pace.

I rounded a corner moving away from the residential neighborhood and towards the boardwalk after already running 2 miles.

As I approached the boardwalk I began to realize how I much I missed running near a body of water. The only chance I got to do that in the city was in Central Park or along the river. But there was just something about running near the ocean or on the beach. The smell of salt water filled my senses, while the cold breeze off the water hit my face, prickling my skin. My lungs burned from the cold air and my muscles screamed at me, but I wanted to finish up my run at the end of the boardwalk.

I pushed through and began to pick up my as much as I could for the last 150 yards. Once I was done I leaned over, placing my hands on my knees. My ragged breath was evident, cutting through the air, my chest heaved rapidly. My lungs expanded to bring in more oxygen, and my muscles ached in a good way.

I looked out towards the horizon and the sun was shining off the water, leaving a haze of colors from the sunrise that took place less than 30 minutes ago. My body felt hot but as my heart rate started to slow, my sweat began to dry and my body slowly became aware of how cold it was outside. I sat on the nearest bench and began to stretch. My muscles strained, feeling tight, but slowly loosening up.

I closed my eyes and relished in the feeling, my breathing becoming steady. I jumped when a pair of lips whispered in my ear,

"Lena"

I whipped around and Cal was standing behind me with a big grin, he walked around the bench and enveloped me into a hug, quite eagerly. His arms wrapped around my waist hoisting me off the ground slightly and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, the smell of his cologne was strong against his neck.